Cleveland Cavaliers Eye Health as Key to Unlocking Season’s Potential
If there’s one thing the Cleveland Cavaliers are hoping to find under the tree this holiday season, it’s not a blockbuster trade or a shakeup in the rotation - it’s health. Plain and simple.
Because for all the talk about slow starts, inconsistent play, and a lack of rhythm, the Cavs keep circling back to one thing: they haven’t been whole. And until they are, it’s hard to truly judge what this team is - or isn’t.
Darius Garland summed it up earlier this season when asked when it might be time to hit the panic button. His answer was telling: the concern sets in “really when everybody’s back in and we’re still going through the same stuff.” In other words, the Cavaliers know they’re not at full strength, and they’re holding off on drawing conclusions until that changes.
That doesn’t mean they’re letting themselves off the hook. Garland acknowledged that even with the injuries, they should still be finding ways to win.
And he’s right. The NBA doesn’t stop for anyone, and teams that want to contend have to find ways to adapt - even when the rotation is in flux.
Donovan Mitchell echoed that same balance of accountability and realism after a tough 119-111 overtime loss to the Hornets on December 14. *“Some of it, majority of it, is on us.
But some of it is injuries,”* Mitchell said. *“We are choosing, as we should, not to use the injuries as an excuse.”
That’s the tightrope Cleveland is walking right now. On one hand, they know they haven’t played up to their potential.
On the other, they also know they haven’t had their full arsenal available. And in a league where chemistry, continuity, and timing matter just as much as talent, that’s no small thing.
The good news? Reinforcements are on the way.
The Cavaliers are inching closer to being whole again, and that’s when the real evaluation begins. Once the roster is healthy, the excuses come off the table.
That’s when we’ll find out whether this team is just navigating a rough patch - the kind that even Finals contenders sometimes go through early in the season - or if the problems run deeper than availability.
If it’s the former, there’s still plenty of time for the Cavaliers to find their stride, climb the standings, and look like the team many expected them to be. If it’s the latter, well, the questions will start coming fast - and they won’t be easy to answer.
For now, Cleveland is hoping that health will bring clarity. Because once the full roster is back on the floor, the clock starts ticking. And if the results don’t follow, the noise around this team will only get louder.