The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a very dramatic month of March, including LeBron talking about creating a super team with Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and himself, and he unfollowed the Cavs Twitter page as well. Kyrie Irving was accused of being selfish, he was yelled at by LeBron, and there have been potential Kevin Love trades for this summer. Despite everything that has gone on in the hectic month of March, LeBron still claimed that the team is playoff ready at the end of it.
“I feel like we’re ready to make a championship run,” James said Saturday morning, ahead of Cleveland’s shootaround at Madison Square Garden in preparation to play the Knicks. “I’m confident in this team and I know we can make a championship run, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Is this team ready to make it to the championship, or not? Will they be able to get by the a hot Hawks team or the Raptors in the East, and then take down the Spurs or Warriors in the finals? Based on their recent play, they LeBron may be right when he says that if the playoffs started tomorrow, they’d be ready.
The Cavs are hot right now, and over their past 15 games, they are 11-4 including a thrilling overtime victory at Atlanta on April 1st. Despite their hot play, what concerns still linger about the team?
The NBA is full of great point guards, and to be a playoff contender these days, you need a great point guard. Kyrie Irving definitely fits that category, but his defense is a liability against players such as Kyle Lowry, Steph Curry, Tony Parker, and even Jeff Teague when he is hot. Kyrie’s defensive plus/minus is -1.4. If the Cavs are going to make it to the Championship, they are going to need better play out of Irving on defense. LeBron could shut down DeMar DeRozan or Paul Millsap, but if Kyle Lowry and Jeff Teague end up beating Kyrie and carrying their teams to victory, the Cavs may not go to the championship. Even if they make it, Irving will be tasked to cover Parker, Curry, or even Russell Westbrook, and any of these guys could carry their team to victory in the NBA Finals.
What is the Cavaliers’ best lineup? The Cavs have plenty of guys that can start around Love, Irving, and James, but who best fits? At shooting guard, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith both provide solid options. In a potential playoff match up with say the Raptors, LeBron would be forced to cover either DeRozan or DeMarre Carroll (likely DeRozan), and the shooting guard would take the other player. J.R. can be a liability on defense, but Shumpert is a liability on offense. Smith’s defensive plus/minus is negative, but Shumpert’s offensive plus/minus is -1.9. Both players seem to be exact opposites of each other, so which one should start? Well, I don’t think there is a problem with either. If the team is in need of a defensive boost, put in Shumpert, and if they need an offensive boost, put in Smith. Since defense wins championships, it would be wise of them to start Shumpert and have Smith lead the group off of the bench.
The other questionable position is who should be the other big man along with Kevin Love? Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov have started 31 games and 46 games this year respectively, but when it comes down to the playoffs, who should play? Mozgov has had a terrible season grabbing rebounds, only grabbing 4.4 boards per game, but Thompson has been a tenacious rebounder all season. He is averaging 9.2 rebounds per game, and he is omnipresent on the offensive glass grabbing 3.4 offensive RPG. The problem with a Love/Thompson line up is that they have no center or rim protector (Thompson has only averaged 0.6 BPG), but Mozgov hasn’t been much of a menace in the paint this season either, only averaging 0.7 BPG. Thompson has a slightly better defensive plus/minus than Mozgov, but Mozgov has a -2.2 offensive plus/minus on the season. Thompson is a better option because he is a better rebounder, they are equal on defense, and the team is better off with him on offense. The decision will ultimately come down to whether or not the Cavs want to go small, or if they want Thompson’s boards coming off of the bench.
Despite the dramatic month of March, LeBron claims that the Cavaliers are ready for the playoffs, and if LeBron says they are, they likely are. I’m sure their questions will be answered once games are played, and whoever is providing the team with the best opportunity to win, that player will play. If Kyrie becomes too much of a liability on defense, they can switch Shumpert onto the point guard and have Kyrie cover a less prolific player. The Cavs are in position to go to the Finals again, and this year they could win it if all breaks right.
