Cavaliers receive concerning label every title contender hopes to avoid

Cleveland Cavaliers v Miami Heat - Game Four | Megan Briggs/GettyImagesEnding last regular season as the Eastern Conference's top team has done nothing to elevate the Cavaliers' presumed position across the league.

As next season nears, the Cavs remain a perennial underdog among NBA title contenders. With three embarrassing playoff runs in a row, widespread perception of the Cavaliers views them as elite regular season competition but a wilting fraud in the postseason. Over the past three years, the Cavaliers have an 11-14 playoff game record, a painfully bad statistic for the Cavaliers' chances in 2025-26.

The Donovan Mitchell era of the Cavaliers has enjoyed much early success as the rest…