The Cleveland Cavaliers projected starting lineup has a few changes for the 2017-18 NBA season. The team has been very busy, with quite a few offseason moves completed in an attempt from the front office to keep LeBron James happy. The Cavs need James to win another title this year, in this hopes that he will agree to another contract with the franchise.
The Cleveland Cavaliers traded All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Ante Zizic. None of those players will start for the Cavs as the regular season tips off, with Thomas expected to be out until January as he recovers from surgery.
This forced the team to look for veteran acquisitions and with the help of LeBron James campaigning on the free agent market, the team succeeded in improving its roster.
The five projected starters for the Cavs
The latest Cleveland Cavaliers rumors, as expressed on the Sept. 29 episode of "SportsCenter," is that the Cavs’ starters will be Derrick Rose at point guard, Dwyane Wade at shooting guard, LeBron James at small forward, Kevin Love at power forward, and Tristan Thompson at center. Rose could wind up playing with the second unit when Thomas is healthy enough to return, but that is a conversation the team will have at a later date.
Coming off the bench, the Cavs will have J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, Channing Frye, Jeff Green, Jose Calderon, and Richard Jefferson.
The Cavs are definitely one of the deepest teams in the NBA, with no shortage of depth for the second unit. This should allow players like LeBron James and Kevin Love to play fewer minutes in the second half as the team prepares for the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
More threats in the Western Conference
With the latest Cleveland Cavaliers rumors confirmed, as Dwyane Wade has agreed to a one-year contract with the team, the Cavs are easily favored to now win the Eastern Conference.
The team will receive competition from the Boston Celtics, but the Cavs are certainly the team-to-beat again. There are more threats over in the Western Conference, though, possibly giving the Golden State Warriors a test when it comes to yet another rematch in the NBA Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder just traded for Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks.
The team now has Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Anthony leading the starting lineup. That could be a very formidable team on offense, but there are continued questions about the defense. The Houston Rockets are also vastly improved with the addition of All-Star point guard Chris Paul. Despite all that, NBA analysts still predict that this Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup will face the Golden State Warriors (again) for the NBA title next June.
