There are four NBA contenders that may have set themselves up for failure heading into the 2023-24 season.
In three weeks, NBA Training Camps are set to open across the league. It officially marks the start of the 2023-24 season with pre-season beginning soon after and the regular season tipping off not far after that. With plenty of intrigue and hope for many teams across the league heading into the new season, there should also be some concerns for several championship contenders.
While there are certainly some contenders looking to take another step toward winning a championship this season, there are others that may find themselves in over their heads due to some questionable offseason moves.
As we inch closer and closer to the start of the new campaign, we explore four contenders who may have unintentionally set themselves up for epic failure.
Four NBA contenders will have their hands full this season
Cleveland Cavaliers
Naturally, there are many who will be expecting the Cleveland Cavaliers to take another step forward this season. After a season of acclimating Donovan Mitchell, the pressure will be on the Cavs to turn it on this season. Cleveland will have to at least make it to the conference semifinals this season and looking at the landscape of the rest of the East, that’s far from a foregone conclusion.
The biggest concern that I have with the Cavs heading into the new season is that they based their entire offseason on finding the right wing player that could act as a “final piece” for the Cavs. For as good of a player as Max Strus is, he’s not going to be that.
Strus will be a solid contributor but he’s not going to help the Cavs get over the hump in the East. I’m concerned that the Cavs are going to lose in the first round for a second straight and they’re going to be viewed as a huge failure.