Cleveland Cavaliers: 2011-2012 playoff 8 seed?

Will Kyrie Irving (left) and Tristan Thompson (right)
be able to lead a young team to a playoff berth
in their first season?

  Jimbo Says! goes optimist:

  Last night I received a text from my good friend Kyle Saxton, it read, "I mean it's the pistons.. But do u think this team could make the playoffs?" The Cleveland Cavaliers, fresh off of a victory @ the Detroit Pistons, sit 1-1 currently in this young NBA season.  I want to be the first person to say it's truly possible for this year's edition of the Cavs, to find themselves in a race for the 8th playoff spot.  Don't get me wrong, I don't expect them to win a bunch of games, but if this team can go .500 in a weak Eastern Conference, i could see them backing into a playoff spot.  Before you go calling me a homer and a moron, I'd like you to realize that I have in fact thought all of this through quite thoroughly.  It may not seem likely, but in sports, as the not-so-great Kevin Garnett once said, "Anything is possibleeeee." (please check this out if you haven't yet, you'll probably laugh.) Bare in mind before you read, Kyle and I both discussed that we shouldn't get too excited yet, over a victory over a weak Detroit team, BUT, it doesn't hurt to be hopeful sometimes!  Kyle did go typical-Cleveland expectations on me, and also say, "The only thing is how long will he stay :(?" ... I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's time for Cleveland fans to enjoy the good players while we have them and be optimistic.... in fact I think.....


...It's time to put your optimist hats on Cleveland fans! The following reasons are why:

1. Kyrie Irving is the future at PG: The Cavaliers have found their future PG, and in today's NBA, PG is probably the most important thing to have.  Think about it this way, the Cavs won 0 titles with #6 on their team, and none of those teams had a true PG.  The Miami Heat last year was easily the most talented team in the NBA, but without a true PG, you found them watching the Mavs hoist the NBA champions trophy.  The NBA is a PG's game, and with the improved play of Ramon Sessions, coupled with the fact that Irving will get better and better each day, will lead the Cavs to some efficient PG play, and a lot of good victories.

Can Byron Scott help develop Kyrie
into a star PG in the NBA?

2. Byron Scott is a top 5 coach in the NBA, and he BREEDS great PGs: Scott is a winner, being a pivotal member as player on the showtime Lakers, where he won 3 championships.  I'll help you with the math, that's three more than Lebron James. Scott was a heady player, and a very smart SG for the Lakers as well as three other teams. In 2000, Byron Scott debuted as a head coach for the New Jersey Nets, and his team performed quite poorly in the first season, but low and behold, the second season the Nets set a franchise record with 52 wins.  Scott worked alongside star PG Jason Kidd in order to make this happen. The Nets, who weren't an extremely talented team went on to lose in their first ever NBA finals appearance to the LA Lakers, were a team that accomplished a lot. Scott in his third year as a coach and with the Nets, went on to lose again the next season in the NBA finals.  Scott's next tenure was with superstar PG Chris Paul in New Orleans.  The team was a perennial playoff contender in each year of his tenure there.  So if we follow the pattern, Scott wins with talented PGs, and helps develop them.  He also gets his system working and has his team performing in year 2.

"RAWRR!!11ONEONE!"

3. This 66-game season helps the Cavaliers: In the Cavaliers first victory against the Pistons, 6 Cavaliers scored in double figures.  Although this Cavs team as it stands currently, lacks a true star player, it's full of good role players.  The abbreviated schedule will BENEFIT the Cavs, and will give them an advantage over tired teams who don't have as big of a rotation.  Byron Scott can go as high as an 11 or 12 man rotation.

4. Anderson Varejao will stay healthy and shore up a position that is weak across the league: AV will be the link that holds this team together all the way through it's playoff run. Varejao is a top 10 center in the league, and his defense and hustle plays will help them edge out close games throughout the season.  When AV went down last season, it sparked the Cavs to go on a record 26-game losing streak.  The Brazilian has an improved face up game, and expect big things out of the big man this season.


5. The Cavs have Karma on their side: After what Lebron James did to this franchise, the energy around the team should be at it's best this season.  Pushing a team that, if they can stay healthy, will fight for the 8th seed in the East.  This is horrible . To add a serious reason to this, look at the Eastern Conference:


Locks to make the playoffs: (Last-season record) 
Chicago (62-20) Trending up
Miami (58-24) Trending up
Boston (56-26) Trending down
New York (42-40) Trending way up


2nd-tier teams who will likely make the playoffs:
Indiana (37-45) Trending up (pending on the play of new additions Collison and West)
Atlanta (44-38) Same
Orlando (52-30) Trending down (What happens to this squad if they trade Orlando? They drop a tier)


Fighting for the 8th-seed:
New Jersey (24-58) Trending way up
Charlotte (34-48) same
Philadelphia (41-41) same
Cleveland (19-63) Trending up


Teams who will NOT make the playoffs:
Washington (23-59)
Detroit (30-52)
Milwaukee (35-47) Probably best team in this tier
Toronto (22-60) much improved




So although it may seem unlikely at first, the Eastern Conference may be just weak enough for the Cavs to back door their way into a playoff spot. The Pacers made the playoffs at 37-45 last season, so in an Eastern Conference that is not that much improved, I'd expect around .500 ball to make the playoffs. (Philadelphia was 41-41 and was the 7 seed)


Before I end this blog post, I do want to post a couple reasons why the Cavs may NOT want to make the playoffs.  Although I can't root for them to lose, I could understand why it may be better for the franchise if it does happen.

1. Next year's draft is a strong one, and this team is a couple of pieces away from being in the 1st-tier group of the Eastern Conference: The Cavs are missing a great scoring and defensive wing and a true enforcer in the paint who can score.  If you add these two pieces, and couple that with the young players improving and getting better, the Cavs would be a perennial playoff contender.  The way for the Cavs to get these pieces is through the draft.  Varejao at 29, isn't getting younger, so his replacement needs to be found soon. As fans already know, Cleveland isn't exactly a hot spot for young Free Agents, and it's hard to convince players to come and play here.  So it's not helping the Cavs rebuilding efforts if they make the playoffs this season.

2. Losing in the first round, isn't worth it: This one is self-explanatory, it would be amazing to have a chance to knock of the Miami Heat in the first round, and I literally dream about it happening each and every night.  This just isn't how things happen in the NBA, and unfortunately, it seems like this Heat team is on a mission this season.  We can all only hope that the anti-clutch ways of their stars continue.  I wouldn't put my money against them though.

2a. Antawn Jamison needs to retire:  The guy is a blackhole shot chucker on offense, and defensively a liability.  Hopefully he can improve or just end up out of the line-up. If the Cavs do find themselves out of contention and on a losing streak, look for them to waive Jamison, he is in the last year of his contract so the Cavs will be rid of him after this season.

3. Rookies don't typically come into the league and make the playoffs in their first year: One prime example is the fact that when Lebron James was a rookie with the Cavs, they narrowly missed the playoffs, but this might just be the perfect storm for Kyrie, Tristan, and the 2011-2012 Cavaliers.


Thanks for reading folks! I hope you enjoy the blog, and make sure and continue to stop back for more analysis and information.  We should have a preview for the Tiffin Columbian boys' basketball team @ Willard on Friday night at 7:30 PM, and remember that you can tune in to wttf.com or AM 1600 or 93.3 FM. The Cavaliers continue their journey to an 8-seed on Friday night against the Indiana Pacers, so tune in.