Major NBA Sportsbook Just Disrespected the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a good spot for the 2025-26 NBA season. They may have been eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers, marking a third straight quick exit from the postseason, but their title odds might be higher than they've been since they traded for Donovan Mitchell.

This isn't through any work of their own, though. While they've added Lonzo Ball, Larry Nance Jr., and Tyrese Proctor, all of whom could reasonably be meaningful contributors next season, the real reason they should be among the favorites to make it out of the Eastern Conference next season is due to the other teams' free falls.

Jayson Tatum will be out for the year, and the Boston Celtics also won't have Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford. The Indiana Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles injury in Game 7 of the Finals, and they also let Myles Turner walk away. The Milwaukee Bucks may have added Turner, but they had to dump Damian Lillard to do so.

There are only a handful of viable title threats left in the East aside from the Cavs, and Cleveland should be the favorite if they're fully healthy, considering the same core won 64 games last year. Their poor performance in these past playoffs has caused a lot of people to lose faith in them, regardless of the injuries that they dealt with.

For example, Hard Rock sportsbook recently ranked the best duos in the East and stuck the Cavs' Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley at third. That put them behind the Knicks' tandem of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as the Orlando Magic's Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.