The Cleveland Cavaliers open their 2024-25 season tonight vs. the Toronto Raptors. The Cavs start with a new coach, Kenny Atkinson, who was an assistant with the Golden State Warriors. The FO made a bold move and signed Donovan Mitchell to a 3 year extension, and the team's starting 5 is the same as last season, with the exception of Max Strus, who suffered an ankle sprain and will miss up to 6 weeks. The "Core 4" of the Cavs.....Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, all return and should be a solid group that has a good mix of talent and experience. There are several concerns with the "Core 4", namely, can Mitchell and Garland work together as a productive back court?.......can Evan Mobley step up his all around game?.......can Jarrett Allen stay healthy enough to be a consistent force in the paint? Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert will be key players off the bench.

Coach Atkinson wants to play more uptempo, going back to his GS days, and has indicated he wants Darius Garland to shoot more 3's. Mitchell will be the leader of this team, and it is critical to the team's success that he and Garland get along on the court. Depth should be adequate, with Dean Wade, George Niang, Sam Merrill, in addition to Okoro and LeVert. Will we see meaningful minutes from Emoni Bates?

I'm predicting 50+ wins for the Cavs in a tough Eastern Conference, and I really believe that they can be no worse than a 3 or 4 seed for the playoffs. Perhaps new coach Atkinson will be the addition that could get them farther in the postseason, and maybe the "Core 4" will be healthy and hungry to raise their level of play.