⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Tom's Title Tiers: #12
Kenny Atkinson's Cavs, the NBA's Surprise Team, is morphing before our eyes.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ first real test — a Western Conference swing — is here. Don’t look now, but the Cavs are passing every exam we put in front of them. And sneakily evolving before our eyes. We need to talk about Evan Mobley.
Welcome to another edition of Tom’s Title Tiers! New year, same schedule. First thing every Monday morning, your inbox will have my tiered rankings of every title contender with a longer focus on one team per week.
A reminder: This is my subjective list based largely on objective data. This is not a pure, analytical ranking. You’re here because you want to know what I think, to get inside my brain a little bit. Consider this a weekly report of what I see on film; what I glean from the numbers; what I hear on the phone; what I read in the news; what I feel.
This week’s featured squad: the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Here’s a quick rundown of each tier.
Tom’s Title Tiers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a complete team, no notes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just missing that one thing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ One move away from being one move away.
⭐️⭐️ So much has to break right.
⭐️ Sooo you’re saying there’s a chance.
This week, I look deeper at Cleveland’s midseason metamorphosis and why I’m more bullish by the day. Have they reached ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ status? Plus, some quick thoughts on the D’Angelo Russell trade.