The Cavaliers: How They Can Win It All in 2010

When LeBron James had free reign to drive for thunderous dunks and dish for open threes, the flaws of the 2008-2009 Cleveland Cavaliers were hidden. The Orlando Magic were a team designed to take advantage of the small chinks in the Cavaliers armor. The Cavs had no one to score in the post, they did not feature a rangy swingman and their bench consisted of aging former stars.

The Cavaliers frontline was woefully devoid of a single low-post move in the Magic series. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was transformed into a 7'3" jump-shooter. Somebody needed to check Joe Smith and Ben Wallace for a pulse. Anderson Varejao is in the game for energetic defense and not low-post moves.

The Cavaliers thought about bringing in Shaquille O'Neal, but the Suns would not take Ben Wallace's decomposing corpse. Now, it appears Ben Wallace will retire. The Cavaliers must negotiate a buyout of his contract and acquire Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq will be the first step to solving the Cavs' low-post problems.

Entirely overlooked in the "what the Cavs have to do" debate is what LeBron James must do. After six years in the league, it is inexplicable that he has not developed a low-post, back-to-the-basket game. He is the strongest, quickest, and most skilled player in the league.

Both Michael Jordan and Kobe punished smaller defenders in the post. Every LeBron defender in the league is either smaller or weaker than LeBron. He must take the ball in the paint and crush these defenders. Not only will he be able to score, but with his vision, he will be able to create opportunities with post passing.

The Magic took away the paint, forcing LeBron James to huck jump-shots or kick to teammates for open threes. No team is going to win a championship with perimeter jump-shots as their first option. With Shaq and LeBron in the post, the Cavs will be unstoppable in not just the regular season, but the playoffs.

The next step is to find an athletic swingman to complement LeBron. Sasha Pavlovic is decent offensively, but he will never be an athletic defender. Delonte West is a great player, but he is only 6'3". If a team has two or even three (Hedo, Rashard, Pietrus) tall perimeter threats on the court, LeBron can only guard one of them.

The X-factor in the Magic-Cavs series was Mickael Pietrus, who guarded LeBron and repeatedly hit dagger threes to stop the Cavs momentum. The Cavaliers need a Mickael Pietrus, and the best option in free agency is another ex-Warrior, Matt Barnes.

Matt Barnes is a 6'7" swingman with a 40" vertical leap. He can rebound, defend, shoot the three and even lead the fast break. In 2007 with the Warriors, he was a clutch playoff performer.

With Matt Barnes and Shaq on board, the Cavaliers would have a much improved eight-man rotation. They would start Mo Williams, Delonte West, LeBron James, Anderson Varejao and Shaq. With Matt Barnes as sixth man, they could go small by bringing him in for Varejao, or go big by subbing him for Delonte West. Ilgauskas would assume a much smaller role as backup center.

Coach Mike Brown must develop Sasha Pavlovic, JJ Hickson, and Daniel Gibson (if they are still around after the Shaq trade). None of the three may be ready for big-time roles next season, but the potential is there.

Firing Coach Brown is not an option. Just look at the Game Six box score: Ilgauskas, 1-for-5 for two points and Szczerbiak, 1-for-5 for three points. Any team that starts a 7'3" jump-shooter and plays Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak for 14 minutes each in an elimination game is not going to win an NBA title.

With Shaq and Barnes in town, the Cavs' support could be evident.