Evidently the Cavs are Finished

I have yet to read one NBA forecast that has the Cavs returning to the NBA finals this season. In fact, some outlets have them as the 5th best team in the East. Everyone seems to be jumping on the Leprechaun train. And I mean everyone. Is the media not the most predictable industry in the world?

What gets me is that the media receives their information from themselves, the media. They don't research and get into each team's camp, the prospects, the true hearts of each NBA franchise. Yes, the Suns will be good. Yes, the Celtics will be better. Yes, the Cavs didn't go out and sign every free agent in the world this off-season. Yes, Yes, Yes! We all can see these things. But what doesn't the media see?

What they don't seem to put into their predictions is that the Cavs ran the table last year. They beat and ran over the Eastern Conference. Lebron is still young, very young and getting better. Scary better. What Jordon did to will his team to wins will soon be nothing compared to what Lebron can do as a one man show for his team. His outside shot has improved tremendously this off-season and he will only get better at driving to the basket. Something he didn't do with real determination and passion until the playoffs last season.

And believe it or not, the supporting cast actually got better. Gibson will now be a starter. He didn't develop until the very end of last season and saw little playing time early on. Hughes will be better. With the injuries and personal issues behind him, fans will see a better Larry Hughes. Gooden is still young and his continual yearly improvement will still be there. Look for Gooden to have his first double-double average year.

The Center position has been an issue with me for a couple years now, but if they made it to the finals with Big Z in there last year, then they can do it again this year. I'd like to see Pavlovic signed and with the team this year, but as for Varejao, good-bye and good luck. I'll miss the charges he takes, but that's really all he brings to the team. The hype about the emotion he brings to the team is just that, hype. He didn't do much on the boards and was of zero help on offense. What's killing the Cavs now is the salary cap and Varejao would just be a huge strike against it, now and during the years that some other contracts free up.

Now, on to the two reasons why I feel the media and predictors have really missed the boat this year - Mr. Brown & Mr. Brown. And I'm not talking about the coach Mr. Brown either.

Shannon Brown is going to be good. Real good. I was excited when they drafted him last year and from the very, very few times he was on the floor for more than five minutes last year, my excitement level was satisfied. He's fast, explosive, can shoot, can penetrate, is quick on defense and can put up 15 points a game this season. The injuries hurt his playing time last year, but he was still able to develop more.

The other Mr. Brown is the Cavs only real off-season acquisition, Devin Brown. The major and glaring flaw in the Cavs game is that they haven't had scorers other than Lebron. The guys that can hit a wide open 14 foot jump shot. Devin is one of these guys. Shannon is that guy. Larry can be that guy. Daniel is that guy. Sasha is that guy.

Lebron should be a 10 assists a game player. The best indication of how this team is performing will not be by the number of points that Lebron is averaging a game, but by the number of assists. There were and will be three guys open every time Lebron has the ball. All this supporting cast has to do is knock down the wide open shot. This group above can do that.

The world revolves around Lebron as we know, and it's that world around him that will help lead the Cavs back to the Championship series this season. But once in the playoffs, look for Lebron's killer instinct to develop more. He is extremely close to having the ability to will any team to victory.