The Cavaliers entered this season with real title expectations, but after just two games, the early picture looks a lot messier than hopeful. Cleveland has already flashed the same kinds of flaws that can wreck a contender, and right now the case for them as a championship threat feels shaky.
There’s no need to hit full panic after 82 games are still sitting on the schedule, but the opening stretch has not produced many reasons for confidence. If someone tried to list three clear positives from the first two outings, that wouldn’t be an easy exercise. And it certainly can’t be sold as a good sign that the Cavaliers have been building big leads and then letting them slip away.
Kenny Atkinson’s track record in those situations is already drawing attention. Per a stat posted by Yahoo Sports Producer Mike Goldfarb on X, Atkinson has the lowest winning percentage of any coach with a 20-point lead since 2011-12 among the 30 NBA head coaches who have had 100 or more games with such advantages.
The offense has not looked crisp enough, and the key names have been uneven. James Harden has not had much of an impact on winning and has made just one shot against Brooklyn. Donovan Mitchell has been solid, but he has also gone invisible in two straight fourth quarters.
The frontcourt has had moments, but not enough to change the mood. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were engaged for all four quarters, yet they still didn’t dominate.
The Fro had eight shot attempts, which is not enough. And if Mario Hezonja, after just two games back from six years abroad, is the player drawing the most praise, that says something about where things stand.
That doesn’t mean there have been no encouraging notes. Hezonja has looked locked in, but that alone is not the kind of signal a team wants this early. The Cavaliers still need Peyton Watson to get going, more threes from Sam Merrill, and better cohesion from the first five.
Around the league, though, other teams are making a much stronger first impression. The Sixers showed pretty quickly on Thursday night that they are built for this, especially after the way their new-look group came together in a comeback from down 29 against Cleveland. They already showed that chemistry on opening night when they handled the defending-champion Knicks, then kept it rolling by taking control of the game by the end of the fourth quarter.
The Raptors have also made their toughness clear, thanks to their giant frontcourt and hard-edged defense. Paul George appears to be in his 2.0 prime and is giving a very good Celtics team a major catch-and-shoot boost. The Pistons, meanwhile, look even better than when they were top-seeded.
Then there are the Hawks, who weren’t even viewed by most people as contenders but have looked fantastic after adding Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort from OKC. Even the Pacers, despite a blowout loss last game, have Tyrese Haliburton and plenty of time to rebuild their chemistry and become a threat.
That’s the bar Cleveland is staring at. Against those kinds of teams, it’s hard right now to believe the Cavaliers would definitely hold up for a full game. That gap is what separates them from the contenders.
Brian Scalabrine was the first to say it on an NBA broadcast, saying he didn’t have the Cavs in his top six coming into the season. Off the air, the chatter has been just as pointed, with Kevin O’Connor saying they could be anywhere from 2-9. At first, that sort of talk looked like background noise.
But with what’s happened so far, it’s harder to dismiss. Two games don’t define a season, and there’s plenty of time left.
Still, the early signs suggest Cleveland may be running into the same mistakes as last year. With Minnesota, Washington, and Atlanta coming up in the week ahead, the next stretch should tell us more.
For now, the blunt read is simple: it has not been good.
In Other News...
LeBron Nearly Returned To Cleveland And Cavs Fans Will Hate Why
LeBron James has made it clear Cleveland was more than a passing thought during free agency, and the possibility naturally lingered over a fan base that has already lived through multiple chapters of his career. Bill Simmons and Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson both added to that picture, saying the sides believed a reunion was coming before the move ultimately went another direction, leaving plenty of room for second-guessing around what might have been.
For Cavaliers fans, the frustrating part is not just that James was in the mix, but that Cleveland was seriously part of the conversation as he weighed where to finish his career. James acknowledged as much, though he stopped short of laying out the details of how the decision turned. For a team still tied to his legacy, the revelation only sharpens the feeling that this one was close. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Already Face A Tough Early Test They Can't Afford To Flunk
The Cavaliers opened the season with a loss in Philadelphia, and the way it happened is the part that will stick with them. Cleveland built a 29-point lead before the Sixers turned up the pressure, forced the issue physically and dragged the game back into doubt, a collapse Kenny Atkinson said his team simply did not handle well.
That kind of lesson travels quickly in the standings, and it gives Cleveland an early reference point as the schedule moves on. The Nets are already coming off an opener of their own, and the teams around them are showing how much can still be decided by defense and poise this early, with Toronto even finding ways to win while its shot-making and ball security lagged. [Read more 🡒]
Donovan Mitchell Opens Up On What Could Fuel Clevelands Next Step
Donovan Mitchells latest comments around his contract situation offered another reminder of how central he has become to Clevelands present and future. After helping push the Cavaliers into the Eastern Conference Finals, Mitchell reflected on the disappointment of coming up short there, but also on the work he has done to handle the pressure that comes with the postseason stage. He pointed to mental performance coaching as part of that process, and he also credited the stability in his personal life, including the support of his family and his marriage to Coco Jones.
For the Cavaliers, the bigger takeaway is the way Mitchell continues to frame his time in Cleveland as something still being built rather than something nearing a finish. He said he intends to stay put and chase a title with this group, which matters as the team tries to turn a deep playoff run into the start of something more lasting. The next step, as always, will come down to whether that conviction can translate into the kind of postseason growth Cleveland has been seeking. [Read more 🡒]