The Cleveland Cavaliers have spent the Donovan Mitchell era trying to build a roster that can survive anything a playoff series throws at it. This offseason, they took another swing at that goal by trading for Peyton Watson, a move that was meant to solve a lingering wing problem. On paper, the result is a team with answers almost everywhere.
That’s exactly why the bigger issue stands out so sharply.
The Cavs now have the kind of depth and flexibility that can make life miserable for opponents. Watson gives them a wing who can handle bigger forwards and rotate as a strong weak-side helper.
Mario Hezonja adds length, range and another defensive option. Evan Mobley can slide to the five against quicker teams.
Jarrett Allen gives them the size to bang with the league’s biggest contenders, and Sam Merrill can chase guards, pressure them for 94 feet and supply the shooting Cleveland needs after losing Max Strus.
So this isn’t a team short on bodies. It isn’t even a team short on options.
It’s a team that still has to prove its best players can carry it when the games tighten.
That’s where the Cavs’ real problem lives, and it’s the flaw that could wreck their 2027 championship hopes. Their offense runs through Mitchell and Harden, and when the postseason gets ugly, Cleveland needs those two to deliver night after night. The comparison that hangs over this group is clear: the Cavs need Mitchell and Harden to give them the kind of steady takeover basketball Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks on their title run last season.
Mitchell, though, is still the central question.
The Cavs guard has produced plenty of big numbers, but there’s a pattern that keeps showing up when the pressure spikes. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, he missed all three of his shot attempts and committed one turnover in the final 7:49 of regulation as Cleveland watched a 22-point lead slip away. For a team trying to close out elite opponents, that kind of stretch is the difference between moving on and unraveling.
There’s also the issue of how Mitchell balances control and aggression. He has shown a tendency toward hero ball in the past, but in that Game 1 moment he seemed to lean too far the other way, deferring to Harden instead of taking charge and settling the team down. The Cavs need him to find the middle ground: involved enough to keep teammates engaged, forceful enough to finish the job when the moment demands it.
That task gets harder with Harden a year older. At 37, he’s no longer the same engine he once was.
Through five games this season, he’s averaging 17.4 points and 6.2 assists per game, both his lowest marks since his Oklahoma City days, while shooting a career-worst 36.2% from the field. The playmaking remains.
The shot creation remains. But the Cavs can’t pretend he’s the player who should be asked to carry the whole thing.
Mobley is part of the equation too, but maybe not in the way Cleveland would like. He’s already an All-Star-caliber presence and one of the best defensive pieces in the league.
The question is whether the offensive leap people keep waiting for is actually coming. If it doesn’t, then the burden falls even harder on Mitchell to be the one who drags the team over the top.
That leaves Cleveland with a straightforward blueprint, at least in theory. Mitchell has to lead more forcefully.
Harden has to settle into more of an opportunistic scorer and creator. Mobley has to become a steadier, more assertive option in the paint and punish mismatches.
If all of that clicks for two months starting in April, the Cavs can make a real run.
If it doesn’t, the ending is likely to look familiar.
In Other News...
Ty Jerome Just Gave Cavaliers Fans A Needed Breather
Ty Jeromes first rough night in Memphis offered Cavaliers fans a small dose of comfort after months of wondering what Cleveland gave up when he walked. Since leaving for the Grizzlies, Jerome has been one of the names fans have circled whenever his new team looks like it may have gotten the better end of the deal, so a quieter performance against Portland was bound to draw some attention back in Northeast Ohio.
He still helped Memphis come away with a win, which keeps the larger conversation from going away entirely, but the game did interrupt the easy momentum around his start with the Grizzlies. For Cavaliers fans, it was at least a reminder that the regret over letting Jerome leave does not have to grow every time he takes the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Keep Collapsing And Kenny Atkinson Has A Growing Problem
The Cavaliers uneven start has already given Kenny Atkinson plenty to sort through, and the latest setback only sharpened the concern. After the loss to Atlanta, Atkinson acknowledged that Cleveland has not been able to put together consistent stretches on either end, with the team repeatedly letting leads slip away early in the season.
What stands out most is how familiar the issues have become. Atkinson pointed to the same basic breakdowns that have haunted the Cavaliers in multiple games, especially around the defensive glass and the kind of lapses that turn a comfortable position into a scramble. With tougher matchups ahead, Cleveland is running out of time to turn those warning signs into clean, complete wins. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Collapse Should Put Kenny Atkinson Under Fresh Scrutiny
The Cavaliers had built a 15-point cushion after the first quarter, only to watch Atlanta chip away and eventually take control in a game that exposed some familiar late-game frustrations. Cleveland still got scoring from James Harden, who led the way with 24 points, and Donovan Mitchell added 22, but the offensive production was not enough to cover for the way the game unraveled after the opening period.
What stood out most was the second-half defensive drop-off, along with the coaching choices that came under the microscope as the Hawks kept pressing. The loss leaves Kenny Atkinson facing a fresh round of scrutiny, especially with the Cavaliers unable to protect a strong start or steady things when the game tightened late. [Read more 🡒]