2007/08 Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

bbwchingy0007 · Oct 25, 2007

<center></center><center>2007/08 Cleveland Cavaliers Season Preview</center>
The offseason of 2007 has been somewhat disappointing for Cavaliers fans across the globe. Very little has been done by Danny Ferry as, with less than 1 week to go before the start of the season, neither Anderson Varejao, nor Aleksandar Pavlovic have been re-signed. They were two integral parts of the postseason run and without them the Cavs could be in serious trouble.
Ferry has managed to acquire Cedric Simmons in what appears to be a solid deal for the Cavs. Simmons only 'cost' the Cavs David Wesley, plus cash. Essentially, therefore, the Cavs got Simmons for cash, since Wesley's playing time would be virtually zero if he stayed. Furthermore, Simmons appears to have a good upside, and could see more minutes than anticipated due to the situation with Varejao.
Devin Brown was also signed by the Cavs, and appears to be a good utility player who can come in and do a job for the team, especially whilst Eric Snow is out injured. So long as his contract is not too high, this looks like a good deal from Ferry.
Dwayne Jones has been looking good in preseason, and he is likely to get minutes until the Varejao situation is resolved. He managed to contain Dwight Howard, the man who lead the league in rebounds last year, to just 3 rebounds and is looking promising for the season ahead.
LeBron James has been vocal about the lack of activity surrounding the Cavs. Since Ferry's number 1 goal must be to keep LeBron happy, this must push the Cavs to re-sign Varejao and/or Pavlovic sooner rather than later. However, with their huge contract demands, that may be detrimental to the team in the future.
The main positive from the postseason is that the Cavs have kept all their starters from last season, and they are all healthy going into the new season.

Projected Starting Lineup

C Zydrunas Ilgauskas PF Drew Gooden SF LeBron James SG Larry Hughes PG Daniel Gibson

Projected Statlines
 
<table style="width: 885px; height: 371px" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="885" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Player</td>
<td>Games</td>
<td>PPG</td>
<td>RPG</td>
<td>APG</td>
<td>SPG</td>
<td>BPG</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zydrunas Ilgauskas</td>
<td>75</td>
<td>13.2</td>
<td>8.4</td>
<td>3.1</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>1.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Drew Gooden</td>
<td>80</td>
<td>11.4</td>
<td>10.2</td>
<td>2.3</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>0.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>LeBron James</td>
<td>77</td>
<td>31.5</td>
<td>7.5</td>
<td>7.1</td>
<td>1.7</td>
<td>1.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Larry Hughes</td>
<td>68</td>
<td>15.4</td>
<td>4.0</td>
<td>2.8</td>
<td>2.0</td>
<td>0.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Daniel Gibson</td>
<td>82</td>
<td>11.9</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>3.2</td>
<td>1.4</td>
<td>0.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Anderson Varejao*</td>
<td>65</td>
<td>5.8</td>
<td>6.2</td>
<td>1.7</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>0.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Donyell Marshall</td>
<td>75</td>
<td>6.1</td>
<td>2.9</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Devin Brown</td>
<td>62</td>
<td>4.5</td>
<td>0.7</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sasha Pavlovic*</td>
<td>55</td>
<td>7.3</td>
<td>2.1</td>
<td>2.4</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>0.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Eric Snow</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>2.1</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shannon Brown</td>
<td>61</td>
<td>5.3</td>
<td>0.8</td>
<td>1.4</td>
<td>0.9</td>
<td>0.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dwayne Jones**</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>4.8</td>
<td>4.1</td>
<td>1.1</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>1.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cedric Simmons</td>
<td>59</td>
<td>3.1</td>
<td>3.2</td>
<td>0.5</td>
<td>0.3</td>
<td>0.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Damon Jones</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>2.1</td>
<td>0.2</td>
<td>0.6</td>
<td>0.4</td>
<td>0.5</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>


* - if re-signed

** - if Varejao is not re-signed



Predictions

Record - 45-37

Position - 3rd Central, 6th East

Playoffs - 1st Round Exit

Awards - LeBron James Season MVP



CLOSING STATEMENT

This will be an interesting season for the Cavs, as the team gain a year of maturity together. However, even if Varejao and Pavlovic return, they will miss probably the first 10 games of the season whilst improving their fitness, and that will hurt the team. If they don't return, it will be left to players such as Dwayne Jones, Cedric Simmons, Devin Brown and Shannon Brown to fill their shoes. I, personally, believe that these guys will be able to step in, but their quality will not be quite as good as their predecessors. Hence, a 45-37 season with a first round playoff defeat is what I predict. A vast improvement will be needed by next year if LeBron James is going to be kept happy.

kobimel · Oct 25, 2007

Nice preview. LeBron will have to do even more this season for the Cavs, since the most they can do in the Pavlovic/Varejao situation is sign one of them. They obviously don't have enough cap space/money for both. In order to avoid a meaningless season, Hughes will have to step up and regain his old Wizards form and Gooden will have to play more consistently. The jury is still out on Gibson. He played well in the playoffs, but the question is whether he can play starter's minutes and do well for a full season. The current roster is definetely not good enough to reach the ECF, but a 2nd round apperance is possible if LeBron dominates and the role players....play their roles, really.

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2007/08 Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

bbwchingy0007 BBW Member

kobimel Hapoel

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2007/08 Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

bbwchingy0007 BBW Member

kobimel Hapoel

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