Preseason NBA Power Rankings: Philadelphia 76ers look like Eastern Elite

15. Cleveland Cavaliers

Placing the Cleveland Cavaliers 15th in an NBA power ranking is about par for the course for how many assume the franchise will perform in their first season without LeBron James in almost half a decade, but don’t tell Tristan Thompson, as he thinks his team is going to make it back to the NBA Finals for the fifth time in as many seasons.

Now, this bold declaration certainly drew the ire of fans, writers and players across the NBA spectrum, but his confidence isn’t totally unwarranted. While the Cavs certainly aren’t going to be in the Finals next spring, I wholeheartedly believe they still have enough firepower to make it to the playoffs and surprise the fans in Believeland still sour about The Kings decision to move out West to pursue a second career on the silver screen.

With Kevin Love now back in the saddle as the team’s number one option, and a brand new pass-first point guard running the show in the form of Alabama ball handler Collin Sexton, this could be our first look at ‘Minnesota Kevin Love’ in quite some time.

That alone should be worth a seventh or eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.