The best and — by some accounts — likely scenario for LeBron James and the Cavaliers this season is that Cleveland brings home its first ever championship in its 45 years of existence.
It’s an intriguing thought, but another interesting, and by some accounts, likely situation that could unfold for the team this year is LeBron seeing fellow All-Stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving go down with injuries yet again and sit out for most of the season.
And if not this year, history shows that the injury bug is bound to bite Irving or Love again during what’s expected to be a justifiably bright future for the team.
If one of them suffers a broken bone during the regular season — or dare I say the playoffs — the Cavs would be a third seed in the East, at best, behind the Bulls and Wizards and the season would become a harkening back to LeBron’s early days; Cleveland would be just a one-man squad and a few missing pieces short of actually winning it all, assuming they even make it out of the Eastern Conference.
KYRIE’S HISTORY OF INJURIES
Let’s not forget — Kyrie played only 11 games at Duke because of a toe injury, missed 16 games his rookie year in which he won Rookie of the Year during a lockout season, appeared in only 59 games his sophomore season with the Cavs after slapping his hand against padding after a turnover and thus requiring surgery, and then missed about a dozen games last season. It goes without saying that he has untold potential, but there’s also no question he’s demonstrated a reputation for being injury-prone early-on in his basketball career.
If Kyrie goes down for an extended period yet again, who will handle point guard duties?
The inexperienced A.J. Price? He’s started a total of 25 games in his five years in the league and has never averaged more than 22 minutes per game. In fact, last season, he averaged three minutes per game for a Wolves team that missed the playoffs. Are we to expect him to step up in Kyrie’s absence? I hope not if you’re a Cavs fan.
What about the shoot-first Dion Waiters? I like him as a backup shooting guard, but certainly not as my floor leader as a starter if I’m rookie head coach David Blatt.
That would leave point guard duties falling squarely on LeBron. It’s a sustainable plan for a few games during the regular, perhaps even to win a few series in the playoffs. Will this be the Cavs reality in the Eastern Conference Finals, or the NBA Finals? If you’re in Cleveland, you better hope Kyrie is 100 percent for the postseason.
AND WHAT ABOUT MR. LOVE?
Yes, he had an incredible season individually last year. Statistically, he’s about as good as any power forward in the past decade. But, like Irving, let’s not forget that it was only two seasons ago that he appeared in only 18 games after fracturing his shooting hand not once but twice that year. In 2009-10, he missed 18 games after breaking part of his hand when he banged it against a teammate during the preseason. All questions aside about his ability to win at a high level, can Love put together a string of consecutive seasons in which he plays 80 or so games?
The Cavs gave up a lot for him and will need a big year from him in return, not to mention a big career from Love if he’s healthy and decides to stay in Cleveland after he opts out this coming summer.
Unlike the lack of depth the Cavs have at point guard, Cleveland does have the insurance of a viable player in Tristan Thompson should Love go down with an injury. But Anderson Varejao is also another injury-prone player. He missed 16 games last season, played in only 25 games the year prior and made only 31 appearances in 2010-11. There’s every reason to believe the Brazilian will miss a chunk of games this year.
If so, then what?
Thompson would likely move to center and if Love is out with another injury, the Cavs will be left scrambling. It’s not a position they want to be in at any point, much less when they’re fighting for the No. 1 seed with a hungry Bulls team, but it’s certainly a reality.
FULL OF PROMISE, AND HIGH EXPECTATIONS
The Eastern Conference isn’t the junior varsity league it used to be, and the Cavs will need the regular season as an opportunity for the “big three” to develop a sense of cohesiveness. LeBron demonstrated that need for consistency with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade after losing in the finals to the Mavericks his first year in Miami. Cleveland will also need to be firing on all cylinders heading in the playoffs to compete in their own conference’s postseason, much less against a crowded group of championship-caliber teams out west.
This season is full of promise for the Cavaliers, and rightfully so. Let’s not forget that LeBron took an otherwise pathetic Cleveland team to the Finals on his back. He’s as much a one-man army as we’ve come to know in the NBA.
But is that all Cleveland fans can hope for — a legacy of losing at the highest level? Are they the Bills of the NBA?
LeBron demonstrated his ability to win championships with a big three in Miami that was not, in my opinion, as talented as the one he currently has in Cleveland. Regardless of what he says now about taking time to win a ring, the expectations are higher now than they’ve ever been for LeBron and Cleveland.
The season is a long one, and the playoffs — as any player or coach will tell you — is a season unto itself. A lot can happen between now and June. If you’re a Cavs fan, you better hope the training and medical staff in Cleveland is as talented as the team they have on the court.