The sports world in the city of Cleveland is a tight-knit bunch, with everyone rooting for each other’s success. On Thursday, it was Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell who showed love for the city’s MLB team, the Cleveland Guardians, after they guaranteed themselves a spot in the playoffs following a 3-2 win over the floundering Minnesota Twins.
Quote tweeting a post showing the Guardians’ locker room celebration following their playoff-clinching victory over a division rival, the Cavs star congratulated them on their success.
“YESSIRR!!!@CleGuardians‼️‼️” Mitchell wrote.
After their near-World Series triumph in 2016 that would have torn the city of Cleveland down (the Cavs won the championship earlier that year in June), the Guardians (then the Indians), have exited in the ALDS thrice and in the Wild Card once. They will be hoping that they manage to exorcise their playoff demons.
But for now, the Guardians cannot rest on their laurels still. They have yet to lock down the AL Central crown, although they have a 6.5-game lead over the Kansas City Royals, so they could at least breathe a bit easily. They should also aim to have a better record than the current AL West leader, Houston Astros, as doing so would ensure that the Guardians won’t have to play in the Wild Card series.
With the NBA season yet to begin, there might not be a better way for the Guardians to hype up the city of Cleveland in preparation for the Cavs’ hopeful push for a title than to make a deep playoff run of their own. The Guardians have consistently been one of the best teams in the AL Central for nearly the past decade, and a deep run in the postseason would vindicate the efforts of the front office as they have managed to keep the team competitive despite having one of the smallest payrolls in the MLB.
Can the Cavs defy expectations like the Guardians did in 2024?
The Guardians entered 2024 without too many high expectations. But this team has made a living out of outplaying expectations. In 2022, they managed to win 92 games and the AL Central division even amid a few struggles from their everyday players.
After a down year in 2023, the Guardians are back to their usual ways. They have cobbled together a patchwork rotation that has gotten only two starts from Shane Bieber all year long, while they have the best bullpen trio in the league in Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, and Hunter Gaddis.
Can the Cavs follow the Guardians’ lead and somehow find their way at the top of the Eastern Conference?
The East has become a full-blown bloodbath, with eight teams all having ambitions of making a deep playoff run. The Cavs seem to be in the middle tier of teams in the conference behind the likes of the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, and Milwaukee Bucks. But they are also the best team among the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, and Miami Heat.
The East playoff picture all feels like a jumbled mess at this point, although injuries will go a long way towards deciding which team excels in the regular season. Last season, the Cavs went through plenty of injury problems. The key for them in their quest to defy expectations is to remain healthy — especially Donovan Mitchell, who missed a career-high 27 games last season.