The dust is slowly but surely settling on the 2025 NBA offseason. The Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks have handled their playoff exits a bit differently, one tinkering with the roster while the other brought in a new head coach.
Looking across the Eastern Conference landscape, it feels safe to consider these two teams as the best in the East. In fact, the Cavs may believe they are the clear-cut best team after winning 64 games last season.
New York did go further than Cleveland in the playoffs, though, even if it finished 13 games behind in the regular season. The Indiana Pacers have been more than a thorn in the Knicks’ flesh the last couple postseasons. With Indiana’s star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, out for the year because of a torn Achilles tendon, the Knicks will now believe no one stands in their way.
Which team is better equipped to sit atop the East?
Let’s take a very early dive in.
What Separates Cavaliers, Knicks From Rest?
To start off, let’s look at why these two teams should be considered a step above the rest in the East.
Cleveland and New York finished as the first and third seed with 64 and 51 wins, respectively, last season. The Celtics were the No. 2 seed but have taken several steps back with the departures of Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet. Jayson Tatum is not expected to play in 2025-26 as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The Pacers finished fourth last season with 50 wins and reached the NBA Finals. Haliburton’s injury and Myles Turner’s departure takes them down a couple notches.
Yes, the Orlando Magic certainly upgraded by, for all intents and purposes, replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with Desmond Bane. Mo Wagner will return from a torn left ACL; healthier seasons for Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs should see Orlando improve on its 41-win total from a year ago.
Still, this is a team with much to prove relative to the Knicks and Cavs.
What about the Atlanta Hawks, you say? Adding Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard and Asa Newell in one offseason is big. This team has had its share of health issues, though, and the lack of a Trae Young extension also adds uncertainty.
If there was some way to guarantee both Jalen Johnson and Porzingis will play at least 65 games then maybe there’s a more serious conversation to be had. Until we see that, this team remains a tier below.
What’s New For The Cavaliers And Knicks?
Between these two teams, the Knicks undoubtedly made a bigger shift, firing Tom Thibodeau and bringing in Mike Brown as head coach. Ironically, they’ll be hoping for the type of boost the Cavs received by swapping J.B. Bickerstaff for Kenny Atkinson ahead of last season.
Atkinson revamped the offense and prioritized rest by lowering the regular season minutes of stars like Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Thibodeau was notorious for not trusting his bench enough. Brown will be expected to ease the load on his starters, especially Jalen Brunson.
In the Cavs’ case, though, rest did not equate to health when it mattered most. Garland suffered a toe injury before the end of the regular season and missed several playoff games. Evan Mobley missed a crucial Game 2 against the Pacers, too. It all meant Mitchell was once again having to do too much.
Isaac Okoro was virtually a complete nonfactor in the playoffs and the Cavs have since moved him to Chicago in exchange for Lonzo Ball. Ty Jerome has also exited stage left. The Cavs have plenty of size in the front-court but have been lacking it in the backcourt. Ball is a much-needed addition there.
The Knicks also made a couple personnel changes, bringing in Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. Clarkson should specifically alleviate New York’s concern of not having enough scoring when Brunson isn’t on the floor. Yabusele may not get used too much but should provide a more well-rounded option than Precious Achiuwa the 4 or 5 off the bench.
What Will Regular Season Priorities Be?
Cleveland made it look all too easy last regular season with three separate winning streaks of at least 12 games. A 64-win season does ring a bit hollow when accompanied by a second-round exit, though.
Will this team look to tinker with more playoff-proof strategies in the regular season? Adding Ball is one thing but there may be a desire to explore new tactics on both ends of the floor. There may be a few battles that get sacrificed to win the proverbial war.
Since they haven’t overreacted to their early playoff departure and made wholesale changes, it’s conceivable the Cavs just run it back and believe they were genuinely unlucky with injuries. That may well be true.
They went 34-7 at home during the regular season and somehow lost all three second-round home games to the Pacers, two of which came after leading for the majority of the game. Home-court should matter enough to make a strong push for the top seed again.
Brown, as mentioned before, is now faced with a similar task to Atkinson from a season ago. It’s incredible Atkinson was able to overhaul the offense to become the league’s best, reduce playing time and win 64 games. Is it reasonable for the Knicks to expect a similar effect from Brown?
Probably not all the way to 64 wins but even getting closer to a 60-win team will be in their sights. New York only went 15-23 against plus-.500 teams last season, which Brown will want to address. They were great against bad teams (36-8 vs. sub-.500 teams) but it’s all about the next level now.
One Key Stat To Improve
It’s surprising a team with shooters like Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges finished near the bottom in 3-point rate The Knicks were 11th in corner threes attempted but 29th in non-corner threes.
Clarkson should help address some of that but it will be interesting to see how much Brown encourages the likes of Anunoby and Bridges to shoot from above the break as well. Let’s not forget Miles McBride (39 percent from three last two years) is more than a willing shooter.
While the Knicks put up a healthy amount of corner threes, they were below average (18th) in corner 3-point efficiency (38.7 percent). For perspective, the Bucks shot a league-best 44.4 percent on corner threes. It’s time to see Brown’s lessons from his time with the Golden State Warriors go to work.
From a Cavs’ perspective, it’s about nitpicking with a 64-win team. It really is more about what this team does stylistically.
One thing evident during the Pacers series is how much the Cavs got outplayed in transition. During the regular season, Cleveland was bottom 10 in transition frequency, with 80 percent of its plays coming in the half-court.
There has to be a path to easier buckets for Cleveland. Is this a style the Cavs are married to as long as there are two bigs in the starting lineup? Atkinson’s challenge this season will be to dial up the transition scoring.
Final Verdict
Cleveland has a reliable system in place and already executed it with excellence during the regular season. The Cavs went 28-11 against plus-.500 teams, which shows there is a lot to like.
There just isn’t enough in their abrupt playoff exit to deviate from believing this is a great team. The Cavs should still be the favorites to win the East.
If Brown delivers on the improvements the organization is looking for, the Knicks could very well flirt with 60 wins. There is so much talent in the starting five, along with some noteworthy boosts off the bench, too.
All told, it shouldn’t be taken for granted the culture Thibodeau established in New York. Brown has his work cut out for him to elevate the Knicks to the next, championship-winning level.
