Coming into this 2014-2015 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, the Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavs) were the team to beat.
With a couple postseason moves, such as acquiring all-star Kevin Love and the return of super-star “King” LeBron James, all alongside young all-star point guard Kyrie Irving, the championship ring seemed inevitable for the Cavs.
But that has not been the case so far this season.
Cleveland has a league record of 19-17, sitting in the 5th seed of the Eastern Conference. 5th place may not seem too bad, but if you compare it to the West, they would not even be in playoff picture.
On paper, the Cavaliers are the team to beat. In reality, they haven’t gelled as a team yet.
Look back four years ago to Miami and their Big Three: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. They didn’t really get going until about halfway through the season.
Putting three All-Stars together has always had its ups and downs.
There are problems with the remaining cap space, such as getting players that can help the bench and also the egos of the All-Stars, who were the main guys on their previous teams.
In order for Cleveland to be effective, Kevin Love needs to make sacrifices, and realize he is no longer “the guy.” Last year, he averaged 26 points per game, while this year, he is averaging 19 points per game.
His minutes are staying the same compared to last year, with an average of 36 minutes last year, and 35 minutes this year. He is no longer needed to be the offensive threat.
Between Kyrie Irving and Lebron James, personally, I believe the Cavs should rely on Kyrie more.
Lebron is still the leader, and it is his hometown, but he is getting up there in age (30 years-old), and the younger and more agile Irving can produce more points.
King James is the best player in the league hands down. Cleveland can utilize his passing abilities more than his scoring abilities to be successful.
Slowly but surely, Cleveland will get out this hole that they are in by working with their talent just like Miami’s super team has throughout the past four years.
