Quick Hits: Cleveland Cavaliers at the Break
Jan 14, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao (17) guards Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol (16) in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Cleveland Cavaliers won 120-118. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
4.) Will they make anymore moves?
What moves they make will be dependent on what’s on the market. At some point some of these values on these players looking to get moved have to come down. Not too many teams are willing to risk a 1st rounder due to the mass amount of talent in this season’s draft. But the Cavs will be looking. And unless a deal too good to be true (like the James Harden deal) the Cavs need to hold on to Waiters, Irving, Thompson and Bennett. Offering them very little to trade with, unless someone is interested in future year’s picks. One deal I think the need to explore is moving Jarret Jack and maybe Tyler Zeller or a protected first rounder in the future for Steve Nash and Pau Gasol. If the Cavs really think Thompson doesn’t play at his best when Varejao is on the floor or the same with Waiters why not change things up here? Neither Jarret Jack nor Tyler Zeller has lit the world on fire. Jarrett Jack might have been a nice 2nd line do it all guard but that doesn’t help the current set up with Dion and Kyrie on separate line and both better players with the ball in their hands. Tyler Zeller is nice but he’s too undersized for the center position or even at power forward. He’s constantly abused down low and while he’ll probably play 10 seasons as a back up, I don’t think he’ll ever grow into a solid contributor.
Give Waiters a passing first point guard for that second line and a true inside center like Gasol which will move Varejao to the 2nd line with Anthony Bennett giving Bennett more defensive help and opening the floor a bit more for Thompson. Plus both Nash and Gasol have been players for teams on serious playoff runs, they have that experience and knowledge as well a veteran leadership that everyone in the league has some respect for(also doesn’t hurt that they’ve played for Mike Brown before-although Nash only played 1 1/2 regular season games for him). Plus Kyrie working with Steve Nash every day can not be a bad thing. This should help elevate the team’s resilience and make them a better talented team. In the end I’m not sure the Cavs make a move. I think teams like the Orlando Magic may hold out too long for a high return in their players and the Cavs have always been smart about not losing trades. I wouldn’t expect that to change, especially after the mid-season trade for Deng already and the understanding that this is not about just this season, the Cavs still want these young guys to grow and ultimately taking more winning responsibility on themselves.
5.) What to watch the rest of the season?
I don’t want to put too much stress into this but the Cavs opening 5 games have a chance to really shape the 2nd half of the season. They start off with a game against the Philadelphia 76ers (the 2nd worst team in the NBA), then the Magic (3rd worst team in the NBA) meaning they should be able to get to a 6 game win steak. Followed by at Toronto then home for the Wizards and Toronto again. Those 3 games can make a huge impact on the momentum for the playoff run. Knocking off the number 3 and 5 teams in a row would do a huge favor for their confidence and the leagues perception of this new Cavs team. Obviously keep an eye out for any Cavs trade since its very possible. Watch for the continued growth as team and growth on the defensive side for indications that this 4 games stretch wasn’t a fluke.
Anthony Bennett’s involvement down the stretch, will Mike Brown be afraid to use him in more intense situations now that the playoffs (and potential higher seeding) seems more realistic? Will Kyrie and Dion continue to grow together and find ways to complement their styles together? Will Thompson and Varejao be able co-exists or will it become more clear Thompson has better games without Varejao? Can Kyrie take that next step and go from a solid player to a no-nonsense winner? My final prediction is the Cavs make a trade for another big guy and move Varejao to the 2nd line (especially considering the recent injury and his injury prone status). I think Kyrie and Dion continue to get better together on the floor but Dion stays the 6th man (very much like Harden did, plays the 6th man but gets lots of meaningful minutes especially late in games) until the end of the season, unless something drastic happens like injuries. I think the team uses this last 4 game win streak to believe in themselves and uses the easy first 2 games as a spring board to keep the ball rolling into the pivotal 3 game stretch where they take 2 of 3 on their journey to battle for the 4th playoff spot.
Finally some reasons to be optimistic for the Cavs and Cleveland sports in general. What are your thoughts about the 4 game win streak and the Cavs going into the All Star Break?