Welcome Deron Williams

[Cavatt]

I think he might be back. Yeah he can't make the extra money, but he has a chance to revitalize his career in limited minutes.

He doesn't look to me like he is capable of starting for 82 games. He could play 10-20 min though. Could be a great way to end his career

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

He's the best offensive back up the Cavs have had since a young Terrell Brandon.

I hope they can re-sign him to go through a full training camp with this group.

Think we need the full MLE to do that. We have Cedi coming over.. I rather have Deron than Cedi at this point if it's up to this.

Felder is never going to be a good matchup against GSW. Deron is an excellent matchup.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Think we need the full MLE to do that. We have Cedi coming over.. I rather have Deron than Cedi at this point if it's up to this.

Felder is never going to be a good matchup against GSW. Deron is an excellent matchup.

In reality, you can't tell a young drafted player he is coming over at a specific time, then back out. Cedi is coming over this offseason, and just like other role players his weaknesses won't stand out as much when he's the fourth or fifth option offensively. The Cedi addition should be something we look forward to, even if he's the 12th man at first.

That said, I can see wiggle room to add Williams on the type of deal Richard Jefferson signed. Don't forget Deron Williams was in the midst of a terrible Celtics series before putting forth full effort in game five. He has shown that he's a solid veteran backup point guard, but those aren't in high demand. The point guard position is all about athleticism and youth these days.

 

[bigfoot5415]

In reality, you can't tell a young drafted player he is coming over at a specific time, then back out. Cedi is coming over this offseason, and just like other role players his weaknesses won't stand out as much when he's the fourth or fifth option offensively. The Cedi addition should be something we look forward to, even if he's the 12th man at first.

That said, I can see wiggle room to add Williams on the type of deal Richard Jefferson signed. Don't forget Deron Williams was in the midst of a terrible Celtics series before putting forth full effort in game five. He has shown that he's a solid veteran backup point guard, but those aren't in high demand. The point guard position is all about athleticism and youth these days.

Lets not forget Deron is getting money from his Nets buyout through 2020. I cant find the exact total, but its a nice chunk of change.

 

[Kbiz]

Don't forget Deron Williams was in the midst of a terrible Celtics series before putting forth full effort in game five. He has shown that he's a solid veteran backup point guard, but those aren't in high demand. The point guard position is all about athleticism and youth these days.

This. If he proves useful against GS, we will be looking to reacquire but if he has a pedestrian series, I doubt he'd be in our future plans.

With that said, I think an engaged Williams could be a real difference maker in the GS series.

 

[ACisKING]

I love Deron matching up with Livingston. He has got the size play Livingston, rarely makes mistakes, and has legitimate experience.

I do wonder just how many minutes he will play. I'm not sure the Warriors are the right team to run both Kyrie and Deron against, which means Deron will basically only play when Kyrie is not on the court.

 

[Randolphkeys]

I love Deron matching up with Livingston. He has got the size play Livingston, rarely makes mistakes, and has legitimate experience.

I do wonder just how many minutes he will play. I'm not sure the Warriors are the right team to run both Kyrie and Deron against, which means Deron will basically only play when Kyrie is not on the court.

The bench for both teams should swing the series. At the start of the 2016/2017 season, both teams exchanged depth for paying the core of the rotation. Both teams needed to make additions or see improvement from younger players.

Since then, the Warriors showed they hit paydirt with JaVale and West, but Iggy and Barnes are aging. They saw Ian Clark improve and McCaw gave them flashes of being a useful fourth or fifth guard, but the rest of the bench hasn't given them much. Livingston will keep playing his usual game, which Cavs fans are all too familiar with.

The Cavs looked to have a far worse bench going into the playoffs, but now the parts are starting to click. Korver was acquired to give some offensive punch to the bench, which the Cavs really never had since Flip Murray left. Shump has flashed more of "Good Shump" because he is aggressive attacking the paint again. Other parts can get lazy and just move the ball around, waiting for Korver to get open. Other times they show what they can do at full effort like the Celtics game 5.

The Bogut injury is a blow because nobody on the Cleveland roster can match JaVale's length. The Warriors can sneak a few runs with McGee on the floor, but it takes them out of what they normally do on offense and defense when the shift to the JaVale package. I believe the Celtic's had a far, far superior bench than both Finals participants, so the Cavs bench already passed a huge test.

 

[Pioneer10]

Deron would be my surprise pick for Finals MVP. His defense has been good and he's got good size and if the Cavs go iso heavy, I could see him playing in a lot of lineups with the starters. Anything to pick on Curry in isolation

 

[shoes22]

Deron would be my surprise pick for Finals MVP. His defense has been good and he's got good size and if the Cavs go iso heavy, I could see him playing in a lot of lineups with the starters. Anything to pick on Curry in isolation

Because of the way this team is constructed that’s just awfully unlikely.

I’d say the odds of Finals MVP among Cavs players is LeBron 85% (if not higher), Kyrie 10%, everyone else 5%.

Being the X factor for a game is one thing...but I can’t see any Cavalier besides LeBron not being the most valuable over the course of a series.

 

[ACisKING]

The Bogut injury is a blow because nobody on the Cleveland roster can match JaVale's length. The Warriors can sneak a few runs with McGee on the floor, but it takes them out of what they normally do on offense and defense when the shift to the JaVale package. I believe the Celtic's had a far, far superior bench than both Finals participants, so the Cavs bench already passed a huge test.

In my opinion, the Cavs will only really miss Bogut if they suffer some front court injuries in the Finals. I actually think not having any plodding center on the roster is good for the Cavs against the Warriors, as long as all their main cogs stay healthy. It allows the Cavs to always have either a floor spacing five (Love, LeBron if the Cavs go small, or Frye if he proves he can play with the Warriors) or Tristan Thompson on the court. The floor spacing fives allow the Cavs offense to reach another gear - and let's be real the Cavs are going to have use their offense to win this series. I especially like the lineup with Love at the five and LeBron at the four which is murdering teams in the playoffs. When the Cavs don't have a floor spacing five, then they will have Tristan Thompson playing who is arguably the co-anchor of the Cavs defense along with LeBron and just a nightmare for the Warriors on the glass. His ability to switch and chase around guards is also invaluable.

And both Love and Thompson are perfectly capable of corralling McGee. Even with all his length, McGee is just a lob catcher and rim runner. On the other end, Love at the five in particular will be a nightmare for McGee who is horrible at defending in space and in making defensive reads in general. I can already see LeBron picking him apart over and over again.

If possible, I would try and play 48 minutes of either Thompson or Love at center. I would only use Lebron at center or Frye at center if Love or Thompson is plagued with foul trouble or injury. The center position is frankly a huge advantage for the Cavs and they can get 48 minutes of high quality play by staggering Thompson and Love at the five.

 

[Kizzle]

Because of the way this team is constructed that’s just awfully unlikely.

I’d say the odds of Finals MVP among Cavs players is LeBron 85% (if not higher), Kyrie 10%, everyone else 5%.

Being the X factor for a game is one thing...but I can’t see any Cavalier besides LeBron not being the most valuable over the course of a series.

Gotta look at Kevin Love sneaking Finals MVP if he keeps his pace up. LeBron will likely win it if we win but I think Love needs consideration if he plays well VS Green, rebounds, and plays the D hes been playing

 

[Dr. Gymbo]

Deron would be my surprise pick for Finals MVP. His defense has been good and he's got good size and if the Cavs go iso heavy, I could see him playing in a lot of lineups with the starters. Anything to pick on Curry in isolation

 

[Randolphkeys]

And both Love and Thompson are perfectly capable of corralling McGee. Even with all his length, McGee is just a lob catcher and rim runner. On the other end, Love at the five in particular will be a nightmare for McGee who is horrible at defending in space and in making defensive reads in general. I can already see LeBron picking him apart over and over again.

McGee has clear strengths that he knows how to maximize in about 10-15 minutes. Sure the weaknesses are there, Shaq has documented them very well. Over the course of the playoffs so far, he's been a break even influence for Golden State. The other players around him can funnel the drives towards McGee as a traditional rim protector, and that gives their exhaustive switching a chance to take a break. That length will put pressure on Love and Thompson at times, especially since he doesn't have to worry about foul trouble with West and Zaza ready to play 10-15 hard minutes themselves.

Back to the original point I was trying to make, I do believe the Cavaliers bench has surpassed their bench as an asset in this series. I hear some crazy theories out here in the Bay Area, many professionals in journalism giving the Warriors an advantage in depth. My worry is that some games the Cavaliers bench doesn't play with the right edge, and it's a close advantage.

 

[Lee]

Deron would be my surprise pick for Finals MVP. His defense has been good and he's got good size and if the Cavs go iso heavy, I could see him playing in a lot of lineups with the starters. Anything to pick on Curry in isolation

Zero chance.

95% chance its Lebron
4.99% chance its Kyrie
.001% Love
0.0 for anyone else.

No one will have a shot at putting up the numbers, nor are they capable.

Look at how other wordly Kyrie played and didnt come close to matching Lebron's numbers last year.

 

[Pioneer10]

Zero chance.

95% chance its Lebron
4.99% chance its Kyrie
.001% Love
0.0 for anyone else.

No one will have a shot at putting up the numbers, nor are they capable.

Look at how other wordly Kyrie played and didnt come close to matching Lebron's numbers last year.

:shrug: I wasn't betting money it: surpise pick similar to no one thought AI was going to win it going into 2 years ago. Otherwise it's going to be Lebron, Irving, Durant, or Curry