David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
New Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey recently offered his thoughts on what it would take for the 2021-22 season to be considered a “huge success” for the Cavs.
Gansey explained that reaching the playoffs and participating in a series would be a big box to check.
“I think it’s just trying to get as many wins as we can, but if we could just sneak into the playoffs and have a playoff series, I think that would be a huge success,” Gansey said. “Just to get these guys that experience and grow. We got a long road ahead with these last (21) games, but I know that group in there is motivated to get there. And, I just think, like, getting in the playoffs and trying to experience that would be a huge remarkable success for where we’ve been.”
For any team, expectations often change throughout the course of a season, and that has certainly been the case for the Cavs in the 2021-22 campaign.
Right now, many Cavs fans are hoping to see the team crack the playoffs and perhaps even make a little run. If Cleveland does indeed do that, it’ll be a phenomenal story.
However, it can be easy to forget what preseason expectations were for the Cavs. Going into the season, many NBA fans thought Cleveland was going to be a nonfactor in the Eastern Conference, and even the majority of optimistic Cavs fans pegged a play-in spot as a realistic ceiling for the squad.
As the season has progressed, however, expectations have changed. The Cavs’ ceiling now seems much higher than it was before the season started, and that’s a credit to the way the team has performed.
Relative to preseason expectations, the 2021-22 season is likely already a success for Cleveland. But for fans who have adjusted their expectations as the year has gone along, the consensus is surely that the Cavs still have plenty to accomplish this season.
Time will tell what the remainder of the season holds for Cleveland. The team currently has a 36-25 record, good for the No. 5 spot in the East.
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