Cleveland Cavaliers rumors deal with projected win totals now, rather than player acquisitions, as the 2017-18 NBA season approaches. There are high expectations for the Cavs again, despite trading away All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. Some analysts have even stated that the current Cavs roster might be better than the one that made it to the 2017 NBA Finals.
NBA TV had its analysts (Kevin McHale and Isiah Thomas) predict whether the new-look Cavs would have more or fewer than 53.5 wins this year. McHale and Thomas each stated that they felt the Cavs would easily surpass that number.
McHale noted that the roster has too many guys who want to prove things, suggesting that nobody is going to settle for less than 100 percent on the court this year.
Cavs projected lineup looks pretty good
Last week, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ projected starting lineup for the season was revealed. It takes into account that former MVP Derrick Rose is going to move up the depth chart while Isaiah Thomas recovers from offseason surgery. The four players who were expected to join him as starters were shooting guard Dwyane Wade, small forward LeBron James, power forward Kevin Love, and center Tristan Thompson.
There are other options that the Cavs can go with, including J.R. Smith starting at the shooting guard slot, allowing Dwyane Wade to come off the bench.
The coaches could also have Kevin Love shift to center and start Jae Crowder at power forward. While that would help the team a bit on offense, it might do a lot of harm on the defensive end of the court.
Cavs rumors about player acquisitions quiet down
For the first time in a number of years, there aren’t any Cleveland Cavaliers rumors about the team looking to trade for players.
Carmelo Anthony, who is friends with LeBron James, was traded by the New York Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder. There had been a number of rumors about Anthony joining James and the Cavs, but he now has his own trio of stars with OKC.
What the Cavs need to do now, is open the 2017-18 NBA season with a lot of wins, allowing the team to take a nice lead in the Eastern Conference standings.
That will quiet any chatter about the team not gelling together and allow the players to enjoy the season a bit more. There are tests ahead for the Cavs, but for now, the team looks really good on paper. Ownership likely hopes that it stays that way so that NBA analysts won’t be discussing Cleveland Cavaliers rumors about LeBron James bolting for Los Angeles in the offseason.
