As the preseason comes to a close and the regular season is set to being, where do the Cleveland Cavaliers rank against the rest of the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are again rebuilding thanks to LeBron James leaving town. They are entering year-two of the second post-James era and they will be looking towards their young players to see what kind of a path they are on.
For these power rankings, a composite starting lineup score against the entirety of the NBA will be given based off of the position rankings KJG did over the past few weeks. You can take a look at the point guard rankings here.
#15 – Charlotte Hornets – composite score – 26.6
Projected starting lineup: Terry Rozier, Nicolas Batum, Dwayne Bacon, Miles Bridges, Cody Zeller
The Charlotte Hornets lost the best player in franchise history when Kemba Walker took his talents to the Boston Celtics. This has the looks of a horrendous season in Charlotte and they will be contenders for the number one overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
They did bring in Terry Rozier from Boston and they hope he can regain his form from the 2017-18 NBA playoffs. They will also need to hope for a monster year from Miles Bridges and they will be lucky to crack 20 wins this season.
#14 – Washington Wizards – composite score – 23.8
Projected starting lineup: Ish Smith, Bradley Beal, Troy Brown Jr., Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant
The Washington Wizards would check in a little higher than 14th in the East if John Wall were going to play this season. However, he is likely to miss the entirety of the 2019-20 season as he recovers from a torn Achilles.
They recently extended All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal for two more years worth $72 million. He is now under contract through the 2022-23 season according to Spotrac.
It’s going to be a rough season in the nation’s capital but Beal will help put some fans in the seats because he is going to put up some incredible scoring nights. Outside of Beal, the Wizards roster is a barren wasteland.
#13 – Cleveland Cavaliers – composite score – 19.2
Projected starting lineup: Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Love
It’s going to be another poor year for the Cavaliers as they look to continue on their rebuild track. However, there is a difference between the Cavaliers and the Hornets and Wizards. The Cavs actually have some young pieces to build with, in Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Kevin Porter Jr., and Dylan Windler.
The Cavs will run the majority of their offense through veteran big man Kevin Love and allow Sexton and Garland to probe defenses. They should score at a reasonably high clip, but if the preseason is any indicator, they will struggle at times with shooting consistency.
Expect another season that results in a high draft pick in the summer of 2020 for the Cavs.