The Cavaliers’ season ended yesterday at the hands of the Detroit Pistons, the surprise being that it happened in Game 7, not Game 4 or Game 5. The wine and gold pushed the defending conference champions to the brink of elimination before losing the last two games. The timetable for the success of the Cavs has been moved up a year. Fans can now expect this team to challenge for the Conference finals next year.
Cleveland learned a lot from their first trip to the postseason. They bought into Coach Mike Brown’s defensive system, and discovered that is the method to winning in the playoffs. Their teachers just might wind up being the NBA champs when it is all said and done.
Why should we be optimistic? For one, LeBron James is going to get better. Forget how great he is now, and he may be the best player in the league, but he is only 21 years old. His jump shot will continue to improve, and he will get stronger as well, which will help on the defensive end. Larry Hughes will be healthy in 2006-07. Fans don’t realize how good Hughes is since he missed much of the season. He excels at the mid-range jumper, and is unselfish and a good defender. I know he is injury prone, but my guess is he will play at least 70 games next season.
Mike Brown will develop a better offensive system. His pick and roll offense is too simplistic and there will be more movement from the other players on the floor. We might even see plays to get Zydrunas Ilgauskas some short looks in the paint rather than dumping into post and hoping he can make a shot.
I realize many Cavs fans are concerned about salary cap space, but in the NBA where there’s a will, there’s a way. Danny Ferry will find some takers for some bad contracts and will get some useful players in return. There are always teams looking to take on some contracts that are soon to expire. The wild card is former #1 pick Luke Jackson. In college, Jackson was a athletic player who could run the floor, had hops, and could shoot. Maybe he can stay healthy and do those things for Cleveland, or he or Sasha Pavlovic could be a trading chip in the off season.
However, that is Ferry’s second most important job this summer. His main task is to get James signed to a long term deal when he becomes eligible. If that happens, our title drought will be coming to an end sometime in the near future. The King will deliver soon.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 