4 Keys For The Cleveland Cavaliers To Be NBA Finals Contenders

The Cleveland Cavaliers are knocking on the door of contention, but what do they need to do to reach that next level?

Apr 2, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) celebrates with guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off of a 2023-24 NBA campaign in which they won 48 games and made it to the second round of the playoffs.

Winning a postseason series was progress, but the Cavaliers don't just want to make it to Round 2. They want to win a championship.

After all, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen all re-upped with Cleveland because they believe in the squad long term,.

But what do the Cavs need to happen in order for them to seriously contend for a championship?

Here are four keys to the Cavaliers making an NBA Finals run.

Evan Mobley must take a massive step forward

Mitchell is Cleveland's best player. I don't think anyone would dispute that. However, the progress of Mobley may be the most imperative wrinkle of the Cavs potentially making a deep playoff run.

Mobley is entering his fourth season, but his growth has stagnated. He averaged less points per game last season than the year prior, and while he did begin expanding his range, he still isn't hitting perimeter shots with much frequency.

The former No. 3 overall pick must further develop his offensive repertoire heading into this season if the Cavaliers want to have any chance of knocking off the Boston Celtics or even a healthy Milwaukee Bucks club.

That means Mobley needs to become a consistent three-point threat to keep defenses honest and space the floor for Mitchell and Darius Garland.

Darius Garland must stay healthy

We know that Garland struggled last season, but it may have had more to do with his inability to stay on the floor than his awkward fit with Mitchell.

Remember: Garland enjoyed the most efficient campaign of his career in Mitchell's debut season in Cleveland, so it's not like the two guards can't effectively play together.

To be fair, 19 of the 25 games Garland missed last season was due to a broken jaw that resulted in significant weight loss. However, the 24-year-old has never played 70 games in a single season since entering the NBA in 2019-20.

If Garland can play a full campaign in 2024-25, perhaps he can rediscover the form he had in 2022-23 when he averaged 21.6 points per game while posting a true-shooting percentage of 58.7 percent.

The Cavaliers must perform better in fourth quarters

The Cavaliers ranked 14th in fourth-quarter efficiency last season, posting a fourth-quarter net rating of zero. That means they were playing opponents evenly in the final frame.

For a title contender, that is unacceptable.

Take the Celtics, for example. Boston finished second in the NBA in fourth-quarter efficiency in 2023-24 with a plus-1.3 net rating. The Dallas Mavericks, who represented the Western Conference in the finals, were sixth at plus-0.8.

Great teams win fourth quarters, and the Cavs cannot afford to continue allowing their opponents to nullify them over the final 12 minutes.

The Cavaliers must add another scorer

Mitchell is one of the more gifted scorers in the NBA, and we know what Garland is capable of when he is healthy. However, the Cavaliers lack a legitimate No. 3 scorer.

Cleveland is obviously hoping Mobley can get there, but it remains to be seen how much of a ceiling he actually has in that department. Even if he improves, he may never be able to consistently create his own shot.

Caris LeVert can do it off the bench, but he isn't exactly an efficient scorer, owning a career true-shooting percentage of 52.8 percent.

It just seems hard to envision the Cavs reaching that next level unless they are able to find another scorer to supplement Mitchell and Garland.

But who will that scorer be?

The Cavaliers were rumored to be interested in Brandon Ingram earlier this summer, but that fizzled out. Maybe they can revisit trade talks with the New Orleans Pelicans? Or maybe another name will surface?

Whatever the case may be, Cleveland needs to add a reliable tertiary option if it seriously wants to challenge the Celtics and some of the other top teams in the NBA.