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Fans haven’t lost faith in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nearly 90% of Fear the Sword voters said they believe the Cavs will pass their 47.5-win total prediction on FanDuel.
And that was before the Peyton Watson trade was finalized.
This is a roaring seal of approval for Cleveland. The fans aren’t feeling discouraged by whiffing on LeBron James or the widespread improvements made to the Eastern Conference this summer. The Cavs are still operating with a fanbase full of hope.
Passing the 47-win mark won’t be easy. The East has gotten stronger and new lottery reforms mean the teams at the bottom of the conference have fewer incentives to tank games. The schedule won’t get much easier in the dog days of the season as every team will have something to play for.
That puts the Cavs in a tight position. They’ve won more than 47 games in each of the past three seasons. But they’ve never had to face an Eastern Conference that was this loaded.
Still, there’s plenty of reason to think Cleveland will win 48+ games that aren’t rooted in homerism.
For starters, the Cavs have some of the best continuity in the conference. Their star trio of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen has been together for years. James Harden, who arrived last year, has fit right in. That type of chemistry matters, especially in the regular season.
Then there’s the trade for Watson, which gives the Cavaliers a dose of athleticism and three-point shooting on the wing.
Previously, we polled fans on which trade target they would prefer. Jonathan Kuminga or Peyton Watson. A whopping 85% of fans voted in favor of Watson. It seems they got their wish.
Watson should help push the Cavs to more wins in the regular season despite all of the factors working against Cleveland.
In fact, FanDuel has already increased the Cavs win total to 48.5. A small difference, but worth noting nonetheless.
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