Can the Cavs steal wins by taking the regular season more seriously than the rest of the East?

I think the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to win 53 games this season, which is well above the 47.5 odds they are currently set at.

But I think the 53 wins could be needed to put Cleveland in fourth or fifth in the Eastern Conference again, because I think each team in the top six of the conference will eclipse 50 wins.

And again, I've said this on recent podcasts, but I have to make that point.

known.

And the reason I think this is because I don't know if we've ever entered an NBA season where the middle of the Eastern Conference has been this crowded or this uncertain.

I'm not saying there are 11 championship contenders that's obviously not the case what i'm saying is i can look at cleveland detroit boston new york toronto atlanta philadelphia orlando miami indiana and even to a lesser extent the washington wizards and make a legitimate basketball argument for why every one of those teams should believe it can compete for one of the six guaranteed playoff spots that's 11 teams fighting for six chairs And somebody is obviously going to be standing when the music stops.

So that's what I think is going to make this Eastern Conference season so much fun.

The question is going to be which good teams are consistent enough to actually separate themselves.

And that's where I think Cleveland has a real opportunity.

Because when I look at the Cavaliers, I'm not asking myself whether they're more talented than every team in this Eastern Conference.

I'm asking myself whether they're capable of winning the games they should win, stealing enough games from the teams around them, and avoiding the kind of regular season slippage that can turn a 53-win team into a 47-win team.

Because the difference between being 6th and being 4th could come down to an handful of games.

this season.

And I promised I'd break down each team.

So let's get into it.

And I've discussed on this podcast over previous weeks with other beat reporters around the league, like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics.

So I implore you to go listen to those to get their perspectives.

But I wanted to make sure that I gave mine.

So let's quickly go through how I believe the standings could shake out, and then I'll go in-depth on each team itself.

And let's be clear, from the jump, all of this could change at the drop of a hat due to injuries or how teams go through the beginning portion of the season, but I'm looking into my crystal ball right now and making these predictions.