 Cleveland Cavaliers 2009/2010 |
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posté par Anonyme : | Preview ESPN Hollinger
Will the Big Shaquisition put the Cavs over the top or just turn the Q into the big top ?
Offseason Moves
Disappointed by the playoff loss to Orlando and eminently aware of James' impending free agency next summer, the Cavs again spared no expense in assembling a capable roster around their star. Cleveland executed several moves along that front, with the only other notable event of the offseason being Delonte West's arrest for his Mad Max impersonation on a Maryland highway -- an incident that will likely see him suspended for several games to start the season.
Traded Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace to Phoenix for Shaquille O'Neal.
One could argue that the horse has already left the barn since Howard pulverized the Cavs last May, but the Cavs didn't want to see an encore performance this coming spring. Pavlovic and Wallace were disposable commodities who hardly played last postseason, essentially making O'Neal a free acquisition. It will be enormously costly from a luxury tax perspective, as the Cavs will owe the league over $10 million because of this trade, but if O'Neal helps them retain James, it will be money well spent.
Drafted Christian Eyenga and Danny Green.
Eyenga was a surprise pick at the end of the first round -- even now he's almost completely unknown -- and will spend at least the next year or two developing overseas. Green, the second-round pick, may be able to contribute right away if he can work through the morass of wings the Cavs acquired. He can defend and shoot and should provide a solid rotation player, if not this year then soon down the road.
Let Wally Szczerbiak go, signed Jamario Moon for three years, $9 million.
Cleveland chose to add more size and athleticism to its wing rotation in the offseason, signing Moon to an offer sheet and then benefiting when the Heat wouldn't match it. He's a great value at this price, as his defensive numbers the past two seasons are very solid and he's been adequate offensively. He's not the shooter Cleveland's other wings are, but his size and finishing skills present a different dimension. His addition will also let the Cavs play small more often with James at the 4 and Moon at the 3, a lineup against which most opponents will have tremendous difficulty.
Signed Anthony Parker for two years, $5.5 million.
The other half of Cleveland's midlevel exception money went to Parker, who had served as a defensive stopper in Toronto and will split that role with West and Moon in Cleveland. An added plus to this pickup is that Parker provides another strong 3-point shooter for the Cavs' guard rotation, and he should be an upgrade on the ineffective Gibson in the rotation.
Let Joe Smith go, signed Leon Powe to a two-year deal for the minimum.
Smith spurned the Cavs to pursue more minutes with Atlanta, but the Cavs were able to sign Powe away from Boston. It's more a play for next season than this one, as Powe is recovering from a torn ACL and won't be available at least until midseason. Given Powe's productivity and the cheap price tag, however, it was a commendable value play from the Cavs.
Biggest Strength: Wing Defense
Already a dominant defensive team, Cleveland seriously upped the ante in this regard in the offseason by upgrading its ability to shut down quality wing players. There was certainly a strategic element in this, as its three biggest rivals for the title -- the Celtics, Magic and Lakers -- all possess high-caliber 6-foot-6 wing players who were tough matchups for the 6-4 West a year ago.
West won't have to deal with the likes of Kobe Bryant or Vince Carter if the Cavs can send Moon and Parker after them. Both players produced very strong defensive plus-minus numbers in their time in Toronto, although critics will point out that they didn't make the Raptors a terribly imposing defensive team overall.
The two additions also give the Cavs the flexibility to line up in different ways. West should see more time as the backup point guard, pushing defensive liability Gibson to the bench, because Moon and Parker are capable of taking over the leftover minutes on the wing. Similarly, the Cavs will find it much easier to line up with James as the power forward and Moon or Parker as the 3.
Finally, it bears mentioning that if all else fails, the Cavs can use James as their shut-down stopper in fourth quarters. Indeed, one problem they faced against Orlando was that he could plug only one hole in the dyke -- he could guard either Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis, but not both at the same time. That shouldn't be a problem this season.
Biggest Weakness: Free-Throw Shooting
It's tough to find many weaknesses on this team without using a magnifying glass, or perhaps an electron microscope. But one area requires little sleuthing: They'll almost certainly rest near the bottom in free-throw shooting, a weakness which may keep them from the top spot in offensive efficiency.
James took nearly 10 free throws a game last season, and while his 78 percent mark from the stripe represented a career high, it was still a bit underwhelming for a superstar wing player. He may not be able to repeat that performance, as he's only a 73.8 percent career shooter.
James' teammates won't boost that percentage much. While Cleveland's guards shoot very well from the line -- Williams made 91.2 percent -- they're mostly spot-up shooters and rarely get to the stripe. The four main guards averaged only seven free throws a game between them last season.
Instead, the two most frequent free-throw shooters after James will be Anderson Varejao and Shaquille O'Neal. Varejao hit only 61.6 percent from the line a year ago on his 3.1 attempts per game, helping drag the Cavs down to a 75.7 percent mark that ranked 21st in the NBA.
Cleveland will almost certainly shoot worse than 75.7 percent this season because of O'Neal's addition. While the trade for O'Neal also unloaded a horrific foul shooter in Wallace, O'Neal takes about six times as many foul shots per game. Last season he made 59.5 percent from the stripe, and it was one of his best marks in years -- for his career he's a 52.8 percent shooter.
Outlook
The Cavs were incredible a year ago until things crumbled in the conference finals, and they look stronger this time around. Cleveland aggressively addressed the weaknesses exposed in the Orlando series a year ago, most notably by importing one of the few dudes who is more massive than Howard. But that wasn't the only move; Cleveland significantly upgraded its perimeter defense by acquiring Moon and Parker, and didn't lose any players of consequence.
And, of course, it employs the best player in the league. James may not register the superhuman PER he posted a year ago, but he may not need to, either, given all the talent around him. Although the hubbub about his impending free agency is a potential distraction, he's shown the ability to shoo those concerns away once the games start.
The one major question is how O'Neal will adjust. Will he buy into the Cavs' defensive mindset and locker-room camaraderie, or will his attention-seeking ways make him a divisive factor?
In any case, the Cavs are likely to return to the Eastern Conference finals against the same Orlando team they faced a year ago, and this time they have more than enough ammunition to surpass that hurdle. They don't match up quite as well against the Lakers, so I'm not picking Cleveland to win it all, but these Cavs are on the short list of teams that have a realistic shot at the title this year.
Prediction: 63-19, 1st in Central Division, 1st in Eastern Conference.
12 Andre Barrett
1 Daniel Gibson
14 Daniel Green
21 J.J. Hickson
11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas
00 Darnell Jackson
23 LeBron James
5 Coby Karl
3 Rob Kurz
15 Jamario Moon
50 Luke Nevill
33 Shaquille O'Neal
18 Anthony Parker
44 Leon Powe
24 Russell Robinson
17 Anderson Varejao
20 Darryl Watkins
13 Delonte West
31 Jawad Williams
2 Mo Williams
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