Early Central Division Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

I apologize for taking so long to post my Cavs preview, as I continue my series of early season previews for the Chicago Bulls and their division rivals. Every time I decided to get started talking about the Cavs, another development on the Bulls front would appear, and since this is a Bulls blog first and foremost, I decided I had better cover those developments. At any rate, I finally have my preview of Cleveland. Read it slowly and savor it, because I will be out of town and unable to post anything else until Sunday. As always, feel free to leave comments, although they may not appear on the board until Sunday when I get back. Record Last Year: 66-16, 1st in Central Division, 1st in East Who's New: SG Christian Eyenga (draft, likely to develop overseas), SG Danny Green (draft), G/F Emir Preldzic (draft, bought from the Suns to develop overseas), SG Anthony Parker, C Shaquille O'Neal Who's Gone: G/F Sasha Pavlovic, F/C Ben Wallace Free Agents: G/F Wally Szczerbiak, PF Joe Smith, PF Lorenzen Wright Estimated Salary Cap Status (excluding draft picks): $77.2 million ($57.7 million cap, $69.92 million luxury cap) Strengths: This team lost nothing from the team that dominated the Central Division and topped the Eastern Conference last year, and they added veterans O'Neal and Parker to add extra depth. There isn't much to say about LeBron that hasn't been said already; the man's unstoppable. LeBron James is simply the best player in the league, and he has a very solid supporting cast led by PG Mo Williams, a playmaker with range and scoring ability. While Zydrunas Ilgauskas and O'Neal are both past their prime, they both still have good post moves and can grab a respectable number of boards. Big Z stretches defenses out with his impressive range, and Shaq's just too powerful for many centers to prevent him from plowing his way to the hole. SG Delonte West provides a solid backcourt partner for Williams, adding his quick hands and respectable shooting percentages (45.7% from the floor and 39.9% from beyond the arc) to the mix. Re-signing F/C Anderson Varejao was smart because he'll continue to play good D and hit the boards with high intensity, but he stands to make quite a bit of money for a backup with limited offensive skills. Nevertheless, this team is highly impressive on both ends of the court, and there is no question this team will be a contender again this coming season. Weaknesses: With Ilgauskas and O'Neal as the team's top centers, this team may struggle both defending and creating fastbreaks. Injuries and fatigue could also become a concern for the two big fellas, without who the team will have to rely heavily on Varejao, who is a good backup but not a true starting-quality big man. The addition of Parker and the development of G Daniel Gibson figure to give the backcourt decent depth, but the loss of Pavlovic means there's little cover for LeBron should he fall victim to injuries (especially if Szczerbiak heads elsewhere). The Cavs also need to shave off some of their payroll, or they will have to pay the luxury tax (dollar for dollar for everything over the luxury tax level). They might not care, though, as they are certain to contend for the title and will likely make enough revenue to cover the tax. Outlook: This team is in excellent position to remain contenders this year, and, combines with the cap space they'll have after this coming season, I'll bet they can keep LeBron for the foreseeable future. LeBron will continue to dominate, Williams will continue to provide the Cavs with a legitimate number two option, and the bigs will crash the boards like gang-busters. Things are looking good in Cleveland, despite what this guy might tell you. Prediction: 60-22, 1st in Central Division, 2nd in East -Salary Info. From HoopsHype -Advanced Info. From Basketball-Reference -Additional Player Info. From ESPN & Yahoo!