Cleveland Cavaliers: 2013-14 NBA Season Preview
2012-13 Vitals:
24-58 overall, 13th in Eastern Conference
2013-14 Roster:
Anthony Bennett – PF
Andrew Bynum – C
Earl Clark – SF/PF
Carrick Felix – G-F
Alonzo Gee – SF
Kyrie Irving – PG
Jarrett Jack – PG
Sergey Karasev – G-F
C.J. Miles – G
Tristan Thompson – F
Anderson Varejao – C
Dion Waiters – SG
Tyler Zeller – C
Off-Season Additions:
Jarrett Jack (FA), Andrew Bynum (FA), Anthony Bennett (Draft), Sergey Karasev (Draft), Carrick Felix (Draft), Earl Clark (FA)
Off-Season Subtractions:
Wayne Ellington, Omri Casspi, Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights, Kevin Jones, Chris Quinn, Daniel Gibson*, Luke Walton*
*Unsigned Free Agent
Projected Starters:
PG – Kyrie Irving
SG – Dion Waiters
SF – Earl Clark
PF – Tristan Thompson
C – Anderson Varejão
Kyrie Irving will be looking to improve his defense to become an All-NBA talent. Photo Credit: Erik Daniel Drost (Flickr.com)
Season Outlook:
The post-LeBron James years of tanking are over; the Cleveland Cavaliers want to make the playoffs. And they went out and got a whole lot better this offseason. While the signing of Andrew Bynum probably won’t help them on the court, it shows that they are looking to swing for the home run and really try to compete in what should be a weak Eastern Conference. Jarrett Jack and Earl Clark are both solid very additions, while Sergey Karasev and Carrick Felix look like intriguing picks. Karasev should provide solid shooting whilst Felix looks as if he could be a defensive game-changer. The Cavs also lucked out and won the draft lottery, only to draft a player in a position they already had an improving player in. Alas, they are collecting talent and have a roster that will pose a threat for any team on a given night. That kind of comes with having a franchise-level talent in their third year, like Kyrie Irving is.
Best-Case Scenario:
The Cleveland Cavaliers not only reach the playoffs, but avoid the Miami Heat sweep by finishing as the seventh seed in the East. Kyrie Irving makes great leaps on the defensive end of the floor and Dion Waiters sorts out his shot selection. Andrew Bynum plays 50 percent of the Cavs’ games … oh wait, this is best-case scenario, not impossible scenarios. In all seriousness, the best the Cavs can hope for is a first-round exit in which they take a couple of games from a top-four seeded team.
Will Andrew Bynum ever play basketball again?
(Photo Credit/Guitarzero/Flickr.com)
Worst-Case Scenario:
Andrew Bynum doesn’t play a game; Kyrie Irving doesn’t improve on defense and Mike Brown just can’t get the team firing. The team struggles on defense and misses out on the playoffs to the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons. This doesn’t actually seem that unrealistic.
Projected Finish:
36-46, 9th seed in Eastern Conference
[slider_pro id=”6″]