The Cavs had adjusted to losing LeBron James like we all expected, and that means a lot of losing. Trading away George Hill fully opened the door for Collin Sexton to log starter’s minutes, and that he has. They also traded away Kyle Korver, and landed Alec Burks, who has jumped into a starting role at shooting guard. Burks will give them more variety when scoring, and can handle the ball as well. They will continue to keep Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench. Nobody was going to replace the King’s production, and the Cavs have been trying to fill it in with Rodney Hood and David Nwaba. The success hasn’t been there, but this is a team in full rebuild. Kevin Love is the superstar right now, but that is when healthy. If not, we have seen Cedi Osman slide into the starting four role, and at times Larry Nance. Tristan Thompson starts at the five, and this is actually a very good defensive front court when those players are out there.
Well, LeBron James is off in Los Angeles and that leaves behind one diminished lineup. Kevin Love is left alone here, although the Cavs will entertain trade offers I am sure. With 30%+ usage gone, Love is certainly going to be one pick that up if he stays. He possibly could return to post monster numbers but Love has been in and out of shooting slumps more frequently than those Minnesota days. Love does not have much depth behind him outside of Larry Nance, but Love might be a name that starts at center over Tristan Thompson who does not bring offense to the table. They have a thin front court, and will need to add some depth at some point.
The only current small forward listed is Cedi Osman, which says it all about the state of this team. You will see guys like J.R. Smith and Rodney Hood slide over and play the three. Both are not attractive options, but they will have some usage to go around with everything James left. The Cavs drafted rookie point guard Collin Sexton out of Alabama, who is someone they will look to build around. The youth on this team is thin, and it is hard to see George Hill getting run over him and Jordan Clarkson. Even though Clarkson was awful in the playoffs, he will likely get sizable playing time on this team, but a majority of it will come off the bench. Hill’s injury situation is always something to talk about, but if he is healthy he will likely try and stay around 25 minutes a night providing the youth to get more run. This offense is going to be bad, but the defense that was bad last year will be even worse. They will be lucky to win 25 games this season.
Projected
Proj
