Analyst Reveals One Burning 'Red Flag' for Cavaliers Before Playoffs

The Cleveland Cavaliers have one major question that they must answer in the NBA Playoffs.

Matthew Schmidt | Mar 9, 2025

Mar 5, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates after hitting a three point basket during the first half against the Miami Heat at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the best team in the NBA all season long, and they have not shown any signs of slowing down heading into the playoffs.

In fact, the Cavaliers are playing some of their best basketball of the year right now, as they have won 13 straight games to pull away from the Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland is great on both ends of the floor, it has starpower, it has depth and it obviously has a terrific, innovative head coach in Kenny Atkinson.

But is there one area in which the Cavs are lacking? Yes: experience.

This Cavaliers group has not made it past the second round of the playoffs, and Donovan Mitchell has not advanced to the conference finals at any point of his career.

Josh Cornelissen of King James Gospel makes note of that and wonders if Cleveland's overall lack of experience could be its undoing in the postseason.

"But there is no denying that postseason experience is an advantage, and the Cavaliers will need to overcome that weakness to reach their goal," Cornelissen wrote. "They certainly can, and it will only be a weakness for so long. But it will linger as analysts make their predictions, as Las Vegas sets championship odds, as the Cavs' players prepare for playoff games. The unanswered question: will that lack of experience doom them?"

The Cavaliers will almost certainly need to get past the Celtics to reach the NBA Finals, and Boston is the defending champion with loads of playoff scars.

Cleveland has gone 2-2 against the Celtics during the regular season, but there is no doubt that the playoffs are a different animal. We'll have to see if the Cavs can overcome their postseason demons.

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