Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shakes hands with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the fourth quarter of game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Warriors won 105-97. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers made it the NBA Finals without Kevin Love and while losing Kyrie Irving in Game 1. In LeBron James‘ first year back, the Cavs were successful but left the season wanting more. Their fans are not only left wanting but have spent the off-season focused on how the team could get even better to bring that elusive title.
This off-season the Cavs were busy bringing back their entire roster from last year while adding a couple veteran pieces. They also have two Traded Player Exceptions, from trading Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Portland Trailblazers. They could use either or both to bring in more talent to their very talented roster. They are more likely to wait until the off-season, if at all, to use the TPE’s but they give them options.
While we still have over two months until the Regular Season starts, we get a chance to evaluate the Cavs roster versus other contenders. While games are played on the court and not paper, on paper it is clear that the Cavs roster is very good. There are no more big moves left to make across the NBA landscape besides Tristan Thompson coming back to the Cavs one way or another.
For this series we will evaluate each of the starting 5 positions against another team, starting with the Western Conference contenders, and then take a look at the teams’ benches.
We will hit on both Eastern and Western Conference teams but, since the West is so much better, we will start out there with the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.
Next: Starting Point Guards