Position-by-Position Preview: 2014-15 Cavaliers

Mar 12, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) reacts on the court against the Phoenix Suns in the second half at US Airways Center. The Cavaliers won 110-101. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Point Guard:

Rotation: Kyrie Irving, Matthew Dellavedova, Chris Crawford, Stephan Holt, A.J. Price

Obviously when your starting point guard is a two-time All-Star, All-Star game MVP, Rookie of the Year, Rising Stars game MVP, FIBA World Cup gold medalist, FIBA World Cup MVP and is the young age of 22, your starting point guard position is in a pretty good shape. This couldn’t be truer for the Cavaliers.

Irving has been the face of the franchise ever since he was drafted and also has been the No. 1 scoring option. He will need to learn how to take a back seat this upcoming season. LeBron James will be leading the Cavaliers in scoring this season, but he understands how important Irving is to the team, as he told reporters at Cavaliers Training Camp: “This is Kyrie Irving’s show, he’s our point guard. He’s our floor general, and we need him to put us in a position to succeed offensively.” Strong words from the best player in the world.

If Irving’s play at the FIBA World Cup is a preview of things to come, then Cavaliers fans should be extremely excited. Irving showed his ability to play with other superstars, move without the ball, distribute when needed, shoot effectively and maybe most importantly play defense and show an effort on that end of the floor. If Irving can do all of these things this season in Cleveland, he will be back to the All-Star Game in no time.

After Irving though, things aren’t as pretty. While Dellavedova is a fan-favorite, he struggles with handling the basketball and should be viewed as a spark plug off the bench who can provide three-point shooting and defensive intensity when needed. Dellavedova isn’t a good ball handler and questions remain on how he can run Coach Blatt’s innovate offense, and the point guards invited to training camp probably won’t do much better.

Coach Blatt has an interesting dilemma when it comes to the back-up point guard. Does he use Dellavedova as the true back up? Does he play Dion Waiters and James at the 1 spot throughout the season? Will he play Irving extended minutes? All of these questions will be answered once the season kicks off.