Cleveland's Finest

I appreciate your sincerity, but I beg to differ about the bolded part. It is merely the second year with Kyrie. I am also tired of hearing about Tristan's faults. It's not just from non-Cleveland fans. People rip him apart like he was a bust last season. Meanwhile, check out this draft redo that was made during last season. I specifically remembered it: http://www.discusshoops.com/forums/topic/28491-the-2011-nba-draft-and-david-thorpes-redo/ As you can see Tristan is picked to go 2nd! I'm not saying this is 100 percent correct, but Tristan is much better than he has gotten credit for. He has put on a lot of weight (in a good way) for this upcoming season and has looked much better attacking the basket. I'm not saying potential all-star, not yet (seen too little of him), but he has the makings of a solid starting power forward. He averaged 10.4 points and 7.5 rebounds as a starter, and shot over 60 percent from the line the final two months of the season, which is a great improvement over his terrible free throw shooting numbers in college. He's had one year, and as you can see in the link above, some people think he may have been worthy of the second pick. It's not just the numbers. When you see him play, he looks like he can belong. He has the size, some moves, and the toughness to be a starting big man. And another thing--it is way too early to judge Dion. Let's see the dude play first. He has gotten in better shape since Camp Scott started and has definitely been more disciplined. Let's see how he adjusts to this culture change. He may play off the bench just like Tristan at the beginning of last year, but that's not a bad thing. The goal is to develop these guys the right way, not force them into the mix and maximize their current undeveloped talents. Waiters brings scoring to the backcourt, which we lacked once Sessions left. Kyrie will get this help back in Dion. Zeller does not have much a ceiling, but what he is now is pretty good. He knows the game, can shoot free throws, hit the mid-range jumper, and with Zydrunas back in the organization, Tyler has a great mentor who can teach him how to succeed in the NBA. CJ Miles looks to have been a great addition. It's a brand new environment for him, where he will probably be starting (90% sure). I'm optimistic about Tristan, Dion, Tyler, and CJ this season. There are three players I'm worried about: 1 - Kyrie: I really hope he doesn't have a sophomore slump. 2 - Anderson - I hope he isn't out half the season for the third straight year. 3 - Alonzo - I hope he doesn't drop off, because he has not been too good since rejoining the team. If he can put up 12 a game like he did when he started, I'll be satisfied. And comparing Kyrie to Tyreke is unfair. The Kings organization is a mess. Give the Cavs a chance. All I know is they got a lot better last season, and should be a little better this season. People are jumping to conclusions way too soon. Let Chris Grant do his thing. As a really passionate fan, I have no problem with anything they have done thus far. The only possible gripe is drafting Dion, but seeing how confident they are in him, I am willing to see how it plays out. I love the CJ signing. I'm excited to see Samardo because he has gotten into amazing shape, and I look forward to seeing Omri fight for a starting job as it looks like he has improved. They were in the race for the 8 seed last year until Kyrie went down. That's a good enough improvement for me in year 2 after LeBron's departure. The goal is to be in the race all season, and then the races are off for 2013-2014.

One thing we know for sure now - they are prepared as ever if something happens to Bradley like last season. The key for the non Big 3 though is Sullinger and Melo. One of them needs to play like Big Baby did. The backup bigs is the nly question at this point. This team can be very scary...but who knows how hard they will play in the regular season. Might just play hard enough to get in before the true test.

What about for computer? I'm considering getting it for my mac because they don't play the games on TV in Columbus when the Blue Jackets are on. Is the computer good enough quality or am I better off with streams?

Not yet, but that doesn't mean they can't be good. Teams like Utah, Houston and Milwaukee, and more have been competitive and in the 8 seed race the past couple years without having a guaranteed annual all-star. I think DeRozan and Lowry still have time to develop into all-stars. The three rookies obviously have a chance but I haven't seen enough of them. I said Jonas will make the Rook/Soph game but Ross should make it too.

Conley is better most of the time, but when both are at their best, Lin is better. I've never seen Mike Conley take over a game like Lin has. It depends on what you prefer - consistency or high risk/high reward.

Anderson Varejao is not only a teammate too, but a top 10 center in the NBA. And Tristan Thompson is also a quality player. As for the question, I think Kyrie will be kind of like Rondo or Parker, where he is never looked at as the best point guard and always seems to fly under the radar. In terms of playoff success, the sky is the limit for him. He's such a smooth point guard and finds ways to get to the basket like I've never seen.

What's with all this hate for TRASH and Mihm? When they were on the Cavs they seemed like average NBA players... and lol at the word filter

I'm rooting for New York because I really don't like the Tigers. I think the series will be close just like last year when the played in the ALDS. I'll give the series to New York in 6. Verlander won't be able to impact the series as much, and I don't trust their other starters like I trust Pettitte and Kuroda.

This series should go 6 or 7. Both teams are rolling right now and are getting contributions from players I've never heard of. I'll go with San Francisco in 7. If Lincecum can pitch like he did in the division series, it will be a huge advantage to have him either coming out of the bullpen or starting. The Cardinals have been resilient though, so I'm not too confident in my pick.

The logo banners are awesome, and it's nice for a change. Thanks a lot RD.

These are horrid.

I'll be rooting for him. The way he went out with Boston had to be painful. I still remember that Game 7 where Rasheed, Ray Allen, and World Peace all hit huge threes back to back to back and the mood of the game swung so quickly. As much as I dislike Melo and how the Knicks went about letting go of Lin, I'll be rooting for the Knicks. I really like Chandler, Sheed, Shumpert, Camby, Kurt, and even Amare because he has been through a lot the past few years. I picked them to go to the finals last year due to the Chandler acquisition. That was obviously too high of an expectation. What I saw was a disconnect between Amare and Melo. They can still fix that. This team is built for the playoffs, not the regular season. The success of the likes of Kurt Thomas, Sheed, Camby, and Kidd will be measured in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh @ Syracuse (-1.5) Connecticut @ Rutgers (-7.0) Northwestern @ Penn St. (-2.5) Arizona @ Stanford (-9.0) LSU (-2.5) @ Florida Oklahoma (-5.5) @ Texas Tech Michigan (-3.0) @ Purdue Vanderbilt @ Missouri (-7.0) Georgia @ South Carolina (-1.0) West Virginia @ Texas (-6.5) Miami (FL) @ Notre Dame (-14.0) Florida St. (-16.0) @ N.C. State Nebraska @ Ohio St. (-3.5) UCLA (-2.5) @ California Washington @ Oregon (-24.5)

I have yet to decide whether to get the game or not. For those with it, can you describe the changes in Association? I heard they changed the interface (nba.com), among other things...

Lakers/Suns was nowhere near as physical as Celtics/Heat. Also, the Lakers/Suns playoff feud was five plus years ago (the WCF wasn't that dramatic a few years ago...Suns were happy just to be there) whereas Heat/Celtics has been a current feud. By the time Nash joined LA, both sides were indifferent to the feud, whereas Allen is joining the Heat literally right after the Heat ended their season, so it has a much worst taste to it.

Kyrie kept interfering during Tristan's interview. http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/sites/cavaliers/files/imagecache/image_gallery_default/IMG_2212_0.JPG Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Big Z, is back in the Cavs organization! http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/sites/cavaliers/files/imagecache/image_gallery_default/IMG_2115_0.JPG Dion Waiters mentioned how he got in good shape for Camp Scott. http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/sites/cavaliers/files/imagecache/image_gallery_default/IMG_2076_0.JPG

Full Article I see where he's coming from. At the same time though, he didn't mention the Spurs along with the Thunder, who are another small-market team.

Hahaha that's awesome.

Kevin Love does not deserve to be in the top 10 yet. Dirk, Rondo, and even Melo deserve to be ahead of him. Dwight being third is a joke. He had probably the most disappointing season of his career when you look at the expectations....and he's top 3?

I have no problem with this. Athletes are so friendly to each other these days, such as Durant and LeBron, that you wonder where the true competition has gone. KG has always had that desire for competition in him.

N.C. State @ Miami (FL) (-2.5) Baylor @ West Virginia (-11.5) Penn St. @ Illinois (-1.0) Minnesota @ Iowa (-7.0) Missouri @ UCF (-3.0) Arkansas @ Texas A&M (-13.5) Ohio St. @ Michigan St. (-2.5) Tennessee @ Georgia (-13.5) Virginia Tech (-6.5) @ Cincinnati Arizona St. @ California (-1.5) South Carolina (-20.5) @ Kentucky Texas (-1.5) @ Oklahoma St. Wisconsin @ Nebraska (-11.5) Oregon St. @ Arizona (-2.5) Oregon (-30.5) @ Washington St.

Absolutely horrendous, so horrendous that it's comical.

Maryland @ West Virginia (-26.5) Virginia @ TCU (-17.5) Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech (-14.0) Oregon State @ UCLA (-7.0) Missouri @ South Carolina (-10.0) California @ USC (-16.0) Rutgers @ Arkansas (-7.0) LSU (-20.5) @ Auburn Michigan @ Notre Dame (-5.5) Vanderbilt @ Georgia (-16.0) Kansas State @ Oklahoma (-14.0) Clemson @ Florida State (-14.5) Syracuse @ Minnesota (0.0) Utah @ Arizona State (-7.0) Arizona @ Oregon (-22.5)

I'll do it...preferably ESPN.

Wake Forest @ Florida State (-28.0) Virginia Tech (-10.5) @ Pittsburgh California @ Ohio State (-16.5) LA Monroe @ Auburn (-16.5) Virginia @ Georgia Tech (-10.0) Boston College @ Northwestern (-3.5) Navy @ Penn State (-7.0) Alabama (-20.0) @ Arkansas Florida @ Tennessee (-3.0) Arizona State @ Missouri (-6.5) USC (-9.0) @ Stanford Notre Dame @ Michigan State (-6.0) Utah State @ Wisconsin (-13.5) Texas (-10.0) @ Mississippi BYU (-4.0) @ Utah