Do we still get swept if we kept the same roster we had before trade deadline (Except IT)?

[Pioneer10]

Not having Wade to put on Livingston was slap in the face. He was the guy who finally would have turned that matchup which has killed us (it's one of the underrated factors that doesn't get hyped but he took Delly out of an entire Finals and basically ended Deron Williams career).

Wade was going to be the solution instead we got to watch Livingston miss what one freakin shot in the entire Finals: brutal

 

[King_LebronJames23]

The difference pre - trade and post-trade was Lebron motivation.What if Lebron was motivated pre-trade, how good we would have been? Why was Lebron so demoralized pre-trade? I think one of major problems was locker room trouble. I remember Lebron talking how some players refused Wade to join our team in summer, this will also play big role in Lebron wanting out of here.

 

[tocov]

It was always a coaching problem, not a roster problem.

The coach's job on a LeBron team is to coach everyone around LeBron to bring the best out of them. Lue could not do it with either one.

Role players that play very well on other teams come to Cleveland to die and become scrubs. Then leave and become good again.
It's a coaching problem.

 

[King_LebronJames23]

It was always a coaching problem, not a roster problem.

The coach's job on a LeBron team is to coach everyone around LeBron to bring the best out of them. Lue could not do it with either one.

Role players that play very well on other teams come to Cleveland to die and become scrubs. Then leave and become good again.
It's a coaching problem.

I am not sure on that one.
George Hill was garbage in Sacramento. JR Smith was garbage in New York. Actually Clarkson(Lakers), Nance(Lakers), Hill(Sacramento), JR Smith(Knicks), Jeff Green(Magic) All came to us from loterry teams.

Lue had no plan but play Lebron 48 minutes.It was ridiculous, the wrong was not developing young talent thru the season like Osman - Zizic etc.Also management had 0 scouting in getting good talent for cheap ala San Antonio Spurs

 

[CHIMOCHIS]

A playmaker would of helped

And hill was injured a lot

Wade would of been injured too
Idk

 

[CleveRocks]

I was worried we would not even make the post season with that roster.Crowder was an IT guy, and a perfect ass toward the team. Rose was no better than Clarkson and older..Wade just wanted to go home.

I think in the end the FO did the best they could given Kyries determination to go, and given his health situation. I think it was a good thing.

But I do think we could have traded the pick and given ourselves a better shot. Although unlike most of you, i think that would have been a center with range for best effect. I think that negates McGee and moves love to his natural position, as well as another way to score.

I will admit hill was not as good as he should be..

 

[chuck0609]

Do the Cavs even have the 4 seed with the old farts, and do they even get out of the first round?
Dunno- it’s a big leap to assume they would have won a game against GS.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

Lmao, I dont think we even get past Indiana with that roster.

People forget, IT was a chucker, Crowder was unplayable and Wade was just awful his last few games here. Given that Wade's heart was not in it, I dont see how this team would have been anywhere close to Finals ready.

 

[SK808]

Lmao, I dont think we even get past Indiana with that roster.

People forget, IT was a chucker, Crowder was unplayable and Wade was just awful his last few games here. Given that Wade's heart was not in it, I dont see how this team would have been anywhere close to Finals ready.

Agree. The pre-trade team of vets would have been even worse defensively against the Warriors than the new guys were. Wade, Rose, and Crowder were going to help guard the Warriors? No f'n way. At least we had some athletic young guys to throw at them.

 

[Marcus]

Wade alone probably makes the difference in the Cavs not getting pushed to 7 in either Eastern Conference series, and I have to think he would have been in Game 1 at crunch time instead of JR.

Could they have won the series? Probably not. But I don’t think they get swept.

EDIT: Should be clear that I am referring to Wade alone. If the Cavs had kept the same roster I doubt they even make the Finals.

 

[jvpertz]

The difference pre - trade and post-trade was Lebron motivation.What if Lebron was motivated pre-trade, how good we would have been? Why was Lebron so demoralized pre-trade? I think one of major problems was locker room trouble. I remember Lebron talking how some players refused Wade to join our team in summer, this will also play big role in Lebron wanting out of here.

Lebron seemed less than enthused by the wade situation near the end...

He seemed HAPPY as hell when he found out wade, it and company were being shipped out.

 

[Stark]

Wade alone would have won us game one. Warriors in 5, maybe 6.

 

[stowfan]

Counting on Hill as the point guard was a disaster. Cedi was the answer for Livingston. Lue is an asshole and an idiot.

 

[MrX]

I think many are forgetting that the regular season means little compared to the playoffs. Those old farts would of picked it up. Still won 18 of 19 games at one point. Adding DeAndre Jordan would of been interesting.

 

[billmac91]

It was always a coaching problem, not a roster problem.

The coach's job on a LeBron team is to coach everyone around LeBron to bring the best out of them. Lue could not do it with either one.

Role players that play very well on other teams come to Cleveland to die and become scrubs. Then leave and become good again.
It's a coaching problem.

I think this is pretty much the crux of the situation. The team that we assembled this off-season was decently well constructed, but for the last two years Lue has wanted our guys to play at break-neck speed......which is idiotic on multiple levels.

1. Even if you successfully implement a high paced efficient offense, you aren't beating the GSW at their game. So why implement that type of style, knowing there's a team out there with significantly more fire-power, and significantly more efficient. It's a losing proposition off the bat.

2. The Cavs continue to surround LeBron with aging vets. Asking these guys to play a style and pace befitting of elite youthful players, is also stupid. It's asking to burn your guys out mid-season, and we saw it happen in real speed.

I've said countless times. When you have the best/most efficient ISO player in the world in LeBron James, you surround him with great shooters or at a minimum high IQ players who know how to play off his passing ability.

The roster we assembled could've been great with a different coach who emphasized system defense, and then an offensive system built around LeBron in ISO situations. It's no surprise Crowder played much better in Utah. It's no surprise Wade played much better in Miami. It's no surprise Rose played much better in Minny.

I get bored a bit rehashing all my frustrations, but when IT came back, how does Lue (and in fairness the organization) not look to optimize roster rotations based on fit?

They continually trotted out IT, JR, LeBron, Crowder, Love.......our backcourt defense was a mess, and our second unit was composed of two guys who couldn't be worse fits for each other in Rose and Wade.

How did they never once try Wade in starting line-up with IT so JR could provide spacing for Rose? Or how did they not try starting Rose with JR, so IT could play off Wade in the second unit?

It's just basic shit that was so mis-managed. And I don't put it all on Lue, but the Cavs organization is obviously lacking quite a bit in the rotation construction department.

To answer the question....I undoubtedly believe our opening day roster was much better/more talanted than what we finished with. I just don't think the right adjustments ever would've been made for it to ultimately matter. We get dog walked in the finals no matter what.

Give Frank Vogel or Mike Budenholzer what we had on opening day, and they'd have swept the same exact roster coached by Ty Lue...if that makes sense. We didn't play to our strengths and the season continued to unravel as guys became more and more frustrated by their roles and playing sub-standard basketball.