How yall feel about the current roster vs last season.I thought the team would win 30 games last season. I was totally wrong about it. The drama with the roster vs Beilin didn't help either. Hopefully,everyone is one the same page this season because I really think this team can win 30 games and compete for the 10th spot.
If,the team can show progress on offense/defense and be around 17th in both categories that's a win in my book.
They were a 24-win team last year if they played 82 games with a .292 win percentage. They might have done better since they were 4-5 under Bickerstaff. So 30 wins this year is definitely attainable, although with a 72-game schedule that might be a push. They played much better under JBB than with Bielien. Can they go 30-42? That's going to be tough.
As I see it there are a number of wild cards.
1. How much improvement from their rookie seasons will we see from Garland and Porter, both of whom will get a lot of minutes?
2. How much will newbies Windler, Okoro, and Dotson contribute and how quickly?
3. How much will the Cavs miss Tristan Thompson's leadership and talent?
4. Will the center position be improved or weakened by replacing Thompson, Henson, and Zizic with Drummond and McGee?
5. Andre Drummond is a 27-year-old two-time All-Star with eight seasons and 600 games of experience, but the Pistons practically gave him away saying his game doesn't translate to wins. Is his game going to help or hurt the Cavs? Is he willing to modify his game if asked to conform with JBB's style of play? Will he accept a complementary role with Sexton, Love, and Porter being the primary scorers and Garland, Nance, Windler, and Okoro being secondary scorers? Will he get enough shots to keep him happy? Or will he want to pad his stat sheet every night to set himself up for a big contract at the end of the season?
6. How many more wins will having JBB instead of Bielien translate to?
On paper the Cavs are much improved with Thompson being the only significant loss from the team that finished the season winning 6 of their last 13. They've replaced TT with Drummond as the starting center, added Okoro and Windler at SF, and added Dotson at SG. McGee replaces Henson/Zizic as the backup center. Garland and Porter are expected to be significantly better and Sexton has improved every year. Kevin Love has had eight months off which could do wonders for him.
But to make the playoffs they would have to jump ahead of seven teams, which is probably not realistic. But an increase in their win percentage from 29.2% to 35% would give them a 25-47 record, which is about what I expect. OTOH, they should be able to increase their win percentage by 6% just on the coaching change. Add in the roster upgrades and I could see 30-42 if everything goes right, Love stays healthy, and Drummond does what he's asked.