Cavs: Contenders or Pretenders?

[Cleveland's Finest]

I've been hearing on ESPN about how the Cavs aren't in contention the same way as Boston and Orlando. Jon Barry said the Hawks have a chance at getting the 3rd seed. Let me tell you guys why the Cavs 15-7 start is just a little rough start to a good season to come:

 

They haven't been active at all at certain points in some games and in some games fully.

 

There's also been disarray in that they still aren't using Shaq right at all. They need to feed him the ball when the game starts to get the other team in foul trouble and to establish him as a presence.

 

Shooting isn't the problem as Mo, AP, and Boobie are in the top 15 in the league at 3 point shooting. The problem is our star's shooting selection. There are times during a game, clutch or not, where LeBron has no plan at all except to wait until the shot clock goes to zero before shooting a terrible 3 with no chance of going in. This makes the team look so flat offensively at times with no ball movement, therefore the defense has nothing to worry about. Move the ball and establish Shaq and your offense will improve immensely.

 

What do you guys think?

[Dash]

Eastern conference finals, no farther than that unless things change in Cleveland. For one, Lebron needs to stop jacking up threes and drive more to the basket like you already said.

[kingfish]

They have always been pretenders, we told you this last year. Why? Well mainly because they cant match up with any of the elite teams. Shaq only makes their pick and roll problems worse. Shaq is not a threat to any team whatsoever, in fact they are 5-1 without Shaq and 10-6 with him. Even if they do turn their regular season around somewhat and finish with the 3rd best record in the East they still will probably lose in the semifinals, and at best make the eastern conference finals. They will face either Boston or Orlando in the 2nd round, and they cant beat either team.

[Check my Stats]

They could easily wind up in the finals but are they the favourites? No. Frankly I believe any of the top 4 teams in the East could wind up in the finals, but the only team I see beating the Lakers are the Celtics.

[MainEv3nt]

if shaqs playing all u gotta do is pick and roll lol. jazz would prob kill em lmao.

[BlueDevil]

what do u think Clevelands finest?

[Cleveland's Finest]

I never liked this Shaq trade so it's really hard for me to support the team when it's doing bad.

 

All along I wanted this team to trade whatever they could for Antawn Jamison.

 

Since it can't work that way, I'd assume that Ferry has some trade ideas as the Cavs need to change something if they are around .500 by the all-star break.

 

I think it's the players choices. I'm not seeing the effort I expect out of LeBron and Shaq. Especially LeBron who has lost most to all of his intensity and now is just a facillitator, and when he puts up 40 on the road we don't win. I used to think that he could take over a game when he needed to, but he hasn't for awhile. LeBron needs to step up, be a leader, and get this team under his control first and foremost before this team can even think of going anywhere.

[Real Deal]

They are still contenders, but they have plenty of holes to fill.

 

Shaq is a liability on pick and roll situations...we all know this, and it has been that way since he weighed 330-355 pounds in Los Angeles. On offense, the Cavaliers aren't going down low to Shaq. They don't run the offense through him...and they are right in not doing so. The only problem with that is that it puts only four active Cavalier players on the floor (yes, not technically, but you get the picture).

 

Basically, when Shaq isn't touching the ball, he isn't involved in the offense. His job is to gain position in the post, demand the ball and either force his way in for a simple hook or dunk, draw a foul or kick it out to shooters.

 

Shaq doesn't fit.

 

If you have a player like LeBron, who feeds his shooters, you need bigs who are able to hit shots, or at least move out of the paint. With Shaq clogging the lane, you force James to the perimeter, he loses another 18-foot threat (because Shaq and Varejao shouldn't be taking 18-foot jumpers), and the defense doesn't have to collapse in the middle, making it that much more difficult for LeBron to make a play.

 

This was the same exact problem in Phoenix, and everyone should've realized that from the start. Nash wanted to hit his shooters, get his layups off of screen and rolls, and have a teammate to throw oops to out of them. Shaq was slow, he was too big, liability on defense, just didn't fit well until he started getting the ball dumped into him constantly. It turned Phoenix into a completely different team, they allowed tons of points in the paint against a Spurs team that dominated them inside out, and they had no shot at a conference finals because of it.

[Poe]

^ Exactly. The game is played between the lines. You can't just dump an old HOFer into a team and expect it to work like a fantasy team. Shaq needs to go so the Cavs team can play Cavs offense.

[The Regime]

You guys can keep on praying that Shaq will come around some time this season. The Celtics and Magic are better than them imo, and I would actually put the Hawks over them barring an significant injuries. The Cavs lose in the Semifinals, and LeBron leaves Cleveland.

[ChosenOne]

You guys can keep on praying that Shaq will come around some time this season. The Celtics and Magic are better than them imo, and I would actually put the Hawks over them barring an significant injuries. The Cavs lose in the Semifinals, and LeBron leaves Cleveland.

[Kobe24]

I think the conference finals are as far as they will go. The obvious reason being Shaq (read Real's post if you need to).

 

IMO they were much better last year and they still did not make it to the finals..