Cavaliers are being UNDERESTIMATED big-time

[heathmalc]

One thing that I continue to hear from Cavaliers fans is the argument of whether to reload or rebuild. I think both sides have a strong case: Rebuild - As BW said recently, Most GMs feel that the best way to rebuild is to tear a team down completely and start-over from scratch. Reload - The Cavaliers didn't have the best record in the league for the last two years because of LeBron by himself. In-case some of you forgot, before some of our more recently acquired players were here, we won 47 games (2008). If LeBron did everything himself, then we wouldn't have lost so many games that year.

Regardless... The decision has been made already... there is nothing to argue about; the Cavaliers are re-loading... that is final!

Some of you have it stuck in your head that the Cavaliers will be stuck in mediocrity for doing this. Others think we'd be just as likely to be stuck in mediocrity if we tore the team apart and completely rebuilt.

Everyone seems to be looking at the Eastern conference as the stronger conference now. I wonder why this is. I also wonder why the Eastern conference was considered so inferior in the first place. The fact is that only two all-star type players from the west moved to the east: Amare & Boozer. All of a sudden, Chicago is supposed to be great; Miami is great; the Celtics are great; Orlando has slipped; Atlanta has slipped; Milwaukee is better; Charlotte is up and coming; the Cavs suck; New York is a conference contender; New Jersey is expected to make the playoffs.

I say: What is the heck are these people drinking/smoking??? I WANT SOME!!!!

Here are some thinks to wrap your head around:

Miami: The Miami heat now has 3 all-stars, and three of the most talented players in the league. The 3-egos are somehow supposed to win 70 games now (seriously, that is being predicted). Miami got Mike Miller... good for them. He is aging and his shooting has slumped, and his defense is almost not there anymore. In addition, when he is paired with the 3-egos, he will stand in a corner and do nothing except shoot three-balls and miss defensive rotations. The Heat at supposed to re-sign Haslem..no problem there..he is decent player. Ilgauskas, Fisher, and a boat-load of other vets for the minimum. I love big Z...but he is getting old, is slow as always, and cannot be out there for 35 minutes a game. Fisher "should" be okay...but he still sucks 70% of the time. All the other vets they get... apparently they think that those older players wont have injuries, or will be rejuvenated. Really? Dont they remember the Malone, Payton, Shaq, Kobe team of 03/04? Remember what happened to them (and that team had some talent too)? They lost to a Detroit team without a single star. Billups was on his 5th team in 6 years, Prince was a defensive player, but unknown, Rasheed was signed in the off-season from the Jail-Blazers; Ben was the closest thing to a star on the team...who was picked to finish 3rd in the conference. The heat are obviously better than last year, and should win 55-60 games. But I don't see a title...not with what they have & can get.

New York: Um... They added Amare, Kelenna Azubuike , Ronny Turiaf, and Anthony Randolph. They retailed Gallo, Chandler and Douglas. Now they will fill in the open spots with cheap players. They also lost Lee...their top player. New York is gonna be great? How is that?????? The Knicks will compete for a 7-8 seed. win total: 40-48

New Jersey: The team that was an amazing 12 games last season... they added a billionaire owner, and are trying to get Anthony Morrow, who they signed to an offer sheet. They have nothing else added to the team yet. There are still some players available, but nothing that is going to propel them into the upper tier of the eastern conference. I'll be surprised if the Nets make the playoffs. win total: 35-45

Charlotte: Basically has stayed the same. Should win about 42-48 games.

Milwaukee: Picked up Chris Douglas Roberts, Corey Maggette, Drew Gooden, re-signed Salmons, still has core of Bogut, Jennings, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Ersan Ilyasova, and Carlos Delfino. I expect Milwaukee to be highly under-rated, and expect them to win 47-55 games.

Chicago Has picked up Carlos Boozer, and Kyle Korver. Lost Hinrich. They are supposed to be so much better...WHY? Can someone please tell me what Kyle Korver can do that John Salmons couldn't? What, shoot a 3 ball better? Korver is a 1 trick pony. Boozer is great...Why? Because he keeps getting injured? No..I know why...because he was nearly a 20/10 guy. That's right. I guess the part about not playing defense, the inability to pass the ball, or make a shot outside of 15 feet...that stuff won't matter? Did someone forget who the new coach in Chicago is...or the fact that Boozer is a ego-maniac, and wont like a rookie coach telling him..an all-star, how to play? He had problems with all-time great Jerry Sloan... but I'm sure that he'll do great with a rookie coach, on a team where he is expected to be the #1 scoring option.... yeah, right. Chicago finishes no better than 5th or 6th in the league, and if the Cavs have a team together, the Bulls could finish as low as third in the division. Likely win total: 45-52

Orlando: Every bit as good as they were last year, with a year more of experience. I consider them the conference favorites. A couple mid-type moves could make them better in a couple places. Win total: 55-60

Boston: Will not be nearly as good as people will predict. I expect the Celtics to finish no better than fourth in the conference, and possibly as low as the 7th or 8th seed. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce are all even older than they were last season when they pretty much stopped playing half-way through the year. This ultimately helped them in the playoffs...but they also avoided major injuries all year... probably because they stopped playing hard in January. I still expect the Celtics to be a tough out in the playoffs if everyone is healthy by then, but I don't expect much as far as wins. Win total: 45-55

Your CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: The Cavaliers are hard to gauge right now because we don't know what the final product is gonna be. What we can do, is project the moves that will be made, and the moves that wont be made. We know what type of teams Byron always has. He has run the same style ever since he became a head coach. Therefor we know that the team will play a defense that is largely man-2-man. He will insist that his players defend, or he will sit them. He has little patience with young players that do not listen, or refuse to learn. His offense is a hybrid of the Princeton-offense. This Hybrid incorporates lots of ball movement and player movement. The Hybrid part of the offense is based on the Show-Time Lakers', and the offense that Pat ran back in the 80's. This means that the team has to be able to run whenever it has the opportunity for a fast break. The Ball is moved past the half-court line very quickly. If a quick score is not available, then the movement begins, with the PG and front-court players being the focal points. This means that your front court players have to be able to finish, and your PG has to be quick, and know how to pass. Point guards that fit Byron's profile are: Jonny Flynn, Kyle Lowry, and T.J. Ford. If none of them can be had, another player who would fit nearly as well is Ty Lawson. PG's that fans like...but don't fit: Darren Collison. Darren is not as quick or fast, and doesn't push the ball hard...with is a prerequisite for a Byron Scott PG. If none of those players can be had, then the Cavs will likely stick with Mo Williams or Telfair...who also comes close to fitting the Byron profile. Any player that the Cavaliers get will either be good defenders already, or at a minimum, hard workers at the defensive end. When all is said and done, I expect the Cavs to probably win the division title, in what could be a close race with both the Bucks and the Bulls. The Cavs could get anywhere from the 3rd seed to the 6th seed (doubt that it is lower). Win total: 42-51

[Triumph36]

OK...this team wins 40 games and is stuck in mediocrity with no future. That gets us the 7th seed at best. That starts the wonderful treadmill of mediocrity....and that's definitely never fun. Sure, this team will be decent forever but never actually a contender again without a rebuild. I don't want to be decent, I want to contend and bring a title. We will only do that with a rebuild.

BTW, the Bulls and Bucks will both easily finish ahead of us in the division.

[JustAwesome]

Bulls are even more stacked now than ever. Cavaliers won't beat them in the standings this season.

[TheOUTLAW]

You think that's stacked? The Bulls currently have a team that has the exact same chance of winning a championship as the Cavs do. I don't see the reason for bragging.

[Harry10]

their is a big difference between 7th seed with a bunch of young players and 7th seed with old players like Jamison and Mo.

[Dekadez]

I lol'd. 3d seed? :')

[therealness]

I think cavs will be alright with out LeLame James... but your break down or projections of some of these teams are way off.

[vct33]

It's impossible to say what Cleveland will do in Free Agency and with the TPE they get in the LeBron deal. However, as currently constructed, this is a 25 win team thanks to the acquisition of Jamison last year. Without Jamison they would be the worst team in the NBA.

[Cleveland Fan]

OK...this team wins 40 games and is stuck in mediocrity with no future. That gets us the 7th seed at best. That starts the wonderful treadmill of mediocrity....and that's definitely never fun. Sure, this team will be decent forever but never actually a contender again without a rebuild. I don't want to be decent, I want to contend and bring a title. We will only do that with a rebuild.

BTW, the Bulls and Bucks will both easily finish ahead of us in the division.

NO TANK this year. With how this all went down we can not afford to tank. Give this team a chance. 1-2 years if not then re-build.

Cleveland Fan

[Cleveland Fan]

It's impossible to say what Cleveland will do in Free Agency and with the TPE they get in the LeBron deal. However, as currently constructed, this is a 25 win team thanks to the acquisition of Jamison last year. Without Jamison they would be the worst team in the NBA.

I think not. With the TPE we will make a few move. After that, depending on who we get then you will see that we are a playoff team & will continue to be.


Cleveland Fan

[Triumph36]

their is a big difference between 7th seed with a bunch of young players and 7th seed with old players like Jamison and Mo.

This is worded perfectly. We are a 7/8 seed, but not a 7/8 seed on the rise, instead it's the complete opposite. You obviously want to be on the rise. Screwing around trying to make the playoffs will be a waste of time.

OK...this team wins 40 games and is stuck in mediocrity with no future. That gets us the 7th seed at best. That starts the wonderful treadmill of mediocrity....and that's definitely never fun. Sure, this team will be decent forever but never actually a contender again without a rebuild. I don't want to be decent, I want to contend and bring a title. We will only do that with a rebuild.

BTW, the Bulls and Bucks will both easily finish ahead of us in the division.

NO TANK this year. With how this all went down we can not afford to tank. Give this team a chance. 1-2 years if not then re-build.

Cleveland Fan

I don't know what kind of "chance" you want to give them. A chance at a title? They are not going to win anything in that time period and that is a fact. Give them a chance to be a mediocre 6-8 seed and get swept in the first round? Why? That's a waste of time and just delaying the inevitable rebuild.

A retool won't lead to a championship. Not a chance. I want a championship.

[vct33]

It's impossible to say what Cleveland will do in Free Agency and with the TPE they get in the LeBron deal. However, as currently constructed, this is a 25 win team thanks to the acquisition of Jamison last year. Without Jamison they would be the worst team in the NBA.

I think not. With the TPE we will make a few move. After that, depending on who we get then you will see that we are a playoff team & will continue to be.


Cleveland Fan

Like I said before, we can't predict future moves. As the team is currently constructed, they are a very bad team. If they land a player like Al Jefferson with the TPE and sign someone like Josh Childress through free agency, then they might become a fringe playoff team.

[gflem]

If all they do is Jefferson and Childress I will be rather depressed. That is the recipe for the dreaded treadmill. Moving Mo and Jamison for younger guys with some talent and taking a bad shorter term contract or two while perserving as many draft picks as possible is the way to go imo.
I wouldnt mind a 25-35 win season or two if we have young guys that are improving as opposed to a 35-45 win team that is on the decline or has an older mix of players with no long term prospect of advancing in the playoffs towards the ultimate goal.

[vct33]

If all they do is Jefferson and Childress I will be rather depressed. That is the recipe for the dreaded treadmill. Moving Mo and Jamison for younger guys with some talent and taking a bad shorter term contract or two while perserving as many draft picks as possible is the way to go imo.
I wouldnt mind a 25-35 win season or two if we have young guys that are improving as opposed to a 35-45 win team that is on the decline or has an older mix of players with no long term prospect of advancing in the playoffs towards the ultimate goal.

I wasn't suggesting Jefferson & Childress as a preferred course of action. I agree with you. I say dump Mo & Jamison if at all possible. Hell, dump everyone. Varejao is overpaid and under-skilled. Maybe we can trick a team into taking him off our hands. Also, be patient with the TPE. There might be someone worth our while at the deadline.

[FUEGO]

Did I just see someone compare the current Cavs to the Bulls? The Bulls got Rose, which is a mini Lebron. The Cavs gotta rebuild from the ground up. I know LBJ didn't win those games alone, but he also didn't lose the playoffs alone either. Mo Williams has to now step up and put up numbers. If he doesn't its a wrap.

[God Squad]

People arn't Underestimating the cavs...It's just the cavs suck. Bottom line. Better hope you guys could get something done.

[old skool]

I agree that most people underestimate the Cavs. Lebron dominated the ball, making it difficult for others to contribute. It will take time for the team to adjust. But they can move on without Lebron.

The biggest problem is that they were built solely to win with Lebron. Aging veterans are ok, but not the best way to go unless you have the win-now talent of Lebron. I see Jamison being a decent player. Hickson and Varejäo can contribute. And Mo Williams needs to step up big time as a distributor - which he is not very good at doing. Cleveland will not be a playoff team, in my opinion, unless they improve the roster with a good center and point guard. But they will win some games and compete most nights.

oLd sKool

[Dezmondballins3]

Good luck to all of you and the cavs to but miller shot 48% from three last year i dont think thats slumping and he is a year older the wade good luck though i feel for yall

[TheOUTLAW]

I agree that most people underestimate the Cavs. Lebron dominated the ball, making it difficult for others to contribute. It will take time for the team to adjust. But they can move on without Lebron.

The biggest problem is that they were built solely to win with Lebron. Aging veterans are ok, but not the best way to go unless you have the win-now talent of Lebron. I see Jamison being a decent player. Hickson and Varejäo can contribute. And Mo Williams needs to step up big time as a distributor - which he is not very good at doing. Cleveland will not be a playoff team, in my opinion, unless they improve the roster with a good center and point guard. But they will win some games and compete most nights.

oLd sKool

This is my thinking although I think more highly of Mo than you do. I don't see this team being the 17 win Cavs, but definitely not a serious playoff contender. We need to upgrade all over but mainly at C and SG.

[heathmalc]

OK...this team wins 40 games and is stuck in mediocrity with no future.

You really need to quit being so pessimistic. You have made this same statement about 50 times (between here and on other forums).