Why Cleveland Cavaliers can turn things around after frustrating first half of season

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been through a lot in the first half of the season, accruing nearly as many losses as it did throughout the entirety of last year.

The Cavs are 20-16 through 36 games, while the team went 64-18 throughout all of last season. While things have been rough for the Cavs to start the year, Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes believes the team is on an upward swing.

"The Cleveland Cavaliers are missing far too many open threes, giving up offensive boards at the worst times and still struggling to get their full rotation healthy all at once. Despite these facts, which make it seem like the version of the team that won 64 games last year is dead and gone, this is a great time to buy stock in the Cavs," Hughes wrote.

"The pendulum has swung way too far toward doom and gloom, and though it's harder to imagine Cleveland recovering all of the offensive dominance that produced last year's East-leading record, it's not as if anyone else in the conference has "juggernaut" written all over them."

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell warms up before a game against the Denver Nuggets. | David Dermer-Imagn Images

Cavs can bounce back in 2026

The Cavs have shown recent signs of growth during the team's three-game win streak over Western Conference playoff-caliber teams in the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets.

Even though the Nuggets didn't have Nikola Jokic, the win is still a positive one, and it can be used to carry momentum into the future. These next few weeks are of paramount importance to the Cavs because they are figuring out what to do at the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

If the Cavs perform well over the next couple of weeks, it could convince the front office to keep the group together for at least the rest of the season in hopes of possibly making a deep playoff run. The team is only 3.5 games back of the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, so it isn't completely out of the question that the Cavs won't be in position to make a deep run in the playoffs.

While there is pressure to trade the likes of point guard Darius Garland and center Jarrett Allen for financial reasons, the team needs to consider the fact that they paid for the players on the roster for a reason, and they are capable of playing better than they have in the past couple of months.