Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
How can the King even the Finals series against the Warriors?
Last Season:
Second best team in the league. LeBron James reached the Finals for the 7th consecutive year (8 times in total), yet the season ended in disappointment. Entering the season as the defending champions, the Cavaliers endured an injury-filled regular season as Kevin Love and J.R. Smith both missed time. At times the Cavs were even forced to start a backcourt of Jordan McRae and DeAndre Liggins, neither of whom were on the roster by the end of the season. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers finished second in the East and showed their superiority in the Eastern Conference playoffs, going 12–1 heading into the Finals.
James, Irving, and Love all played well during the regular season despite the coast. James averaged career highs of 8.6 rebounds and 8.7 assists to go along with 26.4 points per game. The king also upped his field goal percentage to 54.8%, a number only topped by two years he played predominantly Power Forward in Miami. Irving averaged a career-high 25.2 points (up from 19.6 last season) on 47.3% field goal percentage, also a career-high. Love improved his points and rebounding from 16.0 and 9.9 last season to 19.0 and 11.1 this year. This was the best season the Cavaliers’ big three has played together; but while that allows the team to trample over the East, against perhaps the greatest team in NBA history the Cavaliers’ lack of two-way role players doomed their chances of repeating.
Draft From The Past:
The Cavaliers did not have a draft pick in this year’s draft.
Offseason Priority:
Trade Love for Paul George. While Love was dominant against essentially every other team in the league, the Cavs are in win-now mode with LeBron James on the team. James playing at an MVP level in his 14 th NBA season is unprecedented, and as superhuman as he may be, there is no telling when his window is closing. To add another wrinkle, rumors and potential feuds with owner Dan Gilbert could have James take his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Golden State exposed Love’s limitations on defense. The key to playing against this juggernaut is the ability to switch all positions, something that Love lacks the ability to do. On top of this, in the modern NBA, the Cavs would be wise to play James at power forward full time. Enter Paul George, a star small forward capable of defending multiple positions well (All-Defensive team in 2013, 2014, and 2016) and hitting outside jumpers (39.3% last season from 3). Despite making it known to the public that he wishes to sign with the Lakers next offseason, he is exactly the type of player the Cavaliers need to potentially get over the Warriors. Competing for a championship is a rare occurrence, and even if trading for George mortgages the Cavaliers future, winning championships makes it all worth it. Just look at the 2010–2011 Mavericks. Just because the team blew up and got swept out of the first round in the playoffs the following year doesn’t mean the team or the fans would rather see the Mavericks contend, but never win, over the years.
The Cavaliers also should extend Kyle Korver as they hold his bird rights and are capped out, so losing him would be for nothing. They also need a backup point guard (if Deron Williams leaves), and a backup center.
Free Agent Tinder Superlike:
The Cavaliers have a taxpayer midlevel exception but other than that are capped out. There is the question of how far into the luxury tax owner Dan Gilbert is willing to go, but their primary concern should be to acquire a 3-and-d wing player, as James’ minutes should go down, Richard Jefferson is 37, Kyle Korver is not good enough defensively, and Iman Shumpert is a non-contributor on offense who shoots too much.
Enter Nicholas “Swaggy P” Young. Last season Young displayed a surprising ability to defend to go along with shooting 40.4% from 3, suddenly catapulting his value in a league in dire need of 3-and-d players. However, being 32 and only having a track record of defending well for one season will limit that boost in value. Playing alongside superstars will surely benefit Young’s already great shooting. When opting out of his contract with the Lakers, Young was quoted saying that at his age he didn’t know if he wanted to “sit around and wait for another team to progress and grow,” so perhaps Swaggy has some ring-chasing in him, and Cleveland is one of the best destinations for him to get a ring before he retires.
One Defining Stat:
110.98 defensive rating (21 st in the NBA), 111.38 defensive rating adjusted for strength of opponent offense (24 th in the NBA). The Cavaliers were the third best offensive team last season, and in the playoffs asserted their dominance against the East with an unstoppable offense. However on the defensive side of things, the Cavs were in the bottom third of the league, and even though the rating did improve in the playoffs, it was still far from great. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, while maestros on offense, are negatives on defense along with several of their key role players, including Kyle Korver, Channing Frye, and Deron Williams. LeBron James also cannot be expected to be a lockdown defender while carrying the offense with 14 grueling seasons under his belt. The Cavaliers lost the finals on the defensive end of the floor, and improving on that side of the ball is a necessary condition for the Cavs to beat Golden State.
How Far Away Are They?
So close yet so far. The Cavs are the second best team in the league, so they should be close to winning another ring. However Golden State is far and away the best team in the league, they are run by better management, and are a younger team. The Cavaliers will have difficulty improving their roster due to salary constraints, so while they are the closest to the Warriors, that gap is still there.
The Up & Under:
The Up: the rumored 3-way trade between Cleveland, Indiana, and Denver goes through. Cleveland loses Love but gets George. Ty Lue finally figures out that having James lead the league in minutes played (and Irving at 14th most) is not a good idea if the goal is to win in the playoffs. Irving improves his already fantastic offense and stays healthy. George fits in perfectly. Smith keeps hitting impossible shots. Thompson quits dating Kardashians. The Cavaliers reach the Finals again and upset the Warriors.
The Under: James’ body finally breaks down. Irving and Love both get injured early and are out for the year. Korver leaves without the Cavs finding a replacement. The Cavs fail to acquire any free agents and the starting lineup becomes Kay Felder, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, and Tristan Thompson. They finish with a 20–62 record. James leaves in the offseason, and another half century title drought in Ohio begins.
