The Cleveland Cavaliers are officially playoff-bound.
However, they’re far from satisfied.
When asked about this accomplishment, Donovan Mitchell downplayed it because he knows this team is capable of much more (via NBA):
“Just another step on our journey,” he said.
"Just another step on our journey."
Donovan Mitchell talks clinching a place in the #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google, and what the next goal is for the Cavs 👀🏆 pic.twitter.com/3XpaBmNYdt
— NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2025
The Cavaliers entered the season with high aspirations, but there were many reasons to be skeptical.
They had flamed out in the playoffs multiple times, and they didn’t look good against more physical teams.
Also, they didn’t make any big moves in the offseason, and even if Kenny Atkinson was considered a great hire, he hadn’t been the main guy in charge of a team in quite a while.
That’s why not even the most optimistic Cavs fan saw this coming.
This team has had the best record in the entire league for most of the season, and those who have been paying attention shouldn’t be surprised by this.
But now the plan has changed.
This team wanted to make a playoff run and improve from the J.B. Bickerstaff era.
Now, they should be striving to win 16 playoff games.
It’s crazy to think that some pundits and analysts still don’t consider this team to be a championship contender, and they’re still expecting them to fall short of their goal in the postseason.
That’s despite watching them go 42 games over .500.
This team might not even lose 20 games all year long, and now that they’ve secured a postseason berth, they can afford to rest their starters every now and then.
They’ve been one of the best teams in recent times, but they’re just getting started.
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