Tag: James

James’ Injury Doesn’t Mean Cupboard is Bare

No doubt it has been a crazy week for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They’ve lost three of their last four, including a loss on Christmas Day at Miami, and then received a beatdown a few days later at home to the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Then, rumors started to fly that the management wasn’t happy with the job coach David Blatt is doing, and that LeBron James apparently talked to Dwyane Wade about an on-court reunion if things didn’t get better with the Cavs.

And yesterday, it was announced by the club that James will miss two weeks with lingering back and knee issues.

Phew!

With James out, there is the usual Cleveland doom and gloom in the air, with people feeling the dream season they envisioned for the wine and gold is slowly slipping away.

First of all, remember that even with LeBron on the sidelines, the Cavs still have two all-stars on the court in Kyrie Irving, who is having his best season as a pro, and Kevin Love.  It’s not as though they are the Philadelphia 76ers.

This should allow and encourage Love to take more of an aggressive role offensively.  So far, the former Timberwolf has seen to struggle to find his niche with Cleveland, so this will give him an opportunity to do just that.

Hopefully, it will also make Dion Waiters be more aggressive too, at least in the concept of the offense.  Waiters has gone back and forth this season, either shooting too much or not enough.  Now, the Cavs need his points and he should try to score more, but not do it in the one on one style he has used too much this season.

In fact, it would be a good opportunity for Blatt to move Waiters back in the starting lineup.

James’ absence could also improve how Blatt’s offensive system flows.

This isn’t to say that LBJ is circumventing the coach’s game plan, rather we think Blatt has moved away from his motion based attack to accommodate the four-time MVP’s ability to take pretty much anyone in the league off the dribble.

Now, without him, perhaps the offense will stay with the passing game more often.  We have noticed in several contests that moving the ball gets Cleveland the lead or back into a game, and then the squad reverts to isolation basketball and they have trouble.

The stretch early in the fourth quarter against the Heat was a perfect indication.  The Cavs tied the game, then missed nine consecutive field goals, most without running offense, and couldn’t recover.

This is where Blatt can put his stamp on the team.  He can go in the locker room tonight and tell this team it doesn’t matter if James is out, there is still plenty of talent on the current roster to continue to win while he is out.

As for James, many have suspected that he hasn’t been healthy since training camp, and this is a good opportunity for him to heal up and come back strong for the rest of the season.  And when he does, the coach needs to do a better job managing his minutes.

He shouldn’t be playing more than 35 minutes per game.

It would be nice if the Cavs had the best record in the Eastern Conference right now, but it is more important if they are playing their best ball in March and early April, heading into the playoffs.

We think a lot of fans think the post-season starts in the couple of weeks.  We haven’t even reached the halfway point of the season.

If this is the best the Cavs can do, then there is a problem.  However, we feel they will get better as the season goes on.

JK

James is Back, Would You “Love” to Add More?

Now that LeBron James has returned to the Cavaliers, sports fans in Cleveland needed something else to worry about.

They were provided that yesterday when it was revealed that James signed only a two-year deal and can opt out after one.  People in social media started the angst rolling shortly after the news broke.

Look, it would be a real shock if LBJ invoked the opt out after the 2014-15 campaign and went to another team after the heart warming essay he issued on SI.com revealing his love for Northeast Ohio.

Unless Dan Gilbert wrote another letter blasting him or new coach David Blatt benched him, what James and his management group did was simply a business move.  With a new television contract coming and the salary cap increasing, James put a mechanism in place to ensure he will be the NBA’s highest paid player for the balance of his career.

He stated in his essay that he intended to finish his career as a Cavalier, and all fans of the wine and gold should take him at his word on this.

So relax and enjoy the fact that LeBron James will be wearing the wine and gold of the Cleveland Cavaliers once again.

Where does the organization go from here?  First, the rebuilding process is over and the Cavs are now contenders for an NBA title.  Although fans want and are projecting that this upcoming season, it really isn’t likely, but certainly David Blatt’s squad will be in the playoffs.

And remember that the Cavs did win 33 games last night despite a poor coaching staff.  They probably are much closer to a .500 team than their record would indicate.

The rumors abound that Cleveland is in the mix for free agent to be (after next season) Kevin Love.  The power forward’s critics will point out that Love has never appeared in a playoff game.

However, that is merely the luck of the draw.  If the Timberwolves were in the Eastern Conference, they would have made the post-season with their 40-42 record.

Love averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last year, and is a 38% shooter from beyond the three-point line.  He also will not turn 26 years old until September.  He’s played for the US Olympic team which won the gold medal in 2012 t00, where he played with James.

If GM David Griffin can get him without dealing this year’s top draft pick, Andrew Wiggins, why wouldn’t you make that deal?  And if Dion Waiters needs to be included, that shouldn’t be an impediment.

Trading draft picks?  So what, the Cleveland roster is still very young and dealing some of the first round picks accumulated by the Cavs’ front office wouldn’t be a hardship to the franchise.

After all, they just moved two former first round picks in Sergey Karasev and Tyler Zeller to create cap space to sign James.

Love’s defense has been questioned, but good coaches can scheme around that and playing defense is mostly about effort and James will make sure his new teammates know that it is worth the work.

Also, wouldn’t it be incredible to see Love fire one of his three-quarter court outlet passes to James streaking down the court?

Even if Cavs do not make another huge move, they should be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.  One issue is the division which probably has the two other top teams in the conference in Indiana and Chicago.

The Cavs could finish with the second best record in the East and be the fourth seed.

The philosophy of the Cavalier front office changed when James agreed to sign here on Friday.  They have a chance to win a title next season.  Again, not to say they will, but if they can add an all-star player without giving up Wiggins, who could be a special player in two to three years?

Why not?

JK