TSN Season Preview : Cavs not necessarily better

bballCT · Post #1 » by **bballCT** » Sun Sep 7, 2008 10:53 pm

Season preview from Tom Chisholm:

PG - Mo Williams

It's amazing how much better a signing can look when it's with the right team. With the Bucks, Williams looked like another gunner on a team in desperate need of a heady playmaker. In Cleveland, LeBron is and should be the primary playmaker. Everything in their offense runs through him, anyway, and so adding another three-point shooter to backline makes good sense here. Williams is also a capable scorer inside of the arc, and could help a Cavalier bench that doesn't exactly set the world on fire when James sits down. If he can help with the Cavs offensive dry spells in James's absence then his value to this team will increase that much more as a result. His acquisition may not be earth-shattering, but it doesn't need to be for a team one season removed from a Finals appearance. It's all about tinkering right now, and delivering the big one when the time is right.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=248765

rjgraca · Post #2 » by **rjgraca** » Mon Sep 8, 2008 1:55 am

Pretty much normal for the national media to down play the CAVs with such logic claiming that Mo Williams will help (implying they will be better), but writing that the CAVs won't be better.

Then this writer has such a glowing piece on JO in Toronto that is wishful thinking at best considering he hasn't been anywhere close to elite since 2004. The CAVs get dead paned every year so what else is new when the national media likes published these kind of balanced reports which completely over look the CAVs playoff experience and their improvement which has been as much or more than most teams in the Eastern Conference.

C - Jermaine O'Neal

While questions about his surgically repaired knee are going to dog him until well into the season, O'Neal is hungry to prove to people that he's healed today. He's not only motivated and eager for basketball action, but the strain of the last few years has matured O'Neal greatly. He readily accepts playing a secondary role to Bosh, he accepts playing out of position at center, and he accepts that he's going to have to tweak his game to his new team and not the other way around. His talent is not (and has never been) in question, everyone is just waiting to see how that talent is going to manifest playing alongside another dominant big man. Return to the form of two or three years ago and the Raptors have the best post tandem in the NBA. If not…well, that's why this preseason is all about uncertainty.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=248543& ... pStory_nba

L&H_05 · Post #3 » by **L&H_05** » Mon Sep 8, 2008 2:08 am

Before the trade we were the 2nd best team in the east... No team in the east outside of Boston would beat us in a 7 game series...No other team had the rebounding or defense to compete, not to mention having anything that could hold LBJ down..

One thing is for sure, we're not any worse with Mo... So, if all else fails we're still the 2nd best team in the east...

Thus, a pointless article..

I don't even know what TSN is anyways...

Irrelevance...

Post #4 » by **INKtastic** » Mon Sep 8, 2008 3:41 am

Just being mostly healthy this year should make us better. Getting Mo Williams should only add to that.

Gordon Bombay · Post #5 » by **Gordon Bombay** » Mon Sep 8, 2008 4:15 am

so is tsn like canada's espn? cuz espn is awful, so i just hope tsn isnt of the same elk (i think thats the word im looking for and if its not, well im not changing it)

Canomad · Post #6 » by **Canomad** » Mon Sep 8, 2008 4:28 am

i think being healthy to start the season like an above poster said and signing mo williams good for atleast 17points and 6 assists along with jj hickson. plus we have valuable pieces to move when the trade dealine comes. now if we resign west i think we are good to go! plus i think gibson is getitng better and lebron is still on 23 so hes not at his peak yet.

Benedict_Boozer · Post #7 » by **Benedict_Boozer** » Mon Sep 8, 2008 4:59 pm

The Cavs are not a regular season squad anyways. As long as they get into the playoffs with a top 4 seed, I don't see anyone other than Boston knocking us out.

If Ferry can get us an upgrade at PF with expirings before the deadline OR JJ produces this year I would even be confident against Boston.

bballCT · Post #8 » by **bballCT** » Mon Sep 8, 2008 7:30 pm

L&H_05 wrote:Before the trade we were the 2nd best team in the east... No team in the east outside of Boston would beat us in a 7 game series...No other team had the rebounding or defense to compete, not to mention having anything that could hold LBJ down..

One thing is for sure, we're not any worse with Mo... So, if all else fails we're still the 2nd best team in the east...

Thus, a pointless article..

I don't even know what TSN is anyways...

Irrelevance...

To be a devil's advocate, I don't think the writer believes that the team itself is not better, but rather that they might not be better in term of possible output at playoff's end (while taking in consideration all that happened in the East this summer). Despite the trade, I myself don't consider Cleveland as a shoe-in for the conference or league finals, which is what they'd have have to achieve to surpass last year's run.

They might pull it off of course, but it's not like if the roster was upgraded enough to be favourites over Boston or Detroit. But again, I didn't think Boston was a shoe-in for the finals when pre-season started last year. We'll all have to wait and see.

rjgraca · Post #9 » by **rjgraca** » Tue Sep 9, 2008 2:32 am

Really, wasn't it Sports Illustrated that had the CAVs 2nd in the Eastern Conference. The CAVs have played the best in the playoffs and I guess other writers are entitled to their opinion of how important the regular season is. While these rankings were hotly debated on the RealGM General Board their wasn't a big disagreement about the CAVs ranking either as a contender for a title.

2. Cavaliers: Even before Wednesday's acquisition of Mo Williams (via a trade with the Bucks), they would rank here simply because of LeBron James. He showed last year in the playoffs that he's good enough almost by himself to take the Celtics to seven games. Williams, acquired in a three-way deal that sent Joe Smith to Oklahoma City, should be a significant upgrade at the point. Plus, the Cavs are one of the NBA's toughest defensive teams under Mike Brown, and their core lineup -- shuffled by a major deal at last season's trade deadline - was starting to gel at the end of last season.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/w ... index.html

Cleveland Cavaliers

Since basketball is a game with 5 players a side, having an all-star on your team gives you a decent chance of winning. Having one of the best players in the NBA take the court for your team every night gives you a great chance at being a playoff contender. The Cleveland Cavaliers will go as far as LeBron James carries them. Two seasons ago, they proved they were the cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference, making it to the Finals. Last season, they nearly beat the World Champion Boston Celtics in 7 games. After doing acquiring Mo Williams and drafting the talented J.J. Hickson in the offseason, the Cavs are that much stronger and that bigger of a threat in the East.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9941

2. Cleveland Cavaliers: There is only one thing that makes the Cavaliers the second-best team in the East: LeBron James. Simply put, Bron Bron is one of the top-5 players in the NBA. Put almost any group of players beside him (see their championship run from two years ago) and James' team would succeed. With that being said, it doesn't hurt that the offensive (Delonte West, Wally Sczerbiak) and defensive (Ben Wallace) talent acquired in last season's late trade will have some more time to get acclimated to playing with King James.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9710

Troubadour · Post #10 » by **Troubadour** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:53 pm

Yes, TSN is Canada's ESPN. We also have the Score, and Sportsnet.

Sid the Squid · Post #11 » by **Sid the Squid** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:49 am

It would be so easy to surround Bron with enough talent to win a title..I can't believe how poorly the cavs have managed this roster through the years..Mo Williams? Come on..Bring in Stephan Jack..That guy is bigtime clutch..

CzBoobie · Post #12 » by **CzBoobie** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 10:45 am

lol, I'd rather have 25-year old point guard than 30-year old headcase who happen to play same position as LeBron...but maybe that's just me.

rjgraca · Post #13 » by **rjgraca** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:44 pm

No. It's not you -- but some are mesmerized by a stat sheet showing him as a 20+ ppg scorer in a run and gun offense the CAVs don't run or that he disappeared during the stretch run last April. Jackson's checkered past and big payday ambitions could spell trouble for the team acquiring him since he does know how to be disruptive if he doesn't get what he wants.