CLEVELAND, Ohio — In a season that began with championship aspirations, the Cavs find themselves facing a harsh truth that basketball insiders can see clearly.
This sobering assessment came during a candid conversation on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, where The Athletic’s Joel Lorenzi delivered a verdict that might sting Cavs Nation: “As it’s currently constructed? No. The Cavs are not a contender to me.”
Lorenzi, who previously covered the Oklahoma City Thunder’s meteoric rise, has an intimate understanding of what true championship DNA looks like. His evaluation places Cleveland not just behind Western Conference powerhouses but struggling to keep pace with their Eastern Conference rivals as well.
“I don’t think this Cavs team as constructed would beat Denver in a playoff series. I don’t think they beat Houston in a playoff series,” Lorenzi explained, adding that “New York is definitively better than them. ... Detroit’s better than them right now.”
Perhaps most alarming for Cavs fans is how the perception of their team’s ceiling has shifted so dramatically.
Prior to the season, Cleveland was widely viewed as a potential Eastern Conference finalist. Now, just months later, they’re being mentioned in the same breath as teams once considered far behind them in the NBA pecking order.
“Cade Cunningham could probably rise to the level of Donovan Mitchell in the playoff series. Like, that’s not crazy to say,” Lorenzi asserted.
Cleveland.com columnist Jimmy Watkins acknowledged this painful reality: “I’m not sure they could win the East anymore. The conference finals question? I would like to see Detroit prove a little bit more in the playoffs. But that’s totally fair ... it’s actually objectively true by any metric that the Detroit Pistons are better than them right now.”
What’s particularly concerning is that this assessment doesn’t even factor in the Western Conference juggernaut that is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The conversation makes clear that the Cavs aren’t just trailing a single exceptional team – they’ve fallen behind multiple squads across both conferences.
The gap between Cleveland and true contenders isn’t just about talent – it’s about identity and consistency. While elite teams like the Thunder maintain their system even when key players are injured, the Cavaliers struggle to maintain cohesion through similar adversity.
For Cavs fans, this represents a significant recalibration of expectations.
The championship aspirations that seemed realistic in October now feel distant by December. And with conference rivals like New York, Detroit, and others showing consistent improvement, the path forward isn’t getting any clearer.
The question now isn’t whether Cleveland can win a championship – it’s whether they can find an identity that maximizes their current roster before more dramatic changes become necessary.
As Watkins bluntly put it, “The bar has been raised. So if you’re really being serious about trying to win a championship and not just trying to sell progress, incremental progress ... then you’re going to have to make some hard decisions around here.”
Those hard decisions loom large as the Cavaliers face the reality that they aren’t as close to contention as they once believed.
Here’s the podcast for this week: