Channing Frye reveals why the ‘dangerous’ Cavs are championship favorites

Big man Channing Frye was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers when the team won its first championship in franchise history in 2016. He played in 17 of Cleveland’s 21 contests in the 2016 NBA Playoffs and averaged 6.7 points per game while shooting 56.5 percent from deep in that span.

Frye seems to think that the Cavaliers will add to their collection of rings later this year. The 41-year-old explained why he believes Cleveland will be the last team standing in the upcoming 2025 NBA Playoffs.

“Tonight, No. 3 team Western Conference, Ty Jerome comes and balls,” Frye said of Cleveland’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 23. “You saw Evan Mobley (yeah I’m just throwing this lob to you) balling out, and that’s why this team is going to be dangerous. And I think that’s why they win a championship this year.”

In that recent contest against Memphis, Jerome went off for 26 points off the pine. He shot 9-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Mobley put together a fantastic game to boot with a double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds and showed off his passing chops with eight assists.

Guard Donovan Mitchell stands out as Cleveland’s top scorer, as he’s leading the team in points per game this season. But because the Cavaliers have so many weapons on the offensive end of the floor, he has had a lighter workload on that side of the ball compared to years past.

Through 55 games played this season, Mitchell is averaging 18.5 shot attempts per game. The last time he averaged fewer field-goal attempts per contest came when he was a rookie with the Utah Jazz back in the 2017-18 season.

Furthermore, he’s averaging a career-low 31.1 minutes per game in his third season as a Cavalier.

However, Mitchell has proven throughout his NBA career that he can carry a team on his back from a scoring standpoint in the playoffs when need be. For his pro tenure, he’s scored 28.1 points per game in the playoffs and averaged 29.6 points with the Cavaliers in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

With so much talent on offense up and down the roster led by Mitchell, the Cavaliers seem to have a really solid chance to win the NBA’s ultimate prize in a few months. Finishing the 2024-25 regular season with the league’s top record would probably aid Cleveland in its quest for a title, as it would secure the team home-court advantage throughout the 2025 NBA Playoffs.