CLEVELAND 2.0

Hopefully Irving can point Cleveland into the right direction

By QUETT WALKER

Three years on from the infamous ‘Decision’ and surely the ashes from all of the Lebron James’ jerseys that were burning in the streets of Cleveland, Ohio have fallen and have been washed away.

It’s a new era and Cleveland finds itself trying to move on from the terrible and surprising end of its 9 year relationship with Lebron James, which saw him ‘take his talents to South Beach’ to play for the Miami Heat with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.  Many feared that the departure of James from the Cavaliers would have plummeted the team into the dark, deep depths of the bottom of the Eastern Conference. 

As we all know, the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers took the news of James’ departure so badly that they voiced their displeasure by burning his Cleveland Cavaliers jersey in the streets. However, it was the owner of the Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, who lashed out the hardest, accusing Lebron of quitting on his team during the playoffs. It is also rumoured that Gilbert was so scorned by James’ signing with the Heat, that he reverted back to the 1970’s retro design of the Cleveland Cavaliers uniforms as an attempt to dispel any remembrance of Lebron. He even proclaimed that the Cavaliers would win an NBA title before Lebron ever will, but today we all know how that proclamation turned out with the Miami Heat having been to the Finals 3 years in a row and winning 2 straight titles.

Cleveland has had its misfortunes turned around in the last couple of years. They secured the first overall draft pick in the 2011 draft and they selected point guard Kyrie Irving. Kyrie has definitely lived up to his potential which has not only seen him win Rookie of the Year, but has also enabled him to be named an NBA All Star after only being in the league for 2 years. He has performed at a level that has placed him among the NBA’s elite point guards. 

The Cavaliers have been able to secure other up-and-coming talent on their team with players such as Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller. In addition, they managed to secure the first overall draft pick in the 2013, their 3^rd in the last 10 years, and selected college prospect Anthony Bennett. The last two first overall draft picks have produced Lebron James and Kyrie Irving for the Cavs and if history is anything to go by, hopefully Anthony Bennett will follow suit into being a breakout player. 

Can Andrew Bynum bring much the needed depth to the Cavs?

The Cavs also have veteran players in CJ Miles and Anderson Varejao not to mention the offseason additions of Earl Clark, Jarrett Jack and…..drum roll please…..Andrew Bynum!! Now Bynum missed the entire 2012 – 2013 season due to a knee injury. It is a concern whether or not he will be able to shake off any rust and replicate his last season as a Los Angeles Laker, where he had his best professional performance. 

Cleveland has put the finishing touches on this team by hiring Mike Brown once again as their head coach. Mike Brown was the one who coached Lebron James from the 2005 – 2010 seasons. Brown has acquired various accolades such as Coach of the Month, Coach of the Year and he also coached the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference All Star team. He has also guided the Cavs to the best records in the NBA in 2008-2009 season (with 66 wins and 16 losses) and the 2009 -2010 season (with 61 wins and 21 losses). Finally, Brown led the Cavs to the playoffs each year he was their coach, which included a trip to the NBA Finals in 2007, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs. 

This offseason has seen teams lose some of its top players due to free agency, such as Atlanta Hawks losing Josh Smith and Milkwaukee Bucks losing Monta Ellis.  Therefore, it is most likely that there will be a decline in performance from teams who have made the playoffs last year and this gives even more of a chance for Cleveland to snag one of the playoff spots this year.

This Cleveland Cavalier team is poised to make the playoffs after being absent for the last 3 years. With Mike Brown’s coaching skills and familiarity with the organisation, Kyrie Irving’s dazzling play at the point guard position and a mixture of young talent and veteran leadership, this Cleveland team will definitely be one to look out for this season. 

Hopefully this will give the Cavs fans something to be excited for and help to heal the big, blistering wound that’s been on this city for the last 3 years.