Despite putting together a 2024-25 regular season in which they won 64 games and secured the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, the Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t able to exercise their postseason demons in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Granted, some of the Cavaliers’ best players (like Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) were hobbled at times during the team’s playoff stint, but for Cleveland to not even reach the Eastern Conference Finals was a major disappointment.
The Cavaliers got eliminated by the Indiana Pacers — who will play for an NBA title on Sunday — in five games in the second round of the playoffs and lost every one of their three home games in that series.
Despite the manner in which the Cavaliers’ season ended, fans of the team should be mindful of the fact that next season could be the squad’s best chance to win a title with this core when factoring in all the question marks surrounding some of the top contenders in the East.
Boston Celtics
Concerns specifically related to next season:
Jayson Tatum injury
Roster uncertainty this offseason
The Celtics always seem to remain competitive no matter who’s on their team, as they hold the longest active streak of playoff appearances in the league at 11 years. But there are major and warranted concerns about whether Boston will be able to contend for a title next season with what happened to arguably its best player.
Late in Game 4 of the Celtics’ loss to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs, star forward Jayson Tatum suffered an Achilles rupture. The Celtics have yet to reveal a timetable for Tatum’s return, but it seems likely at this point he will miss at least the majority of next season.
Not only that, but major changes could be in store for the Celtics this summer. Ownership might not be all that keen on paying deep into the luxury team for a team that lost in the second round of the playoffs, and players like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis have seen their names in trade rumors.
Assuming Tatum misses as much time as expected and the Celtics dump a major contract in a trade, Boston might not have the talent necessary to be near the top of the NBA again next season.
New York Knicks
Concerns specifically related to next season:
Coaching uncertainty
The Knicks are on the heels of their most successful season in over two decades, as they reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. However, New York made a huge change after it got booted out of the playoffs that might lead to the Knicks taking a step back next season.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau helped the Knicks become a relevant franchise again and led the team to four playoff appearances in five seasons, yet he was let go, and New York is still searching for his successor.
At this stage, it seems like the Knicks will be hard-pressed to find a replacement with Thibodeau’s level of expertise and experience. The Knicks already requested to speak to a handful people who are currently employed as head coaches in the league. All of those requests were denied by the coaches’ teams.
Additionally, for as great as Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns are as a duo on offense, it’s debatable whether a team can get over the hump and win a title with such a duo because of their defensive flaws.
Milwaukee Bucks
Concerns specifically related to next season:
Damian Lillard injury
Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors
There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the futures of the Bucks’ two best players: big man Giannis Antetokounmpo and guard Damian Lillard. Starting with Lillard, like Tatum, he went down with an Achilles injury in the 2025 NBA Playoffs and is expected to miss an extended period of time, though he also isn’t guaranteed to be sidelined all of next season.
But Lillard doesn’t have youth on his side like Tatum does, as he’s 34 years old and might never get back to playing at the level he was prior to the injury. He will be on the other side of 35 at a minimum by the time he suits up again, and there’s a good chance he will lose some burst to his step upon returning.
Then, there’s the quagmire the Bucks are in with Antetokounmpo. There has been chatter about the possibility of the two-time MVP moving on from Milwaukee, which would require him to ask for a trade. Fortunately for the Bucks, a lot of that noise has quieted lately.
But what’s unavoidable is that Milwaukee has consistently underperformed in the playoffs in recent years, as ever since the Bucks captured the NBA title in 2021, the team has won just one playoff series and has been booted in the first round of the playoffs in three consecutive years.
Indiana Pacers
Concerns specifically related to next season:
No more catching teams by surprise
Having to potentially face challenge of repeating as champions
The Pacers are the only team on this list still going strong in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, and they can win their first NBA title in franchise history with a victory in Sunday’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
However, regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s contest, it’s likely that the Pacers aren’t going to be able to catch teams by surprise moving forward. The Pacers have been plucky underdogs for much of this year’s and last year’s playoffs, but they’re likely to lose that status next season with the Finals run they have made.
Additionally, if the Pacers do pull off a win in Game 7 and capture the title, they will be presented with the challenge of repeating as champions, a feat that rarely happens in the modern NBA. The last team to win consecutive championships was the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, and they employed a superteam at the time.
The Celtics were the defending champions this season, and their pursuit of a title ended in the second round.