Danny Green Explains Why Cavs Are His Pick To Win East

Three-time NBA champion Danny Green, who now works for ESPN, thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers will win the East this season. 

Green, who had two stints with the Cavaliers, likes the depth and mentality in Cleveland. 

“Not only their depth, but their maturity,” Green said. “I love the approach that they’re taking. Don (Donovan Mitchell) is locked in, laser-focused. They’ve shown a ton of growth with winning this series (versus Miami). They don’t seem satisfied at all. They’re ready to win and play.

“And to me, with how they’re playing and how healthy they’ve been, I see them as the favorites in the East right now. Boston is struggling against the Orlando Magic. And right now, Cleveland is rolling and they’re laser-focused. I love what they’re doing and how mature they’ve been.”

The Cavaliers swept the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. They won Game 3 by 37 points and Game 4 by 55. 

Cleveland will face the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. It will probably be the Pacers, who are up 3-1 on the Bucks. 

“Last year, we only won one road [playoff] game. We’ve only won one road playoff game since I’ve been here until this year,” Mitchell said after sweeping the Heat. “And for us just never being satisfied, it’s really a test on ourselves. Understanding that, yeah, we were up 3-0, but this was our test against ourselves.”

The Cavaliers haven’t been to the NBA Finals since 2018. They were swept by the Golden State Warriors, who had Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Cleveland only had LeBron James and Kevin Love. 

It will be fascinating to see if the Cavaliers can win the championship this year. They were first in the NBA in points per game and offensive rating during the regular season under first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson.