All of the double teams that he was getting in Boston will be no more with LBJ on the floor.

and they are definitely deeper and improved.

From a production standpoint IT = Kyrie. But the rest of the roster is where it gets interesting:

PG - IT, Rose, Calderon
SG - "Wade", JR, Korver, Shump
SF - Bron, Jeff Green, RJ
PF - Love, Crowder,
C - Tristan, Frye, Zizic

Zizic + Crowder gives them size, rebounding, defense and grit. Wade and Rose while not what they once were are still better than JR and Shump as key pieces. Korver, IT, Crowder, Love and JR still gives them deep threats.

If Lue can figure out how to use who and when, they'll be pretty formidable. By seasons end (with health) they should definitely be more of a task for G-State (or whoever comes out of the west lol) than last season.

bringing in D Rose was. He took the league minimum to come here. He still cannot be kept out of the paint. With him playing with Bron you are about to see MVP D Rose this season.

The Cavs have a very deep squad that’s tougher and better defensively. They can play various matchups and can now create matchup problems for any team in the league.

On IT though that dude is gonna be bitter all season long. He’s still pissed that he got traded after he primarily helped Boston build their roster. He will light the league up when he returns.

>bringing in D Rose was. He took the league minimum to come
>here. He still cannot be kept out of the paint. With him
>playing with Bron you are about to see MVP D Rose this
>season.

Come on man, you know better. That Rose ain't coming back no matter who he plays with. Plus he'll never be the best option on this team (he literally might be 3-4). Besides, the Cavs need balance, not a top heavy roster.

Bron: 24/8/8
Rose: 17/4/3
Wade: 16/5/4
Love: 21/10/3
TT: 9/11
IT(returning): 22/6
Crowder: 9/7

Season needs to be something like this. And Rose/Wade's production will obviously take a hit when IT returns. But still having them be able to produce at these levels (which is doable) is what they need.

>The Cavs have a very deep squad that’s tougher and better
>defensively. They can play various matchups and can now
>create matchup problems for any team in the league.

I agree.

>On IT though that dude is gonna be bitter all season long.
>He’s still pissed that he got traded after he primarily
>helped Boston build their roster. He will light the league up
>when he returns.

He will but he has to be fully healthy. Then it's gonna take like a month or so for him to get his NBA legs back. Dude will have not played pro level competitively for 6-8 months when he returns. And on top of that, he has to figure out how to play with new teammates who will have been building their own chemistry for a few months given that a big chunk of the roster is new.

Cavs won't hit real stride until March probably. Before then, they'll be winning on talent/depth and Lebron. I can see 55-57 wins and a top seed in the East.

He played the last two seasons with no issues.

He looked good in NY last year. He was tops in the league among guards scoring in the paint. He is still strong going to the bucket and can finish strong around the rim. Plus being around Bron now Rose will take notice of how to take care of his body. I see nothing short of a stellar season for him.

He did make it most of the season though.

still i think they did a good job under adverse circumstances here.

*old man fist shake*

I need to set the draft order and can't until you take over your team.

HURRY!!!

>He was tops in the league
>among guards scoring in the paint. He is still strong going
>to the bucket and can finish strong around the rim.

he can?

http://on.nba.com/2ycc5f2

54.7% on shots from 5 ft and in.

not all that great.

Lmao at wade and it. Warriors gonna play those two dudes off the floor.

They are much better defensively and they now have a small ball lineup that will give GS fits.

GS no longer has the advantage of being deep over the Cavs because the Cavs are now deeper with better bench productivity.

and they're gonna pick and roll/switch/post IT to DEATH...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

No way they beat GS with their roster now.

and I think JR needs to go to. Dude is in lala land half the time.

>and I think JR needs to go to. Dude is in lala land half the
>time.

Yeah Shump can go, but JR has to stay. The reason why he is in la la land is because the dribble king was trying to take on the whole oppposing squad before taking a shot. There will be better ball movement this allowing JR to get more touches and shot. Plus JR can play good defense.

>There will be better ball movement this allowing JR to get more touches and shot

Yes because they need JR to get touches and get more shots. It’s even more important that they do that with the way the team is constructed now. You can’t have JR getting 4-5 shots per game this year, especially when you’re playing OKC, GS, or the Spurs possibly in the finals.

Much weaker defensively with no Crowder or Bradley.

No depth
No heart
No defense
No one to put the team on their back

Equals no finals appearance

>No one to put the team on their back

out well for 'Rie

BOS is still a couple of years away from being a contender IMO.

the Celts will never be contenders.

If the Cavs keep everyone on the teams after this NBA season and get one of the top three spots in the draft then the Cavs will be on top for at least the next 5 years.

#dubsin5

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=21&topic_id=78996&mesg_id=78996&page=3

Could be back by the time they play the Warriors.

pretty much until a month before the All Star break. That should be interesting.

I'm interested in this small ball line-up that going to give the Warriors "fits."

..pure comedy.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

>I'm interested in this small ball line-up that going to give
>the Warriors "fits."

PG - Rose (until IT comes back)
SG - Wade
SF - Crowder
PF - LBJ
C - Love

...shaking in their boots?

Okaaaaaay (c) Jay-Z.

that is a very tough matchup for the Warriors.

And with Wade & Rose version, two guys who's best days are long behind them and will play limited minutes.

Nope, I think it's safe to say that line-up isn't keeping Warriors fan or the Warriors fans up late at night.

Well Bron, Crowder, and Wade play D

Rose plays good D in the pick-n-roll

Love at C should be able to guard whoever GS plays at that spot.

>Well Bron, Crowder, and Wade play D

Wade is 35, injured, and on the downslope, especially when it comes to playing D. LeBron isn't the defender he's been in the past.

>Rose plays good D in the pick-n-roll

Not against Curry he isn't.

>Love at C should be able to guard whoever GS plays at that
>spot.

Oh, you mean Durant? 'Cause that's who he'll be guarding when the Warriors play in a small-ball line-up. Durant will average 36 ppg in those circumstances.

Hip injuries are hard to come back from and this might not happen until February as he needs one month get back in shape after medical clearance.

DWade is done and does not deserve to start so this signing is pointless. This dude starts off name recognition not actual talent. Frye and Calderon are veteran depth aka salary cap space eaters.

I am not as concerned about the Warriors because competition is too tough in the west for them to sweep straight through the playoffs barring injuries to most of their opponents in those rounds.

Cavs not coming out the east. I have sneaking suspicion this is Bron's last hurrah as he heads west for what amounts to the dumbest fucking reason ever: his brand. My gut tells me either the Celtics or another team gets to the finals. If we make it to the finals then this is another slap in the face to the Cleveland Cavaliers suck insert shitty franchise is better than them crowd. We had a successful season if we make the playoffs.

>Cavs not coming out the east. I have sneaking suspicion this
>is Bron's last hurrah as he heads west for what amounts to the
>dumbest fucking reason ever: his brand. My gut tells me either
>the Celtics or another team gets to the finals. If we make it
>to the finals then this is another slap in the face to the
>Cleveland Cavaliers suck insert shitty franchise is better
>than them crowd. We had a successful season if we make the
>playoffs.

Bron’s not leaving the east because the Lakers have NO shot of making it to the finals. Other than that where will he go in the west?

Cavs will cruise to the finals again... Celts not deep enough. Sixers don’t have enough experience.

super, ultra, reverse-jinxing of some sort...lol. He does it all the time.

>>Cavs not coming out the east. I have sneaking suspicion
>this
>>is Bron's last hurrah as he heads west for what amounts to
>the
>>dumbest fucking reason ever: his brand. My gut tells me
>either
>>the Celtics or another team gets to the finals. If we make
>it
>>to the finals then this is another slap in the face to the
>>Cleveland Cavaliers suck insert shitty franchise is better
>>than them crowd. We had a successful season if we make the
>>playoffs.
>


>Bron’s not leaving the east because the Lakers have NO shot
>of making it to the finals. Other than that where will he go
>in the west?

Now the Lakers have no shot but bring in Paul George, resign their useful younger role players, and another piece or two and you have a team.

Objectively speaking it makes no sense for Bron to leave to go to west because of competition but everyone said Bron wouldn't leave and he did.

Evidence thus far:

Bron called LA home on twitter
Dan Gilbert is a Trump supporter
LA is better to build his brand
Bron hates Trump
DG fired Griff
DG signed off on trading Ky instead of keeping him

>
>Cavs will cruise to the finals again... Celts not deep enough.
> Sixers don’t have enough experience.

As a Cavs fan I just want the team to make the playoffs and everything after that is just extra barbecue sauce on my ribs. Celts aren't deep enough now but they have enough pieces to pick up whatever they need during the season.

Look at the injury history of the Cavs roster. Odds are Wade misses significant time. Love is due for an injury or two. DRose plays a max of 62 games. IT isn't cleared until January. Calderon is a cap space eater. Bron is past Kobe's pace at the same point in history of their respective careers. In other words, the Cavs are far from a lock to make the finals. We damn sure aren't getting the first seed.

>Now the Lakers have no shot but bring in Paul George, resign
>their useful younger role players, and another piece or two
>and you have a team.
>

If I’m not mistaken the Lakers can’t sign George next year because of tampering. Now if Westbrook goes there then maybe, but I see OKC staying in tact after this season. This makes the Lakers an unattractive spot for Bron going forward. The Clippers have nothing to offer either

>Objectively speaking it makes no sense for Bron to leave to go
>to west because of competition but everyone said Bron wouldn't
>leave and he did.
>
>Evidence thus far:
>
>Bron called LA home on twitter
>Dan Gilbert is a Trump supporter
>LA is better to build his brand
>Bron hates Trump
>DG fired Griff
>DG signed off on trading Ky instead of keeping him

Yes but we are talking about a LeBron with probably only 5 years left in the league. None of the later statements give credence to Bron leaving Cleveland. Obviously letting go of Griffin was the best thing for Cleveland. Koby has done more in a few months than Griffin did in 7 years. I cringe at the though of what Griffin would’ve gotten back for Kyrie. At the end of the day they had to trade him. I came to the conclusion that they had to move him after the finals were over last year. He was the only player that could bring you the most value back. Love didn’t have that much value on the market so Kyrie was the only option to help bring in the pieces that they needed.

>
>As a Cavs fan I just want the team to make the playoffs and
>everything after that is just extra barbecue sauce on my ribs.
>Celts aren't deep enough now but they have enough pieces to
>pick up whatever they need during the season.
>

The Celts don’t have anyone to trade to bring anyone in this season. With their lack of depth they have to keep everyone this season. Luckily for them they have a ton of 1st round picks going forward.

>Look at the injury history of the Cavs roster. Odds are Wade
>misses significant time. Love is due for an injury or two.
>DRose plays a max of 62 games. IT isn't cleared until January.
>Calderon is a cap space eater. Bron is past Kobe's pace at the
>same point in history of their respective careers. In other
>words, the Cavs are far from a lock to make the finals. We
>damn sure aren't getting the first seed.

To each their own, but with how deep the Cavs are there is no other team in the east to match them. As long as Rose holds up until IT get back then Cleveland will be fine. Wade can split minutes with JR so that Wade doesn’t have to burn himself out as well as take a few games off during the season. Cleveland is the team that can actually improve because they still have a couple of players they could move plus they could throw in their 1st round pick to ensure that they get another elite type player.

Not sure what this talk about "I'll be happy if they make the playoffs is."

Bron still owns East.

He carried the Cavs to the Finals alone two years ago, he can do it again.

>Bron still owns East.
>
>He carried the Cavs to the Finals alone two years ago, he can
>do it again.

Yes Bron still owns the East.

Yes Bron can can this team without IT to the Finals this season.

What you seem to be losing sight of is that IT is an MVP caliber player. IT will be able to give Bron something that he hasn’t had since his years in Miami... that is the ability for someone else to carry the team if LeBron rests during a game or takes a game off for rest.

however I do think they make the finals again and put money on it. We could get shocked with an early exit this year and some team like Wizards or Celtics taking them out but I doubt it.

All of the talk that Durant was the difference in the Finals and while his presence helped it was really not the determining factor.

Per 100 possessions when LeBron was on the floor GS edged the Cavs 118-117

When LeBron was NOT on the floor the Cavs were outscored 112-75 per 100 possessions.

-

.

Fixed it for you.