For the most part, the Cleveland Cavaliers have looked like a legitimate NBA championship contender through the first two months of the 2022-23 season. But like all other 29 teams, there’s definitely room for improvement.
The Cavaliers have been one of the few consistent teams in an unpredictable 2022-23 NBA season. In the Eastern Conference, only the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Cavs have been well above .500 through the majority of the season.
If the playoffs started today, the Cavs certainly wouldn’t be favored to beat the Celtics or Bucks in a best-of-seven. And many might even pick against the Cavs if they played a talented albeit underachieving team like the Brooklyn Nets or Philadelphia 76ers.
But the Cavaliers unquestionably look like a team that’s capable of winning the East this season. GM Koby Altman hit a home run in trading for Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who has been a near-perfect fit alongside young stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
The Buckeye State is scheduled to launch legalized sports betting on Jan. 1, 2023, and the available sportsbooks will be offering all sorts of special promos to new customers. This includes the Caesars Ohio promo code where if you deposit $20, the sportsbook will give you $100 in free bets plus free entry into a Cavaliers’ ticket draw.
With the year 2022 winding down, let’s dive into some game picks for Cleveland’s final six contests of December, as well as predictions on where they’ll finish in the final standings.
Cavs Go On 3-1 Run To Finish Six-Game Homestand
The Cavaliers will welcome Mitchell’s old team, the Jazz, at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Dec. 19. Utah was widely expected to contend for the first overall pick in 2023 after trading away Mitchell and Rudy Gobert (sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves), but they’ve found a way to hang around in the tight Western Conference playoff race.
Two days later, Cleveland will welcome the powerhouse Bucks before hosting the homestand with a Dec. 23 showdown against the Toronto Raptors, who find themselves in a December slump. The six-game homestand will conclude with a meeting with the Brooklyn Nets on Boxing Day.
Cleveland has superior star power and roster depth to get past both the Jazz and the Raptors. But the showdown with Milwaukee is a tough one for the Cavaliers, who dropped the first two 2022-23 meetings by double-digits.
Cleveland will defeat the Jazz and Raptors by at least 10 points in each contest, but the Bucks will hand them a close loss in between the victories.
The Cavs will then meet a Brooklyn team that has greatly improved under head coach Jacque Vaughn, who replaced Steve Nash following an ugly 2-5 start. The Dec. 26 showdown will mark the first of three meetings between the two clubs.
This should be a thrilling back-and-forth game between Cleveland’s “big three” and the Nets’ All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. But home advantage, coupled with Mitchell’s strong play, will push Cleveland to a thrilling victory that comes down to the wire.
Cavs Win In Indiana, See Winning Skid End In Chicago
The Cavaliers will conclude the year 2022 with a mini two-game road trip with meetings against the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31, respectively.
Indiana has been one of the top surprise teams, but their usually stingy defense has been a weakness this season. That’s something the Cavs’ All-Star trio should be able to exploit, and when you throw in their superior bench, it should add up to another win by double-digit points.
Cleveland will try to finish 2022 on a high note when they visit DeMar DeRozan and the Bulls, who’ve been much better at home compared to on the road.
This feels like a trap game for a Cleveland team that has quite the history of struggling against the stingy and resilient Bulls. The win streak will end with a close loss in a game dominated by both defenses.
2022-23 Final Record Prediction: Cavs Finish 52-30, Earn No. 3 Seed
The Cavaliers have done their job in taking advantage of a surprisingly deep group of underachieving teams in the Eastern Conference. We knew this team had a lot of exciting young talent, but the arrival of Mitchell has simply turned Cleveland into a bonafide contender.
At this rate, the Cavs should easily lock up a top-four seed which would guarantee home advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. The prediction here is that they finish 52-30 to finish as the No. 3 seed in the East.