Cleveland had undoubtedly the best offseason in the NBA this year, signing LeBron James in free agency and making a trade to bring in Kevin Love.
Suddenly after four years of misery, the Cavaliers have returned to being one of the best teams in the NBA.
First year head coach David Blatt has the challenge of handling all the stars that Cleveland has on their roster. It's championship or bust for the Cavs - will they be able to do it in the first year of a revamped roster with a new coach?
Roster
Projected Starters
PG Kyrie Irving
SG Dion Waiters
SF LeBron James
PF Kevin Love
C Anderson Varejao
Bench
G Matthew Dellavedova
G A.J. Price
G James Jones
G Joe Harris
F Shawn Marion
F Mike Miller
F Tristan Thompson
C Brandon Haywood
C Louis Amundson
Storylines
The biggest offseason storyline was LeBron James "coming home" to Cleveland after spending four seasons and winning two championships with Miami. Then the Cavs were able to flip the last two No. 1 overall picks in the draft - Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins - to Minnesota for Kevin Love, assembling a new 'Big 3', along with point guard Kyrie Irving.
It's going to be interesting to watch this season how those three players all play together - and whether shooting guard Dion Waiters gets in the way. Love is one of the few people on the planet who can match LeBron's basketball IQ, and all three are willing passers.
However, it took Miami's 'Big 3' of James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh a full season to really start playing well together, so there will be some bumps along the way. Once these three guys are all on the same page, they'll be as dominant as everyone expects them to be.
Key Player
LeBron James is a proven commodity in this league, as is Kevin Love (even though questions remain about his ability to lead a team). Because of that, the success or failure of this team will fall on Kyrie Irving.
Irving is used to being the dominant ball-handler on Cavs teams in the past, but LeBron will take over a lot of those responsibilities when he's on the court. That means Irving will have to adjust to playing off the ball more - something he can do, but hasn't had to.
He's been a good spot-up jump shooter, but he's most effective when he's attacking the rim. Playing with James will force him to become mostly a shooter, which he needs to show he's willing to do (along with the occasional pick-and-roll with Kevin Love).
Outlook
The Eastern Conference appears to be a two-horse between Cleveland and Chicago. The Cavaliers are trying to fit a lot of new pieces together really quickly, so I think they'll struggle a little bit to start out the season. That'll open the door for the Bulls (with a healthy Derrick Rose) to grab the top seed in the East, with the Cavs finishing second.
However, by the the time the postseason rolls around, Cleveland will be firing on all cylinders and will beat the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, giving themselves a shot at a championship.
How do you think the Cavs will do this season? Tweet your thoughts to @brauf33 and leave a response in the comments!
Back to the Cleveland Cavaliers Newsfeed