2014 NBA Team Schedule, Roster & Predictions: Can Cleveland Cavaliers Win Title?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the NBA's biggest story heading into this upcoming season.
After four seasons with the Miami Heat, LeBron James opted out of his contract and returned home. The last time we saw James play for the Cavaliers was the 2009-10 season, when he led the Cavs to a 61-21 record and the Eastern Conference Finals. With James on the team, the Cavaliers made it to the 2007 NBA Finals, were the No. 1 seed twice and won eight playoff series.
The Cavaliers haven't had a winning record since James left, but fans are hoping he can repeat the magic he once displayed in Cleveland.
Almost just as big of an addition, the Cavaliers traded for power forward Kevin Love this offseason.
Love is a 6-foot-10, 260-pound double-double machine who is still just 26 years old. Love is a unique forward in the sense that he can hit outside shots. In 364 career games with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Love made 440 3-point shots. Last season alone, Love made 190 3-pointers, an incredibly high amount for someone of his position. For some perspective, Dennis Rodman made 82 perimeter shots in his entire career.
Although Love is by far the best shooting power forward in the NBA, many have questioned his defensive skills. Playing in the Western Conference was tough, but we did see Love disappear multiple times against the best teams. This season, Love will be asked to do a lot less, especially paired with James, but Love has never made the playoffs in his NBA career.
The third member of the Cavaliers "big three" is point guard Kyrie Irving. The young All-Star is still just 22 years old, and was drafted No. 1 overall by the team in 2011. Irving's assists numbers have increased every season, and he has proven to be a reliable scorer. This will be the first time we actually see Irving have a great cast around him and get to see his full potential. Irving is a multidimensional point guard, so it's imperative that he shares the ball with Love and James now on the team. Three seasons into the NBA, Irving averages 20.7 points per game and 5.8 assist per game.
The last two No. 1 overall draft picks (which coincidentally went to the Cavaliers as well), Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, were traded to the Tmberwolves during the offseason.
Three-point shooting specialist Ray Allen is still a free agent. Many people believe he is just waiting because he wants to avoid preseason games and early practices. There's a very good chance Allen will choose to join the Cavaliers, having already won an NBA Championship with James and the Heat. If the Cavaliers can get Allen, that just may put them over the top as championship favorites, even over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Cavaliers begin their season on Thursday, Oct. 30, against the New York Knicks at home.
Brazilian center Anderson Varejao is expected to play an integral role in the paint area this season with Love. Two very underrated additions for the Cavaliers this offseason included Mike Miller and James Jones. Both players are fully capable of playing defense and can hit three-pointers at a very high rate.
Schedule
The full NBA schedule for the Cavaliers is available here.
Verdict:
The Cavaliers appear to be the best team in the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Pacers will be playing without their best offensive player, Paul George and the Heat are obviously without James. The New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls still have a lot of question marks this season with new coaches and injury concerns.
This Cavaliers squad should be able to win the Eastern Conference against inferior competition.
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