rabman_gold
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Thought I'd try something a little different. I read this could be the most talented team we've had as a whole since the late 80s/early 90s. You could also say it's the deepest we've had since the miracle of a certain city situated south of Cleveland. We also have a pure superstar talent that we truly haven't seen since 2010. Combine all of these together and I feel we could use a little history binge.
1976:
There are quite a few fans here who actually can reminisce about this legendary year because it was the first Cavalier year that stood out in a great way when baseball nor football were jockeying out there.
C: Jim Chones/Nate Thurmond
PF: Jim Brewer
SF: Bingo Smith/Campy Russell
SG: Dirk Snyder/Austin Carr
PG: Jim Cleamons/Foots Walker
1989:
The end result is one we'd like to forget (I refuse to download the fated game 5 because it was heart-breaking), but from 1 to 7, we were a really good team, but added depth too late to actually contend.
C: Brad Daugherty/Tree Rollins
PF: Larry Nance/Hot Rod Williams
SF: Mike Sanders
SG: Ron Harper/Craig Ehlo
PG: Mark Price/Darnell Valentine
1992:
Again, added players too late to make a run, and having a rival like Jordan didn't help.
C: Brad Daugherty
PF: Larry Nance/Hot Rod Williams
SF: Mike Sanders
SG: Craig Ehlo/John Battle/Steve Kerr
PG: Mark Price/Terrell Brandon
2007:
Having a first taste at All-Eastern Conference success, only to fall to a real contender.
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Anderson Varejao
PF: Drew Gooden/Donyell Marshall
SF: LeBron James
SG: Sasha Pavlovic
PG: Larry Hughes/Daniel Gibson/Eric Snow/Damon Jones
2009:
Despite the greatest regular season success, the team was not built to succeed.
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Anderson Varejao
PF: Ben Wallace/Joe Smith/J.J. Hickson
SF: LeBron James/Wally Szcerbiak
SG: Delonte West/Sasha Pavlovic
PG: Mo Williams/Daniel Gibson
2010:
Second time the charm, but still failed anyways.
C: Shaquille O'Neal/Zydrunas Ilgauskas
PF: Antawn Jamison/Anderson Varejao/J.J. Hickson
SF: LeBron James/Jamario Moon
SG: Anthony Parker/Delonte West
PG: Mo Williams/Daniel Gibson
These 6 times have bits and pieces of what our true champion looking team from Cleveland should look like. I also learned that don't expect a championship to fall in your lap. But perhaps we can finally look forward to what this season brings?
2015:
Almost like our do-over from 1976, 1989, 1992, 2007, 2009, and 2010. A chance for redemption. And there's still room for improvement.
C: Anderson Varejao/Brendan Haywood
PF: Kevin Love/Tristan Thompson
SF: LeBron James/Shawn Marion/James Jones
SG: Dion Waiters/Mike Miller
PG: Kyrie Irving/Mathew Dellavedova
What this roster has:
1976 -> 2015:
We have the depth.
Chones is the best from 1976, a similar guy in value, Love, is considered our 2nd or 3rd best offensive option. LeBron is better than Campy and Bingo combined due to his multi-faceted abilities. Cleamons isn't better than Kyrie. But the drop-off isn't horrendous. Tristan, Marion, Miller, and Dellavedova are comparable to Brewer, Walker, Snyder, and Carr. In fact, we have Dion, Jones, and possibly Haywood to add to that, players at a similar level.
We also have the star power.
And considering the league isn't as watered down as it was pre-ABA merger, that says something.
Our big weakness is up front.
How will we replace Thurmond's aged, yet excellent ability to alter shots?
1989/1992 -> 2015:
Again, superior depth.
We can play 9 guys a full 20 minutes a night, with room to spare. Something tells me we can weather out big injuries because of the difference in talent and the ability to plug guys in regularly.
Star power, again.
Again, we have our own Michael Jordan (again, LeBron James), but add some complimentary stars and it looks more feasible now than it ever has.
Again, if it's a problem, it's not much of one, because Brad wasn't exactly an enforcer either.
2007/2009/2010 -> 2015
Better quality depth.
Each season that passed under the General Management of Danny Ferry, we got better, but the lack of commitment from our star and need to upgrade became more clear.
Take the comparisons:
2007:
1: LBJ, 2: Larry, 3: Z, 4: Drew, 5: Pavs, 6: Andy, 7: Marshall, 8: Gibson
2009:
1: LBJ, 2: Mo, 3: West, 4: Z, 5: Andy, 6: Wally, 7: Gibson, 8: Pavs, 9: Joe, 10: Ben
2010:
1: LBJ, 2: Mo, 3: Antawn, 4: Shaq, 5: Parker, 6: Z, 7: Andy, 8: West, 9: Moon, 10: Gibson
More star power.
If you considered that Mo was the only other all-star the Cavs had from this point, that says volumes that we not only have a returning all-star (LBJ), but 2 clear-cut stars as well to add to that.
Again, the lack of help up front might hurt.
Not unfeasible, but might look hard to find an answer.
One could even ask to take certain players from the past and could our present team beat that one.
1976:
Jim Chones
1989-92:
Brad Daugherty, Hot Rod Williams, Mark Price, Ron Harper, Craig Ehlo, Larry Nance
2007:
Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson
2009:
Mo Williams, Delonte West, Sasha Pavlovic
2010:
LeBron James, Anderson Varejao
C: Brad Daugherty/Jim Chones/Zydrunas Ilgausaks
PF: Larry Nance/Hot Rod Williams/Anderson Varejao
SF: LeBron James/Sasha Pavlovic
SG: Ron Harper/Larry Hughes/Craig Ehlo
PG: Mark Price/Mo Williams/Delonte West/Daniel Gibson
Would this team be enough for this year's Cavs team? Discuss.
1976:
There are quite a few fans here who actually can reminisce about this legendary year because it was the first Cavalier year that stood out in a great way when baseball nor football were jockeying out there.
C: Jim Chones/Nate Thurmond
PF: Jim Brewer
SF: Bingo Smith/Campy Russell
SG: Dirk Snyder/Austin Carr
PG: Jim Cleamons/Foots Walker
1989:
The end result is one we'd like to forget (I refuse to download the fated game 5 because it was heart-breaking), but from 1 to 7, we were a really good team, but added depth too late to actually contend.
C: Brad Daugherty/Tree Rollins
PF: Larry Nance/Hot Rod Williams
SF: Mike Sanders
SG: Ron Harper/Craig Ehlo
PG: Mark Price/Darnell Valentine
1992:
Again, added players too late to make a run, and having a rival like Jordan didn't help.
C: Brad Daugherty
PF: Larry Nance/Hot Rod Williams
SF: Mike Sanders
SG: Craig Ehlo/John Battle/Steve Kerr
PG: Mark Price/Terrell Brandon
2007:
Having a first taste at All-Eastern Conference success, only to fall to a real contender.
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Anderson Varejao
PF: Drew Gooden/Donyell Marshall
SF: LeBron James
SG: Sasha Pavlovic
PG: Larry Hughes/Daniel Gibson/Eric Snow/Damon Jones
2009:
Despite the greatest regular season success, the team was not built to succeed.
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Anderson Varejao
PF: Ben Wallace/Joe Smith/J.J. Hickson
SF: LeBron James/Wally Szcerbiak
SG: Delonte West/Sasha Pavlovic
PG: Mo Williams/Daniel Gibson
2010:
Second time the charm, but still failed anyways.
C: Shaquille O'Neal/Zydrunas Ilgauskas
PF: Antawn Jamison/Anderson Varejao/J.J. Hickson
SF: LeBron James/Jamario Moon
SG: Anthony Parker/Delonte West
PG: Mo Williams/Daniel Gibson
These 6 times have bits and pieces of what our true champion looking team from Cleveland should look like. I also learned that don't expect a championship to fall in your lap. But perhaps we can finally look forward to what this season brings?
2015:
Almost like our do-over from 1976, 1989, 1992, 2007, 2009, and 2010. A chance for redemption. And there's still room for improvement.
C: Anderson Varejao/Brendan Haywood
PF: Kevin Love/Tristan Thompson
SF: LeBron James/Shawn Marion/James Jones
SG: Dion Waiters/Mike Miller
PG: Kyrie Irving/Mathew Dellavedova
What this roster has:
1976 -> 2015:
We have the depth.
Chones is the best from 1976, a similar guy in value, Love, is considered our 2nd or 3rd best offensive option. LeBron is better than Campy and Bingo combined due to his multi-faceted abilities. Cleamons isn't better than Kyrie. But the drop-off isn't horrendous. Tristan, Marion, Miller, and Dellavedova are comparable to Brewer, Walker, Snyder, and Carr. In fact, we have Dion, Jones, and possibly Haywood to add to that, players at a similar level.
We also have the star power.
And considering the league isn't as watered down as it was pre-ABA merger, that says something.
Our big weakness is up front.
How will we replace Thurmond's aged, yet excellent ability to alter shots?
1989/1992 -> 2015:
Again, superior depth.
We can play 9 guys a full 20 minutes a night, with room to spare. Something tells me we can weather out big injuries because of the difference in talent and the ability to plug guys in regularly.
Star power, again.
Again, we have our own Michael Jordan (again, LeBron James), but add some complimentary stars and it looks more feasible now than it ever has.
Again, if it's a problem, it's not much of one, because Brad wasn't exactly an enforcer either.
2007/2009/2010 -> 2015
Better quality depth.
Each season that passed under the General Management of Danny Ferry, we got better, but the lack of commitment from our star and need to upgrade became more clear.
Take the comparisons:
2007:
1: LBJ, 2: Larry, 3: Z, 4: Drew, 5: Pavs, 6: Andy, 7: Marshall, 8: Gibson
2009:
1: LBJ, 2: Mo, 3: West, 4: Z, 5: Andy, 6: Wally, 7: Gibson, 8: Pavs, 9: Joe, 10: Ben
2010:
1: LBJ, 2: Mo, 3: Antawn, 4: Shaq, 5: Parker, 6: Z, 7: Andy, 8: West, 9: Moon, 10: Gibson
More star power.
If you considered that Mo was the only other all-star the Cavs had from this point, that says volumes that we not only have a returning all-star (LBJ), but 2 clear-cut stars as well to add to that.
Again, the lack of help up front might hurt.
Not unfeasible, but might look hard to find an answer.
One could even ask to take certain players from the past and could our present team beat that one.
1976:
Jim Chones
1989-92:
Brad Daugherty, Hot Rod Williams, Mark Price, Ron Harper, Craig Ehlo, Larry Nance
2007:
Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson
2009:
Mo Williams, Delonte West, Sasha Pavlovic
2010:
LeBron James, Anderson Varejao
C: Brad Daugherty/Jim Chones/Zydrunas Ilgausaks
PF: Larry Nance/Hot Rod Williams/Anderson Varejao
SF: LeBron James/Sasha Pavlovic
SG: Ron Harper/Larry Hughes/Craig Ehlo
PG: Mark Price/Mo Williams/Delonte West/Daniel Gibson
Would this team be enough for this year's Cavs team? Discuss.