Why History May Not be on the Cavaliers' Side This Season

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been dominant this NBA season, but history may be on their side when it comes to a potential championship run.

Matthew Schmidt | Mar 12, 2025

Mar 5, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) is introduced before the game between the Cavaliers and the Miami Heat at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

In this story:

Cleveland Cavaliers

It doesn't look like there is anything that can stop the Cleveland Cavaliers right now. They have won 15 games in a row, are cruising to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and could finish with the best record in basketball this season.

So, are the Cavaliers really primed for a championship run?

Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes isn't so sure, noting that Cleveland's lack of playoff experience may ultimately doom it in the end this season.

"Cleveland should be mildly concerned that there's some truth to most cliches," Hughes wrote. "It really does tend to take a deep but ultimately unsuccessful playoff run before a team breaks through to win a title, and this Cavs core hasn't made it past the second round yet."

Hughes does add the caveat that the Golden State Warriors were able to do it in 2015, as they were knocked out of the second round of the playoffs the year prior before steamrolling their way to an NBA title the following season.

"The Cavs are having a truly dominant regular season, they’re elite on offense and merely excellent on D, and they appear to have everything a no-questions-asked contender needs—unless their lack of experience proves the cliches right," added Hughes.

It is true, though: you typically do need an extended playoff run that ends in heartache before finally reaching the mountaintop. Heck, just ask the Boston Celtics, who lost to the Warriors in the 2022 finals and fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2023 before winning a championship last June.

The good news is that the Cavaliers are incredibly balanced, and outside of the Celtics, they don't appear to have any legitimate challengers in the East.

But postseason mettle is definitely a thing, and it's important to also remember that Donovan Mitchell has never made it past the second round at any point of his NBA career.

We'll see if Cleveland is able to overcome its lack of deep playoff experience this spring.

Read More Cleveland Cavaliers Coverage