Jack Brickman
Hall-of-Famer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2012
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There's a huge difference between contending for a championship and making the playoffs. I still stand by my claim that with a few off-season moves, this team can and should go to the playoffs next year.
I think we should also steer away from the assumption that you need several "elite players" or superstars to compete for a championship. That's not true. The Chicago Bulls were the second best team in the East last year, with only one elite player in Derrick Rose. They were a contending team. The Dallas Mavericks won the championship in 2011 with only one superstar in Dirk Nowitzki. You don't need an all-star at every position. Just a bunch of guys who all buy into the same system, and do their assigned roles well. People need to look beyond the final box score, and see that we have an extremely young team with pieces that are coming together. I firmly believe the Cavs are on their way.
I don't think anyone thinks we'll be contending next year, but I think that, if we draft well, the playoffs are a legitimate possibility. And that's not even including the possibility for trades or free agency signings to either get a starter or fill out the bench (which we intentionally did not do this year).