What the Cavaliers have done in one offseason is truly spectacular, secondary only to what Pat Riley did with the big 3 in the 2010 offseason. When James announced his return to Cleveland, there was no doubt they were playoff bound. When the Cavs traded for Kevin Love, the team became an immediate contender and the Eastern Conferences' top dog.Yet , with all its star power and key offseason additions, there still are a few factors limiting the Cavaliers from reaching expectations as sure-fire champions. In this article ,we have listed three of them. When reading this article please note that these factors will only apply for the upcoming 2014-2015 season, and that the Cavs have everyone's vote,including mine, to win the championship sometime in the James-Irving-Love era, just not this season. With this having been said, let us begin.
Kyrie's transition
Kyrie Irving is as incredible of a scorer as any, a flashy ball handler with a complete offensive skill set. His creativity on the more spectacular end of the court truly amazes me, ranging from crazy layups to pull ups anywhere within the half court. So what's missing? He is certainly a competent ball handler with a good knack for knocking down jump shots. What is missing is not the skill set, but the mentality. His entire career Irving has served as a primary offensive option, but with Love and James in town, that will likely changed. Kyrie must learn to adjust to his new role as a distributer and complementary player. It will be very difficult for him, considering he showed no signs of adjusting to a limited role in team USA's route to the gold medal. Unless a miracle happens, it is unlikely that Kyrie Irving will adjust as quickly as necessary in order.
Defense
Before I show you just how bad Cleveland's defense is bound to be during the 2014-2015 season , lets take a look at the Cavaliers projected starting lineup. PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Dion Waiters SF: Lebron James PF: Kevin Love C: Anderson Varejao. In this lineup, there is one above average defender in Lebron James and three extreme defensive liabilities in Varejao, Irving , and Love. No one, I repeat, NO ONE in this lineup can protect the rim. The best rim protector in this lineup is Lebron James, who will be guarding the perimeter. the second best rim protector is Varejao, a 33 year old injury riddled center who hasn't averaged over 1 block per game in 3 seasons. Love cannot protect the rim either, and Irving, with his vast defensive potential, won't even contest shots on defense, much less block them. It's not like this team cannot become elite defenders, it is possible, yet no one in the cavs starting lineup, James not included, is willing to put forth the defensive effort.
David Blatt
I can honestly look you in the eyes and tell you that David Blatt is a great coach and will soon enough boost the Cavaliers title hopes rather then hurt them. Yet, like Kyrie Irving, David Blatt also needs time to adjust to his new role. In his many years of coaching, Blatt has never coached a single superstar, much less a team with 3 of them.In addition to this, he has yet to adjust to the style of the NBA- where all his plays will be much less effective against coaching masterminds such as Doc River and Greg Popovich. Lastly, David Blatt will be coaching a team with 2 superstars(Irving and Love) who have never been to the playoffs. This will only hurt his transition. The immense pressure to succeed should also, although Lebron James should help out in both categories. In conclusion, it is too much, too soon for the Cavs to win a championship this year, although it should certainly be the standard in the following seasons.
Kyrie's transition
Kyrie Irving is as incredible of a scorer as any, a flashy ball handler with a complete offensive skill set. His creativity on the more spectacular end of the court truly amazes me, ranging from crazy layups to pull ups anywhere within the half court. So what's missing? He is certainly a competent ball handler with a good knack for knocking down jump shots. What is missing is not the skill set, but the mentality. His entire career Irving has served as a primary offensive option, but with Love and James in town, that will likely changed. Kyrie must learn to adjust to his new role as a distributer and complementary player. It will be very difficult for him, considering he showed no signs of adjusting to a limited role in team USA's route to the gold medal. Unless a miracle happens, it is unlikely that Kyrie Irving will adjust as quickly as necessary in order.
Defense
Before I show you just how bad Cleveland's defense is bound to be during the 2014-2015 season , lets take a look at the Cavaliers projected starting lineup. PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Dion Waiters SF: Lebron James PF: Kevin Love C: Anderson Varejao. In this lineup, there is one above average defender in Lebron James and three extreme defensive liabilities in Varejao, Irving , and Love. No one, I repeat, NO ONE in this lineup can protect the rim. The best rim protector in this lineup is Lebron James, who will be guarding the perimeter. the second best rim protector is Varejao, a 33 year old injury riddled center who hasn't averaged over 1 block per game in 3 seasons. Love cannot protect the rim either, and Irving, with his vast defensive potential, won't even contest shots on defense, much less block them. It's not like this team cannot become elite defenders, it is possible, yet no one in the cavs starting lineup, James not included, is willing to put forth the defensive effort.
David Blatt
I can honestly look you in the eyes and tell you that David Blatt is a great coach and will soon enough boost the Cavaliers title hopes rather then hurt them. Yet, like Kyrie Irving, David Blatt also needs time to adjust to his new role. In his many years of coaching, Blatt has never coached a single superstar, much less a team with 3 of them.In addition to this, he has yet to adjust to the style of the NBA- where all his plays will be much less effective against coaching masterminds such as Doc River and Greg Popovich. Lastly, David Blatt will be coaching a team with 2 superstars(Irving and Love) who have never been to the playoffs. This will only hurt his transition. The immense pressure to succeed should also, although Lebron James should help out in both categories. In conclusion, it is too much, too soon for the Cavs to win a championship this year, although it should certainly be the standard in the following seasons.