The Cleveland Cavaliers entered this season with the weight of expectation-and for good reason. They were coming off a 64-win campaign, the best in the Eastern Conference, with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley earning All-NBA honors.
Mobley took home Defensive Player of the Year. Kenny Atkinson, in his first season on the sidelines in Cleveland, was named Coach of the Year.
The Cavs looked like a rising powerhouse, built on continuity, defensive toughness, and star talent.
Fast forward to the first quarter of the 2025-26 season, and things look very different.
The Cavaliers are now fighting to stay out of the Play-In Tournament. Injuries have ravaged the rotation, and the team’s effort-at least until recently-hasn’t matched the urgency of their situation.
It’s not just about who’s missing games; it’s also about who’s showing up and how. And when second-year wing Jaylon Tyson publicly called out his teammates, it wasn’t just noise-it was a spark.
The kind of accountability that can either fracture a locker room or galvanize it.
Tyson’s words may have been sharp, but they were also timely. The Cavs have looked flat, and the Eastern Conference isn’t waiting around for them to figure things out.
Still, not everyone is ready to count Cleveland out. On a recent episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe offered a more measured take. While he didn’t crown the Cavs as the team to beat, he did call them the “wild card” in the East, suggesting that once they get healthier, they could stabilize and climb back into contention.
“I think [they] will get healthy and normalize things a little bit,” Lowe said. “I just think the standings are going to be like this all season with some teams rising and some teams falling here and there. But I don't see this changing much in the regular season.”
He’s not wrong about the chaos across the conference. The Detroit Pistons came out of the gates hot, but questions remain about their staying power.
The Bucks and Pacers-both expected to be top-tier threats-have struggled to string wins together. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat are exceeding expectations, but their long-term sustainability is still up in the air.
Even the Atlanta Hawks, who made aggressive moves this offseason, are neck-and-neck with the Cavs in the standings.
It’s a crowded, unpredictable field. And that’s where Cleveland’s continuity could become a real asset.
This is the fourth season together for the core group, and that kind of chemistry can matter when everyone else is still trying to figure things out. If the Cavs can just get relatively healthy, they’re still one of the more cohesive units in the East.
But here’s the thing: none of it matters if they can’t get it done in the playoffs.
That’s the elephant in the room. Last postseason, the Cavaliers were bounced in five games by the Indiana Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton and company ran through Cleveland like a team on a mission, while the Cavs were once again dealing with key injuries-Darius Garland was out, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter each missed a game, and the offense sputtered without its All-Star point guard.
Garland’s injury hasn’t gone away. It’s still affecting him this year, and recent reports suggest he may not be fully healthy at any point this season.
That’s a serious concern, not just for this year’s playoff hopes, but for the long-term trajectory of the franchise. Garland is the offensive engine, the guy who makes the pieces fit.
Without him at full strength, the Cavs have dropped into the middle of the league in offensive efficiency.
So yes, Zach Lowe is probably right-the Cavs are still in the mix, and the East is volatile enough that a strong second half could vault them back into the top tier. But regular-season success isn’t the bar anymore.
Not for this team. Not after last year.
The question isn’t whether Cleveland can win 50 games. It’s whether they can win four playoff series. And until they prove they can stay healthy, stay focused, and rise to the moment in May and June, the regular season is just a long prelude to another round of what-ifs.
Jaylon Tyson may have lit the fire. Now it’s on the rest of the Cavaliers to keep it burning. Because if they don’t, we could be looking at another offseason full of regrets-and another reminder that talent alone doesn’t guarantee a deep playoff run.