Via Cavs Nation
Key Players: Kevin Love, Collin Sexton
What if J.R. Smith had gone back up with that rebound? LeBron James would have never punched that wall, thus allowing him to continue his historic playoff run at maximum ability. Would a healthy LeBron, now up 1-0 with home court advantage, be able to dethrone the dictatorship the Golden State Warriors dynasty had created? Would a LeBron James with four rings feel obligated to give it another run with a defending champion roster?
The world may never know.
Actually, the world does know. J.R. Smith would have gone up with that last-second game winner and been Cleveland's game one hero. Warriors in five. End of scenario.
Following four consecutive Finals appearances and one delivered promise on a championship ring, LeBron James opted out of the final year of his contract to join the Los Angeles Lakers on a 4-year, $153.3 million max contract.
How does a team stay afloat after losing arguably the greatest talent to ever play the game? If this question was asked a little over a year ago, Kyrie Irving would be a great answer; but he saw the writing on the wall and forced his way into a Celtics jersey. Since Lebron James' 2014 return home, the Cavs continued to crawl upward on the NBA's oldest roster ranking, finishing at the very top last season with their average player age coming in at slightly over 30 years-old.
Cleveland, as if knowing a second LeBron departure was inevitable, was in win-now mode and felt determined to maximize their title chances regardless of future roster repercussions. This reckless abandonment of logic has the Cavaliers in their current predicament, returning Jordan Clarkson as their second-leading scorer from last season.
Aside from losing the best player on the planet, the Cavs had a relatively quiet offseason. The only major offseason additions from the front office came in the form of eighth overall pick Collin Sexton and a resounding 4-year, $120 million sign of faith in Kevin Love.
Cavalier's Best Case Scenario
Via The Ringer
There's no getting over LeBron James; he's the girlfriend that breaks your heart and still has you up at 2 a.m. tweeting stuff like, "No matter what you put me through, I'd die for you..." However, much like the last point guard to don that number two jersey, Collin Sexton has the potential matched with the alpha personality to force Cleveland to hold that tweet in their drafts.
Sexton's bulldog playstyle is reminiscent to a player many used to call 'mini-LeBron'--Eric Bledsoe. The Sexton-Bledsoe comparisons showed this Summer League as he finished top-10 in scoring with 19.6 points a night, leaning heavily on aggressive attacks to the rim(6.7 free throw attempts a game).
Another remedy in the getting-over-LeBron starter pack is blindly pushing all that hope he provided into someone else. Cleveland lacked that someone last time and instead devoted their fanhood to any LeBron opponent. Such flimsy devotion isn't necessary this go-round, thanks to none other than Kevin Love.
Let's ignore his terrible playoff averages last year and the fact that he hasn't averaged over 20 in half a decade; instead, place your focus on what Love did the last time he was an offense's go-to-guy. In his last season as the face of the Timberwolves Kevin Love tallied 26 points and 13 rebounds a game, while shooting over 50 percent from the field and almost 38 percent from deep. Yes, this was five years ago, but there's a reason it's called blind hope and not analytical doubt.
The one positive of the Cav's roster that would make any 2k player start a new MyGM mode is the opening for anyone to shine. From Tyronn Lue to Cedi Osman, the door is open for anyone to fill that gaping 6'8, 250lb hole; the question is who even has the ability to attempt the daunting task. Viewed by many as once having that ability, young pieces like Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood have to feel some sense of urgency to deliver on their once raved about potential and prove they belong in the league.
Clarkson averaged 25 points an outing in this year's Asian games, while Rodney Hood expressed his confidence in his ability, to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, stating, "I believe strongly in myself that after this year I'll be able to make Cleveland my home and we'll get a better deal next summer."
Cavalier's Worst Case Scenario
Via NBA-NBC Sports
The Cavaliers being in the Eastern Conference is a blessing and a curse. Cleveland's conference alignment has undoubtedly helped on their route to multiple Finals and gives them the very real possibility of making the playoffs even post-LeBron. This possibility of a postseason creates the curse that is expectations.
Remember the ignoring of Kevin Love's offensive failures earlier in the article, well pay attention now. As LeBron's expected sidekick following the Kyrie Irving trade, Love's efficiency went up but his scoring and attempts took a noticeable dip(19-17 and 15-12). His refusal to take control of an increased role could prove detrimental to a team already losing so much on the offensive end.
A literal one-third of the Cavs offense, in LeBron James' 32 percent usage rate, is gone. Now take into account that the remaining 68 percent of usage came from players on roster strictly to appease a no longer existent player's style and the symptoms of disappointment start showing.
Add those offensive symptoms to the preexisting condition that is the NBA's second to last defensive rating ranked team in the league(Phoenix Suns, last), and the Cavaliers are suddenly on their basketball deathbed.
Record Prediction: 38-44, Collin Sexton expedites the breakup process.