3 reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers will finish the season strong

By Tony Pesta | Feb 13, 2019

CLEVELAND, OH - FEBRUARY 11: Collin Sexton #2 and Jordan Clarkson #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers high five during the game against the New York Knicks on February 11, 2019 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. No incentive to lose

One thing that I do want to mention is that at this point in the season, the Cavaliers should not be worried about winning too many games and ruining their chances of landing a high quality draft pick. They have already done enough losing to secure some great odds in the lottery.

As one of the three worst teams in the league, Cleveland has a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick. Even if the Cavs have a great ending to the season, they will still likely finish behind the Atlanta Hawks, who are 6.5 games ahead of the Cavaliers currently.

This means the lowest Cleveland’s odds of winning the lottery will fall is 12.5 percent, should they pass the Chicago Bulls in the standings and finish with the fourth-worst record. This is less than a two percent difference from what their odds are right now. This shouldn’t be enough to intentionally throw the rest of the season away.

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Therefore, the Cleveland Cavaliers should spend the rest of this season competing and learning how to win games. They will still have similar odds to win the lottery, so there is no reason for the front office to worry about the success of the team.

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