2008 Cleveland Cavs Predictions & Preview

Written by Luke Knight on October 28, 2008

Since LeBron James joined the Cleveland Cavaliers only Zydrunas Ilgauskas is still a Cav. The Cavaliers are an older team now due to last season’s trades, but GM Danny Ferry felt he needed to upgrade the roster in order for Cleveland to once again compete for an Eastern Conference title. Mike Brown is an underrated head coach, who preaches defense and rebounding, which makes the Cavs somewhat boring to watch. But Brown has been successful and will look to get the same results or better out of a revamped Cavalier team. Read on to find out whether we think this is the year the Cavaliers win the East and a title or if it is just another year wasted in the LeBron James sweepstakes. The Cavaliers are +200 odds to win the Central Division and +500 odds to win the Eastern Conference Championship this season at BetUS.

Mo Williams is the best starting point guard the Cavaliers have had since Andre Miller led the NBA in assists in 2002. Williams is expected to relieve James of some of the playmaking responsibilities. Williams averaged 17.2 points last season in Milwaukee and should be a solid fit in Cleveland. Daniel Gibson will come off the bench for Cleveland. Gibson is an outstanding shooter, who can spread the floor for James, but he is not going to create many shots for other players with his passing or dribble penetration.

Sasha Pavlovic held out in the early portion of the 2008 season, then became the starter again shortly after rejoining the team only to suffer an injury that cost him the starting spot. Pavlovic is athletic and is extremely well suited for Brown’s defensive system. Delonte West will come off the bench behind Pavlovic. West did a steady job running the team at the point position last season, and he also played solid defense. He could also see some minutes at the point position as he proved himself capable, but unspectacular last season.

LeBron James led the NBA in scoring with 30.0 points and ranked 8th in assists with 7.2 assists and 10th in steals with 1.8 steals. James is practically unguardable, except for the truly elite teams, who can force him to take an outside shot. James is strong and quick driving to the hoop, but his unselfish and has the ability to accurately make a crosscourt pass that destroy the traps most NBA teams employ against him. He also plays solid defense. If James improves his outside shot, he truly will be unstoppable. He also averages more than 40 minutes per game. When he is off the court, Wally Szczerbiak will get minutes. Szczerbiak is a former All-Star who averaged 19.0 points as recently as 2005-2006 and will probably also see time at the shooting guard position.

Ben Wallace is not as good as he once was. His skills have visibly declined, but he should extend his career by moving to the power forward position instead of battling larger centers on a nightly basis. Wallace still rebounds and defends well. J.J. Hickson will come off the bench. Hickson was a beast in the Las Vegas summer league, and it will be interesting to see if that translates into regular season production.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is never going to be accused of being a graceful player, but he is skilled and versatile. He can shoot, pass, rebound, and block shots. He has good size and length which makes up for his poor leaping ability. Anderson Varejao will provide some energy off the bench. He crashes the boards well and plays good defense.

Final Analysis

LeBron James is one of the best players in the league and has only one weakness, which he will likely continue to improve. Coach Mike Brown preaches playing tough defense and rebound and in the NBA those are two of the most important things. As long as they have LeBron, play tough defense, and get the boards, the Cavaliers will be a competitor in the Eastern Conference. Our NBA predictions have Cleveland winning the Central Division ahead of the Bulls, Pistons, Pacers, and Bucks. They will once again make a run at the NBA Finals and a NBA title, although we don’t have them winning the Eastern conference. BetUS has the Cavaliers at +1500 odds to win the NBA Championship this season.

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