NBA scout sees current Cavs squad as 2022 Celtics that came up short of title

One NBA scout believes that the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a similar position to where the Boston Celtics were in the 2021-22 season.

“I see the Cavs as where Boston was three years ago,” a West scout told ESPN. “A lot of promise, going the right way, but not there yet. They can definitely overachieve and make me look foolish for saying that, but I suspect the Celtics beat them.”

The Cavs currently have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they’re six games up on the Celtics in the standings after beating the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.

After making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the Cavs have reached new heights under head coach Kenny Atkinson, winning 47 of their first 57 games this season. In the previous two seasons under J.B. Bickerstaff, the Cavs finished with the No. 4 seed in the East both times and only won one playoff series.

It’s interesting that the scout compared this Cavs team to the 2021-22 Celtics since Boston made the NBA Finals that season. Boston did end up coming up short in the championship series, losing to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, but it finally broke through to win the East that season.

Then, just a couple of seasons later, Boston went on to win the title (in the 2023-24 season) by beating the Dallas Mavericks.

Cavs fans certainly would love it if this current Cleveland core could make an NBA Finals in the near future.

Cleveland has locked itself into a core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garand, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley and it has paid off in a big way. Mitchell, Mobley and Allen all signed contract extensions last offseason, and Mobley and Mitchell were both named All-Stars this season.

On top of that, the Cavs bolstered their wing depth at the deadline by acquiring former lottery pick De’Andre Hunter in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks.

If the Cavs and Celtics remain No. 1 and No. 2 in the Eastern Conference standings, they wouldn’t meet in the playoffs until the Eastern Conference Finals. Since the Cavs have played so well to this point in the 2024-25 season, they have to be confident that they can at least compete with the defending champs in a seven-game series.

Boston eliminated Cleveland from the playoffs in five games last season, but both Allen and Mitchell missed time in that series due to injuries.