The Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the entire NBA world with their play this past season. For a team usually hanging out near the bottom of the standings, the Cavs surpassed expectations and looked to be a real playoff threat before injuries derailed their efforts.
Now, with his team’s first-round loss still fresh in his mind, Darius Garland has come out with a new prediction for the Cavs. In an appearance on the Varsity House podcast, the young stud spoke candidly about his expectations for the 2022-23 season.
“I think we can get even better,” he said. “I think we can make it to the Eastern Conference Finals next year for sure. We’re coming back with a chip on our shoulder. … We’re a young team. Like you said, we battled through a lot of adversity this season. So, it was cool just being there, but we not satisfied. We all in. We all ready to rock and roll.”
With Collin Sexton, Kevin Love, Jarett Allen, and Evan Mobley, Cleveland has a solid core of young stars that can put them in a position to win for years to come.
The real key for the Cavs, though, is the development of Garland. From what we’ve seen of his game, he may be the most ready to take up the mantle as the face of the team and carry them into the next era.
According to Boston’s Grant Williams, he’s the hardest guy in the league to guard.
“For guys like myself, the hardest people to guard are like Darius Garland. Small, shifty point guards,” said Williams. “The longer, taller guys, and the physical guys I’m O.K. with. I do a good job on Darius and guys like that. But for me, it’s always been a small, small, small point guard that’s really shifty and quick.”
It remains to be seen how good the Cavs will be next season, but there are a lot of reasons to be excited if you’re a fan.
Even if the next season doesn’t pan out too well, they have enough talent to build towards the future, and that’s not something to be taken lightly in the NBA.
