For as talented as the Cleveland Cavaliers are from top to bottom, their roster isn’t exactly replete with guys who play with an edge. There arguably aren’t any enforcers on this team as currently constructed.
Former Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins hinted that the team simply might have too many “nice guys” to win a championship. He has a valid point, as Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman even admitted following their elimination in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs that there’s a “mental toughness piece” they need to overcome.
“In order to win a f—— championship, bro, you gotta come in and have that — you can’t be friendly,” Perkins said. “Here’s the thing. … It’s too many f—— nice guys on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nice guys don’t get you championships, period.”
For as much as Cavaliers fans would love for the team to prove that it’s a lot tougher mentally and physically than it was last season, they’ll have to wait to find that out definitively. Ultimately, Cleveland can only prove so much during the regular season, as the playoffs will be what really tests the team.
It’s hard to think of a better way the Cavaliers could show that they’re tough than by advancing past the second round of the playoffs. That round has served as a roadblock for Cleveland in recent years, as the team has been knocked out in the second round in each of the last two seasons.
Not only that, but no member of the “core four” has ever played in so much as a conference finals game up to this point. Getting to that round would send a clear message to the league that Cleveland has improved its mental and physical fortitude.
While Cavaliers fans aren’t likely to put too much stock in the 2025-26 regular season with how last season panned out, the team still got off to a less-than-stellar start to the campaign earlier this week. Cleveland lost its season opener to the New York Knicks on Wednesday and is still looking for its first win.
Fortunately, the Cavaliers have a very winnable game against the Brooklyn Nets looming on Friday. Brooklyn got blown out by the Charlotte Hornets to open its season and is far from the most talented team in the league.