NBA Power Rankings: Lakers desperate for bold trade deadline move; Streaking Suns

10. Cleveland Cavaliers

Entering the season, the belief was that the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to be a team that was going to take the next step as a franchise and emerge as one of the third-best teams in the Eastern Conference. That expectation revolved around the Philadelphia 76ers likely taking a step back without James Harden and the trio of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley hitting their stride as a collection in Cleveland.

But after getting off to a rocky start, that idea was very much in jeopardy. Interestingly enough, the Cavs have found their footing as one of the hottest teams in the league since December 16. The unfortunate part of it all is that the Cavs have started to find some rhythm with Garland and Mobley nursing injuries.

The hope is that once this team is completely healthy they can continue to make it move up the Eastern Conference standings. Right now, they currently sit as a top-five team in the East. They’re only three games out of the top three seed and four games out of the second seed. It goes without saying but the second half of the season could be incredibly important to the future of the Cavs.