FIO Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

2008-2009 Cleveland Cavaliers season preview and fantasy impact, courtesy of Fantasy Insider Online. Read the team preview here in the Yard, and then visit the FIO link for the rest. - Zach Harper Last Season Recap: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Last season's theme for the Cleveland Cavaliers was "there's no place like home": they worked hard at distracting LeBron James from the big lights of Madison Square Garden and the 40/40 Club and showing him that all he could ever want was right in his home state of Ohio. Although the Cleveland Cavaliers failed to win 50 games for the third straight year, they did manage to make the playoffs for the third straight season. LeBron James had easily the best season of his career and one of the best statistical seasons that the NBA has seen since Michael Jordan put up ridiculous averages of 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game. The Cavaliers pulled off a three-team, 11-player deal that brought Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and a 2009 second round draft pick to the team and shipped out Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, Cedric Simmons, Donyell Marshall, and Ira Newble. At the time, the move seemed like a way to show LeBron that the team was trying hard to put talent around him. While Ben Wallace proved to be worthless (much like when he was with the Bulls), Szczerbiak, West, and Smith were key components to the Cavaliers sustaining through injuries and making a run into the second round of the playoffs. They would eventually fall to the Celtics in a battle that featured an epic shootout between LeBron James and Paul Pierce in the seventh game of the second round of the playoffs. The Cleveland Cavaliers still employ (at least for the next two seasons) one of the most impressive basketball forces that this league has ever seen. No, I'm not talking about a grown man (Daniel Gibson) who goes by the name of "Boobie." LeBron James had an overly impressive season by averaging 30 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 48% from the field. He led this team through all of the turmoil, the team slumps, and everything Larry Hughes-related. Aside from the LeBron love, Zyndrunas Ilgauskas was the second-most consistent Cavalier. He was second on the team with 14.1 points per game and first on the team with 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. The Cavs were a good home team with a 27-14 record at Quicken Arena, and still one of the Top 10 defensive teams in the league (96.7 ppg), which has been a the case ever since Mike Brown took over as coach. In the playoffs, the Cavs went 5-1 at home and gave up just 87.7 points per contest. Unfortunately for Cleveland, defense was not their shortcoming as an NBA playoff contender. The Cavs struggled to score points all season long and finished as the seventh-worst team with just 96.4 points per game. They were one of three teams in the Eastern Conference to give up more points than they scored during the season. Cleveland was the third worst team in the league in terms of shooting from the field with a pathetic 43.8%. They didn't make up for it either with a strong performance from the free throw line, thanks to their 71.6% from the charity stripe (also third worst in the league). The Cavs had a 30-24 record before the Ben Wallace deal and had just a 15-13 record afterward, as they tried to adjust to their new teammates. When the playoffs came around, their inconsistent play wasn't exposed against an injury-ridden and undermanned Washington Wizards team. However, they gave away two crucial games to the Boston Celtics (Game 1 and Game 5) before being bounced by Paul Pierce's 41 points in Game 7. 2008 Draft Impact (Below Average) With the 19th pick in this year's draft, the Cavs selected J.J. Hickson from North Carolina State. Hickson is a very athletic power forward who shined during his one and only year playing for the Wolfpack. He is an extremely quick jumper around the basket and has a pretty decent offensive repertoire. He can face up and score better than he can post up and score. Hickson has good defensive instincts, but doesn't move well sliding his feet. He adds to the Cavs' depth at the power forward position and probably will not be involved much with a team that has such high aspirations for this coming season. Hickson is stuck behind two veteran players who make too much money to have them sitting on the bench. He still needs a lot of experience and could use a boost in his on-court IQ. Ultimately, Hickson is a couple of years away from contributing to this team. The team also traded for the 27th pick in the draft, selecting Darnell Jackson out of Kansas. Darnell is a big body who can play solid defense and attack the glass. He isn't much of an offensive player and has Johan Petro-terrible hands, but his ability to be a big body could be key this season. Zyndrunas Ilgauskas has rarely been a pinnacle of good health on the basketball court, and now with Ben Wallace being a $15 million cheerleader, the Cavaliers ensured they could still roll out big bodies to bang against the Eastern Conference powers. Off-Season Impact Moves GM Danny Ferry had a tough task and an easy task to do this offseason. The easy task (relatively, of course) was to keep his restricted free agents from signing elsewhere as he continued to build this team. He was able to do so by re-signing Daniel Gibson to a five-year extension and finally coming to terms with Delonte West on a two-year deal with an option for year three. This gives the backcourt of the Cavaliers a lot of versatility going into next season. Gibson gives them the gunner that they desperately have needed alongside King James. He isn't afraid to take big shots and doesn't let playoff pressure get to him. With West, they have more of a playmaker and a really good defender to pester opposing teams. The tough task was to acquire a very legit second weapon to put alongside LeBron since the Larry Hughes saga didn't work and Ben Wallace qualifies as a water pistol in the NBA's arsenal of weapons on the court. Ferry made a great move for the club that could eventually qualify as getting James his legit second weapon. In a three-team deal, the Cavaliers essentially jettisoned Damon Jones and Joe Smith to acquire Maurice Williams from Milwaukee. Mo Williams is a very good scoring point guard who will be able to keep defenses honest as long as he can remain healthy. It was a perfect move for the Cavs because they didn't have to give up anybody who was significant to their rotation. They acquired a point guard who is a lock to average 17 points and 6 assists, as long as he's healthy. Preview for the 2008-2009 Season Team MVP: LeBron James, SF - This is clearly one of the most obvious statements ever made in sports analysis, but there is a little more to this pick than you would initially think. LeBron James is going to be able to do whatever he wants on the offensive end of the basketball court throughout his career. But to truly set himself apart from Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade as the best player in this league, LeBron is going to have to be a force on the defensive side of the ball. He was able to do so during the first half of last season and it looked like he was the favorite for MVP. This year, he has to do it for the entire regular season and during the playoffs. If he can impose his will on both ends of the floor, the Cavaliers can win the title and James can be the MVP of this league. Breakout Player: Maurice Williams, PG - Mo Williams had to initiate nearly all of the offense during his time as the starting point guard in Milwaukee. Now, he'll be playing alongside LeBron James and will benefit from the attention that deluges the Cleveland superstar. Mo is a reliable scorer who set career-highs in shooting percentage (48%) and three-point shooting (89 made, 38.5%). He can set up other teammates and has had at least 6.1 assists per game in three of the past four seasons playing with sub-par players. With LeBron gaining all of the attention from opposing teams, you can expect Mo Williams to approach 20 points per game and shoot close to 50% from the field. Think of Daniel Gibson -- only a lot more talented. Bust Player: Daniel Gibson, SG - Speaking of Boobie Gibson, he may be in line for a fall next season. With the acquisition of Mo Williams and the re-signing of Delonte West, the backcourt in Cleveland is a little more crowded than it was the previous year when Gibson made a career-high 118 three-pointers. Gibson is such a niche player that he could fall through the cracks during the regular season. He cannot score like Mo Williams, and he cannot run an offense and defend like Delonte West. In addition, to have a combination of Gibson and Williams or Gibson and West on the court at the same time can give a team a very small backcourt that could be taken advantage of. Gibson will still be Cleveland's long-range threat in the postseason, but he may not produce enough to be effective. Playoff Contender or Pretender? This team is definitely a contender and is my dark horse to make it to the NBA Finals in the East. That may not seem like a bold statement considering they were there two years ago, but with Boston and Detroit being the class of the conference, while Toronto, Orlando, and Philadelphia continue to build successful teams, this Cleveland team is falling a little under the radar. They have put together a legitimate defensive power in the East that can now score enough points to be deadly on most nights. They aren't going to score 100 points per game by any stretch of the imagination, but they won't have to, either. With LeBron James setting up shooters, and scorers like Zyndrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Mo Williams this year, Mike Brown won't have to do anything brilliant in terms of offensive play-calling (which he wouldn't be able to do anyway). Letting "LeBron be LeBron" on offense will guarantee that the Cavs become a team to fear. But emphasizing defense (this team's strength) and turning LeBron into the Defensive Player of the Year should be Brown's mission in molding this team into a title contender. The Cavs don't have the perfect compliment to LeBron yet, but they don't need to, either. They finally have enough weapons to give him the support he needs for a playoff run.