There is one stat around the Cleveland Cavaliers that could swing the entire 2026-27 NBA season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers enter the upcoming NBA season ready to go even further than a year ago when the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
Cleveland has the talent on the roster to make it happen, but they will need to make sure that they stay focused throughout the year. Last season, the Cavaliers were again a top team in the East, but a lack of consistent defense ended up costing them.
But this year, the Cavaliers have added star defensive forward Peyton Watson, who should help with the issues that the team saw. Watson could give the Cavaliers a lockdown defender, which is something that Cleveland didn't have a year ago.
Cleveland's offense should still be one of the best in the league, but three-point shooting will have to be better. The Cavaliers need to make sure that they stay the course with their shooting, giving themselves a better chance to win games.
ESPN NBA analyst Zach Kram looked at some key stats for each team in the league that could swing the upcoming season. For the Cavaliers, the key number came in at 14.2, which was the number of three-point shots that opponents made against the team last year.
"The Cavaliers' defense slipped to a league-average 15th last season, after four consecutive seasons in the top 10. One chief culprit was the 3-point line, as opponents sank 14.2 long-range shots per game -- the fifth-highest tally in the league. Put another way, the Cavaliers made just 10 more 3-pointers than their opponents across the 2025-26 regular season. In 2024-25, they made 199 more 3s than their opponents," Kram wrote.
This season, the Cavaliers' defense will need to make sure to defend the perimeter better this year to avoid another lackluster number like this. The Cavaliers will need to make sure that the defense gets back to par this year; otherwise, they could be in for another tough end to the year.
The offense is the calling card for this group, but the Cavaliers have to take a well-rounded approach to everything on the court. This is what the best teams in the league do, and if Cleveland can make this happen, a title could be in the cards.
Having players like James Harden and Donovan Mitchell should help the offense stay consistent, given that each likes to take a lot of three-point shots. But Cleveland could look to get others involved even more as well, potentially adding another element to the offensive attack.
