Cleveland Cavaliers
2008-09 Record: 66-16
Anticipated Starting Five
PG- Mo Williams
SG- Anthony Parker
SF- LeBron James
PF- Anderson Varejao
C- Shaquille O’Neal
Key Reserves: Delonte West, J.J. Hickson, Jamario Moon, Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Leon Powe
Biggest Strength: Depth
Adding Shaq and moving Ilgauskus to the bench created some quality depth at center. Adding Leone Powe, the development of J.J. Hickson and seeing LeBron play much more power forward will provide for total front court depth AND keep Shaq and Ilgauskus from over exerting themselves during the regular season.
They have 4 quality shooters surround LeBron and Shaq. They added two more hustle and energy guys to go along with the very annoying Anderson Varejao.
This is a legit championship team that will only be measured against other championship teams (LA, SA, BOS, ORL)
Biggest Weakness: Big, old and slow centers
That’s going to be tough against the NBA’s primary offensive play – pick and rolls/pops. Teams will likely do everything they can to involve those guys in situations where they must move their feet laterally and have to quickly retreat to protect the basket. Cleveland doesn’t have the luxury of switching screens so look for them to trap in order to slow ball movement so their slow guys can get back in sound defensive position.
Key Player: Shaq
Big move looking for big results. Will he fit in? Will he just get in the way?
I am a big Shaq fan and believe he is still productive so long as he is healthy. That is always the what-if at this stage of his career. The one thing he has done is accept a lesser role in pursuit of winning. He did it in Miami with Wade and he did it in Phoenix. I think he and LeBron have a seemingly good relationship off the court and I see no reason why it won’t carry over.
Biggest Question: What’s up with Delonte?
Delonte West and Jameer Nelson gave our city one of it’s most memorable underdogs when they played for St. Joe’s. Their underdog status continued in the NBA draft where both were thought by many to be overrated. As a result, many Philadelphians have watched both Delonte and Jameer’s NBA careers very closely. Delonte became a great role player, averaging 10.2 ppg over 5 seasons and really emerging last year with the Cavs, where he averaged 13.8 points and 4 assists in the playoffs. But his life took a troubling turn a couple weeks ago when he was arrested with 2 handguns and a shotgun in Maryland. It seemed like a simple gun charge, but when West was M.I.A. for the first couple days of training camp, and then left early once he got there, it became clear that there is something else going on. No one is saying what “personal problems” West is going through, but the Cleveland papers make it seem like the Cavs might need to just assume he won’t be ready to play for awhile. Certainly we hope Delonte can get through his troubles and back on track.
Best Individual Season of All-Time: LeBron James, 2008-09
28.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 7.2 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.1 bpg
How much better can LeBron get? He’s only 24 years old, and last season had the 3rd best PER (31.7) in NBA history, just 0.1 behind 2 seasons in which Wilt Chamberlain averaged 44.8 and 50.4 ppg. He will likely be judged by how many championships he wins, but he will undoubtedly end up as one of the top-3 NBA players statistically of all-time.
Pete’s 2010 Outlook: 1st place, Central division / 2nd place, Eastern conference / 4th place, NBA
I’m not convinced that the Shaq move will actually help this team, but since they gave up hardly anything for him, you can’t really argue with the move. Anthony Parker and Leon Powe were solid pick-ups and J.J. Hickson could emerge, but we all know that this team is going go as LeBron goes. In order to reach the NBA Finals again though, they are going to need better playoff play from Mo Williams and they need a healthy Shaq to deal with Dwight Howard.
Dannie’s 2010 Outlook: 1st place, Central division / 1st place, Eastern conference / 2nd place, NBA
The Cavs added Shaq for nothing, Anthony Parker, Leon Powe and Jamario Moon to a team that was already 3rd in defense and 4th in offense last season. Their main opposition Boston and Orlando also improved so it’s between those three in the East. I have to give Cleveland the nob because of LeBron and their new found depth.
To comment on what Pete said about Mo Williams needed to play better. Sure he does, but by adding Anthony Parker I think a West/Parker backcourt might be Cleveland’s best all-around. Both players can make open shots and more importantly they would be the strongest defensive backcourt Cleveland could put on the floor.
See all 2010 NBA team previews
Shaq’s funny. I wonder if he’s in shape. Gets harder every year.
Hope Delonte’s situation improves. He’s a good player; has savvy and grit.
Lebron. A freight train on the break. John Henry Johnson in sneakers. Get out of the way!
Good variety of skills on the additions Parker, Moon & Powe. Nice work by Ferry.
Ilgauskas reports for duty again, including his j-shooting ability.
1, 2 or 3 in the East. How’s that for going out on a limb?
I wonder how Shaq loves that Cleveland weather, it was said Pheonix!s weather and training staffs can work miracles on old timers. Should be interesting to see Shaq and Lebron coexist in the 12 foot and in area. I think we may see Lebron at the 4 some in a small lineup to keep 3 shooters on the court because Z at times was one of those.
Greatest strength(s):
-LEBRON JAMES
-Mike Brown’s underrated defense system
-Quicken Loans Arena (this place is electric!!)
-Decent backcourt
-Decent bench
-Interesting pregame rituals now Diesel Fueled
Greatest weakness(es):
-Free throw shooting
-Three point shooting
-Spacing issues (for Shaq and LeBron)
-Orlando Magic
The Question Marks:
-Which Shaq will show up?
-How effective will Ilguaskus be coming off the bench?
-Will the role players step up efficiently for LeBron?
-Will Shaq get his touches when it matters most?
-Will they hit the three pointers with regularity?
With that said, the Cavaliers will be 1st in the Central, 2nd in the East.
(On a side note, the Sixers will be (1-2) against the Cavaliers this season. I think they played hard enough to stay with the Cavs last year. The Andre Iguodala-LeBron James matchup is worth watching, especially that dunk over LeBron. Things could be interesting when Eddie Jordan tries his Princeton Offense again against the Cavs. Those Wizards-Cavalier matchups were interesting, especially in the playoffs, until the Wizards players could not keep their mouths shut! Constant ball movement (and yes defense) could give the Cavaliers a hard time. They struggle against the fastbreak. If the Offense is successfully performed, then it could be the Sixers being 2-1 in that series. But I will for now stick to my original prediction that the Sixers will be 1-2.)