Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 5 Goals for Upcoming Season

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During the rebuilding process, we tend to focus on the different trades, acquisitions and draft picks that can be made to build for the future.

Those decisions are indeed important, but the improvements made on the court are just as crucial towards building a perennial contender. 

The proof of this concept was apparent in last year’s NBA Finals.

Miami proved that a championship contender can be bought in the offseason, while Dallas showed that it takes continuity and team play to actually win a championship. 

What can the Cavaliers do next season on the court that will pay dividends in the future?

Build Continuity with Future Lineups

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The unit that needs to build chemistry on the court are those young players who will be with the Cavaliers for the foreseeable future: 

PG Kyrie Irving

SG Christian Eyenga

SF Omri Casspi

PF Tristan Thompson

C Semih Erden 

The Cavs can still engage their veterans by playing them in the starting lineup.

The following group doesn't have the brightest future with the Cavs, but are worthy of playing time: 

PG Baron Davis

SG Daniel Gibson

SF Anthony Parker (if re-signed)

PF Antawn Jamison

C Anderson Varejao

Playing Time Favors Long-Term Commitments

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Not only should the younger players build continuity as a single unit, but they should also receive a larger share of minutes during the next season.

Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson should lead the Cavs with minutes played at the point guard and power forward positions.  

Baron Davis, Ramon Sessions and Antawn Jamison are the best players from last season, but they likely will be gone within the next one or two years.

Even if the Cavs have a better opportunity to compete now, a bulk of the minutes should be given to players who will be with the team for the long run.

Improve Shot Selection

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The Cavs held the second-worst field-goal percentage of 43 percent in 2010-11.

Their three-point percentage wasn’t much better at 34 percent, ranking 23rd in the league. 

Losing Mo Williams’ 38 percent and Anthony Parker’s 39 percent will automatically improve the Cavs' ranking, but Semih Erden and Tristan Thompson will need to step in and give the team an inside presence to help make the offense more efficient. 

The best teams in the NBA consistently rank highly in field-goal percentage, with both Miami and Dallas in last year’s top five.

If the Cavs would like to compete at a high level, each player will need to focus on taking higher-percentage shots.

Focus on Defense

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Byron Scott and his uptempo style of play were brought in to entice LeBron James to stay in Cleveland, but the unintended side effect of losing Mike Brown is felt on the defensive side of the floor. 

Cleveland was second-worst in defensive rating, a stat that estimates number of points scored per 100 possessions.

They also ranked 24th in opponent turnover percentage. 

The Cavs need to return to the defensive form shown on those Mike Brown (or even Mike Fratello) teams to establish the mindset that great defense must be played every night.

Don’t Get Injured!

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It’s not like the Cavs were trying to get injured last year, but injuries were the biggest detriment to the 2010-11 team.

Varejao and Jamison required season-ending surgeries, while Ramon Sessions, Samardo Samuels, Semih Erden, Daniel Gibson and Mo Williams all missed time at one point or another. 

A lockout-expanded offseason might allow more time for those injuries to heal, but each player needs to do everything they can to prevent problems from occurring in the future.  

If injuries aren't a factor for next season, the Cavs could surprise a few people around the NBA.