NBA: Predicting the East playoff picture at the midway point of the 2017-18 season
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
Current Seed: 3rd
Record: 26-15
Games remaining vs .500 or better: 24
Cleveland has had serious issues with its defense this season, as the Cavs currently rank 27th in defensive rating. LeBron James is having arguably his best season of his career, amazingly, yet Cleveland looks old and looks the most vulnerable since making his return in 2014.
As long as the Cavs have James and he’s playing at this level, then they will be the favorites but it won’t be as easy as last season when Cleveland went 12-1 before the Finals.
Prediction: 3 seed