Midseason Grades for Each NBA Team

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a four-game lead atop the Eastern Conference through the first half of the season and seemingly are unmatched in the East in terms of quality. In fact, they are so clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the conference that they have been without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving for most of the season and haven’t even reached their full potential and still have a stranglehold on the East at the midway point of the season.

Considering that they went to the NBA Finals last season despite both Kyrie and Kevin Love being injured, it makes sense that LeBron James and company would remain dominant in the East as they are closer to full health and have a year of playing with one another under their belts. However, their clear dominance in the conference has somewhat allowed them to put it into cruise control at times throughout the first half of the season with the Cavs not really striving to reach their full potential.

While it’s hard to fault them for not hitting that extra gear too often this season because it hasn’t been necessary, it does keep them from coming in with an A in terms of their grade. Still, there’s no way you can discredit that the Cavs are again clear favorites in the East.

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