how far can we go with this team being healthy?

[mcfly1204]

Exactly. Cavs have stated that Bennett is a 4 - they do not want to confuse him. Add the fact that Mike Brown loves defense and Gee is our best wing defender - I do not see it

Do you then have to choose between TT and Bennett? I don't imagine you think TT's a center, do you? I'm a big TT fan, so I don't get why you'd want to displace him.

The short answer is no, we do not have to choose. The question will be posed in a couple of years, and at that point the decision should be much more straightforward.

[Niko23]

Exactly. Cavs have stated that Bennett is a 4 - they do not want to confuse him. Add the fact that Mike Brown loves defense and Gee is our best wing defender - I do not see it

Do you then have to choose between TT and Bennett? I don't imagine you think TT's a center, do you? I'm a big TT fan, so I don't get why you'd want to displace him.

I have the minutes going something like:

Irving (34) / Jack (14)
Waiters (34) / Jack (14
Gee (22) / Bennett (12)/ Clark (14)
Thompson (32) / Bennett (12) / Clark (4)
Bynum (24) / AV (24)

Depending on matchups we could easily see Thompson and Bennett playing together at the 3/4 position or the 4/5 position.

[Dupp]

I hope Thompson stays hes my favorite player.

[tidho]

I have the minutes going something like:

Irving (34) / Jack (14)
Waiters (34) / Jack (14
Gee (22) / Bennett (12)/ Clark (14)
Thompson (32) / Bennett (12) / Clark (4)
Bynum (24) / AV (24)

Depending on matchups we could easily see Thompson and Bennett playing together at the 3/4 position or the 4/5 position.

Could probably pull this to its own rotation thread but....

No Zeller and no Miles, Karasev, or Felix in the rotation.

I think Zeller gets 15mpg. Some of that will come with days off for Bynum and AV but there will be at least 10 mpg even when those two play. I think Clark either plays exclusively SF or he simply won't get minutes. I'd guess Thompson ends up in the 27mpg range if Bennett proves he can play.

I think Jack and Waiters will play less than you're suggesting too. They are going to need to play bigger in certain situations. At most only two of Gee, Miles, Karasev, and Felix will be regulars in the rotation and who ever they are needs to log some minutes at SG.

[dre7o2]

I can see the Cavs being anywhere from the 5th seed, all the way down to barely missing the playoffs.

As of now, I see the East as follows:

1. Miami
2. Indiana
3. Brooklyn
4. Chicago
5. New York
6. Detroit
7. Cleveland
8. Boston

[SaiCLE]

We going to end up with that 8th seed, then we are going to CRUSH the Miami Heat. Then lose In the second round.

[tidho]

We going to end up with that 8th seed, then we are going to CRUSH the Miami Heat. Then lose In the second round.

Give me the round one win and I don't care if we lose each of the round two games 150-25.

[SaiCLE]

We going to end up with that 8th seed, then we are going to CRUSH the Miami Heat. Then lose In the second round.

Give me the round one win and I don't care if we lose each of the round two games 150-25.

Okay, after sleeping on my prediction. I had a dream, that the Cavs were going to beat the Miami Heat In the first round 4-2. Then sweep the Pacers, due to a Waiters explosion. Then sweep the Bulls, because Rose decided he did not want to play(but he's actually scared of Kyrie Irving). Beat OKC In the finals In dominating fashion because Westbrook threw a hissy fit, due to the fact he had to share the ball with KD.

I bleed wine & gold baby

[gordito]

Assuming Bynum is healthy for a majority of the season (and ALL of the playoffs) and playing like his 2012 Laker days, I don't see how this team wont be a top team in the East.

I see them right up there with the Pacers (i.e. 4-5 seed) come playoff time.

The only problem with this assumption is that it's a pretty strong assumption. 100% healthy for a full season, Kyrie Irving and Andrew Bynum would be a top 5 duo in the league. Dion Waiters and Jarrett Jack to take the scoring load off of Irving. Then you have guys like Varejao, Thompson and Clark to clean up and do the dirty work. Not to mention, you have a wildcard in Anthony Bennett, who can probably score out of the gate.

Again, the health factor is what does the trick, especially when you consider someone like Andrew Bynum.

[Shuttlesworth34]

We going to end up with that 8th seed, then we are going to CRUSH the Miami Heat. Then lose In the second round.

Give me the round one win and I don't care if we lose each of the round two games 150-25.

Okay, after sleeping on my prediction. I had a dream, that the Cavs were going to beat the Miami Heat In the first round 4-2. Then sweep the Pacers, due to a Waiters explosion. Then sweep the Bulls, because Rose decided he did not want to play(but he's actually scared of Kyrie Irving). Beat OKC In the finals In dominating fashion because Westbrook threw a hissy fit, due to the fact he had to share the ball with KD.

I bleed wine & gold baby

I assume to beat the heat, wade, bosh, and Lebron were all suspended in a chicken fighting scandal with Riley as the ring leader of the whole thing.

[Scoot McGroot]

Assuming Bynum is healthy for a majority of the season (and ALL of the playoffs) and playing like his 2012 Laker days, I don't see how this team wont be a top team in the East.

I see them right up there with the Pacers (i.e. 4-5 seed) come playoff time.

Well, that's two very different things. The Pacers seed, and a 4-5 seed are very different. The Pacers are battling for the 1 or 2 seed. If they're lower than 3, it's been an injury plagued season or a disappointment.

[gordito]

Assuming Bynum is healthy for a majority of the season (and ALL of the playoffs) and playing like his 2012 Laker days, I don't see how this team wont be a top team in the East.

I see them right up there with the Pacers (i.e. 4-5 seed) come playoff time.

Well, that's two very different things. The Pacers seed, and a 4-5 seed are very different. The Pacers are battling for the 1 or 2 seed. If they're lower than 3, it's been an injury plagued season or a disappointment.

Possibly. However, I had the Heat, Bulls and Nets ranked higher than them. If not seed-wise, I def think head-to-head in playoffs those three teams will be better than Pacers, assuming all are healthy.

But yeah, come to think of it, the Cavs probably wont battle with the Pacers this year, so they're more like 5th seed material.

[ThirdEyeSharp]

The possible dynamic between a PG like Kyrie and a C like Bynum could be deadly and like no other tandem in the entire Eastern Conference.

Bynum has never played with a real PG and I think he can flourish if healthy, it all comes down to guys like Jack, Clark, Varejao playing well all season as well as improvements from our young players.

I don't think Bennett or Karasev have much weight in how we do this year, and honestly, it should be that way. No more relying on rookies and 2nd year players to win games, we have a real team now and it feels great.

[Dupp]

Pacers Will beat the Nets in the playoffs.

[Scoot McGroot]

Pacers Will beat the Nets in the playoffs.

I like to think so....

[cammac]

I am a Toronto fan but likethe Cav's
But realistically if you get 25 games from Bynum ( Bynum waved before his 1st deadline ) and Varejao combined and 10 games them playing together it will be miracle.
What you do .have is depth at PG, SG and PF and weakness at SF and likely at C.
I think the Pistons will need to move Monroe because Smith can't play SF and they will need to make a trade.
Dumars needs to get into the playoffs to save his job.
Can see a package involving Detroit Stuckley, Charlie V, Monroe Toronto Gay and Cleveland TT and Varejao

Detroit gets Gay, Varejao
Toronto gets TT , Charlie V and Miami's 2nd 1st owed to Cleveland
Cleveland gets Monroe and Stuckley

[TheOUTLAW]

I am a Toronto fan but likethe Cav's
But realistically if you get 25 games from Bynum ( Bynum waved before his 1st deadline ) and Varejao combined and 10 games them playing together it will be miracle.
What you do .have is depth at PG, SG and PF and weakness at SF and likely at C.
I think the Pistons will need to move Monroe because Smith can't play SF and they will need to make a trade.
Dumars needs to get into the playoffs to save his job.
Can see a package involving Detroit Stuckley, Charlie V, Monroe Toronto Gay and Cleveland TT and Varejao

Detroit gets Gay, Varejao
Toronto gets TT , Charlie V and Miami's 2nd 1st owed to Cleveland
Cleveland gets Monroe and Stuckley

Cavs give up Varejao, Tristan and a first for Monroe and Stuckey? I wouldn't and it probably fit better into the trade thread. Saying that we won't get 25 games out of Bynum and Varejao COMBINED is kinda stupid to me. Of course, they did both play the fewest games of their careers last year where Varejao played 25 and Bynum none. But then, even that beat your expectations.

[kiwibrindle]

Anyone read this season prediction yet on ESPN?

http://www.cavstheblog.com/?p=21805

Man I hope these guys are wrong. If not I will be tuning out a lot.

Kevin’s Pseudo-Scientific 2013-2014 Projections, Part 3!!
August 28th, 2013 by Kevin Hetrick

[quote]Last week, an “unbiased” and “good case” view for the 2013-2014 Cavaliers season was offered through the lens of basketball-reference.com’s Win Shares data. More so than any team in the NBA though, the spectrum of likely outcomes spans wide for Cleveland. Built from an enticing mix of players young and / or repeatedly beset by injury, a 30-win or 50-win season is believable. A sampling of outcomes driving the team toward another lottery trip looks like:Bad Case Scenario (League Average = 0.100 Win Shares per 48 minutes)



Only 35 wins. So, what went wrong?

» In his rookie and second seasons, Kyrie Irving appeared in approximately 3/4 of the team’s outings. That trend continues, and we all panic a little.
» Andrew Bynum’s knees are shot. As the season progresses, it becomes painfully obvious the reason he refused workouts and warranted only $6 million guaranteed. He rarely sees the floor and in the few opportunities that he does, his play has slipped.
» Varejao manages only the 900-ish minutes he averaged over the past three seasons. I cry.
» What is the resultant from the prior two bullets? Tyler Zeller matches his minutes total from last season, with only slightly improved results.
» C.J. Miles and Earl Clark’s career seasons at age 25? They were exactly that, and both regress to marks similar to their production at age 23 & 24.
» And finally, while unchanged from the “unbiased” version, Dion Waiters struggles to the tune of 0.048 WS/48. Who knows why…maybe non-compatibility of working off-ball with Kyrie; perhaps awful shot chucking; possibly obnoxious defensive recognition.
Personally? I am an optimist and know none of these things will happen. Why?

Kyrie won’t get injured. Seriously, he won’t. Curse you and your stupid brain if you think otherwise.

Bynum? The “knee injury” was a hoax…seriously. Kyrie recruited him and Mike Brown to Cleveland. It happened during a chance path-crossing in Burbank in July 2011. The fake ailment helped grease the wheels towards their uniting. Donald Sterling witnessed the whole impromptu Starbucks collusion, hence Commissioner Stern handing Chris Paul to the Clippers…the truth will come out.

Varejao returns to playing 25 – 28 minutes per night, similar to his prior Coach Brown experience. The franchise learns to sit him on periodic nights, and 65 games is in the bag.

Plus, even if both big men get hurt, Tyler Zeller makes a huuuuuge leap this year. This is inarguable.

Finally, have I talked about when “the light came on” for Dion last year? In Cleveland’s first 32 games, according to basketball-reference.com, Waiters took 27% of him shots from 0 – 3 ft and attempted 0.18 free throws for every field goal attempt. From January 1st until his injury, 38% of his looks came from short range, with 0.35 freebies per shot; twice the rate as the former sample. 2013 Dion will bring it this season! You are not ready!!
[/quote]

[TheOUTLAW]

To be honest, if all that bad stuff happens (which it shouldn't) and we still end up with 35 wins, I'd be relatively happy.