Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Reasons They’re The Current Title Favorites

There are tons of great stories in the NBA in 2016-17, but here’s why the Cleveland Cavaliers should be the consensus title favorites so far this season.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA championship, it was one of the greatest underdog/comeback stories in the history of professional sports.

It wasn’t that people doubted LeBron James; it’s that the odds were insurmountably stacked against him. It wouldn’t have been the first time he lost a Finals series simply because his opponent was a more complete team, and facing a Golden State Warriors juggernaut that won an NBA-record 73 games, nobody expected the Cavs squad to put up a fight.

And yet, when Draymond Green‘s Game 5 suspension turned “Dubs in 5” predictions to a jaw-dropping comeback from a 3-1 deficit, the Warriors still weren’t done. They lost their chance at the greatest season in NBA history, but that loss opened the door for them to sign Kevin Durant over the summer.

No one will ever take that championship away from the Cleveland faithful, but there was no question Golden State’s power move stole some of the Cavs’ thunder (and Oklahoma City’s too). The defending champs hadn’t gone anywhere, yet the story shifted back to the Warriors and the rising powers in the East like the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and now even the Washington Wizards.

Heading into Saturday’s action, the Cavaliers have the league’s third-best record. If they played in the West, they’d be the 3-seed, trailing the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, and mere win percentage points ahead of the Houston Rockets in fourth.

The Warriors have been the NBA’s best team to this point, the Spurs continue to fly under the radar as they always do and teams like the Rockets, Celtics, Raptors and Wizards are on the rise as well. But as we enter the home stretch of the 2016-17 season, it’s worth mentioning why the Cavs should still be the consensus NBA title favorites.