The NBA season is more than halfway over and the Cleveland Cavaliers are second in the NBA Central division with a record of 33-21. They have already matched their win total from last season, and are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-2010 season. Of course that was the last season where LeBron James was a member of the Cavaliers, where they went on to loose in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Well five years later LeBron James has returned back to the Cavaliers after winning two winning championships with the Miami Heat.
If the NBA playoffs were to start today, James and the cavaliers would be facing off against the Washington Wizards as the four seed in the playoffs. In past years the Cavaliers have only one dominant scorer, however this season they have six players that are averaging over 10 points per game. Along with adding James this season, the Cavaliers have added Kevin Love a double-double machine and J.R. Smith an energizing player who can make a difference on that team. He can join the new big three of LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving who are arguably one of the best combos the NBA has seen.
So far this season James is averaging 25.8 points per game to go along with his 7.4 assists per game. Point guard Kyrie Irving is averaging 21.8 points per game to go along with 5.3 assists per game. Irving came in a year after LeBron James left and since then has emerged as one of the top point guards in the league. The former number one pick from Duke is off to a great start to his young career averaging 20.9 points per game over three and a half seasons.
Forward Kevin Love enters his seventh season in the NBA, originally playing his first five seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves who drafted him fifth overall in the 2008 NBA draft. Over the past six and a half years Love has averaged 18.9 points per game, along with 12 rebounds per game. These are insane numbers as he is averaging a double-double over his young career so far.
Although many not consider the Cavaliers 33-21 to be a ‘rough start,’ the Cavaliers know that they should be doing better than that. The Cavaliers are recently coming off a 12 game win streak, just one off their franchise record of 13, set back in 2009-2010. Things are finally starting to click for the Cavaliers as this is the first season under head coach David Blatt.
Once James, Irving and Love start clicking together the Cavaliers will be a dangerous team. If the Cavaliers do find a way to do that, I see them easily winning the NBA finals. LeBron James is the best player the NBA has seen since Michael Jordan. He is the type of player that can take over a game at any moment, combine that with two other NBA all-stars and teams are faced with a defensive challenge. The only way the Cavaliers will lose in the playoffs if they beat themselves. Sure the Warriors may be a dangerous team with Curry and Klay Thompson, but what the Warriors lack the Cavaliers make up for in experience with James and Love. My prediction is LeBron James will pick things up in the second half of the season, cruise through the east in the playoffs and then beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals. James will go on to win his third championship and most importantly the first championship in the Cavaliers 45 year’s history.
