Who’d you expect?
LeBron James’ Cavaliers may fight to jell offensively, and they might not have the personnel to build a elite defense at all. Neither of those issues stopped them from getting the NBA’s greatest name odds–mainly because a lengthy season will provide new head coach David Blatt plenty of time to work out the kinks.
And if he can not figure out everything, he has still got the best player in the world on his group. That alone is sufficient to justify Cleveland’s spot here.
There’s reason to think the Cavs will hit the ground running on crime, and not just because they have this absurdly gifted core. The truth is we have seen how powerful these guys can be through preseason play.
James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Dion Waiters all attempted at least three triples per game during exhibition season, and all four connected on 41 percent of those shots. James, since he isn’t human, made exactly 50 percent.
You might think it impossible for all four of those players to sustain this type of large collective percentage, but in an offense where double-teaming anyone–or perhaps helping a smidgen too aggressively–results in wide-open chances to get a another scoring dynamo, well. . .let’s just say the capacity for offense is there.
Irving was a preseason lightning bolt, with all defenders’ hesitation to leave their missions to dart into the lane if he desired. Drive-and-kick chances were unlimited, and they will continue to be–unless the team allows opponents to utilize six players against Cleveland.
Actually, even then…
Injuries, the slog of an 82-game season and several other uncertainties mean there are no certain things in the NBA.
However, the Cavs come close.
Read more: sharednewspaper.com
