Cleveland Cavaliers 2022 NBA Postseason Outlook & Bets

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised many this season, as they’re headed to the play-in tournament after many pundits had them competing for the first overall pick heading into the season.

A lot of the credit has to go to Darius Garland, who appears to be well on his way to superstardom in this league. Garland finished his third NBA season with averages of 21.7 points on 46.2 percent shooting to go along with 8.6 assists per game.

Jarrett Allen also broke out this season, as he earned his first All-Star Game appearance of his career with averages of 16.1 points on 67.7 percent shooting, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game.

Rookie of the Year favorite Evan Mobley also emerged as one of the Cavs’ primary weapons in just his rookie season, finishing with averages of 15.0 points on 50.8 percent shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game.

Getting any type of postseason exposure will do the Cavs’ young core wonders this early in their careers, as they hope to carry this momentum and build something special towards the future.

Outlook For Play-in Game

The Cavs will be facing off against the Brooklyn Nets in hopes of landing the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, but they’ll have to get the job done on the road.

In Brooklyn, this task will be far from easy for this young Cavs team, as they’ll have to go up against Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Cleveland had significant trouble guarding Durant just this last Friday, as Durant torched them for 36 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Irving struggled a little bit with his shot, but you can’t always expect that to be the case, especially when you consider some of the efficient scoring performances he’s put up in his career, which Cavs fans should be all too familiar with.

The Nets are favored -8 for this game, and while they’re widely expected to win, the Nets do tend to play down to their opponent at times, so the Cavs stand a good chance of at least covering the spread.

Assuming the Cavs end up losing to the Nets, they’ll face off against the winner of the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets play-in game. 

The Hawks finished the season 7-3 in their last 10 games, and the Hornets finished 6-4 in their last 10 games, so the Cavs will be facing a team that has significantly better momentum than them.

With that being said, the Cavs may not have what it takes to get to the playoffs this year, especially if Jarrett Allen isn’t healthy.

Allen’s presence inside on both ends of the floor has been sorely missed, and while other players have stepped in nicely and have produced good numbers, it hasn’t led to the same impact as “The Fro.”

If the Cavs don’t get to the playoffs this season, there are still a lot of positives they can take away from this season and build towards the future.

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