The Blow Up In Cleveland

The 2017-18 NBA season has been very unpredictable so far. If I was told that Dwayne Wade and LeBron James wouldn’t finish the season together I would have told you that you were crazy. There were a lot of player transactions during the NBA off-season due to the Golden State Warriors. Golden State has been dominating the NBA during the last couple years and players are started to team up against them.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a lot of player movement during the off-season after a poor performance in the NBA finals last year. Kyrie Irving was reportedly not interested in playing with LeBron James anymore and wanted to play on his own so he could have the opportunity to lead his own team. Kyrie Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and next year’s first round pick (Brooklyn Nets top 10 pick). Isaiah Thomas averaged almost 30 points a game but is coming off an injury that he suffered during the playoffs last year. They also added former MVP Derrick Rose and LeBron’s old teammate Dwayne Wade.

The season didn’t start of well for the Cavaliers, Isaiah Thomas was still sidelined from the injury he suffered in the playoffs. The team dealt with injuries and chemistry issues at the beginning of the season. The Cavaliers thought their problems would be fixed over time with more games played and once Thomas came back into the lineup.

A week before the trade deadline the Cleveland Cavaliers were still not playing playoff basketball and that started to be a cause for concern. Isaiah was back in the lineup but wasn’t playing like he did last year and wasn’t fitting well with his new team. The Cavaliers had no defense all year and it got worst once Isaiah Thomas came back. They were listed as the oldest team in the NBA and was playing like it. The front office knew that they had to make moves to be able to complete in the playoff this year. The day before the trade deadline the Cavaliers made some block-buster trades. They traded Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, Dwayne Wade and Isaiah Thomas. They traded all their aging players and got younger players that are willing to try hard every single play. They acquired; George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood. The Cleveland Cavaliers got long and athletic players that played defense.

 

The Cavaliers have won 4 straight games and it looks like LeBron is finally having fun again. All the players they acquired has been playing great. George Hill is their new starting point guard; Clarkson, Hood and Nance Jr. are bringing the energy and scoring off the bench. Kevin Love is still out with a broken finger and is expected to return in about a month. With his upcoming return, the Cavaliers will look to be a threat again to win the NBA finals this year.

 

 

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The King’s Perfect Plan

LeBron James recently made headlines again with his comments about considering joining the Golden State Warriors if they cleared the cap space to sign  him this offseason. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been struggling this season and is currently 3rd in the standings in the Eastern Conference at 30-20. Cleveland has been dealing with injuries most of the season and it’s not getting better with the recent injury to their star forward Kevin Love. Love will be out 6 – 8 weeks with a fractured hand. Cavaliers have been in trade talks with several teams. Cleveland wants to make a move to improve their roster before the NBA’s February trade deadline.

LeBron James will be a free agent this upcoming offseason. Many teams will be creating the cap space to have the opportunity to sign LeBron. It was reported that LeBron would consider meeting with the Golden State Warriors “if” they cleared the cap space for him.

Golden State’s 1st NBA Championship

Most of the sports world is shocked to hear that statement from LeBron James because most basketball fans already view the Warriors as a cheating team and how Kevin Durant ruined the competition nature in the NBA. Durant joined a Golden State Warriors team that had already broke the NBA record for most wins in a season (73) and won the championship already without him. Personally, that was a weak minded move by Kevin Durant and most NBA fans will agree with me.

The Golden State Warriors have the best roster in the NBA and it’s not even close. Teams like the Houston Rockets are trying very hard to compete and beat the Warriors but it will be difficult with their current roster. This is why I believe that the statement made by LeBron James is the start of breaking up the Warriors. Could it be that LeBron James wants the Warriors to create the cap space by cutting or trading some of their core players? Trading or cutting some of their core players would gut the Warriors roster so they could have a meeting with LeBron.

LeBron James meeting with the Warriors doesn’t mean that he is going to sign with the team.  I believe that this is part of LeBron’s plan to break apart the Warriors team.

LeBron James with the Warriors?

LeBron wants the Golden State Warriors management to break apart the team and create the cap space to sign him. The Warriors are in for a treat because personally; I believe that LeBron’s plan is to have the Warriors create the cap space to sign him but LeBron will not sign with the Warriors.  He wants them to break apart the team knowing that he will not sign with them. If the Warriors traded or cut some of their core players to make room for LeBron and he ends up not signing with them, then Warriors roster will not be as good because they had to trade/cut players to just secure a meeting with LeBron. If they did create enough space to have a meeting with him LeBron he will listen to their pitch but wont sign with the team. The plan is; Golden State Warriors trade or cut core players to make room to meet/sign LeBron. During the meeting, LeBron will listen to their offers but will turn down their offer. At this point, the Warriors have already traded or cut key players expecting that LeBron will sign with them . If he doesn’t sign with them then Golden State would have gutted their roster for no reason.

This would be an affective way to breaking up the Warriors because they will be able to sign all their key players this offseason if LeBron doesn’t make this move. This would be the King’s best plan yet.

The Struggles In Cleveland

It’s almost the All-Star break in the NBA season. At this point of the year many teams have already found their identity and are just adjusting a few things before making their post-season run. The Cleveland Cavaliers are having an up and down season so far. They started the season under .500 win percentage throughout the first 15 games of the season. Isaiah Thomas, the acquired star in the Kyrie Irving to Boston trade was not in the line for the first 35 games of the season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers started the season 5-7, then won 19 out of their next 21 games. They have been dealing with some injuries this year. It doesn’t help that they are the oldest team in the NBA this season. Derrick Rose just recently came back after taking some time off from basketball for personal reasons (thinking about retirement due to injuries). He will be worked back into the line up.

 

 

The best thing Cleveland has going for them is LeBron James; He has been having a career season so far and should win MVP this season. Career highs in shooting percentage, efficiency and much more. The Cavaliers are 3-7 in their last 10 games and are still struggling on defense. Isaiah Thomas is back in the line up now and have to adjust to him in the line up which will take some time.

Cleveland is 3rd in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors. Not getting the number one seed hasn’t been a problem for LeBron James in the past. Last year Cleveland was the 2nd seed and LeBron James didn’t have a problem on the way to his 7th straight NBA finals. This year it will be much tougher for Cleveland because the Eastern Conference has gotten better this year with teams like; Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers getting stronger and younger.

Even though the Cavaliers are struggling I still think that they will make it to the NBA finals but will lose to the Golden State Warriors. LeBron James is too good of a player to beat in a 7-games series. Cleveland is an experience team and will find a way to make it back to the finals this year.

 

Time for Some NBA

The Golden State Warriors won the NBA championship easily last year. Defeating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Most will say that Golden State cheated and that it wasn’t fair because the second best player in the NBA; Kevin Durant joined the team after losing to the Warriors in which his team (Oklahoma City Thunder) blew a 3-1 serious lead. That very same year, the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead to Cleveland in the NBA finals.

Teams across the NBA watched the Warriors blow out teams during the playoffs, only losing one game to Cleveland in the finals. Kevin Durant joined a team that had set the NBA record for most wins in a season (72) lead by the first ever unanimous MVP Stephan Curry. The Warriors have two of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA, one defensive player of the year and two MVP’s on the team.

Kevin Durant going to Golden State forced other superstars in the NBA to join teams so they could be able to beat Golden State. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony are now on Oklahoma City Thunder along side Russell Westbrook; who averaged a triple-double during the season last year. Chris Paul is not on the Clippers anymore, he is now playing with James Harder in Houston.

There were a lot of player movement this NBA off-season. Some people will say that Golden State Warriors is still going to win the Championship even with all the other superstars teaming up. Cleveland Cavaliers did lost (trade) Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics but they were able to reload and get former MVP Derrick Rose, and Dwayne Wade; who won 2 NBA titles with LeBron James on the Miami Heat.

This NBA season is going to be one for the ages. NBA superstars teaming up to beat a super-team.

Not So Easy Right?

Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors this summer thinking that they would give him the best chance to win the NBA title. The season started off smoothly for the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first team this season to reach 50 wins and clinch a playoff spot. The Warriors are the team to beat this season; the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA title last season but with Kevin Durant on the Warriors they are favorited to win the title this season.

The Golden State Warriors are (6-4) in their last 10 games. Kevin Durant sprained his MCL almost 2 weeks ago and the Warriors have not looked the same. Curry is not playing like the way he did last year when he won the MVP. Kevin Durant is the Golden State Warriors; without him the Warriors are not the same team. Teams like the Houston Rockets and of course the San Antonio Spurs will give Golden State problems in the playoffs if they don’t have their best player Kevin Durant. The Spurs are now one game back from the Warriors for the number 1 seed in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant is going to miss the rest of the regular season; the Warriors will most likely not keep the 1 one seed in the west without Durant. The Spurs are (9-1) their last 10 games.

Many teams made their last minute transactions before the trade deadline passed. The Cleveland Cavaliers added veterans like Deron Williams, Kyler Korver and Andrew Bogut; whom got hurt just after two minutes in his first game as a Cavalier. Realistically, Bogut was not a key part of Cleveland’s rotation so this injury won’t impact them as much. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best change to beat the Warriors especially with superstar players like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

If Kevin Durant doesn’t come back to full strength during the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors will lose in the second round of the playoffs. They signed players like Matt Barnes to replace Durant. Barnes is no Durant and he won’t contribute enough to replace Kevin Durant. The San Antonio Spurts, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and the sleeper team that no one talks about; the Utah Jazz. Utah has an excellent defense and is going to be a hard team to knock out the playoffs. Not going to be so easy for the Warriors.

Batman & Robin

Cavalier’s Forward LeBron James has played with many players in his career. The best player he played with in his first seven years in the NBA was Mo Williams. At the time Mo Williams was not a great player but was good player. We all know that LeBron was not able to get an NBA title in Cleveland the first time he was there. Playing with players like Larry Hughes and Mo Williams can only get you so far. Although, LeBron did carry the entire Cavaliers team and reached the NBA finals in 2007 but only to get swept by the Spurs.

In 2010, LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers to play along side Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The Cavaliers failed to get LeBron some playmakers so he decided to leave the team when he was a free agent. LeBron James now finally has a robin; Dwyane Wade is a player that can make plays on his own when LeBron is tired or on the bench. The Miami Heat reached four straight NBA finals; winning two NBA titles with LeBron being named MVP in both titles. After four season in Miami and coming off a finals lost; LeBron started to feel like he was back in Cleveland again. Injuries and age started to take its toll on Dwyane Wade and former all-star Chris Bosh. LeBron James is now a free agent again and planned on returning back home to Cleveland.

The Cavaliers had a star of their own; young point guard Kyrie Irving. Cleveland picked Irving with the 1st overall pick the year after LeBron left.

Kyrie Irving 

Irving won Rookie of the Year and has been putting the league on notice with highlight after highlight. LeBron said one of the reasons he decided to come back was to be able to play with a young guard like Irving. At the time of LeBron’s return to Cleveland, Irving was only 21 with incredible skill set. LeBron knew that Cleveland had a bright future with him playing along side Irving.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s first season in Cleveland together had some growing pains but they were able to reach the NBA finals. That season was Irving’s first time in the playoffs and LeBron James was on a quest to bring Cleveland their first NBA title. That quest came up short in the NBA finals when Irving got injured the first game in the finals. LeBron did all he could but came up short and lost to Golden State.

Batman & Robin were back to full strength their second season together. LeBron and Irving went on a tear that season and carried it into the playoffs. Cavaliers were at full strength for the finals rematch against Golden State. Golden State set the NBA record for most wins in a single season (72), but LeBron and Irving were not worried about that. Cleveland found themselves down 3-1 in the finals.

Kyrie Irving’s game winning shot

LeBron and Irving averaged almost 40 points each game for the rest of the finals. With Kyrie Irving hitting the game-winning shot in game 7 to bring Cleveland their first NBA title in team history. LeBron James has played with many great players like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Kevin Love; but  Kyrie Irving is the best player LeBron has played with his entire career. He is only 24. That is the real Batman & Robin.

“The Return of The King”

There were many questions about the decision of Cleveland Cavaliers Forward LeBron James when he decided to return back to his hometown Akon, Ohio this past summer. The Cavaliers had just won the draft lottery and were poised to make a run for LeBron James during the free agency period. LeBron’s Miami Heat team had just got destroyed by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals. Many NBA experts predicted that the Miami Heat were not going to be a championship team the following season which was one of the contributing factors to why LeBron left the team.

Cleveland Cavalier’s roster was very young and had a promising point guard in Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers also had other young players and picks to trade to improve their roster. During the meeting with LeBron James and his agent; the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to convince James that they would get another All-Star (Kevin Love) along side Kyrie and himself.

The season did not start well for the Cavaliers. They were bothered with injuries and the team chemistry was just not there. Their bench was not very deep and were forced to play old veterans. LeBron knew that this was not a championship team at this point of the season. The Cavaliers then made a mid-season trade for Jr. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov.

The trade for Jr. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov was what saved the Cleveland Cavaliers season. The Cavaliers roster was still injured at the time of the trade so they were not a complete team until after the All-Star break.

(This image coming after the Game 3 overtime victory over Atlanta Hawks) Currently, the Cavaliers are now one game away from reaching the 2015 NBA Finals. So to the people that thought LeBron made a bad decision can now eat their words because the Cavaliers roster is the best in the NBA. They are still finding ways to win even without Kyrie Irving being 100 percent. Some may argue that the Golden State Warriors are a better team but only the NBA Finals will tell which is the better team because it is looking like the 2015 NBA Finals is going to be between Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Go CAVS!!!