Basketball Buckeyes debut at No. 18 in preseason AP Poll
October 22, 2019Bye week blues and the impending cold slap of reality named the New England Patriots
October 23, 2019Somehow, we’re just over one week away from Halloween and nearly two months away from the Holidays. That means one thing: Basketball is back. You Northeast Ohioans probably thought “cold weather and snow” was going to be the answer there, but let’s try not to think about any of that awful stuff. With the NBA season seemingly starting even earlier nowadays, basketball is officially back. Not only was Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday night, but the NBA tipped off their season as well, with the 2018-19 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors hosting the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers hosting the Los Angeles Lakers.
Those might be the two marquee matchups of the first few days of the season, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to begin their season Wednesday night against the Magic in Orlando. Even before the Cavs from The Land begin their 2019-20 campaign, there are so many things to look forward to if you’re an NBA fan. For the first time in quite some time, the league is wide open. After the Raptors ended the Warriors’ dominant run, the league looks quite different this season.
- Steph Curry and D’Angelo Russell are now leading the way in Golden State, with Draymond Green also contributing and Klay Thompson recovering from a torn ACL.
- Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant teamed up in Brooklyn but KD could miss the entire season with a torn Achilles.
- Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are now together on the Clippers, with George missing time at the beginning of the season due to shoulder surgery.
- How will James Harden and Russell Westbrook be as teammates in Houston?
- The Clippers have a dynamic duo and so do the Lakers in Los Angeles, with Anthony Davis joining LeBron James.
- Will Mike Conley take the Jazz to the next level?
- When will Zion Williamson return to the court after tearing his meniscus during the preseason? When he does, how dominant of a player will he be?
That is just the beginning. There are so many more questions and topics we could discuss.
So, about those Cavs.
After a dismal 19-63 season in Year 1 of post-LeBron Era 2.0 in 2018-19, a year that they needed to be bad given that the wine and gold traded their top-10 protected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, this season might be a little bit better, but not much, at least in terms of the record. Record wise, unless something drastic happens, the Cavaliers will likely be one of the worst teams in the league again. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be a fun team to watch and cheer for.
With veterans such as Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., and Matthew Dellavedova, among others, paired with younger players such as Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr., Dylan Windler (when healthy), and Cedi Osman, this team will be easy to root for even if they don’t win a lot. Add in the fact that they seemingly love to be around each other and it makes it that much easier to root for them.
There are plenty of questions heading into the season. Here are just some of them:
- Can Darius Garland and Collin Sexton — who are both officially 6-foot-1 — not only coexist in the same backcourt but be successful as well? The back-to-back top-10 picks will be counted on in a big way if the Cavaliers want to be successful in the near future.
- Kevin Love has been involved in trade rumors for years now. With all four years left on his four-year, $120,402,172 extension he signed last year, could he actually be on the way out this season? K-Love has said all the right things, but the 31-year-old might want to be with a contender rather than going through a rebuild for the second year in a row. If healthy, he’s one of, if not the top trade pieces in the NBA.
- In the final year of his rookie deal, will Cedi Osman play himself into a big payday and extension?
- How many expiring contracts — Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, Jordan Clarkson, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova — will the Cavaliers trade away in order to possibly take on bad contracts and more draft capital?
Before he was let go last season, former head coach Tyronn Lue mentioned that it’s about wins and lessons, not wins and losses. He was right. With a John Beilein now leading the way, that hasn’t changed. The first-year NBA head coach will look to develop the Cavs’core players. While winning games while doing that would be awesome, it’s just an added bonus.
If things go right, the Cavs could be a contending for a playoff spot next season. Not to look ahead too much, but if they can return their core group of players and add a few free agents given the fact that they currently only have five players under contract next summer with another two having team options, it gives them some flexibility.
This season will be tough for Wine and Gold Nation, but at least this team and these players should be easy and fun to root for. Now, the Cavaliers and Cavs fans alike have to just hope that winning, success, and postseason basketball will be back sooner rather than later. Until then, it’s just all about development.