4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Best player: Donovan Mitchell
One thing is clear: the Cavs will go as far as Donovan Mitchell takes them and that was evident throughout the regular season. When the Cavs were down Evan Mobley and Darius Garland due to injury early in the season, it was Mitchell's play that helped the Cavs rip off a 17-1 stretch. He was looking like an MVP candidate, averaging 28/5/6 from opening night to the All Star break.
After the break, though, Mitchell was not the same. First, he missed a couple games due to an illness. Then he battled a bone bruise in his knee for almost the entire second half of the season, which caused him to only play ten games after the All-Star break. As a result, the Cavs dropped from second to fourth in the standings.
However, through two games against the Magic, Mitchell looks more like himself. He is averaging 27/5/5 on 47 percent shooting. Mitchell elevating his game in the playoffs is nothing new, though, as he is top ten in NBA history in playoff points per game at about 28 PPG, including 21 games of 30 or more points.
Mitchell is one of the best playoff performers in the NBA, but he has not been past the second round and given the fact that he had a shaky second half of the season, it is tough to put him higher on this list. Nonetheless, he is without a doubt one of the top five players in the East.