3 Reasons To Be Concerned About The Cleveland Cavaliers

Here are a few reasons to worry about the Cleveland Cavaliers heading into the 2024-25 NBA season.

Jan 14, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) is helped off the court by guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and center Jarrett Allen (31) during the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

While there are plenty of reasons to strongly believe in the Cleveland Cavaliers heading into the 2024-25 NBA season, there are probably an equal amount of reasons for worry.

The Cavaliers have some very clear roster issues, and they didn't really address those problems over the summer.

Here are three key reasons to be concerned about Cleveland going into the year.

Floor spacing

One of the primary areas of concern for the Cavs after last season was their lack of floor spacing, particularly in the frontcourt.

Many advised the Cavaliers to split up the big man tandem of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, but Cleveland instead opted to hand both players contract extensions.

Mobley did make 37.3 percent of his three-point attempts last year, but he achieved that on very low volume (1.2 attempts per game).

The Cavs' shoddy spacing makes life much more difficult for Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, as defenses do not have to respect Allen or Mobley as reliable shooters.

Perhaps Mobley truly honed his long-range game over the past several months, but if not, this will continue to be a major issue for the Cavaliers.

Wing defense

Isaac Okoro is a tenacious perimeter defender, but the problem is that he stands just 6-foot-5. That's essentially the story for Cleveland's wing defenders.

The Cavs don't have much size at small forward or shooting guard, which spells trouble in an Eastern Conference that houses big wing scorers like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Paul George.

This is precisely why many felt Cleveland should pursue someone like Dorian Finney-Smith during the offseason, but the Cavs were unable to make it happen.

The Cavaliers did select Jaylon Tyson, a 6-foot-6 bulldog, in the first round of the NBA Draft, but he is just a rookie.

Chances are, Cleveland will have to make a trade to address this issues during the regular season.

No proven third scorer

Who is the Cavs' No. 3 scorer behind Mitchell and Garland? Is It Mobley? Is it Caris LeVert? We really don't know.

In theory, Mobley should be the answer, but his offensive repertoire is so limited at the moment that it's hard to get behind him as the solution.

That leaves LeVert, who can score in bunches, but isn't exactly efficient.

The Cavaliers were rumored to be interested in trading for Brandon Ingram, who absolutely would have filled this role, but nothing materialized.

This will likely come down to how much progress Mobley has made on the offensive end. Cleveland desperately needs him to show significant improvement this coming season.