The NBA playoffs starting means that everyone has their predictions in on who they think will make it all the way to the NBA Finals. The NBA on ESPN crew recently gave their takes on who they have competing for a championship, and many Cleveland Cavaliers fans will be pleased with Charles Barkley’s answer.
Barkley had the Cavs and the Celtics making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, and he has the Cavs advancing.
If there was any year for the Cavs to advance to the finals, it would be this season. They added the necessary pieces at the trade deadline to give themselves an advantage, with James Harden being the big fish that they traded for.
They’ve already shown in Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors that they’re ready to handle business, but they’ll have to do that consistently for the rest of the series, and however long they stay in the playoffs.
Before the playoffs started, Donovan Mitchell was honest about the Cavs’ chances of winning a title, and with Harden on the team, they have a good chance of doing so.
“I don’t want to say it’s (Harden’s) last shot, or my last shot, either,” said Mitchell via Sam Amick of The Athletic. “But it’s our best shot. There’s a reason why he chose here. And for me, you know that you have a guy here who has done it at a very, very, very high level for a long time. I’ve seen it, firsthand. …When you’re both missing something like that, and that really impacts both of your legacies in a way, you do whatever it f—ing takes to win.”
Both Mitchell and Harden will have to carry the Cavs to where they want to go, but it will also be imperative that the players around them step up as well.