Season Preview: Eastern Conference

Thursday, we checked out the Western Conference.  Today, we spill ink on the Eastern conference: a selection of devoted basketball zealots, ready to spill blood (or at least lay down some rough fouls) for their teams. Will any of these gangs be able to muscle in on the Cavs’ territory? And will anyone in this conference be able to stand up to the baddest of the bad out west? [Editor’s Note: big props to EvilGenius for curating a ridiculously great collection of pics]

The Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics (EvilGenius)

For a couple years now (well really since Doc left and he broke up the original big three) Danny Ainge has been desperately trying to use various combinations of his stockpile of assets to snag a big name that could help take Brad Stevens’ scrappy squad to the next level. This off-season, he finally did just that… or did he? The Celtics went hard after free agent Kevin Durant this summer, even bringing out the big guns and recruiting Bahstahn legend, Tom Brady, to help entice him. In the name of Tommy Heinsohn, that shoulda worked, right? Alas, KD turned down the Green for the greener grass of Golden State… leaving poor Danny boy with few options calling. In a pinch, he settled for the next best thing… a stretch big with a mid-range game who led the team that ousted the C’s from last year’s playoffs. That’s right… Al Horford… come on down! To be fair, big Al has been an All Star. He’s got a solid shot (50% from the field and a respectable 34% from deep) and can certainly rebound the ball with the best of them (7.3 rpg last season). But can he be the difference maker for a team that won 48 games last year? Maybe against the bulk of the East, but The Celtics (like everyone else in the EC) are chasing the Cavs for that coveted spot to represent the East in The Finals. So, if you’re making a move to get a difference maker… shouldn’t he be somebody who hasn’t been thoroughly dominated (while his team got swept) by his opposite number on the Cavs in each of the the last two postseasons? They did also add the overall #3 pick in the draft in Jaylen Brown, who should at least provide Boston with a decently athletic wing, but they lost a bit of toughness in the middle with the departure of Jared Sullinger to Toronto. Still, the Celtics will probably still go only as far as Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and Horford can take them… which could very well be another sweep at the hands of the Cavs (if they get that far). Who knows… maybe Big Al helps them get at least a gentleman’s sweep this time around.

Key Changes: Signed Al Horford F/C, Gerald Green G; Drafted Jaylen Brown F; Lost Jared Sullinger F, Evan Turner G/F and David Lee F to free agency.

Prediction: The presence of Horford in the middle is probably worth another couple of wins and potentially the #2 or 3 seed for the Celtics. 50-32.

Philadelphia 76ers (David Wood)

The Sixers won just ten games last season and earned the number one pick, Ben Simmons. Simmons is already injured and could conceivably miss his entire first season. Fortunately, Joel Embiid, the prodigy center who shoots threes, rebounds, plays defense, and tweets funny stuff, is finally back after being out for two years. In the preseason, he’s shown that he knows how to get position deep in the post for easy hook shots. 2014 draft pick Euro-Star stretch big Dario Saric came over ready to play this summer too. He’s shooting 3s and running the floor. As far as new guys, they signed solid veteran point guard Jerryd Bayless and overall plus shooting guard Gerald Henderson. Their defense slipped last year, but just having the massive Embiid on the floor will help shore it up. And, if Brett Brown moves Jahlil Okafor to play against second unit scrubs, their offense might be a bit better. They also won’t be playing as many non-NBA level guys this season, and they have front-court depth, even with Simmons out. Brett Brown will still be polishing some turds, but most of the stuff he’s polishing is made of gold or at least stainless steel these days.

Key Changes: Jerryd Bayless from Milwaukee (3yrs/$27 million), Gerald Henderson from Portland (2yr/$18 million), Sergio Rodriquez from Real Madrid (1yr/$8 million), Ben Simmons from the draft, and Dario Saric from Turkey

Prediction: The Sixers will double their win total from last year, 20-52. And, they’ll still be in the hunt for a lottery pick. Even when they don’t follow “the process,” they can’t win.

New York Knicks (EvilGenius)

If you’re gonna rebuild an NBA team on the fly, you’ve got to go big or go home. Or, if you’re Phil Jackson… you just gotta at least make it sound big. After finishing another losing season (30-52) behind the tinsel star he was saddled with when he started, PJ decided instead of trading Carmelo away for prospects, it was better to double down and surround him with other big names that sound good… well on paper at least. It must have been tough for Phil to jettison his chosen teacher of the triangle, Derek Fisher, as his head coach, but it was a necessary change. After a protracted search, Phil landed on another former player turned coach… Jeff Hornacek. Again, sounds good, until you remember that Horny was summarily terminated by another team (Phoenix) that failed to make the playoffs during his tenure, 49 games into his third season. But, it wasn’t enough. He needed more than a rookie unicorn (Kristapps Porzingis) to surround Melo with… so he decided to shake up his roster, trading some less interesting names for a familiar one. Gone were Jose Calderon, former first round pick Jerian Grant and the Geico caveman, Robin Lopez… and in their place, a one-time MVP of the League… Derrick Rose. And lest DRose feel homesick for his native Chicago, PJ also brought in Pebbles (Joakim Noah) on a sizeable free agent deal. Again, on paper, these moves seemed splashy… and they would have been in truth circa 2011. Adding a former MVP and former Defensive Player of the Year sounds like a big deal… until you realize that the bloom left the Rose after that season, and the gap in Noah’s ability last year was bigger than the one in his front teeth. Rose hasn’t played a full season since his MVP campaign due to slew of injuries, and Noah has declined rapidly from his tenaciously defensive self under Tom Thibodeau. On the positive side… if these former Bulls can bring even a semblance of their former selves to the Big Apple, it could actually be kind of a big deal. But the odds of them staying healthy and on the floor for the whole season are long ones. The Knicks should still have enough to make a playoff push interesting… but not enough to be dangerous (to anyone but themselves and Uncle Phil’s legacy) if they get there.

Key Changes: Hired Jeff Hornacek as Head Coach (replaced Derek Fisher); Traded for Derrick Rose G; Signed Joakim Noah C/F, Courtney Lee G, Brandon Jennings G

Prediction: 43-39. Rose and Noah don’t experience any catastrophic injuries, but enough nagging ones to keep them from playing a full season. Knicks still manage to squeak into the playoffs, but that’s as far as they get.

Toronto Raptors (Carson Zagger)

The Toronto Raptors were the team in the playoffs to win one less game against the champion Cavs than the best of the West. This is a team that feels it can challenge the Cavs and break out of the East, as evidenced by their lack of major moves in the offseason. Their backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan should remain one of the league’s best, and with some sprinklings of combo guard Cory Joseph, Toronto can consistently trot out a rotation of legit two-way guards. DeMarre Carroll remains another strong two-way option who can line up at various positions and provide lineup flexibility, and top-of-the-rotation PF Patrick Patterson is a versatile defender who can also hit from deep. The Raptors may miss the rebounding and shot blocking of Bismack Biyombo, who they allowed to leave in free agency despite an excellent series against the Cavs. However, Jonas Valanciunas was injured for most of the Eastern Conference Finals, and his presence should bolster a front line that includes the newly signed Ohio State product, Jared Sullinger; Lucas Nogueira, a mop-topped Brazilian (sound familiar?) with raw abilities but intriguing athleticism; and Jakob Poeltl who was selected 9th in the NBA draft. Toronto does a lot of things well on offense and can field versatile defensive lineups that cover for the relative lack of rim protection. Coach Dwayne Casey has his team bought in and they should remain one of the better squads in the NBA and a moderate threat to the Cavs in the playoffs.

Key Changes: Player F Jared Sullinger from Boston (signed in free agency, 1yr/$6 million); C Jakob Poeltl from Austria (selected 9th in NBA draft, 4yrs/~$12.2 million); Bismack Biyombo to Orlando (left in free agency)

Prediction: 51-31. Career years from several players combined with a tougher top-to-bottom conference makes it feel like this team caught some lighting in a bottle last regular season, but they will still be very good and certainly a top eight group.

Brooklyn Nets (Mike Schriener)

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Nets are the worst team in the NBA this season. Brook Lopez is a very good player, but not the kind of guy you build a franchise around, and their young guys—including Rondae Hollis-Jefferson—project to be very good role players at best. Jeremy Lin will likely put up solid numbers, but he’s one of the weaker starting point guards in the league. To their credit, general manager Sean Marks and new head coach Kenny Atkinson have begun trying to improve both the culture and talent level, brining in solid veterans in Luis Scola, Trevor Booker, and Randy Foye, as well giving second chances to Justin Hamilton and former Cavaliers Joe Harris and Anthony Bennett. How it all pans out remains to be seen, but the Nets have nowhere to go but up.

Key Changes: Added Jeremy Lin, Anthony Bennett, Joe Harris, Greivis Vasquez, Randy Foy, Luis Scola, Trevor Booker, Caris Lavert, Isaiah Whitehead, Chris McCullough, Randy Foye

Prediction: 16-66.

The Southeast Division

Orlando Magic (Ben Werth)

The Magic are certainly zagging as the rest of the league zigs further toward small-ball. There has been been a lot of noise about Aaron Gordon’s potential at the three. It’s hard to fault anyone for being exciting about a player with Gordon’s ridiculous physical gifts. Still, the mid-range shooting frontcourt featuring recently acquired, Serge Ibaka and mainstay Nikola Vucevic won’t provide quite enough spacing on the floor to accommodate sub-par shooting from the Gordon at the three. Gordon’s percentages will need to drastically improve to make it all go, especially considering starting point guard, Elfrid Payton remains a complete non-shooter. Regardless, the Magic are an incredibly enticing collection of talent.  A lineup with free agent addition, Bismack Biyombo, Ibaka, Gordon, Mario Hezonja and Evan Fournier could be incredibly disruptive defensively and dynamic offensively with Fournier running the show. That lineup alone had me leaning more toward 45 wins until I remembered they signed Jeff Green for some ridiculous reason. If Orlando fans are lucky, he will be packaged with the talented Vucevic for a real shooter. New coach Frank Vogel will have his guys prepared either way.

Key Changes: Traded Victor Oladipo for Serge Ibaka, signed Bismack Biyambo, Signed Jeff Green, Added: C.J. Wilcox, D.J. Augustin, Jodie Meeks (trade). Drafted Stephen Zimmerman.

Prediction: 38-44

Washington Wizards (David Wood)

Last year, Randy Wittman drugged the Wizards with Lithium, so naturally they missed the playoffs. They were zombie-like at times and looked out of place trying to play small ball. Scott Brooks is their new coach and with any luck he will help this team out of the hole they’re in. Washington has a clear star in John Wall and two possible stars in Kelly Oubre and Bradley Beal. Brooks will need to figure out a way to get Beal and Oubre producing consistently, so this team isn’t constantly climbing onto Wall’s back for wins. Wall scored 19.9 a night and dished 10.2 dimes a night last season. Beal scored 17.4 a game, but missed 27 games. Thankfully, this team has talent, and Brooks has a knack for getting guys to use their talents in the best ways possible, see Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Brooks is also good at getting personalities to mesh well. He’ll be using that skill a lot with this team. Wall and Beal aren’t fans of each other, and the front court has two centers that will both want to start in Ian Mahinmi and Marcin Gortat, along with more than capable backups bigs Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith. (Mahinmi is out another 4-5 weeks, so that simplify the equation for a while)

Key Changes: Bradley Beal re-signed (5yrs/$128 million), Marcus Thorton re-signed (1yr/$1.3 million), Ian Mahinmi from Indiana (4yr/$64 million), Jason Smith from Orlando (3yr/$16 million), Andrew Nicholson (4yr/ $26 million), and Tomas Satoranksy came from overseas. According to basketball people, he’s going to be special in a couple of years as a 6’7” point guard. He already youtubed on the King.

Prediction: The East didn’t get better at the top this past off-season, but the teams near the bottom got much better. The Pistons, Bucks, Knicks, and Pacers will fight for the final playoff spots. However, if the Wizards stay healthy, they should be able to reach 45 wins and earn the seventh seed before getting swept in the first round. It helps that John Wall may be the best player on any of the teams vying for the 7th and 8th spots besides Paul George.

Atlanta Hawks (Tom Pestak)

The Cavs once again swept the Hawks in the playoffs.  Atlanta looks to be turning over the point guard reins to Dennis Schroder as Jeff Teague was traded to Indiana.  The Hawks may have a bit of an identity crisis next season as they have some stars over 30 (Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Dwight Howard) and they are doubtful to be better than they were with Teague and Horford in tow.  The Hawks consistently make the playoffs and eventually get bounced by LeBron.  No reason to expect anything different this season.

Key Changes: Lost Jeff Teauge and Al Horford, gained Dwight Howard and Jarrett Jack.

Prediction: 40-42

Miami Heat (Robert Attenweiler)

For a team that expected to be celebrating NBA Championship number five of the Heatles Era right now, the Miami Heat suddenly find themselves a team in full-blown transition. This off-season, franchise staple Dwyane Wade, feeling disrespected by Pat Riley‘s less-than-max contract offers, followed former teammate LeBron James‘s lead and returned to play in his hometown. Wade gets to keep wearing red, white and black, but now his jersey will have “Bulls” stitched across the front. Then, later this summer, Riley announced that the Heat would be moving on from F/C Chris Bosh and his attempts to come back from two straight years of dealing with a dangerous blood clot issue. The Heat didn’t turn around and blow up the roster, though (at least, not yet). They threw a ton of money at Hassan Whiteside and will hope that a core of the shot blocking center and PG Goran Dragic will keep the team respectable while they figure out what they have in some promising young players, like F Justise Winslow and SG Tyler Johnson. The page has most definitely turned for the former Eastern Conference powerhouse – so much so, that they’ll be counting on former Cavalier and Wade acolyte, Dion Waiters.

Major Additions: Signed G Dion Waiters for two-years and $6 million, PF Derrick Williams for one year/$5 million, PG Beno Udrih, PF James Johnson, former Herculoid Wayne Ellington, and acquired SF Luke Babbitt in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team re-signed C Hassan Whiteside (4 years/$98 million), SG Tyler Johnson (4 years/$50 million), and SG Josh Richardson.

Prediction: Dragic has a big year as the team’s most reliable offensive option… just big enough for the team to get a good enough offer to trade him at the deadline. Winslow shows some growth, but he and Whiteside aren’t enough to lift this team to the playoffs and they finish with a 35-47 record.

Charlotte Hornets (David Wood)

The Hornets finished sixth last season in the East (48-34) behind a top ten offense and defense. Kemba Walker showed poise late in games by taking the ball when it mattered most, and Nicolas Batum averaged 14.9 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.9 rebounds. Steve Clifford also did a tremendous job of getting his team to shoot more threes. They hit 10.6 a game, which was fourth in the NBA, and they added 3-point specialist Marco Belinelli, so that number may grow. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will return after playing just seven games last season due to shoulder injuries. When he’s paired with Batum, the rest of the league’s wing ball handlers will want to run and hide. The front court of this team is more of a mystery. Michael Jordan’s fascination with tall gargoyle looking white guys has not paid off. Frank Kaminisky and Cody Zeller still aren’t clear starting options.

Key Changes: Nicolas Batum re-signed (5yrs/$120 million), Marvin “I Just Hit Threes For One Season” Williams re-signed (4yr/$54.5 million), Roy Hibbert from Lakers signed (1yr/$5 million), Ramon Sessions from Washington signed (2yrs/$12.5 million), and Marco Belinelli from Sacramento (trade)

Prediction: A lot of people are saying that the loss of Al Jefferson is going to kill this team, since they have no go to scorers. However, you can’t count out Walker and Batum. Both had career seasons last year and are in their primes. If they both take a step forward, this team will easily get a few more wins and the fourth seed. I’m predicting 52-30. They may even grab the third seed for winning their division if Atlanta is buried under an avalanche of Dwight Howard’s skittles.

The Central Division

Indiana Pacers (Robert Attenweiler)

Just a few seasons removed from some scrappy post-season match-ups with LeBron James and the Miami Heat, the Pacers have restocked, retooled and rehabbed their way back to what Team President Larry Bird hopes is another worthy Eastern Conference challenger for The King and his men. The Pacers first move of the off-season — firing head coach Frank Vogel and promoting assistant coach Nate McMillan — left many scratching their heads, but Bird followed that up with a series of moves aimed at giving the Pacers better depth, as well as the firepower necessary to compete with the NBA’s top teams. The big questions are a.) do all of these pieces actually fit together… and b.) is Myles Turner ready to step up and be the team’s second option behind all-league swingman Paul George?

Major Additions: Signed C Al Jefferson to a 3-year/$30 million deal and traded for PG Jeff Teague and F Thaddeus Young.

Prediction: Another year removed from the ghastly leg injury he suffered playing for Team USA, George puts together a season that has him right in the thick of the MVP discussion. Turner makes a bigger second year leap than expected pushing the Pacers to a 54-28 record and a top-three seed in the East.

Milwaukee Bucks (Tom Pestak)

The darling preseason pick of last season flopped almost immediately out of the gate.  There were plenty of players to get excited about on the Bucks, but almost all the production was evenly distributed among the starting five and the bench was abysmal, with O.J. Mayo being the worst offender.  The Bucks were athletic and somewhat long, ranking in the top half of the league in steals and blocks, but lacked any modicum of outside shooting, ranking dead last in 3-point attempts and 21st in percentage.  They did move the ball well but just didn’t have any knock down shooters to space the floor.  They spent the off-season addressing that.  While 1st round selection Thon Maker is in the Biyombo mold, other additions Malcolm Brogdon, Delly, Mirza Teletovic and Jason “The Jet” Terry are all above average 3-point shooters.  The hope in Milwaukee is that the high usage players like Giannis, Jabari Parker, Greg Monroe, and last year’s surprise standout Khris Middleton will be much better complemented around the arc.  Of course, the problem is that Middleton suffered a torn hamstring a few weeks ago and is projected to miss 6 months.  The Bucks picked up Michael Beasley to address that gaping hole and then traded Michael Carter-Williams for Chicago Guard Tony Snell.

Overall the Bucks have a young core with a lot of room to grow.  And by adding a nice complement of 3-point shooters and the 3 and D type role players like Snell, it should create a more favorable environment for Jabari Parker, Greg Monroe, Giannis, and company.

Key Changes: Nabbed Matthew Dellavedova as a Restricted Free Agent, Drafted Thon Maker (10), Draft Malcolm Brogdon(36), signed Mirza Teletovic and Jason Terry in Free Agency, lost most of their useless bench, including O.J. Mayo because of Drugs.  Added Michael Beasley after Khris Middleton tore his hamstring.  Traded MCW for Tony Snell.

Prediction: 42-40

Chicago Bulls (Robert Attenweiler)

The Bulls moved away from the Derrick Rose Era this off-season, ushering in some new faces… and potentially even more questions about the team’s future. The Bulls are hoping the star power of fielding a team with Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo will make up for the the fact that Wade and Butler play the same position and that not one of those three wing players has ever had a reliable outside shot. Bulls GM Gar Forman compounded his team’s spacing issues by trading one of the team’s more promising shooters, Tony Snell, for a poor man’s Rondo in former Rookie of the Year Michael Carter Williams. Last season, Wade showed that he’s still got some gamin’ left in the tank (even if he also showed that his minutes and games played need to be closely monitored for him to play at that level), though watching Rondo and coasting Wade try to play defense could get downright ugly for the Bulls. All is not lost in Chi-town, though. Second-year big man Bobby Portis has a chance to be very good and the addition of Robin Lopez should stabilize the interior. Of course, neither is an outside shooter, either. Unless Nikola Mirotic  and Doug McDermott are blistering from deep, the Bulls will struggle to open up lanes for their talented slashers.

Major Additions: Signed G Wade to a two-year/$47 million deal and PG Rondo for two years and $28 million. Traded for PG Carter Williams, PG Jerian Grant, and C Lopez. Drafted G Denzel Valentine.

Prediction: The Bulls, hurt by a lack of spacing that will bog down their offense, will hover near the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture for much of the season before dropping out — with a 40-42 record — in the last few weeks of the season.

Detroit Pistons (Carson Zagger)

Despite the Pistons being swept in the first round of the playoffs last season, Detroit was a tough out that earned the Cavs’ respect. The Pistons didn’t make any major moves in free agency, but as a young team with untapped talent and a strong coach in Stan Van Gundy, they should be in position to improve as they grow together for another year.

Unfortunately, with starting PG Reggie Jackson expected to miss the first couple months of the season with a knee injury, this team’s outlook must be tempered a little. Detroit addressed it’s dire need at backup PG by signing journeyman Ish Smith in free agency, and Smith will be relied upon to keep the team afloat in the early season. Andre Drummond’s continued ascent could also help push the team in the right direction as he has already become one of the very best centers in the league. The Pistons have a couple of young wings in Stanley Johnson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who could grow into elite defenders eventually; the former performed admirable in the playoffs in getting LeBron James to work for his points (which is often the best you can ask for when it comes to the King).

Rounding out the top of the rotation are two versatile forwards in Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris. As a team, Detroit is somewhat weak at the three-point shot, but the signing of 6’10” Jon Leuer can help spread the floor for the reserve unit.

Key Changes: Player G Ish Smith from Philadelphia (signed in free agency, 3 yrs/$18 million); F Jon Leuer from Phoenix (signed in free agency, 4yrs/$41 million)

Prediction: 44-38. Some organic growth should be expected with this young team, but the absence of Reggie Jackson for an extended time will have them finishing right where they were last season.

Cleveland Cavaliers (Tom Pestak)

The Cavs were as talented and deep as any team in the NBA last season but had some disappointing campaigns from Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, and especially Timofey Mozgov.  Of course no one actually cares about regular seasons anymore in Believeland.  In the postseason, the Cavs duo of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving shined brightest but the supporting cast really chipped in as well.  Three Point Eruptions will re-commence in a little under a week as Irving, J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson, and Kevin Love spread the floor and bury opponents.  The Cavs will miss Dellavedova, but how badly depends on Irving’s health and the ability of the Cavs to find a comfortable bench rotation.

The directive entering last season was centered around winding up healthy in April, with seeding being an afterthought in light of how easily the short-handed Cavs swept the top-seeded Hawks in the ’15 ECF.  That directive changed somewhat after the Cavs showed disjointed effort and were annihilated by the Warriors in the “MLK Day Massacre.”  David Blatt was fired, David Griffin brought in Channing Frye, Tyronn Lue flexed on LeBron a bit, and even though it wasn’t obvious that the Cavs had made any marked improvements, they held off the Raptors for the No. 1 seed and were fully healthy for the playoffs to begin.  So, if “just be healthy” was the directive for last season, imagine the chill mode we might see this season.  The Cavs have literally nothing to gain from grinding out wins other than the satisfaction of entertaining a crowd.  They’ll win 54 or more games on talent and depth alone and mid to high 60s if they get significant improvements from Irving (who still has so much to improve upon) and Thompson and a bounce back season from Iman Shumpert.  Whether or not Kevin Love’s efficiency and/or production improves last season won’t have anything to do with his mental state – he’s gotta be in such a good place right now.

And that’s the thing with the Cavs.  A sleep walking LeBron does so many things and Kyrie Irving is impossible to keep from netting 20+ a night.  And then they have seven guys that can easily score in double digits.  Expect the Cavs to embrace the style they played in the early rounds of the playoffs: lots of effective down screens and hockey assists to a fleet of 3-point shooters with LeBron dictating the offense and playing free safety on defense.  If they have a weakness it’s defense – they weren’t great at it last year and they lost Delly, one of the better help defenders in the game.  But they know there is no team in the East that can prevent them from returning the Finals for a 3rd straight year.  Don’t be surprised if the Cavs are active at the trade deadline again to challenge the Warriors formality of a ’17 Championship.  LeBron has had a lot of success in the underdog role and Kyrie Irving can elevate his game to the highest level.  It’s unclear how the Cavs can gain anyone of value other than than by trading away a core piece, but that’s never stopped David Griffin before.

Key Changes: Let Matthew Dellavedova walk in Restricted Free Agency, Lost Timofey Mozgov in Unrestricted Free Agency to the Lakers, Lost Mo Williams to Retirement.  Signed Mike Dunleavy Jr. Drafted Kay Felder(54) in the 2nd Round.  Tristan Thompson started dating a Kardashian.

Prediction: 60 – 22.

Counter Prediction (Nate Smith): Pat Riley always talked about “the diseases of more.” Bill Simmons wrote about it in 2007.

In his book “Showtime,” Pat Riley unveiled “the disease of more” and argued that “success is often the first step toward disaster.” According to Riley, after the 1980 Lakers won, everyone shifted into a more selfish mode. They had sublimated their respective games to win as a group; now they wanted to reap the rewards as individuals, even if those rewards meant having to spend way too much time at Jack Nicholson’s house. Everyone wanted more money, playing time and recognition. Eventually they lost perspective and stopped doing the little things that make teams win and keep winning, eventually imploding in the first round of the postseason. So much for defending the title.

You can see it happening around the edges. J.R. held out for a big contract. Tristan Thompson is engaged to a Kardashian. Mo Williams went out and got surgery on his own to avoid retiring and having to forfeit his salary. And in any other season, the disease of more would certainly be an issue. But none of that matters. Because there’s never been a team whose championship was over so quickly (outside of the ‘Land). There’s never been a team who was dethroned before they even played a game. When arguably the second best player in the league decided to join the team that beat him in the playoffs, the Warriors became the overwhelming favorites to win the title.

But these paper tigers, they never tasted the pain of losing. They were succored just a few weeks later at the teat of free agency. They coerced the greatest coward in NBA history to join their team and to wear their paper crown. Theyv’e got the league conned. They’ve even coerced the biggest Cleveland fan I know, Tom Pestak into jumping on their bandwagon (if not rooting for them, at least in believing in their inevitability).

But lets not forget that the the last two NBA finals have been heavily influenced by injury. And let’s not forget that the Warriors’ two best players have missed almost the entirety of two seasons with injuries. And most of all, let’s not forget that nothing is given. Everything is earned. This is the chance for LeBron James to become the greatest player in the history of the NBA, by beating supposedly the greatest team ever assembled. LeBron is better than Kevin Durant. Kyrie Irving owned Steph Curry in the Finals. Kevin Love is about to put in the greatest season of his career and rises to occasions while Draymond Green loses his mind. J.R. Smith is every bit the shooter that Klay Thompson is. Tristan Thompson is a damned site better that Zaza Pachulia. Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Mike Dunleavey, and James Jones can shoot the lights out – better than anyone on the Warriors’ bench. Chris Anderson is as gritty as any bigman in their fold. And the guys on the end of the Cavs’ Bench: Jordan McRae, Kay Felder, DeAndre Liggins: they’re hungry.

They all have one thing to prove: that their championship was no fluke – that the Warriors didn’t blow a 3-1 lead – the Cavs took it away from them. The new guys? It’s their chance to get one too. The Cleveland Cavaliers: have a chance at destiny: a chance to not just beat the greatest team of all time, twice, but a chance to be the greatest team of all time. They run ten deep – maybe 11. They’ll go down with the Bronx Bombers, the Big Red Machine, the ’72 Dolphins, the ’85 bears, the ’96 Bulls… This is the team you’ll tell your great grandchildren about. My Eastern Promise? The Cavs go 74-8 in the greatest season in the history of the NBA by the greatest GD team of all time.