5 Hurdles That Will Make or Break Cleveland Cavaliers' 1st-Year Title Hopes
Regardless of how good the Cleveland Cavaliers may look on paper, they still face a long uphill climb to the top of the NBA.
If one looks hard enough at any contender's roster, weaknesses will emerge.
For the Cavs, there are still plenty.
This is a team that has undergone a complete makeover. A new general manager, a new coach, a new star and potentially 10 new players in all will make things difficult, indeed.
The following hurdles will certainly test them early and often.
In the words of Bleacher Report's Joel C. Cordes, "Pass with flying colors, and they may indeed be championship contenders. Trip over them in the process, and we'll be saying 'they're still a year or two away.'"
Here's how Cleveland's new-look team can win a title in their very first year.
Chemistry, Chemistry
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If the 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs taught us anything, it's that chemistry and balance can offset superior star power.
It's a song and dance we've seen before.
The 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. The Miami Heat's first Big Three year with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010-11. Dwight Howard and Steve Nash joining the 2012-13 Lakers team with Bryant and Pau Gasol looked unstoppable on paper. Of course, the first two teams wound up flopping in the Finals, while Howard bolted L.A. after one 45-win season.
All had their plethora of stars, yet they lacked the chemistry that can only come along with the right group of players and experience.
How can this Cavaliers team be different?
For one, James has already been through this before. He knows the value and can help mold a culture of chemistry in the locker room, at practice, traveling and during games.
Secondly, time is still on the Cavs' side. James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving have an average age of under 25.6. Supposedly stacked teams, like those the Lakers trotted out, all possessed a star or two well past their prime.
Former Cleveland great and now front office member Zydrunas Ilgauskas noted the importance of chemistry at the team's annual CYF Golf Classic, telling Cavs.com: "The talent is there. It will just take awhile. When we went to Miami, we had a lot of new pieces and it took a long time to jell. The same in Cleveland when we had good teams it took us awhile. With the young guys and a good mix of veterans, we added some really good locker room guys that we needed."
Even with the talent level on the team, patience will be needed.
With Irving already locked into a five-year extension and James and Love expected to sign their own next summer, there should be plenty of time for chemistry to be established.
Willingness to Sacrifice
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We know James has proven his willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of the team, but what about Irving and Love?
Each come from a team where they enjoyed being the number one option, freely racking up personal statistics at will.
James (31 percent), Love (28.8 percent) and Irving (28.2 percent) all ranked among the top-11 in usage percentage this past season. Now faced with the challenge of sharing a single ball, the three will almost certainly see a drop in their production.
The question is, how will the latter two react to the change?
From what recent international play tells us, the adjustment should be smooth.
Love was a member of the 2012 U.S. Men's Olympic team that took home a gold medal. Although he'd been part of All-Star teams in the past, this was different. The star power was elevated with James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and others.
During this experience, Love aced his teammate test. A proficient scorer on a team loaded with them, Love instead chose to focus his efforts on rebounding. He led the U.S. team with 7.6 boards while also ranking fifth in scoring at 11.6 points a contest. Instead of demanding the ball or looking for his shots, Love fit in beautifully among the game's greatest stars by emphasizing his other skills.
Irving went through a similar experience at the FIBA Basketball World Cup this summer. Playing alongside James Harden, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Derrick Rose and DeMarcus Cousins, Irving stood out among some of the league's best. After scoring 12.1 points and leading the U.S. team with 3.6 assists, Irving was named tournament MVP while helping capture the gold medal.
They've proved they are willing to sacrifice personal stats for the team during international play; now Love and Irving must continue this trend with the Cavaliers.
Interior Defense
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Focusing now on the X's and O's, Cleveland's main area of concern should be their ability to stop opponents in the paint.
The Cavaliers' core of post men include Love, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson. Guys like Brendan Haywood, Dwight Powell and Alex Kirk could all see some time as well. For now, we'll focus on the first three, since they'll receive the bulk of the minutes.
For all the strengths that Love, Varejao and Thompson possess, none bring the ability to protect the rim. Varejao led the group with a measly 0.6 blocks a game last season.
Not only has the group failed to block shots, but all struggled to slow down opposing teams in the paint.
Thompson allowed opponents to shoot 58 percent at the rim last season, second-worst in the NBA, per NBA.com/Stats. Love ranked third with 57.4 percent, and Varejao came in 11th at 54.8 percent.
As good as players like James, Irving and Dion Waiters are at getting to the basket, it won't do much good if opponents can turn around and do much of the same against the Cavs.
Cleveland will have to depend on wing players like James, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller to help cut off penetration, thus limiting the number of opportunities teams have at the basket.
David Blatt's Adjustment
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After nearly 30 years of playing and coaching overseas, David Blatt is finally back on U.S. soil.
His timing couldn't have been better.
After winning the Israeli League, Israeli Cup and Euroleague Championship this past year with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Blatt returns to his home country to accept a new challenge.
While some may consider leading a team with three of the world's best basketball players an easy gig, there's also a lot of pressure and adjustments that go along with the job.
What will Blatt have to adapt to the most? David Pick of BasketballInsiders.com asked the Cavs' head man:
"Probably the schedule. Playing multiple games the same week with very few practices, and having a different recovery process, is unknown territory. The good thing is, in comparison to Israel, trips are shorter and much smoother in the U.S. The weather is another adjustment because Cleveland definitely doesn’t have the heat and humidity that Israel has. At the end of the day, though, it’s all about coaching basketball.
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Outside of basketball, Blatt will have to make a major personal adjustment as well.
Even though he's made the cross-planet trip from Israel to the United States, his family will remain overseas.
Blatt addressed this subject to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com: "Most coaches will tell you coaching is a lonely and tough business. Even when you’re living at home, you’re not really living at home. That’s the profession I’ve chosen. I’ve been through this before, because not in all of the jobs that I’ve worked did my family come."
Along the same lines as establishing chemistry, Blatt's adjustment to the NBA will likely take some time as well.
Health and Luck
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One could make the argument that no team, in any sport, wins a championship without at least a little bit of good luck.
For the Cavaliers, this could simply mean staying off the trainer's table.
A handful of players bring a hefty history of injuries with them into the season. Varejao has missed 166 games the past four years. Irving has spent an average of 16 games a year in his three seasons on the sidelines. Even Love missed all but 18 games of the 2012-13 season following both hand and knee surgeries.
Haywood, Cleveland's current backup center, missed all of 2013-14 and still isn't ready for live games. With the Cavaliers already being thin at the 5, the health of Varejao and Haywood is very much a concern.
The good news is that with so much talent to go around, guys won't be forced into big minutes or workloads. When Varejao split a muscle in his leg just 25 games into the 2012-13 season, he was logging 36 minutes a night. Love played a whopping 39 minutes a game the season before breaking his hand in 2012-13.
Neither should even come close to those minute totals now.
While some minor scrapes and bruises are to be expected, the Cavs need to avoid significant injuries to its star players in order to be championship-worthy.
Unfortunately, this means the city of Cleveland will need to rely on some luck.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010. Connect with him on Twitter for more basketball news and conversation.
All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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