Can the Cavs make the finals? Absolutely! They have LeBron James and the refs to help them after all
. But in all seriousness the reason for the original post is to say that no team that ranked 23rd in defensive efficiency has made, let alone win, the NBA finals based on the 20 year data. The few teams that have made the finals with an defensive efficiency outside of the top 10 lost and the one exception that team happened to have two first bailot hall of famers and arguable the best coach of the modern era.
This judgement is based on the fact that the Cavs is built around their offensive ability to score at a high rate. Because their defensive is not reliable on a night to night basis, they most likely need to rely on their elite offense to win playoff games. Over the course of the 20 years of data, in my honest opinion, these teams bulit with an overreliance of offense is unlikely to make the finals. This is why I make this prediction.
I fully respect any opinion whether you agree or disagree with my original post. If you find the thread a total fail or ridiculous I would like to ask out of respect for you to share your reasoning why. Your reasoning why is valuable to the discussion however you interpreted to be useful or a waste of your time and can give more insight why the numbers are unjustifiable for this particular argument. Thank you.