[IMGl]http://www.cavshistory.com/images/logos/00s-cavs-logo2.gif[/IMGl] <div align="center"><font size="5">Cleveland Cavaliers Season Preview</font></div> <font face="Garamond"><font size="3">Win/Loss Record (2003-2004): 35-47 Home Arena: Gund Arena Local T.V. Networks: Fox Sports Net ; WUAB 43 Local Radio Broadcasts: 1100</font></font> by KarmaCav and Infante The Cavaliers head into their next campaign looking for the playoffs for the first time since the 1997/98 season. Riding off a much improved 35 -47 record and a ninth placing, Cleveland are looking to take it a notch further with a winning percentage and elusive playoff spot. Roster wise, once again we look at another slight shakeup, but not to the extent that we have a completely different team. Health to the key players and continual development of the young guys is of top importance for their success. <font color="RoyalBlue">Overview of the Cavaliers Off-Season</font> NBA Draft 1st Round: (#4) <font color="DarkGreen">Luke Jackson</font>, F-G, Oregon 2nd Round: (#33) <font color="DarkGreen">Anderson Varejao</font>, F, Brazil (via Orlando Trade) With only one selection in this years draft, the Cavalier's drafted mop headed Oregon star Luke Jackson. Jackson or now commonly known among Cav fans as L-Jax, primarily helps the Cavaliers in shooting from range in which they ranked 29th last year. To make things worse, their best shooter, Jason Kapono, was selected in the expansion draft by Charlotte. Jackson was a very consistent shooter and performer in his 4 years of college, so the Cavaliers hold high hopes this can continue. Luke also is known for his all round game. Naturally a small forward but with enough athleticism to match up at the 2 guard, L-Jax's versatility will work in well with Coach Silas's rotation. Jackson is a very good passer and handler and shows good court vision. His defense is steady college wise, but is likely to struggle in the NBA initially. Attacking the hoop is nothing strange either for Jackson, so opponents can be burned if only playing him for the jumpshot. Look for Jackson to be a major contributor off the bench this season. With no 2nd round pick of their own, the Cavalier's managed to get one through a trade with Orlando. Anderson Varejao was a bonus throw in for the Cavs. This wiry power forward who has been playing in Spain recently is unlikely to be impact first up, but impressed Cavalier's management enough to secure a 3 year deal. Likely to become a crowd favorite with his big hair, Varejao will win more over with his hustle. Not a power player, but more so a finesse player, Varejao has showed in spurts in his young career to have a steady jumpshot which reaches near the 3 point line. A 3-4 player in Europe, Varejao is likely going to have to adjust to be a 4-5 player in the NBA. This was a solid draft for the Cavaliers. Most press sources are impressed with the selection of Jackson, while stealing Varejao from Orlando was a big boost for their dwindling front court stocks. Look for Jackson to be immediately in the 8 man rotation, whilst Varejao if not on the IL, will be used sparingly initially. Key Players Lost <font color="darkgreen">Carlos Boozer </font>via Free Agency (Utah Jazz) <font color="darkgreen">Jason Kapono </font>via Expansion Draft (Charlotte Bobcats) <font color="darkgreen">Tony Battie</font> via Trade (Orlando Magic) <font color="darkgreen">Kevin Ollie</font> via Trade (Philidelphia 76's) <font color="darkgreen">Kedrick Brown</font> via Trade (Philidelphia 76's) <font color="darkgreen">Eric Williams</font> via Free Agency (New Jersey Nets) Key Players Added via Free Agency and Trade <font color="darkgreen">Drew Gooden</font> via Trade (Orlando Magic) <font color="darkgreen">Eric Snow</font> via Trade (Philidelphia 76's) <font color="darkgreen">Robert Traylor</font> via Free Agency (New Orleans Hornets) <font color="darkgreen">Aleksandar Pavlovic</font> via Trade (Charlotte Bobcats) This offseason will definitely remembered for a long time. Fan favorite Carlos Boozer left the Cavaliers in controversial circumstances, which left the NBA world amazed. The nature of his departure actually pushed the news of Shaq to Miami off the main sport pages. The Cavalier's management are filthy in the manner that Carlos left them, whilst Boozer pleaded innocent to the Cavalier's claims. We all know the story enough for me not to go into it, but it definitely left a sore spot on most Cavalier's fans heart. Outside of that fiasco, the Cavaliers offseason was quite busy and rather successful. Filling the open power forward spot with Gooden from Orlando and snatching rookie Varejao for an often injured big man was a great feat by Paxson. Battie was quite valuable to Cleveland, however his constant injuries to his ailing knees inhibited his role. Another amazing deal was the ridding of Ollie's contract and the stagnating game of Brown for the veteran Snow. Eric has a rather big contract, but overall, this was a win for the franchise. The trade of a future 1st round pick for Pavlovic will be interesting. Time will tell where this pick falls and how Sasha progresses to make a judgment here. <font color="RoyalBlue">Opening Day Roster Projection</font> Projected Starting 5 <font color="DarkOrange">Center</font> [IMGl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/zydrunas_ilgauskas.jpg[/IMGl] <font color="Darkred">Zydrunas Ilgauskas</font> Height: 7-3 / 2,21 Weight: 260 lbs. / 117,9 kg. From: Lithuania Age: 29 With health concerns now behind him, Ilgauskas lines up this season as the Cavalier go-to man again in the post. After a mediocre start to last season, Big Z finished on strong to rank in the top 20 in 8 different stat categories. Ilgauskas has beautiful touch around the hoop and a nice steady jumper. A strong offensive rebounder, Z came along big time in blocked shots. A key man for the Cavaliers, Z will welcome the addition of shooters in the team to try and stop the constant triple teams he attracts. <font color="blue">PROJECTED STATS :</font> 33.5mpg, 16.9ppg, 8.5rpg, 2.8bpg, 46%fg, 74%ft <font color="DarkOrange">Power Foward</font> [IMGl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/drew_gooden.jpg[/IMGl] <font color="DarkRed">Drew Gooden</font> Height: 6-10 / 2,08 Weight: 242 lbs. / 109,8 kg. College: Kansas '03 Age: 23 Gooden comes to the Cavaliers with a massive opportunity to establish himself. An inconsistent performer in his first two seasons with Memphis and Orlando, the Cavs will be hoping his game settles. Drew is a talented player, who's shooting range and post moves making him an intriguing piece of the Cavaliers. His athleticism will be handy, as the Ilgauskas / Boozer combination was rather slow footed. However like the player he is replacing, Gooden is weak defensively. If the Cavaliers can develop some defense in Gooden, they are well and truly a playoff threat. Drew will never get an opportunity as good as this. Walking into a starting spot with an unselfish superstar in James, and a post player who will attract alot of attention away in Ilgauskas. The rest however, is up to Drew Gooden himself. <font color="blue">PROJECTED STATS :</font> 34mpg, 13.0ppg, 8.3rpg, 0.9bpg, 44%fg, 71%ft <font color="DarkOrange">Small Foward</font> [IMGl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/lebron_james.jpg[/IMGl] <font color="DarkRed">LeBron James</font> Height: 6-8 / 2,03 Weight: 240 lbs. / 108,9 kg. High School: St. Vincent-St. Mary HS (OH) Age: 19 The superstar of the Cavaliers returns for his 2nd season, but while still being a teen, is seen as the leader. With McInnis aboard full time, and the addition of Snow, James can now solely focus on scoring and playing his natural game. The Olympic experience, although short on minutes, would still have done his confidence some good. Teams again this year will look to force him to shoot the outside jumper, so his development on his jumper is imperative. An improved shot, together with more commitment on defense, we have the complete player. <font color="blue">PROJECTED STATS :</font> 39mpg, 23.1ppg, 6.4rpg, 4.8apg, 1.8spg, 43%fg, 75%ft <font color="DarkOrange">Shooting Guard</font> [IMGl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/jeff_mcinnis.jpg[/IMGl] <font color="DarkRed">Jeff McInnis</font> Height: 6-4 / 1,93 Weight: 179 lbs. / 81,2 kg. College: North Carolina '97 Age: 29 The veteran guard is sliding over to the shooting guard position with the addition of Snow. Jeff had a massive impact with the Cavaliers last season, which was emphasized with the Cavs losing streak when injured. The troublesome guard is coming into a contract year, so look for his game to at least remain solid. Showed success previously at the 2 guard with Portland and the Clippers, but with the Cavaliers his outside game needs to lift. If his head remains on this season, he is looking at a nice contract. <font color="blue">PROJECTED STATS :</font> 33mpg, 12ppg, 2.8rpg, 5.9apg, 1.3spg, 46%fg, 80%ft <font color="DarkOrange">Point Guard</font> [IMGl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/eric_snow.jpg[/IMGl] <font color="DarkRed">Eric Snow</font> Height: 6-3 / 1,91 Weight: 204 lbs. / 92,5 kg. College: Michigan State '95 Age: 31 The veteran completes the backcourt after heading to his home state after a long career in Seattle and Philadelphia. A solid role player who gets the ball to the right people and is hard nosed on defense. His defensive abilities will be very important. After defending 2 guards with the 76's due to Iverson, Snow has the flexibility like McInnis, to play two spots. A limited scorer over his entire career, he again will not be expected to help the Cavaliers perimeter offense. Snow will be a good locker room guy as well as better injury insurance then Ollie if problems occur. <font color="blue">PROJECTED STATS :</font> 27mpg, 8.3ppg, 2.9rpg, 5.1apg, 1.5spg, 41%fg, 73%ft Projected Bench <font color="red">IRA NEWBLE</font> - F Struggled in his first year as a Cavalier, after showing a steady offensive game in Atlanta. Used as a defensive stopper in Cleveland, he has become more a Michael Curry, then Bruce Bowen. With added depth to the swing positions, his game needs to step up to see regular minutes. <font color="red">ROBERT TRAYLOR</font> - PF/C The Tractor returns to Cleveland to help shore up the Cavaliers front court depth. Only useful in short bursts, Traylor will bring a power game not present amongst the roster. His ability to play center will sure be utilized by Silas if another big man is not added to the mix. <font color="red">LUKE JACKSON</font> - F/G Jackson's adjustment to the NBA is a big factor towards the Cavaliers effectiveness off the bench. His all round offensive game, particularly his range game, will be needed to give this team some punch. If his defense is acceptable will immediately find himself in the rotation. <font color="red">DAJUAN WAGNER</font> - G Attitude is the key word for Wagner. A complete disappointment after a flying start to his career. Wagner neglected his injuries, and failed to work on his game to adjust to defenses. Teams worked out his strengths and shut him down. Refusing to workout with the team is not helping matters. <font color="red">ALEKSANDAR PAVLOVIC</font> - F/G Cleveland gave up a future 1st rounder for this kid from Serbia, so obviously they are impressed. Is unlikely to see a lot of time this year due to the logjam at the small forward spot, his natural position. Sasha is a good range shooter and an athlete, which will find him pockets of minutes. <font color="red">DESAGANA DIOP</font> - C Diop just hasn't worked out at all. There is segments of talent on the defensive end, but these are well and truly cancelled out by his silly fouling and non-existent offense. Cannot be relied upon for regular contributions, but is ok for a 3rd string center. This is a bust in its true sense. <font color="red">ANDERSON VAREJAO</font> - F/C This Brazilian will be sitting behind Traylor in the rotation, and will struggle to see meaningful minutes. His athleticism and hustle may eventually earn him time, but look for this year to be a steep learning curve. <font color="blue">KEYS TO SUCCESS</font> * Continual development of the young guys. James and Jackson are the future, but also the present. * Health to out frontcourt. Behind Ilgauskas and Gooden, the Cavaliers are scarily thin. * Snow and McInnis co-existing. Jeff has a reputation for being difficult. * Keeping LeBron happy. With him onside, success will come. <font color="blue">PREDICTION</font> Look for Detroit, Miami and New York to win the divisions, with Indiana, Milwaukee and Boston just edging the Cavaliers record wise. 43-39 and 7th in the East. Real Cavs Fans
I doubt they will start both McCiniss, and Snow... So i would have put Luke Jackson somewhere in the starting 5 or maybe Wagner..
Paul Silas and Jim Paxson have said that they are leaning toward starting Jeff and Snow together. Great review!
Wagner will not start. He has yet to prove that he can be consistent, make good decisions, and play efficient minutes. I see him as backup, getting some minutes, but not a whole lot.
Wagner, start? Don't get me started. It has already been published that our starting 5 will consist of our combo point guards. Also we have added Scott Williams and Luciuous Harris to the squad. With a veteran like Harris, a natural scorer in Pavlovic, and two veteran point guards, Wagner will not be a Cavalier for very long.
Very nice preview boys. The starting 5 in just as I expected. Jackson will probably be our 6 man this year.
I think Jeff McInnes will proably start at PG, LeBron at SG and Jackson or Newble starting at the SF position. It would be pretty much the team that almost took them to the play-offs last season, so if it isn't broken, don't fix it. They don't have any need to chuck new players around. They should get them to know the team and how it works first.
It's basketball time folks!! I initially think the starting 5 the boys gave us at the top of the thread will be the one we see, but I also agree that if L-jax plays the way I believe he is capable of playing, he will be starting rather quickly. I love the offensive potential this team has, and they should be one of the more entertaining teams in the league, but I'm very concerned about our defense this year...... hopefully they pleasantly surprise me. The poll on sportsnation has us as the fourth seed in the east, and if we play to our potential, I'd say thats pretty accurate. O and btw, you heard it from polarbear first, Drew Gooden is MIP of the nba this season.
Just to let you know that the only change from the line-up at the top is that Harris will start instead of Snow. Snow will be the back-up point guard.
