The Cavaliers open their first post-LeBron season tonight at the Q against the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics, and since I haven't really weighed in yet on their outlook, this seems like the right time to do so.
The obvious thing to point out is that the Cavs had not one, but two future Hall of Famers (LeBron and Shaq) on their roster last year, and none this year. At this point in his career, Shaq isn't such a great loss, but he does leave a pretty big hole at the center spot. As I've mentioned in this space, Ryan Hollins is the only true center we have this year; Anderson Varejao is more a power forward type, but will have to step up to the center spot, where he'll be routinely out-heighted by three or four inches.
Still, this Cavaliers team has some talent. Antawn Jamison is no superstar, but he's certainly no slouch. Mo Williams has been an All-Star in the recent past. Varejao will finally get a chance to show what he can do with regular starter minutes. Anthony Parker is 35, but seems to still have something left in the tank. Jamario Moon is a nice player to have. Guys like J.J. Hickson and Daniel Gibson will have more opportunities to prove themselves. I'm looking forward to seeing how guys like Ramon Sessions and rookie Christian Eyenga fit in. With Byron Scott at the helm, and no more "pass to LeBron and let him do something while the other four guys stand around" offense, I think this team can win about 42 to 45 games and reach the playoffs.
The national media seems to think otherwise. ESPN.com has the Cavs as the 24th-best team (up from 27th in their initial power rankings), SI.com has us finishing dead last in the Central Division, and so on and so forth. Have they actually looked at our roster and compared it to anyone else's? OK, so we won't be as good without LeBron. That doesn't mean we're going to be terrible. We're not better than Detroit, who finished 27-55 last year and whose top addition is a seemingly 90-year-old Tracy McGrady? Really?
Opening against the Celtics is a tall order; I don't expect them to win tonight. But this is not a bad team. Lord knows we've seen some awful Cavaliers teams. This team does not look like one of those.
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2 comments:
I was wondering how the Cavaliers players who were on the team with him last season feel about thier team in general now that he is gone.
Do you think they still beleive that they are a championship team?
Anywho...I hate the Celtics. And if we don't beat them, I hope they beat themselves, and we still win.
I think the media is getting it right, Mullett -- last place in their division, no playoffs, and a lottery pick (oops, no wait they traded that pick away already, right?)
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