The Cleveland Cavaliers start training camp this week, and this season could not be any more different than a year ago.
First, the best player in the sport, LeBron James, is no longer wearing the wine and gold. Second, because of that, the Cavs are no longer a contender for the NBA Championship.
Coach Tyronn Lue should be coaching a different style with a younger roster, and we think he will do just that. In fact, for the first time since he took over for David Blatt in 2016, we might see the real Ty Lue.
While the roster no longer has James, it does have a perennial top NBA player in Kevin Love, who should be the focal point for the 2018-19 edition of the Cavs. He should get the most shots, and score more than 20 points per game for the first time in a Cleveland uniform.
The rest of the roster is filled with young, athletic types, many of them interchangeable. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
From the most Lue took over here, he has talked about playing an up tempo style, and now he has better personnel to do that, and it might just start with the second unit.
With the current roster, the starters figure to be a veteran group, with George Hill at the point, JR Smith at the #2, Cedi Osman at small forward, with Love and Tristan Thompson playing the big man roles.
The second unit could be filled with young guys who want to play fast. First round pick Collin Sexton, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., David Nwaba, and Sam Dekker.
Let’s not forget veteran sharpshooters Channing Frye and Kyle Korver, and young big man Ante Zizic, who did some good things when Thompson was hurt a year ago.
The point here is while there is no superstar (and quite frankly, James ranks even above that level), there are plenty of solid NBA players who should get playing time, and how better to do that than play very fast and come at opposing teams in waves.
We should also add here that it would not a surprise to see Smith and Korver, and perhaps even Thompson moved before the season starts, or be dealt early in the season.
We are sure Lue would like to start Hood, as he could be the secondary scoring option, but putting Smith on the bench could cause a myriad of issues.
Back to style of play, Lue should be telling his young team to push the ball at all opportunities and defensively pressure opponents as much as possible. Defense takes energy, and playing it with effort causes players to tire easier.
With the depth on the roster, that shouldn’t be an issue.
All this said, it is doubtful the Cavs are going to win 50 games or more this season, but they can finish above .500 and make a playoff appearance.
On the other hand, they could also win 30 games and be back in the draft lottery.
That’s why they are still interested to us. We are anxious to see how Osman plays with increased time and responsibility, we think the kid can play.
We want to see Sexton, a rookie who plays with energy and confidence. We also think Nance can blossom, and we will bet his outside shot is much better than a year ago.
This group will be interesting to say the least. Although the expectations will be different, it should still be fun to watch the wine and gold this winter.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 