3 reasons Cleveland Cavaliers will make the 2019 NBA Playoffs

1. Career years coming

Potential is tough to objectively measure. Immediate potential is even more difficult; it’s one thing to say “this guy will be good in the next five years” and another to say “this guy will be good next year.” Five-year predictions leave more margin for error.

We are doing the former by predicting a handful of Cavaliers players will have the best seasons of their career next year. Thus, the team will make the playoffs.

The first of those half-dozen players is Thompson. The former fourth overall pick is coming off a career-low 20.2 minutes per game, so he is poised to bounce back. He’s also entering a prime age and playing out from under the shadow of a superstar for the first time in years. Thompson is ready for a career season.

Second is Hood. He’s an athletic wing who’s improved every season, prior to hitting a roadblock in Cleveland. Still, showed signs in the playoffs and will average big numbers with that accuracy and more looks. He is poised for a breakout season.

The third is Nance. The athletic big man averaged career highs with 8.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 24 games with Cleveland. Yet, he averaged a near career-low 20.8 minutes per game during that time. Also just 25, Nance will have his best season with consistent floor time.

Next is newcomer David Nwaba. The former G League standout earned a reputation as a hard-nosed defender under the offensive-minded Fred Hoiberg in a Chicago Bulls uniform last year. He averaged an absurdly high amount of rebounds for a reserve guard, with 4.7 in just 23.5 minutes per game. Even if that’s all he plays in a Cavs uniform, Nwaba will have a breakout season.

Fifth we have Cedi Osman. The Turkish-Macedonian wing played well in limited time last year. The Cavaliers are also thin at forward. Osman will have a breakout season.

The sixth and final player about to have the best year of his career is Kevin Love. How can a five-time, 30-year-old All-Star be on the verge of the best season of his career? Since Love came to Cleveland, the NBA has changed in his favor. Offenses now value pick-and-rolls more than isolation basketball. That favors Love, arguably the best pick-and-pop big man since Karl Malone.

Instead of being a third option, Love is now the focal point of Cleveland’s offense. Unlike his Minnesota days, he is the vocal point in an offense/ league that fits his style. He will team up with three point guards — Collin Sexton, George Hill and Jordan Clarkson — who are unique in style, but all run the pick-and-roll well.

Kevin Love, along with those five other teammates, will have a career year and help Cleveland reach the postseason.