King James Gospel Roundtable Discussion: Week 1

King James Gospel gives it’s take on what they saw from the Cleveland Cavaliers first week in a roundtable discussion.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have just wrapped up their first week and it was a wild one. The season opener was a historic night as the Cleveland Cavaliers raised their championship banner and received their rings. Then they treated fans to a spectacular opening act as they smashed the new New York Knicks.

After that? Close games against the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavs defense was superb and then disappointing. LeBron James has the Cavs offense rolling like Magic Johnson with the Showtime Lakers. Kevin Love looks great and he’s being aggressive all game long. Kyrie Irving is a dynamic scorer seemingly capable of doing anything possible to get his shot off.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 6-0 and off to their second-best start in franchise history.

They’re also off to James’ best start of his career.

In King James Gospel’s roundtable discussion, editor and contributors unite to answer questions about the Cavs first week.

Q: What was your biggest takeaway from the Cavs first week?

Dan O.: My takeaway on the first week is the team seems to be connected well, however they do need a backup point guard as Iman Shumpert isn’t truly capable and I haven’t seen Kay Felder except for mop up minutes.

Jackson Flickinger: My biggest takeaway from the first week is how comfortable the team looks around each other. They are doing an excellent job of moving the ball around. They also look like they know what their roles and they are embraced them. This team looks much better than they did last year in the regular season.

Rich Scheuermann: The most impressive takeaway from week one was the lack of any sort of championship hangover. It’s apparent that the team isn’t satisfied with just winning one championship and coasting through the season. The Cavs certainly haven’t looked dominant at all times but they’re closing games out when they need to. The team just knows how to win. I thought there might be an off-chance that another team could usurp the Cavs for the best record in the Eastern Conference. That seems far-fetched now.

Quenton Albertie: My biggest takeaway? Probably that LeBron Janes is taking a backseat to Kyrie Irving in scoring and that this may be the best version of Kevin Love yet. I have concerns about the Cavs bench as well, most notably Iman Shumpert continuing this hot start. He doesn’t concern me so much as the Cavs lack of concern for defense when they get a lead.

Everybody knows that the team having both a point guard and big body on the pine.

Q: Do you think any trades take place with Mo Williams, Iman Shumpert and/or Jordan McRae?

Dan O.: A trade is needed to clear Mo’s roster spot and pick up that backup PG. If McRae has to go, they need to get a pretty decent player (or two). Can’t see them hoping to get through the season without a backup PG.

Jackson Flickinger: There is a possibility that McRae will be moved. But if they wanted to make a move soon I would’ve thought that they would play him to showcase his abilities. They played Anderson Varejao the most when they were looking for a trade partner for him. I would expect them to do the same with McRae if they were planning on trading him. With all that said, I don’t think he will be on the roster when they head into the playoffs.

The Cavs only have a few assets when it comes to trades. I believe that there is a possibility of Shumpert being moved. However, he has played well enough that I’m not sure if the Cavs would want to move him at this point.

Rich Scheuermann: Yes. Brian Windhorst reported that the team is looking to package McRae and Williams for a more practical fit; likely a point guard. It doesn’t look like coach Lue is privy to letting rookie Kay Felder backup Kyrie. I guess we’ll see as the season progresses. Shumpert is interesting, though. I think the Cavs are in a funny spot where Shump’s contract isn’t suffocating, but his trade value isn’t great at the moment. So I think Shump stays, but I don’t think he’ll be a mainstay at backup PG.

Quenton Albertie: I’m not so sure that the Cleveland Cavaliers really do want to move Iman Shumpert. However, I think they’re open to trading both Shumpert and McRae. While both players are fan favorites and could be good pieces for the future, they’re inconsistent on the court. Because of Mo Williams’ non-retirement I think a deal more or less has to get done by any means, but the Cavs are increasing Shump’s trade value by letting him stay on the court, believe it or not.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Contract Impasse With Mo Williams Is Troubling

Q: What was your biggest disappointment from the Cavs this week?

Dan O.: My biggest disappointment this season is there having difficulty closing out games. They have given up big leads in 3 of their 6 wins. I feel the rotation still needs work and they are trying to rotate as they did last season. They do not have the same players as last year though so they MUST incorporate them and figure out THEIR strengths.

Jackson Flickinger: There isn’t much to complain about the Cavs right now. They are undefeated and they look fantastic. That being said I wouldn’t mind expanding the rotation to 10 or 11 players. Right now they’re running a nine-man rotation. However, that really isn’t something to be disappointed about. All is going well with the Cavs right now.

Rich Scheurmann: Letting their foot off the gas, especially on defense. Look, it happens. We know the team isn’t going to go 110% for every minute of every game. But they’ve let some young guys (Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid) burn them in consecutive games. Those also happen to be two incredibly talented young players, who I happen to like, so I can’t be that mad about it. I guess I’m still just most disappointed with Tristan Thompson’s taste in women.

Quenton Albertie: My biggest disappointment has been LeBron James’ inability to hit his outside shot consistently. He seemed to be putting in a concerted effort this offseason into making himself a better shooter and he’s even averaging more than four three-point attempts per game, however, he’s been off. His free-throw shooting has similarly been dismal as well. While the Cavs have let leads slip against opponents, they’re still 6-0. That shows a resiliency, and chemistry, that they might not have had last year.

Q: When you look around the league, what teams do you see as the biggest threats to a title repeat?

Dan O.: Biggest threats in the East appear to be Raptors and Celtics.
In the West, Warriors and Spurs

Jackson Flickinger: Well we all know that the Warriors and the Spurs are the biggest threats in the West to beat the Cavs. However, the Cavs don’t really have much of a threat in the East. The Raptors look like the second best team in the East again. That being said, the Hawks, Bulls, and Pacers look like they are tought teams. However, I really don’t see any team in the East giving the Cavs a scare.

Rich Scheurmann: Did you see how hard the Sixers pushed us on Saturday? Kidding. No offense to this side of the Mississippi, but I’m looking West for the biggest threats to the Cavs. Warriors, Spurs, Clippers, Thunder. I never thought OKC could be a title contender with just Russ running the show, but they’re off to their best start since the 08-09 season. He’s a maniac. We’ve never really seen this Clippers team stay at full health, but I’d love to see what they’d look like in the playoffs without losing any key players. The Spurs have Kawhi, who goes up like 10 points in NBA 2K ratings every year. And they’re still the Spurs. Golden State has to be the number one contender. Something in my gut tells me not to believe that, but I mean look at their stupid roster. This will be fun.

Quenton Albertie: I’m pretty sure the same teams are the biggest threats to the Cavs this year. Meaning, on the West, there’s the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. There’s the disntinct possibility that the Houston Rockets could throw themselves into the hat as well. In the East, there is no real threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers no matter what you see from DeMar Derozan.

Q: Do you think the Big Three can each continue to average 20 points each?

Dan O.: 20+ each? It is a REAL possibility. Love has shown his increased presence in scoring and rebounding. LBJ and Kyrie will average 20 each no problem.

Jackson Flickinger: The key to this is Kevin Love. If the Cavs continue to feed Love the ball and give him opportunities to work with the bench unit then the Big Three can all average 20 points or better. The key is keeping Love aggressive. If he goes back to becoming strictly a floor spacer, then this won’t happen.

Rich Scheuermann: Nah. It’s not even necessarily good for the team’s success. Love is off to a hot start, but it’s tough to foresee him jumping up to 20 a night when he only averaged 16 his first two seasons in Cleveland. I think it would be great fun, though and I wouldn’t completely rule it out as a possibility. A 30-30-30 night for the Big Three would be awesome. I’m just gonna go ahead and predict that now.

Quenton Albertie: I think this offense is built for every player to average more than 20.0 points per game. I’m sure that Tyronn Lue’s ability to get every player involved and define the roles of the Big Three were major reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers were ready to sign Lue to a long-term deal right away. Kevin Love makes the team extremely dangerous when he attacks the rim all game.

What did you see from the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first week? What your answers to the questions posed to the KJG staff? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.