Cavs

[buckeye242424]

Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Ray Allen, Mike Miller, James jones.....and I'm sure I'm forgetting people, let alone the good players they have, Anderson.... I root for the Cavs, since I've been in this state 37 years, save when they play us. Gawd, they're gonna be good....

[Guest]

I'm still dubious on that.  I look at it a little differently.  Irving, James and Love need the ball in their hands to be effecive (Love less so).  There will be an adjustment period at best, chemistry problems at worst.

 

Neither Irving or Love play any defense to speak of.  Is James going to cover 3/5 of the opposing team's starting line-up for a season then playoffs?  And he thought he was exhausted in Miami.

 

They'll definitely have a good regular season record so I'm speaking mainly of playoff match-ups.

 

James Jones is garbage other than shooting corner 3's so I don't even think he should be mentioned.  If he's playing more than he did the past few years in Miami that's a net minus for the Cavs.  Ray Allen is in his what 19th year in the league.  Just like Jones, if he's asked to play a bigger role than he had in Miami that's not a good thing.  Both these guys are awful defenders as well.

 

Add to that the fact that the Love trade will deplete what little depth they have.  Add to that the fact that 2/3 of their neuvo Big 3 have never been close to the playoffs.  I think there's plenty of (arguable) reasons to say they'll be good not great.

 

Us, CHI, WAS, CHA, MIA are all teams I think could beat them in a series.  It'd be a 7-game struggle with each at worst.  They'd have no chance vs any West Finals rep if they made it that far (which I don't think they will).

[lethalweapon3]

I've got the Cavs ranked #2 in the East in pencil for now (behind Da Bulls), but I'm eager to see how they look on the floor. LeBron's return obviously has the biggest impact, and Love of course will be a boost, too. But I believe the element that really makes them contenders is David Blatt.

 

Blatt has built a reputation on his teams committing to varying defensive schemes within the game that confound opponents into settling for shots they'd rather not take. His players weren't always defensive specialists, but succeeded best when they committed to his designs on that end of the floor.

 

In Cleveland, LeBron broke through to the Finals with guys like Larry Hughes, Boobie Gibson, Drew Gooden, and Sasha Pavlovic in tow. He got close while leading the way for players like Mo Williams, Wally Szczerbiak, and J.J. Hickson. But he always had players he could rely upon for team defense: Anderson Varejao, Eric Snow, Big Z, later on Ben Wallace and, to a lesser extent, Blatt disciple Anthony Parker.

 

I want to see who, among Kyrie, Dion, Tristan, go ahead and throw Love in the mix, and Dellavedova, are going to soak up Blatt's defensive plans and spring them into action. Will Irving reliably quarterback Blatt's matchup zone schemes? The matter becomes all the more pressing if Varejao and his expiring contract get shipped out to consummate a Love deal, or if he otherwise gets injured again during the season.

 

For the post-LeBron era, Byron Scott was brought on, and Mike Brown brought back, largely on the basis of their history building defense-minded teams and because it was believed they could get a young but talented roster to make strides defensively. I will have to wait-and-see Blatt's effect on LeBron's supporting cast because, if it fails to work out, LBJ will have to be spread across the floor playing defense just to get Cleveland back to the Finals.

 

~lw3

[benhillboy]

I saw Irving play spirited defense on a play in the scrimmage and I almost didn't recognize him. Being around Thibideau will do wonders for him I think. The little I've seen of him, I'm actually intrigued about Delladova. He's the type of guy LeBron would take a liking to. At the end of the day though, I have no faith in what their front office is doing, that is if it stays in tact for a full year. That owner is a joke.

[NJHAWK]

Where they wont even be able to compare to the Heat team Lebron played on especially the 1st 3 years is defense. The only defender on the team is Lebron. Thats what got the Heat to the finals 3 straight years, defense and transition off of that d.

[Afro]

We can say whatever we want but look at that roster. Tell me it isn't great? 

 

We said/say all kinds of things about the Heat. No big man, crappy PG, old, yada yada yada. But they still went to the Finals every single year and won 2 NBA titles. 

 

Do we really expect less from these Cavs? I don't. They replaced Bosh with a better scorer and an immensely better rebounder. They still have Waiters(6th man), Varejao(Defense), and Irving(more scoring). 

 

Say what you want, but this is just what kind of blows. Take away the homerism and tell me you legitimately see the Hawks making it out of the East as long as Love and Lebron are together and healthy. I don't. We said the same "theres only one ball" thing when the big three formed in Miami and look how that turned out for us. 

 

Say what you will, but this is looking like at least 6-7 straight years where the East was bought and paid for before the games even began. Its getting really old. 

[macdaddy]

Yeah.  I think they'll have some ups and downs but come playoff time I'm not sure how you defend that team.   The only thing keeping them from being a dominant team (or a dominate team as many prefer to say) is bad chemistry.  

[Guest]

@Afro say what you will, but the Heat were led by vets who had extensive playoff experience including several with rings.  I think that's a significant difference.

[benhillboy]

I like Love no doubt, but I question if he can stay healthy and if he's built for playoff pressure. Looking at his stats, it seems the best season occurred in '11: his scoring was only 20 per but his shooting efficiencies were career highs and I'm pretty sure 15 boards per puts you in a exclusive class.

It illustrates how awful the franchise is that they "threw in" a former #1 overall pick in the deal, realizing a year later what everyone else in the world knew when they drafted him. They save some face because Kevin is still basically a kid at 25, but I simply don't trust that revolving door of GMs and a rookie Euro Head Coach. LeBron can only play, I think they actually look to him to help run the franchise.

[AHF]

I think they will be beasts.  They and Chicago will offer interesting contrasts if the two teams are healthy.  If Rose goes down, it is an absolute no-brainer that Cleveland emerges from the East.  I don't see any other team in the East with a prayer against the Cavs.