The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
New faces embark on journey to June
Cavaliers roster underwent turnover, but goal is the same: Win the NBA championship
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue is satisfied with the team he’ll put on the floor against the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena on Oct. 17 in the regular-season opener for both teams. Tipoff is 8 p.m. One of the reasons Lue is feeling good about his team despite a turbulent offseason is the play of veteran point guard Derrick Rose.
Rose signed with the Cavs as a free agent on July 27. He spent last season with the New York Knicks and the previous seven with the Chicago Bulls.
The three-time All-Star and 2010-11 Most Valuable Player agreed to a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum salary of $2.3 million three days before All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving asked the Cavs to trade him so he could realize his full potential elsewhere.
Irving was subsequently traded to the Celtics in a deal that brought forward Jae Crowder, point guard Isaiah Thomas and center Ante Zizic to Cleveland.
Unless something unexpected occurs once the postseason begins in mid-April — either team not being one of eight teams from their respective conference qualifying for the playoffs is inconceivable — the Cavaliers and Warriors will meet for an unprecedented fourth consecutive time in the Finals. The Warriors won in 2015 and 2017. The Cavs were 2016 champions.
Before that can happen, though, the Cavs (and Warriors) must grind through the season.
“Obviously, the Warriors are the cream of the crop in the NBA because they’re coming off a championship,” guard Dwyane Wade said after a recent Cavaliers practice.
“The media is always going to put us against the Warriors, but there are so many teams in between that.
“We don’t want to focus too much on Golden State. They’re obviously at the top and everyone has to get good enough to beat them, but you have to beat the guys that you’re going to see more often than them.”
The first step in the 82-game journey lasting nearly six months begins at 8 p.m. Oct. 17 against Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena.
As tedious and drawn out as the regular season is for playoff-caliber teams, it is essential for the Cavaliers this time because the team is so different from a year ago. Irving is gone after having his trade request fulfilled. So are forward Richard Jefferson plus guards Kay Felder and James Jones.
Wade, a shooting guard, point guards Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas plus forwards Jae Crowder and Jeff Green are all new additions. So is center Ante Zizic plus guards Jose Calderon and John Holland.
The Cavaliers lost their first four preseason games before beating Orlando, 113-106, on Oct. 13.
The preseason means nothing, as the Browns are proving. The Browns were 4-0 in the preseason but 0-6 in the regular season.
LeBron James missed most of the preseason with an ankle injury. He is listed as questionable for the opener with the Celtics, but another reason the Cavs went 1-4 is Coach Tyronn Lue is still learning how everyone works together.
Three of the five starters — Wade, Rose and Crowder — are among the new players.
Center Tristan Thompson and shooting guard J.R. Smith were starters a year ago.
They are taking a teamfirst approach and say they are willing to come off the bench if doing so helps the Cavs win, but it will still be an adjustment.
Thomas, rehabbing from a hip injury that sidelined him during the Eastern Conference finals in May when he was with the Celtics, is expected to return in late December. Finding a niche for Thomas will be another challenge for Lue.
The Cavs lost to the Warriors in five games during the Finals last year because they could not defend Golden State forward Kevin Durant.
He won’t have it so easy if there is a four-peat between the Cavs and Warriors because Crowder is an excellent defender.
Golden State had better depth than the Cavs in the 2017 Finals, too. The additions the Cavaliers made in the offseason made their bench stronger — and that will be the difference in the 2018 Finals. The Cavaliers will outlast the Warriors to bring home a second NBA championship.
As for the question that will hover over the Cavaliers until July — will LeBron leave in free agency next summer or re-sign with the Cavaliers? — no one but James really knows the answer.
But knocking off the Warriors to even the score could be a big persuader to convince James to stick around.