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CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: season predictions

Season Predictions

Regular season: The Cavaliers have finally been looking like true title contenders as of late, and that is in large part due to their midseason acquisitions to fill needs on defense at their two weakest positions: SG and C. They did this by acquiring SG’s Iman Shumpert and J.R Smith, and also C’s Timofey Mozgov and Kendrick Perkins, while only giving up unhappy SG Dion Waiters and draft picks. A lot of the credit has to go towards the imporved play of SF/PF LeBron James, who is the reason why Cleveland is title contenders in the first place, and also the cause of pretty much everybody else on the roster being there, with the exception of star PG Kyrie Irving. Still, they’re slow start to the season and the Atlanta’s ridiculous record, among other factors, will prevent the Cavaliers from notching too high a seed. Though team chemistry is still an issue that can only be fixed with time, this experienced team remains a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.

Projected Record: 51-31

Playoffs Round One
Cleveland Cavaliers (#3) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (#6

A warm-up for Cleveland in round one. Milwaukee only has the sixth seed due to the career year by PG/SG Brandon Knight, though the Bucks sold-high on him and dealt him for prospects, namely reigning Rookie of the Year PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams, before the trade deadline. Now Milwaukee is just collection of young guys with potential, most notably SF/SG Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo and most recent number two overall pick SF/SG Jabari Parker both on the right side of 20 years old, though Parker is injured this season. The team will be very competitive in a few years, but Cleveland is very competitive right now, as star PF/C Kevin Love appears in his first career playoff game.

Series Prediction: Cleveland Wins 4-1

Playoffs Round Two
Cleveland Cavaliers (#3) vs. Miami Heat (#7)

This one is sure to get some nice TV ratings. I have the Heat upsetting the #2 seeded Toronto Raptors, which why yes basketball fans, that means LeBron will play against his former team that he left in the dust this past free agency. Miami is sure to be hungry and out for revenge in this one, but it’s hard for them to do so when superstar PF/C Chris Bosh is out for the season with dangerous blood clots on his lungs. My prayers go out to him. The mid-season acquisition of Slovenian PG/SG Goran Dragic does a lot to ease this pain, as does a healthy (for now) superstar SG Dwyane Wade, an emerging star in C Hassan Whiteside, and the perimeter ace SF Luol Deng. Miami’s backcourt is probably actually better than Cleveland’s, as Dragic and Wade form a very formidable duo, and Whiteside is probably better than whatever the Cavaliers can currently offer at center. Deng can’t shut down LeBron, as nobody can, but as he has shown in the past from his days as a Bull, he can certainly contain him and minimize his huge impact on defense. PF Josh Mcroberts can also match up nicely against Love on defense. However, Miami simply lacks the depth that Cleveland can offer. Their starters might be able to keep pace, but the Heat’s rotation is just too thin, especially compared to this Cleveland team which has many spark plugs off the bench. In addition, there is always the risk of Wade getting injured, which the Heat simply cannot afford. A healthy Bosh could easily make this a different story, but lucky for Cleveland, it’s not.

Series Prediction: Cleveland wins 4-2

Playoffs Round Three
Atlanta Hawks (#1) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (#3)

This is the matchup we've all been waiting for out East. With Rose injured for Chicago, these are by far the best teams in the weaker Eastern Conference. It ultimately comes down to one big question. What is more important: team chemistry, or playoff experience/success? The Hawks have plenty of the former but lack the latter, as none of their starting five players ever making it to a Conference Finals game. However, their nickname as “The Spurs of the East” is most certainly true, as they knock down a ton of threes (“You’re welcome” says deadeye SG Kyle Korver and to a lesser extent SF DeMarre Carroll), play selflessly, and just win basketball games, all without the presence of a superstar. Of course, the Hawks still feature plenty of stars, though none of them “super”, as PG Jeff Teague, Korver, PF Paul Millsap, C Al Horford, and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer were all selected to the All-Star Game this year. The Cavaliers are pretty much the polar opposites of this. They have a ton of playoff success between all of their players, but lack the chemistry as most of them just joined the team this year. They feature arguably three superstars in LeBron, Irving, and Love, and just surround them with complimentary pieces. They don’t really take a lot of threes, preferring to just run their offense through their studs. They look eerily similar to LeBron’s Heat from last year, while the Hawks look eerily similar to the Spurs of last year. We all know how that played out, but this still figures to be a much more grueling and close series than that.

Series Prediction: Atlanta wins 4-3
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