The Cavaliers have the look of a team trying to turn last season’s run into something bigger, but the path forward comes with one obvious concern: the bench.
Cleveland returns most of the same core after getting to the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, and there’s a clear sense around the group that the job wasn’t finished. The Cavaliers were swept out of the conference finals, missing a chance to get to the NBA Finals. Now they head into 2026-27 with the same main pieces and a belief that the outcome can be different.
At the center of that optimism is the group of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. That core gives Cleveland plenty of firepower, and the team has already seen plenty of success with those players together. With another year of Harden building chemistry, the Cavaliers think they’re in a better place entering this season.
Still, the roster isn’t without pressure points. The biggest one is the second unit, which looks thin, especially toward the back end. Cleveland is counting on internal growth from a few players, and that’s rarely the safest route for a team with championship expectations.
Two names stand out in that conversation: Jaylon Tyson and Tyrese Proctor.
Tyson’s showing last season gave Cleveland something to work with. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.2 rebounds per game, while knocking down 44.6 percent of his three-pointers. That kind of production and range is useful, but the Cavaliers need more of it - maybe even a step forward - if they want their stars to carry less of the load.
Proctor’s role matters just as much. He’s expected to back up Harden at point guard, and that spot has to be steady.
Last season, Proctor put up 5.4 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 35.1 percent from deep. This year, he should see more minutes, and Cleveland needs him to handle that jump.
Both players are going to get close attention as the season starts. For the Cavaliers, the real question isn’t just whether the top of the roster is good enough - it’s whether Tyson and Proctor can become dependable pieces behind it. If they do, Cleveland’s title hopes get a lot easier to believe in.
In Other News...
Cavaliers Already Have A Playoff Problem Brewing In The East
The first two nights of the NBA season already offered a reminder that the East may not get any easier for Cleveland. Philadelphia opened with a win over New York behind its new-look roster, Toronto handled Chicago, and Detroit rallied past Boston, all while offseason shakeups have reshaped the conference picture. For the Cavaliers, that means the early scoreboard watching carries real weight, because the teams trending up around them are the same ones that will shape the playoff race later on.
Clevelands path gets difficult fast with several of those threats looming on the schedule, and the mix of fresh star power in Philadelphia, Toronto and Miami has only sharpened the pressure. The Cavs know how tight the margins can be in the East, and the way those clubs have changed this summer suggests the race for seeding could become a problem well before spring. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Watsons Cavaliers Debut Raised An Early Concern Cleveland Cant Ignore
Peyton Watsons first game in a Cavaliers uniform came with plenty of attention, given the size of Clevelands investment and the expectation that he would fit right into a rotation built to win now. Instead, his debut against the Philadelphia 76ers left an early question hanging over what the Cavaliers are getting back from a multi-team sign-and-trade that brought him to town.
Watson put up eight points along with a few defensive flashes, but the sloppiness was impossible to miss in a loss that saw Cleveland squander a 29-point lead. His minus-19 was the worst on the team, and the turnover count stood out in a game the Cavaliers had every reason to control, which makes the debut feel less like a one-off and more like the first test of how quickly he can settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Ty Jerome Just Gave Cavaliers Fans A Painful Reminder
Ty Jeromes early-season form in Memphis has offered a sharp little reminder of what the Cavaliers let walk out the door. After his season in Cleveland was cut short after 15 games, he has picked up right where he left off, giving the Grizzlies another productive guard and showing the kind of scoring punch and shot-making that can change a second unit in a hurry.
For Cleveland, the sting is less about one big night than the broader comparison to last seasons backup point guard situation, when Lonzo Ball struggled to provide much consistency. Jeromes success makes the decision to move on feel a little harder in hindsight, even if the Cavs had their reasons for not bringing him back, and it leaves plenty of room to wonder how different the guard rotation might look if he were still in the mix. [Read more 🡒]