Cavs Emergence Stifles Early Season Doubters With Championship Level Basketball

In the early days of this NBA season, the Cavaliers record had them as a play-in team. Here’s how they have bounced back from a rocky start.

Feb 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts after a play during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Back in the fall, the Cleveland Cavaliers were hanging around the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

This record had many fans extremely concerned at the time.

However, the Cavaliers were without a handful of players early on and many analysts had suggested that Cavs fans were panicking far too early.

This panic was cemented around a difficult early schedule, compounded with easier schedules for teams that aren’t as competitive as the Cavs.

A key example being teams like the Chicago Bulls, who aren’t particularly in title contention, held a playoff spot(including the 1 seed) for many weeks into the season.

The Bulls and many teams like them, have since come back to earth and slipped in the standings. This left a window for the Cavaliers to vault up in the standings as they have.

Cavs upgraded personnel

The Cavaliers have been without the services of many of their starting, and rotational, players throughout this season.

While many of these injuries were just temporary, day-to-day, injuries, there was one injury that seemed to cause some concern within the organization.

That injury being, obviously, Darius Garland’s toe injury. This chronic toe injury, led to his departure from the Cavaliers after seven seasons and two All-Star appearances.

While many fans long mourned the departure of Darius Garland, it is agreed upon that James Harden’s addition to the team has bolstered the Cavs title odds considerably.

With respect to Darius Garland, James Harden has been the leader and offensive focal point of multiple deep playoff runs in the past.

This makes him the perfect veteran accessory alongside Donovan Mitchell and reigning DPOY Evan Mobley.

When will Max Strus return?

The return of Max Strus being on the horizon is also very important to the Cavaliers continued success.

While recent reports say that Strus might still be a little ways away, his return will regardless provide some more depth at the small forward position and take some pressure off the young Jaylon Tyson. Especially come playoff time.

Finishing the season strong

The Cavaliers finish the regular season with the 5th easiest remaining strength of schedule, meaning they should be able to clean up a ton of wins in this final quarter of the regular season.

The Cavs have the 5th-easiest remaining schedule in the entire NBA, per @tankathon pic.twitter.com/t0U3jyxB5P

— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) February 15, 2026

The Cavaliers currently sit at the fourth seed, only behind Detroit, Boston, and the Knicks. Boston and Detroit have two of the 10 strongest schedules remaining.

This gives the Cavaliers a phenomenal chance to jump at least Boston in the coming months.

If the Cavaliers can finish as a top 3 seed, it would certainly be a testament to the fans who wanted to blow it up and go into a full rebuild after a rough start, showing that the regular season doesn’t hold as much meaning now as it has in years past.