What a season it has been so far for the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers. After an impressive comeback in last year's Finals and their first title in franchise history, the Cavs haven't looked the same this year. They've endured roster changes which reflected in their performance on the court. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 51-31 record and will enter the playoffs as the number two seed in the Eastern Conference. They ended the regular season with four losses in a row and throughout the whole season they've had some defensive issues.
Those issues reflected on the floor as they allowed 107.3 points per game. The Cavs were hoping that signing Larry Sanders to a two-year, non-guaranteed deal in March would help them resolve some of their problems on the defensive end of the court.
Fresh start for Larry Sanders
After Andrew Bogut injured himself just seconds into his first game with the Cavs, they decided mid-March to sign Larry Sanders to a non-guaranteed two-year deal. It was a surprising move considering that he had not been playing professionally for two years. Sanders walked away from playing in the NBA during the 2014-15 season due to mental health issues. He was the 15th pick in the 2010 draft, selected by the Milwaukee Bucks.
His best career year was during the 2012-13 season when he averaged 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. During that time Sanders was known as one of the League's best rim protectors. Before signing with the Cavs in March, he spent most of his time with the Cavs' D-League team. He played just five games for the Cleveland Cavaliers and averaged 0.8 points in 2.6 minutes of playing time.
It was announced earlier this week on Wednesday that the Cavs waived him before their final regular season game. In his place, the Cavs have decided to sign Edy Tavares as their new backup center.
Tavares a much needed rim protector for the Cavaliers
Edy Tavares spent this entire season playing for the Toronto Raptors' D-League team.
In their two playoff games that were played over the weekend against the Cavs' D-League team, Tavares blocked 11 shots. The Cavaliers are hoping that he can provide some rim protection for them now in the playoffs. He already played his first game with the Cavs on Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors.
Tavares finished the game with six points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks in the final regular season game for the Cavaliers. Toronto won that game on Wednesday night 98-83.
Cleveland will face the Indiana Pacers in the first round of Eastern Conference playoffs and Tavares' presence in the paint will be much needed.
