Where do the Cleveland Cavaliers rank in the Eastern Conference?
Looking at the Eastern Conference objectively, it’s difficult to pinpoint where the Cavs fit. Especially if trying to rank them without having played together. Are they as good as the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks on paper? That’s tough to say.
At least for now, you have to give the Celtics and Bucks the benefit of the doubt. If nothing else because they will be the deeper team compared to Cleveland. And while the Cavs will be explosive offensively, I’m still not sure if any of their players are better than Joel Embiid or James Harden individually.
After that, though, I think it’s fair to lump Cleveland in. The Cavs, at least on paper, might be better than the Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls – which is pretty much the next tier in the East.
The Brooklyn Nets are the real wildcard as we don’t know what to expect from them after the dysfunctional summer that they just had. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Cavs were ranked 4th or 5th in preseason rankings. I think that’s pretty fair and reasonable. And, with as much talent as the team has on its roster, they will only be able to move up from there.