What should the Cleveland Cavaliers expect this season?
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, this has to be one of the weirdest NBA seasons to date.
Almost nobody saw Kevin Durant leaving Oklahoma City to make a super team in Golden State. It changed the whole dynamic of the league. LeBron James said himself this week, “Teams get together in this conference and across this league to try to beat me.”
“Teams get together in this conference and across this league to try to beat me.”
Arrogant or not, what James said to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon is factual. James has been in the NBA Finals for the past six seasons.
For the past nine years, teams have been constructed to beat him. At times it’s worked. Most times it hasn’t.
The key for the Cleveland Cavaliers to fulfilling their desires as a potential dynasty isn’t beating Golden State as everyone likes to clamor on about. They’ve pulled off one of the greatest feats in NBA history doing that already.
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What they need to focus on as a team this year, is well, coming together as a complete team.
This is the first year since James came back home from Miami that the Cavaliers have had a full training camp with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love all there. The first year, Love wasn’t even on the roster until late August of 2014. At this time last year, Irving was still recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of the final five games of the 2015 Finals.
This offseason, the Big Three have all able to participate in training camp. Something they have definitely missed out on.
For the past two years, many felt that Love never completely grasped his role in the offense. After winning the NBA Finals and having a decent playoff contribution before a poor NBA Final’s performance, the proverbial monkey is off of Love’s back.
This is his chance to shine.
Irving can evolve even more into one of the best scorers in the league. If he repeats the usage and minutes he had in the playoffs, there’s no doubt he could be top ten in the league in points per game. In addition, James is very slowly (very very slowly) handing the reigns to Irving on offense. One interesting stat to keep in mind: when James wasn’t on the court last year, Irving was top ten in the league in assist percentage.
With good teammates and some injury luck, Irving can finally develop into his full capabilities.
LeBron James. The King. He could do many things with this season. Most likely he’ll take his foot off the throttle with no need to go all out in the regular season. Even with decreased minutes, the Cavaliers will be just fine. In fact, he doesn’t even feel like it will decrease his MVP chances.
The addition of Mike Dunleavy as a wing who can shoot lights out from deep will add even more to this bench. Meanwhile, whether or not Jordan McRae and Iman Shumpert are on this team in December remains to be seen. Both have heard their names in the trade winds and with Mo Williams taking up a valuable roster spot, a trade could be made sooner than later.
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They have the depth in the backcourt and rookie Kay Felder has loads of potential as Irving’s backup. Throughout the season, expect see hiccups from the youngster, but his ability to score at the rim and handle the ball is very promising. He may be “Isaiah Thomas lite” in only a few years.
Tristan Thompson is one of the most effective small centers in the league. His ability to suck up offensive rebounds and create put backs is something the Cavs rely on heavily. However, this year, Tyronn Lue expects Thompson to be able to score from the post and extending his shooting range. Watch out, as there may be a midrange game we’ve never seen from him.
Chris Andersen, “the Birdman”, will have a valuable role on this Cavs team as well. His ability to pass the ball out of the post and in transition is a perfect compliment to the second team. All the while his edgy image and personality will be loved by Cavs fans all year. Just ask J.R. Smith.
Smith finally resigned with the team he truly loves and I have a feeling there will be no worries at all from his end. He’ll be splashing contested threes as usual.
Richard Jefferson, who had a huge role in the playoffs last year, is a consistent 3-and-D wing that the Cavs needed in the second team. However, expect a limited role until playoff time.
As for Channing Frye, he could have increased minutes this year. His ability to stretch the floor like Love will be a huge contribution if any one of the Cleveland Cavaliers current forwards goes down to injury.
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At the end of the day, the Eastern Conference is much improved. The Boston Celtics are probably the largest competitor to the Cavs. They now have Al Horford, perfectly fitting Brad Steven’s offense that needs big men up top to spread the floor.
The Atlanta Hawks have Dwight Howard, and the resurrection of his career could imminent.
The New York Knicks have a revamped roster with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah joining the squad. New head coach Jeff Hornacek, former head coach of the Phoenix Suns, should be able to speed up the pace.
The Chicago Bulls now have a Big Three themselves with Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, and Rajon Rondo. They’ll be a tough team to beat every night out.
Don’t expect the Eastern Conference to be an easy road to the finish – it’s deeper than ever. It won’t be an easy road to the Eastern Conference Finals. It will take an even better Cleveland Cavalier’s team than we saw last year.
Don’t even mention the Golden State Warriors. We’ll cross that road once we get there.
But be excited for the growth of Love and Irving in increased roles. Another year of the King, LeBron James, steering ship is a cause for celebration as well.
Who’s ready to get this season started!
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What are you expecting from the Cleveland Cavaliers this season? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.