Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers are no strangers to hope that turns into heartbreak. In 2024, they were bounced in the second round by the Celtics. 2025 was another failure; they ran into a Pacers team en route to the Finals and fell again in the second round. The question grows louder each time: is this core ready for the NBA’s biggest stage, or are they destined to linger in the “dangerous, but beatable” tier? Can their roster truly hold up in the postseason?

Max Strus doesn’t shy away from that conversation. He welcomes it. He believes the bruises from those defeats aren’t just reminders, but ammunition. The promise? That this year, Mitchell and the Cavs won’t be remembered for ‘almost.‘

“We know we have the team capable to do it,” Strus said. “We want to win a championship. Everybody’s got to be willing to give more… You’ve got to get through it to get to it.” For Strus, the bar isn’t simply making the conference finals. It’s “to be under those bright lights,” saying, “I really want a lot of our guys on our team to kind of get to feel that and… just to experience it. It’s truly special.”

And that’s where the pressure turns real. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland give Cleveland one of the most explosive backcourts in the league. Evan Mobley anchors a defense that can smother playoff offenses. The depth is solid. On paper, it all looks like a contender’s toolkit. But paper doesn’t win in May and June.

Strus knows the East is the most open it has been. Still, New York remains stacked, with Atlanta looming after a massive roster shakeup. Even a brief lapse could mean another early exit, and for a franchise that hasn’t been to the Finals without LeBron, that would be another year of wasted prime from Mitchell. Urgency isn’t just a mood in Cleveland. It’s a requirement.

Injury Risks Could Derail the Mission

The Cavs’ championship chase will hinge on Mitchell staying healthy through a deep playoff run: a challenge beyond his recent regular-season workload. In the postseason, his usage spikes, defenses load up on him, and the physical toll can stack up fast. With Ty Jerome gone in free agency, there’s even less ball-handling relief behind him, meaning Mitchell and Garland will have to shoulder nearly all of the offensive creation for months, not to mention Garland’s defensive liabilities.

Their wing rotation is not durable, and that compounds the strain. Dean Wade is a versatile defender and floor-spacer but has been limited to 65 games or fewer every season of his career. De’Andre Hunter, prized for his ability to guard multiple positions, has failed to reach 60 games in three of his six years and has never topped 67. Lonzo Ball (the ultimate “if healthy” addition) hadn’t played an NBA game since January 14, 2022, until last season after multiple knee surgeries, which kept him out of the league for over two years.

Any one of those players missing time could stretch Cleveland’s depth thin. But if injuries hit two or more at once, it risks forcing heavier minutes on Mitchell and Garland, increasing fatigue and the chance of late-season breakdowns. In an East loaded with contenders who punish weakened rotations, the margin for error is razor-thin, and the Cavs know it.