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.