One quarter of the way through the 2025-26 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a deadlock with the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference in order to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
The Cavs ended last season with a 64-18 record. Through 22 games, Cleveland has amassed half of those losses already. After holding last year's most efficient offense across the Association, the Cavaliers have just th 10th-best offensive rating and 12th-highest net rating.
In year four of the Core Four era, the Cavaliers are experiencing the worst stretch yet. Cleveland cannot generate a consistent, high-octane offense. [Evan Mobley's growth has stagnated](https://kingjamesgospel.com/cleveland-cavaliers-finally-making-evan-mobley-realization-everybody-knew). Worst of all, the Cavs' All-Star point guard is facing another grueling season of horrible injury luck.
After undergoing surgery for a toe injury that ended Darius Garland's postseason availability only a few months ago, he has not yet returned to full health and is constantly re-aggravating his toe pain. For a shifty ballhandling guard like Garland, having an unending pain shoot through your toe has made him noticeably less productive.
Unfortunately, though originally his recovery seemed to progress well, new reports deal a death blow to Garland's season and the Cavs' future.
> Cavs broadcast today basically said the Darius toe stuff will be an all-year management thing. That’s just such a huge blow to know he won’t be operating at full capacity and that will definitely limit their offensive ceiling.
>
> — Anthony Lima (@SportsBoyTony) [December 1, 2025](https://twitter.com/SportsBoyTony/status/1995321453768495422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Cleveland sports radio broadcaster Anthony Lima shared a brutal injury update offered on the Cavs game broadcast against the Boston Celtics. Garland's toe injury is not going anyway anytime soon, and the team will have to manage his health all season. Essentially, one of the most important members of the organization will be questionable at best in terms of health for an indefinite period.
Garland's injury is the final nail in the core four's coffin
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Entering this season, the Cavaliers braced for the new luxury tax's second apron. The Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns both spent the summer dropping salary enough to ditch the dreaded new tax tier. Cleveland doubled down on the current core once again, becoming the highest salary sheet in the NBA with total cap allocations of $229.8 million this season.
With such an inflated cap sheet, the Cavs effectively accelerated the expiration date for the core four. For as long as the Cavs are in the second apron, they are unable to trade multiple players at once, take back extra salary in trades and will eventually have frozen draft picks for being a repeat offender.
The Cavaliers did not just invest in this season. They guaranteed the core four will have to come to an end sooner rather than later.
Going all in after both Mitchell and Mobley were named to the All-NBA roster seemed like a no-brainer. Garland's toe would heal, and Cleveland would have another chance at a deep postseason run. Now, everything is upside down, and the Cavaliers look ready to implode.
Three Cavaliers are on maximum contracts. Next season, Jarrett Allen's $20 million salary will become $28 million after signing an extension two offseasons ago. With just the core four alone, the Cavs are nearly a second-apron team again next year. Needless to say, if this season is another embarrassing defeat, the core is far too expensive to justify keeping it together.
Injuries have continually derailed the Cavaliers every season. Garland has unfortunately faced the brunt of the injury plague. This newest update may kill the season to no fault of his own, but a poor season this year may be the death of the era.
While the current outlook is drab, the Cleveland Cavaliers still have three-fourths of the season to go. Finding a way to utilize Garland without needing constant quick cuts and instant speed changes may save the Cavs from embarrassment. Otherwise, another flood of trade rumors may engulf the Cavs about every single player. This time, though, it may be harder not to see some of those rumors fulfilled.