Cavs NBA Picks
No team made an offseason splash like the Cavs did. It would have been more than enough to bring LeBron home but adding others for a possible championship runs makes things pretty exciting.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Eastern Conference
2013/14 Record: 33-49
Odds to win title: 3/1
Odds to win conference: 11/10
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Key Losses
Anthony Bennett – You can easily argue that the Cavs did not lose anyone that really contributed from last year’s team. Bennett had an awful first NBA season and was trade bait as a result. Maybe he finds his game as a sophomore.
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Luol Deng – Acquired mid-season it made no sense to pursue him with LeBron coming to town. Ironic has he winds up in Miami as his replacement.
Top Newcomers
LeBron James – The best and most dominant player in the league returns to Cleveland. It is a nice story and completely shifts the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. The question is whether there will be a fairytale ending.
Kevin Love – LBJ cannot do it all on his own so the Cavs made a monster deal to acquire Love. He is a great rebounder and shooter and in my mind one of the better complementary stars around.
He was never going to get a ring all by himself and is in a nice situations with the Cavs.
Top Players
LeBron James – No reason he shouldn’t continue to provide everything we expect…and maybe more. He is an MVP candidate for sure and you have to think the pressure won’t get to him.
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Kevin Love – He is the most productive rebounder in the NBA and a very good spot up shooter. He is not the best defensive player around but his own contributions more than make up for it.
Kyrie Irving – He has been an emerging player but it is easy to put up numbers when the pressure if off.
Odds are he is going to have to sacrifice some production for this team to excel, I am not sure how that is going to sit with him.
Strengths
With LeBron James in the fold the Cavs now have the greatest closer in the game. Whether he is creating offense for himself and or for teammates James demands so much attention and is basically unstoppable one on one. Also, Cleveland should be an elite offensive team.
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The three players mentioned above are among the best at scoring at their positions and Dion Waiters has an aggressiveness to his game when it comes to charging to the hoop. Scoring points shouldn’t be a problem.
Weaknesses
This is not going to be a strong defensive team. LBJ can be a beast on the perimeter or in the post but the other players around him do not have strong defensive reputations.
This is the kind of flaw that might not burn them too much during the regular season but in the playoffs it will be a challenge. If they make it all the way to the finals before finding out a lot of people in Ohio will be pretty happy.
Prediction:
Cleveland will win the Central division. This is a very good team, probably the best in the East, but also all of the other teams have so many question marks. Based on talent they should be booking their reservations for the Finals. One thing to think about is whether a team can turn around so quickly thanks to new faces.
This is not the first time a team has tried and they don’t always work. In terms of betting look to play some overs with this team, especially early before current season data over-influences the numbers.
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