Cleveland is coming off the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, and two consecutive Finals appearances.
LeBron James, their star player and leader, has appeared in six straight NBA Finals.
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With the jubilation and excitement following their first championship in 56 years, one has to wonder whether the Cavs will have the same drive and motivation that elevated them past a historical Golden State Warriors team.
With winning a championship in any sport comes a massive celebration, which in most occasions leads to a let-down in the following season.
Cleveland, though, have developed such a great culture and environment since the return of LeBron James in the 2014 off-season. It is unlikely for them to be satisfied. LeBron said himself, “I owe it to myself to be great.”
Basketball wise, the Cavaliers team has only lost Timofey Mozgov and Matthew Dellavedova from a season ago, players who struggled for minutes throughout the playoffs.
Despite rumours of Cleveland going after star players in DeMarcus Cousins and Russell Westbrook via trade, which is highly unlikely, it seems that Cleveland are going to bring back the same rotation of Kyrie Irving, JR Smith, James, Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, and Richard Jefferson, with the addition of deadly perimeter shooter Mike Dunleavy, and ‘Birdman’, 38-year old big Chris Andersen.
On top of this, the Cavs gained an extremely valuable piece late in the second round of the 2016 draft, picking the 5 ft 9 inch Kay Felder. Felder is a proven scorer who amazed crowds at the NBA Summer League with his ability to beat players off the dribble and score in the paint. Of course, such a stature player rarely leads to a long career simply due to defensive issues, but Felder will get his chance.
Jordan McRae, another fringe Cavalier, played well enough to offer further hope as a project wing player for the organisation.
The competition Cleveland will be coming up against, especially in the Eastern Conference, is much improved from a season ago. Teams like Boston, Indiana, and Toronto are much improved. The addition of Durant to the Warriors makes Golden State the automatic favourites in any series in the West, and likely in the Finals, making Cleveland the second-favourites for the NBA title in my opinion.
That said, LeBron James can never be counted out, and the shooting-instincts of Kyrie Irving cannot be underestimated. Health and injuries will go a long way to deciding what happens through the regular season and Playoffs.
I believe the Cavaliers will reach the NBA Finals, ultimately falling to Golden State in a tight series, although nothing would surprise me given the resiliency of this team.
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
I really am excited about how oladipo and russ could drive to the rim, and adams and kanter can eat up the glass! I don't see them as contenders, but definitely playoff-worthy!
Swampy
Guest
I wouldn't go to sleep on the Thunder. They will be an interesting squad this season and if Westbrook gets an opportunity to play against the Warriors in the playoffs he could go thermo nuclear. Worst thing for OKC is they basically lost all their good shooting over summer - Durant and Ibaka. If they can find a knock down 3&D guy via a trade in season they have all the other pieces. I like the Oladipo Westbrook combo. Should be league pass worthy.
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
Yeah, for me all this talk about Cousins or Westbrook going to Cleveland for Love is ridiculous!
brian
Guest
plus why would anyone give up something good for love right now. he has been average for 2 years straight
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
Completely agree. I feel as though an injury to one of Golden State's starters would be more harmful than an injury to one of Cleveland's starters. GS sacrificed a lot of bench depth to gain Durant and Pachulia, losing players such as ezeli, bogut, ruch, speights,Barbosa etc. Their depth and chemistry will be greatly tested. For me, if LeBron is healthy, the Cavs make the NBA finals. Only time will tell though!
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
Couldn't agree with you more.. except for on Kevin Love. yes, his production over the last 2 years hasn't been great and his defence has been below average. BUT.. he provides floor spacing as a stretch 4 and rebounds the ball well. And, in the event of an injury to James or Irving, he becomes the go-to man on the Cavs team.
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
Where Love's value can be great also is if either Irving or James goes down, Love suddenly becomes one of their star players- a role which we know he plays well. I believe for this reason they should keep him, despite his low production over the last two years.
joe
Guest
A lot can happen between now & next June.Injuries are the biggest issue & both Cleveland & Golden State have players participating in the Olympics,especially GS with 3 key guys on the team. It just takes one bad landing to seriously injure yourself.Irving has had injury issues.So have Curry & Durant. If both teams remain relatively healthy they should meet up again but injuries are the one thing that can't be predicted & can change the NBA landscape significantly.
steve
Guest
Yep, the Warriors edge it for me should this be the match up again in the finals. I don't mind Kevin Love on the right team, but he has just never fit with the Cavs properly, even though they won. Cavs wont be able to hide KL against the Warriors big four .Not now. Trading him makes sense.
steve
Guest
Its fair to assume that the Cavs are the best team in the Eastern Conference at the moment. None of the other teams have yet to make the moves to enable them to match them. Boston could match them depending on the moves they make, but it seems that they are not quite there yet to launch a real challenge. Toronto, their Eastern Conference opponents this season haven't strengthened and the Cavs accounted for them easily this year. There really isn't a genuine challenger in the East at the moment. Cavs have picked up Mike Dunleavy a very good shooter and Chris Anderson for some rim protection, replacing Mozgov and Delly. Kevin Love is the Cavs problem at the moment, he is a liability defensively. Even if the Cavs fail to finish as the number one team, Id back them to beat any of their opponents in the Eastern Conference finals over a 7 game series, even with Kevin Love. Their problem will come matching up against GSW. Assuming they win in the West.
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
If the warriors have Zaza Pachulia on the court, Love could easily guard him. I do agree with you however. any team can put love and irving/smith in a pick and roll and see the scoreboard tick over. He fits well when he is crashing the offensive glass and playing bully-ball in the post, but the way they have used him as a perimeter threat is simply not working. i'd also back the warriors in a 7 game series against the Cavs.
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
Agree. I do believe, however, that the Cavs front office will look to keep the same team as last season, despite unforseen injuries or form slumps.
Swampy
Guest
You are all assuming Cleveland will: a) have a healthy Lebron & Kyrie come playoffs (yes Lebron is a freak but he has a lot of miles) b) make the finals again c) not make a move during the season to improve themselves Cleveland has previously been very active in getting bits and pieces for their runs. I think Kyrie Irving is the longest serving player on the Cavs if you don't count Lebron's first stint.
kris
Guest
Depth is overated... If a super star gets injured it doesnt matter how "deep" the bench is. I would argue they are actually better able to ride out an injury to one of those guys, as they still have 3 freaks playing.
steve
Guest
If its another GSW Cavs NBA Finals series, GSW will win it. The Cavs with Kevin Love simply cant match up against them with Kevin Durant now there. The four of Curry, Thompson, Green and Durant don't allow the Cavs to hide Kevin Love defensively like they did in this years series. The Cavs big problem is they are susceptible because Kevin Love is poor defensively, everyone in the NBA knows it, regardless of his offensive threat, which is actually way down on his career bests. Kevin Love isn't a good fit for the Cavs, never has been, regardless of his game seven performance. The Cavs need to trade Kevin Love to have a chance of going head to head in another match up with the GSW. They cant do it with him. And I'm a Cavs fan saying this. The Cavs need to get a better defensive power forward/ centre. They just have to.
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
James played an at amazing level, something which we may not see again until next seasons finals. Irving, I believe, can maintain and expand upon his performance. Warriors will be tested if they have injuries, as they lost lot’s of depth off the bench after signing Durant. Love has had his good days, but he will need to show more consistency for them to beat a healthy Golden State!
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
James played an at amazing level, something which we may not see again until next seasons finals. Irving, I believe, can maintain and expand upon his performance. Warriors will be tested if they have injuries, as they lost lot's of depth off the bench after signing Durant. Love has had his good days, but he will need to show more consistency for them to beat a healthy Golden State!
Justin Ahrns
Roar Pro
If the Warriors get injuries their depth will be tested. They lost a lot of bench depth after acquiring Kevin Durant. And I think Irving's level can rise if he can stay healthy, as he has shown his killer instincts in the playoffs. completely agree with you about Kevin Love.
pete bloor
Guest
I don't see how Love can play like his old self in that team construct.
Brian
Guest
Hard to ask much more from James or Irving but that's what it would take to beat the GSW with Durrant. The only upside for the Cavs would be Love playing like his old self. Nothing in Love's 2 years there suggests it will happen but should it I can see them competing with GSW.