The Cleveland Cavaliers may need to reevaluate their roster if they don't make it out of the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
Dominating their way through the regular season and then the first round of the NBA Playoffs, it finally appeared as if everything was clicking for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite the defending champion Boston Celtics still very much a very strong threat, the Cavs' dominance was too much to ignore. This was the year for the Cavs to make that next jump in the Donovan Mitchell era.
All of that is now in serious jeopardy as the Cavs find themselves in a 2-0 series deficit at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. To make matters worse, Cleveland finds itself in such a situation as the series shifts to Indiana, and with the health of both Darius Garland and Evan Mobley very much in question. Garland has missed the first two games of this series with a toe injury, and Mobley missed Game 2 with an ankle injury. De'Andre Hunter also missed Game 2 for the Cavs with a thumb injury.
The season feels like it's slipping away from the Cavs, and if it does, this is a team that will have to look at itself in the mirror and make some real evaluations about its future.
Are the Cleveland Cavaliers good enough to win it all?
If this is how the Cavs' season ends, it would be quite disappointing. Sure, injuries would be easy to blame, but Cleveland would have to enter the offseason with some big-picture questions about whether or not this team is good enough to win a championship. In theory, you'd have to believe so. However, losing in the second round for a second-straight season after the success they had in the regular season is not a great look.
It's the same questions that the Oklahoma City Thunder will be facing this summer if they end up losing in the second round of the playoffs. And they also currently find themselves in an early-series hole.
I'm not advocating for the Cavs to blow up their roster this summer if they end up losing to the Pacers, who are playing some really strong basketball in their own right. However, the Cavs may have to rethink some of their philosophies if they aren't able to take a tangible step forward in the playoffs after winning 60 games in the regular season.