The 2010-2011 season might as well be the year 1 AD for the Cleveland Cavaliers- After the Decision.After finishing the past two seasons as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs will have to play extremely well in new head coach Byron Scott's first season to even make the playoffs.
To even make this a possibility, the Cavaliers will have to run a much more structured offense than we've seen from them in the past seven years.Whether it was due to lack of a second dominant scoring option, or unimaginative coaching, far too often we saw the Cavaliers clear out one side of the floor and just let their superstar go to work on his own.
Now that superstar is gone, and so are all the open shots that were created by the defensive attention he drew. Mo Williams will have a harder time spotting up for three. JJ Hickson might not have as many cutting lanes to the basket. The Cavaliers will have to work much harder for each point they score.
Their collection of talent is certainly not the worst in the league. Though he has been around for a while, Antawn Jamison has been a star in this league before, and can score the ball. Anderson Varejao is back to anchor the defense, and even though he provides very little on the offensive end beyond rebounding, his defensive presence will help the Cavs win games. Point guard Ramon Sessions was acquired in an off-season trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and will help run the pick and roll, creating offense for a team lacking players who can create their own shot.
This will most likely turn into an assessment season for the Cavaliers, a survey of what pieces they have and want to build around going forward. In a superstar driven league, Cleveland is back to square one. Until they find another top talent to build around, it's hard to see them challenging for more than a seventh or eighth seed in the East. They will be competitive, but Cavs fans' championship aspirations are gone now, likely for a while.
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