Are the Cavaliers Title Favorites?

     Over this NBA offseason, another Big 3 has been formed.  When Lebron announced his return to Cleveland, it seemed that the whole sports world stopped.  Everyone was in awe of the fact that the king had returned home.  Heat fans burned jerseys, and Cavs fans seemed to completely forget how angry they were four years ago, and accept LeBron with hopes of actually winning a title.  Immediately, the NBA title odds inflated the Cavs' title chance to 4-1, ahead of both the Spurs (5-1) and the Thunder (6-1).

     Then today, the world stopped again. Everyone then went crazy about a deal which we basically knew would happen eventually.  The Cavaliers did something almost unthinkable.  They traded away the last two #1 overall picks, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, and their first round pick in 2015 for Kevin Love.  It's a very controversial move, under interesting circumstances.  They have a rookie coach, and a whole bunch of talent.  Updated title odds give them 5-2 odds at a title, which equates to 40% odds.  All this news and press coverage boils down to one simple question:  Are the Cleveland Cavaliers title favorites?

     They certainly believe they are, it's completely obvious that they want to win now.  Any other mindset and they would've kept Andrew Wiggins, who obviously has tons of potential and could be a star in the league, along with a first rounder next year.  If they weren't trying to win a championship, Lebron wouldn't have come home.  Fans have the right to expect a title.  Most of that just comes with LeBron.  As a general rule, any Lebron James led basketball team is supposed to win a title.

     Cavaliers fans see the situation this way.  The Cavs went to the NBA finals, and went to five straight conference semifinals with LeBron as their only really good player, so now that LeBron has Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, a big 3 full of guys that could all be potential hall of famers if they can win a couple titles together.

     So are the Cavs and their fans delusional or should they be expected to win the title?  The short answer is this.  They should be title favorites, as they are the best team in the league.  I'm not happy to say this as someone who to put it nicely, isn't a LeBron fan, but they look like a team to be feared.

     There's a lot of reasons why.  First off, I think the Big 3 itself is underrated.  Why?  The Timberwolves and Cavaliers haven't been relevant in the last few years.  This means that people haven't gotten many chances to see  just how good they are.  Kevin Love is the best scoring big man in the league.  He can score from the post, mid range, and the 3.  He's a guy who's lead the league in rebounding.  He's a guy that as long as he's healthy fan go 22-25 points and at least 12 boards.  He's averaged 15 boards a game before.  Kyrie Irving is a guy who's a very good ball handler, averages 20 and 6 assists, and is still growing.  He's only 22 years old.

     Age is a huge benefit to this team.  Unlike LeBron's Heat, where you could definitely see the age with guys like Ray Allen, Shane Battier, and especially Dwyane Wade.  Look at the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Even in the "Big 3", Irving is 22 and Love is only 25.  Other key contributors for the team will be Tristan Thompson, 23, and Dion Waiters, 22.  This is a team that is young and talented.

     These guys aren't just the big 3.  They are good around the board.  As I've already said, Waiters and Thompson will be strong this year and in the years to come.  Anderson Varejao is a guy I think is really underestimated.  When healthy, which I admit isn't often enough, he's a double double type player.  Plus, he's good friends with LeBron.  And let's not forget the Miami Heat sharpshooters from 3 moved to the Cavs.  Mike Miller and James Jones know how to shoot the ball, and are scary when on a roll.  

     What we're essentially looking as is a young, versatile, backcourt with a high potential, LeBron, good shooters, and three big guys who will combine to be make one of the league's best rebounding teams.  That sure sounds good to me.  

     Now the question becomes this: where are the weaknesses?  The first one that comes to mind is defense.  They don't have a true lockdown defender, although they have a few solid guys.  A big time shot blocker is something could really add the finishing touches to the frontcourt.  Additionally, the backcourt isn't that deep.  Matthew Dellavedova and John Lucas III aren't the best backup point guards, and Mike Miller and James Jones aren't too special at anything besides shooting.

     Is this the best team ever?  Of course it isn't.  We haven't even seen these guys play together before.  However, in an east that is horrendously weak, they should have no problems taking the #1 seed in the conference.  Teams like the Wizards and Bobcats might be good in the future, but not really huge threats now.  The Pacers have really disappeared from contention without Paul George and Lance Stephenson, and the Heat without LeBron isn't the same Heat.  The Bulls stand the best chance of taking the Cavaliers down, but they aren't as talented.  

     Let me clarify something.  They may not be the NBA's best team, but they have the greatest chance to win the title come next June.  I wouldn't pick them on 5-2 odds, but I still give them a 60% chance at the eastern conference, and about a 50% chance in the finals if they make it that far.  That basically means I'm giving the Cavaliers a 30% chance to win it all next season.  The West has the Spurs, Thunder, Clippers, and others, but  only one of them can advance to the finals, lowering their chances at the title.

     I may not be a LeBron James fan, and I don't like the concept of manufacturing a super team, but I can't discount that this team looks really good.  Only time will tell if they can live up to that expectation.

     Thanks for reading,

     Connor

Recap Special: Jimmy Graham, NBA Free Agency, World Cup, Wimbledon

     This is going to be a crazy post.  Essentially, a lot has happened over the past few days, and I mean a lot.  Instead of sticking to one sport, I'm going to run down what's happened across the World of sport, and what I think about all of it.
     First off is an update on a post I did a couple weeks back over Jimmy Graham and his lawsuit against the NFL.  It turns out that Jimmy Graham lost his suit, and will be paid as a tight end in his franchise tag, losing him five million dollars.  I understand completely why the NFL won, but as I said in the original article, http://toplevelsports.blogspot.com/2014/06/perspectives-jimmy-grahams-position.html, I don't believe their argument is strong enough.  Yes he was drafted as a tight end, but sometimes NBA players transition from say small forward to power forward while they're in the league, and can demand money for their salaries that teams can choose to pay or not to sign that player.  In response, Jordan Cameron of the Browns has changed his twitter bio from tight end to pass catcher.  I think this is hilarious, but a good idea if he eventually attempts to become a wide receiver, he might have a better chance than Graham.  Apparently, the fact that Graham was drafted as a tight end, his twitter page, and the fact that he attends tight end meetings all had to do with the decision.  Again, read my previous post if you want to know my full response to this.  Basically, I disagree with the decision.
     In other news, Kiko Alonso has suffered a torn ACL and will miss the 2014 season.  This is heartbreaking for the Bills, as he was an amazing player last year especially early on in the season.  Could this loss mean yet another 6-10 season for the Bills?  It seems likely...
     In terms of the NBA's free agency, there have been some real conflicting stories.  Apparently, the Miami Heat believe they can re-sign all of the big 3 and still have over 10 million in cap space remaining.   Wade and Bosh in this scenario are happy taking pay cuts limiting their salaries to around 12 million.  However, LeBron wants a max contract, Bosh wants 5 years, 80 million, and Wade isn't content with a pay cut either.  At least says another report.  I don't think the Heat can sign all three players again and still have enough money to build any kind of team around them.  It is now seeming increasingly more likely in my mind that Wade is the only big 3 member to return to Miami for the next season.  LeBron could easily go to Cleveland, and possibly the Clippers or Rockets, although both of those seem like long shots.
     In addition, it seems like Carmelo is destined for Chicago.  Chicago has shown Melo all the facilities and training groups, and they seem like a hand in glove fit.  Chicago could be building a super team.  The Rockets also want a peace of Melo, however, and are making a strong push for the Knicks star.  The only problem with that is that putting Carmelo in a Rockets #7 jersey has angered their actual #7, Jeremy Lin.
      Gortat has remained with the Wizards, which is great for them.  Gortat has become one of the best centers in the league, and along with John Wall they could become a playoff contender soon.
     Another big man needing a home is Pau Gasol.  I'm hearing that the Heat would love him at center, but that the Thunder are also looking for the aging big man, who in recent years has become inferior in production compared to his brother Marc.  Over the next few days, hopefully all these stories will become a bit clearer.
     The World Cup round of 16 matches were better than anyone could have anticipated.  With the exception of the Colombia-Uruguay game, every single game was tight and great to watch.  Tomorrow will be my quarterfinals preview, so right now I'm going to give a quick reaction to every round of 16 game.  The catch?  I'm limiting myself to fifteen words for each game.
     Brazil vs Chile: South American clash, Luiz header hero, Sanchez strikes, Intense penalty shootout, Pinilla misses, Brazil survives.
     Colombia vs Urugay: No more Suarez, James Rodriguez wonder goal, Uruguay deflated, No contest late, Crazy quarterfinal match upcoming.
     Mexico vs Netherlands: El Tri attacks early, Dos Santos scores, Unbearable heat, Sneijder beastly, controversial penalty, Mexican heartbreak.
     Costa Rica vs. Greece: Unexpected matchup, Costa Rica miracle run, Red card, Greece seizes chance late, Fails in penalties
     France vs. Nigeria: Strong performance from Super Eagles, Scoreless duel until late, Pogba scores, seals deal for French
     Germany vs. Algeria: Rematch of 1982 controversy, Tight game, Schurrle hero, Algeria comeback short, No record for Klose.
     Argentina vs. Switzerland: di Maria attacks, strong Swiss defense, extra time thriller, Messi big assist, almost went penalties.
     USA vs Belgium:  Tim Howard = God, Belgium dominates midfield, extra time breakthrough, attempted comeback, Defense dooms Howard
     Wimbledon has been going on, and it's been an exciting tournament thus far.  Serena Williams was forced to retire due to an illness in doubles, and lost in singles, and other top competitors Li Na and Maria Sharapova also lost early in the tournament.  On the men's side, the top story was Nick Kyrgios, a rookie 19-year old Australian, beating Rafael Nadal, the #2 player in the world.  I love these kind of stories, because it gives you a good look at the future of the sport, and these quality wins can really launch careers.  Now left in the mens draw are #1 Novak Djokovic, #13 Grigor Dimitrov, #4 Roger Federer, and #8 Milos Raonic (who defeated Kyrgios today).  This will be a great chance for Federer to get one last major win before he retires, and is great for everyone remaining as Nadal and Andy Murray are out of the tournament.  The women's side is even crazier with #3, 6, 13, and 23 remaining, so there's a real chance for a surprise winner on that side.
     With a lot of games going on right now, especially in the World Cup and Wimbledon, the next week promises to be a very exciting one.

      Thanks for reading,
      Connor