CLEVELAND, Ohio – We are entering a new era in the NBA. It’s the Era of the torn Achilles and the Era of the “Second Apron.”
Can this also be an era when the Cavs will thrive?
Some of those who set gambling odds believe the Cavs are the favorites to win the Eastern Conference. Others give the Knicks a slight edge over the Cavs.
Either way, it’s the Cavs or the Knicks who are supposed to be representing the East in the 2026 NBA Finals.
How can this be?
Indiana wiped out the Cavs in five games and knocked off the Knicks in six before losing to OKC in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
What happened to Indiana?
Star guard Tyrese Haliburton blew his Achilles tendon in the Game 7 loss to OKC. Favorites no more.
Boston lost superstar Jayson Tatum in their second round loss to New York. You know why … a torn Achilles tendon.
To finish the trifecta, Milwaukee star Damian Lillard shredded his Achilles in a first round loss to Indiana.
Celtics Knicks Basketball
Boston's Jayson Tatum also suffered an Achilles injury.AP
What is recovery time?
For most NBA players, the Achilles surgery requires 8-to-12 months of recovery time.
I had major Achilles surgery in 1993. That operation also required repairing two other tendons in the same area of the foot. I obviously was not an NBA caliber athlete. I was 37 at the time of the injury and surgery. But it took nearly a year to feel close to “normal.”
Even for young men in their athletic prime, it’s a nasty injury and tough surgery.
Kevin Durant missed nearly 18 months after his Achilles surgery. Klay Thompson was out 14 months, but he first had an ACL injury. As he was rehabbing from the knee surgery, he tore the Achilles.
In 1993, Dominique Wilkins came back after nine months. Wesley Matthews came back in eight months.
All of these injuries can have different recovery times.
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Kevin Durant needed 18 months to come back from his Achilles injury.AP
Why the Cavs?
Compared to the Achilles injuries, Darius Garland’s toe operation seems less serious. The Cavs said the recovery time is 4-to-5 months. But I’m a bit cautious on this because it’s never been announced what type of surgery was performed on Garland’s big toe.
As most Cavs fans know, Garland has had trouble staying healthy. I also doubt the Cavs would have defeated Indiana even with a healthy Garland. The Pacers peaked at the right time. They were 34-14 after January 1, 2025, in the regular season. They were 12-4 in the first three rounds of the playoffs, disposing of Milwaukee, Cleveland and New York.
But that was the Pacers with Haliburton. Perhaps Haliburton will be back in time for the playoffs, but not close to 100% after the surgery. I have so much respect for Indiana, I’d still consider them the favorite in the East if Haliburton can at least approach his All-Star level in the postseason.
That said, the Cavs won 64 games. They swept Miami in the first round. They are a team with their Core Four players (Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Garland) between the ages of 24-to-28.
A second year with Coach Kenny Atkinson and the key players approaching or in their prime years is a reason to be upbeat. It’s probably why the odds makers like them.
Kenny Atkinson and Cavs have playoff gap to fix: Crowquill
Illustration by Ted Crow for Crowquill. For all the Cavs progress this season, they still have a way to go to be suucacessful in the playoffs.Ted Crow
Welcome to the apron
Then there’s Boston, which made a deal that tells you about the impact of the plague of the Achilles and the “second apron.”
Boston traded veteran guard Jrue Holiday to Portland for guard Anfernee Simons and a pair of second-round picks. If you expect to contend for a title, you never make that trade.
Or at least you didn’t do it back in the old days when people thought an apron was only worn in the kitchen.
Holiday is a tough-minded guard who can defend anyone in the backcourt and is known for making clutch shots. But he’s 35. He has three more years and $104 million left on his contract. At the age of 38, he’ll be paid $37 million.
Then Boston traded center Kristaps Porzingas to Atlanta as part of a three-way deal that also included Brooklyn. The Celtics ended up with former Cavalier Georges Niang. They also now are free of the “second apron.”
With Tatum recovering from Achilles surgery, Boston doesn’t want to be in the dreaded “second apron.” It’s not just because of incredibly high luxury taxes imposed on the team.
A “second apron team” has major restrictions on what type of trades and free agents that can be signed. It is a severe problem when trying to add talent.
The 26-year-old Simons is in the last year of his $27 million contract. Boston gets him for $4 million less and then can let him walk as a free agent. Meanwhile, Portland can deal with Holiday’s rich long-term deal.
The Cavs also are tugging at the “Second Apron.” They don’t have a first-round pick this season. That belongs to Utah in the Mitchell deal of 2022. The Cavs have selections 49 and 58 in this week’s NBA draft. Those are unlikely to bring a player prepared to make an immediate impact in Cleveland.
That said, the Cavs’ roster is younger than Boston’s. It’s hard to picture a near future when any of the top teams in the East greatly improve their rosters – while others are likely to regress.
Can the 2025-26 season be the time of the Cavs, much like 2024-25 belonged to Indiana in the East? It’s possible, especially if the Cavs can find a way to make a few “lesser moves” to add another solid small forward/shooting guard veteran.