Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 bold predictions for 2018-19 NBA season

3. The Cavs will return to the playoffs

Without LeBron James, oddsmakers doubt Cleveland will make the postseason even though the Eastern Conference is absurdly wide open. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are probably the conference’s best teams, but rostered with frequently injured stars. The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards are improved, but not daunting. And Cleveland’s division rivals aren’t quite seasoned yet.

At least six or seven teams enter the season with a legitimate chance at postseason glory in the East. If the Cavs aren’t in this bunch, they are certainly in leap-frog range of at least the conference’s second-tier squads.

For Cleveland to make the postseason, it doesn’t need Love to resemble the rebound-gobbling, post-scoring machine from his Minnesota Timberwolves days that brought back memories of glory-day power forwards like Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett.

He doesn’t need to replicate his best season in Minnesota back in 2013-14, when he scored 26.1 points and grabbed 12.5 rebounds per game with 14.3 win shares. By comparison, LeBron James had 14.0 win shares last season.

Speaking of last season, it might have been Love’s best year as a Cav. He shot 49.4 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from the 3-point line, both Cavs highs. He also limited turnovers, leading to higher efficiency.

If Love produces similar numbers, coupled with the emergence of Collin Sexton and at least one more player, the playoffs are in reach. You can’t expect Sexton to be Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving or John Wall, but his rookie season would be a colossal success if he were anywhere near a Kyle Lowry or Kemba Walker type.

Cleveland has a bevy of young players that hopefully hit NBA puberty all at once. If one of these young players blossoms, there’s your No. 3.

So Love, Sexton and an unknown talent emerge as a minor force in the East. Lo and behold, they earn the 6-seed in the playoffs in their first season without King James.