Joe Smith is a heady player that has always been a thorn in the side of the Cavs.  Always getting the big rebound or hitting the key J, Smith’s presence substantially increases the Cavs’ basketball IQ. Smith is the perfect complement to LeBron on the floor. 

Wally World brings a big-time shooter to the Cavs, something they have desperately needed the past 2 seasons.  Donyell Marshall just wasn’t the player the Cavs thought they were getting 2+ years ago and Wally is a big-time improvement.  Like Marshall, Larry Hughes never seemed to fit in with LeBron.  More of a slasher, the Cavs style of play forced Hughes to become more of a spot-up shooter, something Hughes has never been comfortable doing.  Wally is as good as it gets from the perimeter, and with LeBron getting to the basket at will, Wally is going to have A LOT of open looks. 

Delonte West is just the type of player the Cavs needed at the point.  While it is true West is not the proto-typical PG, he can defend on the perimeter and handle the ball.  Like the other two, everything changes when you play next to LeBron James.  He makes everyone else better.  West is a smart, tough basketball player that  plays hard every night.  You can never have enough of those types of guys.

 Of Course, Ben Wallace is the big name.  There are questions about what Big Ben has left, but to me it is a simple answer.  Ben was never allowed to wear the head-band in Chicago.  When the Head-band came off, Wallace lost a little bit of that mojo.  In Cleveland, Wallace will be on a team full of head-bands, starting with King James himself.  Wallace brings what the Cavs did not have on the inside.  A bad-ass that will play defense first and have no problem dropping a guy to the floor when a message needs to be sent.  Drew Gooden was a nice player, but was never the sharpest tool in the shed.  The addition of Wallace also takes some pressure off Z, wo gets worn down trying to bump bodies with the big centers in the game.  Z can now focus on offense, with Wallace doing a lot of the dirty work.  With Wallace and Smith, the Cavs got tougher and smarter while not losing that much offensively. 

 The best part of all this is the Cavs gave up very little. Hughes was a non-factor in the Cavs playoff run the past two seasons and does nothing to effect a win or loss.  Wally is the shooter that Hughes is not and will take a lot of pressure off James.  Gooden was replaced by two players that add a lot of smarts and defensive presence.  The rest of the guys?  Marshall, Newble, et al.  Please.

Will it be enough?? Only time will tell.  One thing is certain.  The team that surrounds LeBron James for the rest of the season is a lot better than the one he has had to suffer with the past two seasons.

No one will confuse Brown with he best coaches in the League, but he doesn’t have to be because he has the best player. Brown’s job is essentially keeping #23 happy while finding a way to get James to buy into what he is trying to do. You get James to buy in, you get the team. LeBron undoubtedly signed off on the move since it ensures Brown will remain with the team through the rest of LeBron’s current contract.

Western Conference: 

Northwest:

1. Utah Jazz 

Like the Cavaliers, there Jazz are not getting a lot of love this season, despite an excellent showing in last year’s playoffs.  Like the Cavaliers, there is little reason to think that the Jazz would fall off in the 2007-08 season.  The Jazz play excellent defense and they rebound well, and those things translate into success.  If they are looking to get rid of Andrei Kirilenko, I’m sure the Cavs would be more than happy to send Larry Hughes in return.  One overpriced underachiever deserves another. 

2. Denver Nuggets 

The Northwest only has two teams this year: the Jazz and the Nuggets.  As such, the Nuggets should win a lot of games, most of them very entertaining because
Denver refuses to play defense.  But that lack of defense, along with an inevitable Allen Iverson-George Karl confrontation, will lead to another first round elimination in the playoffs. 

3. Portland Trailblazers 

The Trailblazers shouldn’t be terrible without Greg Oden, but Oden’s injury will put the Blazers’ rise on hold this year.  Trading Zach Randolph for nothing in return will leave them a little light on offense, but it will also allow other players an opportunity to show what they can do.  They won’t be good, but they should be well ahead of the Sonics and T’Wolves. 

4. Seattle Supersonics 

The Sonics cleaned house in the offseason, creating a fresh playground for 2^nd overall pick Kevin Durant, and at the same time making sure that the team will be so bad that they will have yet another high draft pick next year.  Durant is the biggest talent to enter the NBA since LeBron James, and the Sonics are hoping to surround him with more support than Luke Jackson next season. 

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin McHale was a great player.  He is a terrible GM.  Only a GM with a record as abysmal as McHale could get away with trading one of the top 4 players in the league for the spare parts of a team that won 24 games last year.  Just a few weeks ago he traded Ricky Davis for Antoine Walker.  That’s right, there’s only one player more dangerous to team chemistry than Ricky Davis, and McHale just traded for him. 

Pacific:

1. Phoenix Suns  

The Suns will be playing even smaller and faster this year.  It will be fun to watch.  It will mean nothing come playoff time. 

2. L.A. Lakers 

The Kobe Bryant saga continues, but there’s no way he’s going to leave
Los Angeles.  You have to give him credit, he’s the only player who can not only demand a trade, and not only choose which teams he will go to, but Kobe also demanded that the team he is traded to will have enough pieces left to be successful.  Still, all of those demands are going to keep him in
Los Angeles.   

3.  Golden State Warriors 

The Warriors had some fun last year, beating the Mavericks in the first round.  But like the Suns, this team seems content to play a brand of basketball that looks good, but has no chance of winning an NBA title.  They’re here because the teams below them are terrible. 

4.  L.A. Clippers 

Here because they’re not the Kings. 

5.  Sacramento Kings 

Here because supposed Cavalier-savior Mike Bibby is out for 10 weeks.  And because they’re best player is Ron Artest.  And because they stink. 

Southwest:

1. Houston Rockets 

It’s amazing how good this division is.  The Houston Rockets have the right parts to win (the dominant big man, the high-scoring wing player), and they should be hungry after a number of underachieving years since Tracy McGrady’s arrival.  In my mind, this translates into a large number of wins while San Antonio and Dallas pace themselves.  I’ll be rooting for the Rockets this year, because they are the team in the West I think the Cavs could beat if they met in the Finals. 

2.  Dallas Mavericks

It’s easy to dismiss the Mavericks after their collapse in the playoffs last year, but this team is still loaded with talent.  If there was a team that would be able to add
Kobe and still have enough left, it would be Dallas.  As it is, Dallas should cruise through the regular season, and will have a chance to exorcise those demons come playoff time. 

3. San Antonio Spurs 

The Spurs have all the pieces you need to win, they proved that last year.  They were so good that they were able to give potential rookie of the year Luis Scola to Houston for almost nothing.  They’re here in third because that’s where they finished last year, but just like last year, it won’t mean much when the Spurs turn it on. 

4. Memphis Grizzlies 

The Grizzlies have a new coach in Mike Iavaroni, a guy who had a lot of success in
Europe, and they have some talent in Pau Gasol (He’s Spanish! Play Defense!), Darko Milicic and Mike Conley Jr.  It will take a couple of seasons for them to gel, and it will be a constant struggle for them to compete in the Texas-heavy division, but they have a foundation to build on. 

5. New Orleans Hornets       

The Hornets have added a logo, called the “Fleur de Bee.”  I think this is cool.  The Hornets are going to pay Peja Stojakovic $11.5 Million this year to be a one-dimensional shooter which a history of injury.  I think this is stupid.  Still, the Hornets should have their moments, and are a great example of how the lower-tier teams should be more interesting this year than they have been in a long time.

 1.  Can Daniel Gibson start at one of the guard spots?

 Answer:  Why not?  Gibson has a good shooting touch, and showed very little fear when he stepped up big in the playoffs last year.  That courage was the difference between Gibson and a number of other guards that have had difficulty living in LeBron’s shadow.  But Gibson is not a great ballhandler, and he’s not big enough to get into the lane with regularity.  Cavs fans should look at this kid like a Cleveland B.J. Armstrong.  Then again, Armstrong once started an All-Star Game, so that should be enough.

2.  Will Sasha and Anderson be on the rooster?

Answer: Yes.  Look, athletes, especially NBA athletes, overestimate their value to a team.  Pavlovic and Varejao were important parts of the Cavaliers’ run to the Finals, and their heads got a little big.  Once it’s clear that they’ll be leaving money on the table, they’ll be back in the fold, and all will be forgiven.  Danny Ferry has been playing them perfectly, and I would say not only will Sasha and Andy be in camp when the Cavs get back from China, but it’s also likely that they will be signed to reasonable short-term deals as well.

That being said, it is absolutely imperative that the Cavs have these guys on the team this year.  These are good players who should only get better in the next few years.  (And yes, I meant “rooster,” and it’s a joke taken from that opus of baseball movies, Major League II.  Go TRIBE.)

3.  What will the offense look like?

Answer:  Well, for the first few months, it will look like it was designed by hamsters.  Drunk hamsters.   But it will get better throughout the year, and in the playoffs it will be efficient enough to get the Cavs back to the Finals.

4.  Will Larry Hughes show up?

Answer:  Brian Windhorst tells us that Larry has been dunking in practice.  At the same time, I didn’t see Larry go to the hoop once during the first two preseason games.  I don’t know if it’s a physical thing with Hughes, or if it’s a mental thing, but he has never been able to get to the hoop consistenly since he’s been in Cleveland.  Larry Hughes is not useful as a spot shooter, and he has not adapted the mentality of a point guard.  He’s still valuable on defense, but I believe that Hughes will continue to be an anchor dragging down the Cavs offense this season.

5.  How committed will the Cavs be to going inside?

Answer:  Mike Brown knows that the post game is like the running game in football.  You have to have it, otherwise you become easy to defend.  The Bulls are a very good team, but without a post presence, they’re not going anywhere (no matter what John Hollinger says).  I expect the offense to continue to feed Z for several possessions a game, and I expect Gooden to get his too.  Even when the Cavs had no offense to speak of, they managed to get the ball inside enough.

I will say that I was very surprised to see Gooden with the ball at the top of the circle many times on Thursday.  I just don’t think that puts him or the rest of the team in a good position to succeed.

And while Z’s hook shot is ugly, it’s still much more effective than the Larry Hughes jumper for the elbow.  Z contributed well in the playoffs, and they Cavs will need him to be effective again this  year.

6.  Will the Cavaliers have a consistent scorer off the bench?

Answer:  I think so, if they commit to bringing Pavlovic off the bench and make him the primary option when LeBron sits down.  I think that Pavlovic has the size, speed and skill to be a potent scorer, and there have been signs of that in the past.  But I also think that Sasha has trouble deciding when to be aggressive and when to defer to LeBron when both of them are on the court.  It’s clear to me that LeBron needs more rest during the regular season this year, and the Cavs can make up for any lost production if Pavlovic can thrive as a primary bench-scoring option.

After two preseason games, I feel safe in saying that the bench scoring won’t be coming from Shannon Brown, at least not until February.  The kid has not been good.

7.  What will the Eastern Conference look like?

Answer: Pretty much the same.  Boston may have gotten better, but I think they’ll just be playing the Miami role this season, putting together a mediocre year, then falling in the playoffs.  Chicago and Detroit are good, but they don’t have the MVP-caliber player they need.  While the Cavs might not find the path to the Finals as easy as last year, the regular season looks to be pretty comparable.  Is another 50-32 season in the works?

8.  Can Ferry pull the trigger?

Answer: He won’t need to.  The offense should develop throughout the season, and if the Cavs do a better job on offense, the cries for a point guard will die down.  This is pretty much the team, assuming that Sasha and Andy come on board.  It was good enough to get to the Finals last year, and it will be good enough to do the same this year.

9.  Will LeBron play like he did in ‘05-’06?

Answer: No.  He doesn’t need to.  In ‘05-’06, LeBron was trying to prove to the world that he was an elite player.  He did that, and now he knows that the only thing that matters is the Championship.  He will still have a fantastic season, but it won’t be record-breaking.  He’s saving all the good stuff for the Playoffs.  Now that, that will be something.

10.  Is this a step back year?

Answer:  Not a chance.  No one on the team, especially LeBron, is satisfied with the way things ended last year, and they’re going to make every effort to get back to the Finals.  The numbers might not improve, but LeBron will be a better all-around player this year, just like he has been every year.  The offense will have fits and starts, but it will be better than last year.  The defense is going to hold steady.  And the younger players like Gibson, Pavlovic, Varejao and Shannon Brown should improve (remember, all of those guys are in their low-20’s).

Even if the Cavaliers don’t reach the Finals (and I think they will), they will be a better team next year.  They were ahead of schedule in ‘06-’07, and I expect them to continue to improve.  The only way they could take a step back is if LeBron gets complacent.  And after what I’ve seen for four years, I’m not about to doubt him.

Go Cavs.

Mike C.

This was the most entertaining preseason game that I’ve seen in a long time, in any sport.  The Cavs were down 18 at one point, came all the way back, needed two clutch free throws from Dwayne Jones to send the game to OT, then prevailed in overtime on the backs of guys who could be packing groceries in two weeks.  The Q was only about half-full, but the fans were having fun and the game was an absolute blast.

LeBron James played the first half by himself, and was pretty amazing, much moreso than in the opener on Tuesday.  He threw down three dunks, including a nice alley-oop from Hughes just moments after he fed Richard Hamilton the ball on a wicked block.  James also soared high above the rim to block a Rasheed Wallace shot right after Sheed was T’d up for jawing with Gooden at the free throw line.  I hope the Pistons are ready to lose an awful lot of games to this Kid, because he owns them now.

The offense is still pretty ragged.  Guys are trying to get into the lane, but it’s obvious that they’re looking to pass when they get in there, rather than taking it to the bucket.  Time will tell if they can stay committed to it, but at least they were trying it out last night.  Give some credit to the Pistons defense though, when the starters were out there, they were playing hard.

Daniel Gibson was not just a non-factor, he was a negative factor with 7 turnovers.  It was a reminder that he’s still a young player, and that he’s never been known for taking care of the ball.  He was hassled by the Pistons defense, and he folded under the pressure.  You may not think much of Flip Saunders as a coach, but it was clear that he was using this preseason game to test out a plan he had to slow down the Cavaliers, and it worked last night.

Shannon Brown was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde last night, though he was probably more of the latter.  Brown looked awful most of the night, going 4-12 from the field and committing 7 turnovers, 4 of them down the stretch during the 4^th Quarter.  Still, he did manage to make two big buckets in OT, including a very long 3 that put the Cavs up by 6 and led to the victory.  But he still shot 2-7 in the OT, against really average opposition.  If Brown doesn’t start looking better soon, he might find himself in trouble if and when Sasha gets back into the fold.

You have to love Dwayne Jones.  The guy is an uncoordinated mess of arms and legs, but he works hard and has a nose for the ball, providing lots of rebounds (13) and blocks (5).  He did miss 4 straight free throws down the stretch in the 4^th Quarter, but he regrouped and was able to sink 2 in a row to tie the game with 0.4 seconds left.  A lot of players might have let the misses get to them, but Jones buckled down and made a couple of huge shots.  It’s hard to tell if he will ever develop enough of a skill set to really contribute, but I’m glad the Cavaliers brought him back this year, and he should make the team.

Devin Brown is getting a lot of love today for his double-double (10 points, 10 boards), but he was just 3-13 from the field against the second-stringers.  He’s a decent stopgap, but he’s no Sasha Pavlovic.  The Hornets must have been hurting if this guy was averaging 12 points a game last year.

Like the shaved head by Z, but I don’t think he’s committed to keeping it that way. 

Larry Hughes:  Still not a point guard.

Go Cavs.

Mike C.