Power Rankings Third Edition

Photo from SI.com

One month down, and these Cavs have been about as bipolar as a team could be. There have been two bright spots on the team. I bet you could easily guess who they are, anyways, let's get on with it.

#1 - Anderson Varejao (Up six spots) 
Andy has been a monster to open up the season. He's playing like a top three NBA center right now and come deadline time, teams will be blowing up Cleveland's phones, attempting to obtain the wild thing. The question is, who has the right package to give? Seriously, does anybody? He's peaking at 30, which is rare in it's own right, but the amount of minutes he's played in his career rival that of 5th year players who aren't ever injured. He has productivity still left and it would be a shame to ship him away for next to nothing. He's averaging 14.5 points per game and 14.9 rebounds per game, which by the way is 1.7 more rebounds a game than the next best rebounder at this point. But he's so much more than that, his passing is far underrated, we all know of his hustle and determination, his defense is good and he's even been hitting jumpers with some consistency. Had Kyrie not gotten hurt, this may still be his spot, but Andy has just been playing out of his mind.

#2 - Kyrie Irving (Down one spot)
Kyrie has played in ten games thus far, but will be out about another three weeks. He's still this high on my list because even without playing the five games he's missed, he's still the best this team has, and was arguably the most productive player on the roster when he was healthy. Kyrie is the closer, no doubt about that, he steps his game up to crazy levels when the fourth quarter hits and you have to wonder with all the close games the Cavs have lost in his absence, if the outcome would have been any different. He's averaging 22.9 points a game along with 5.6 assists per game. Kyrie is the most valuable piece this team has and he will probably step back into his number one spot, once he's fully back from his injury.

#3 - Alonzo Gee (Up two spots)
Gee has been solid this year, averaging 11.8 points per game and leads the Cavs in steals at 1.7 per game. Gee has the motor to compete in the NBA, as well as highlight finishes at the rim. But he's a great defender and that's why he's number three in this edition. Add in his decent jumper to go along with his range and he can make you pay. I had said before that I felt like C.J. Miles could take his job at some point this year, the only way that happens is with a Gee injury.

#4 - Boobie Gibson (Up two spots)
Gibson has been the bright spot off the bench, averaging just over 9 points in about 23 minutes a game. He's shooting 43 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep. Byron Scott even goes so far as to call him the teams best perimeter defender. I don't agree with that, but he's a decent one. The most important thing about Gibson is he is the lone productive member of a bench that has struggled mightily overall in the first month. He's missed a few games too thus far, but he should be good to go from here on, ready to knock down those threes when the Cavs need him to.

#5 - Jeremy Pargo (Up five spots)
Donald Sloan beat out Pargo for the role of back-up point guard when the season started. That clearly didn't work out and Byron Scott made the switch that was necessary. Then Irving went down with a broken finger and Pargo stepped up in a big way. Not only has he been productive with Irving out, but it finally looks as though there is a decent option to back up Kyrie once he gets back. In eight games, five of which he started, Pargo has averaged 10.5 points per game with 3 assists a game. On top of that, his turnover rate is pretty low (2.13) and Pargo plays pretty good defense. It's going to be interesting to see what this team does with Irving back, especially with the second team that will now be run by Pargo.

#6 - Dion Waiters (Up two spots)
Waiters has pretty good stats, but there are things he needs to work on. He's averaging 15 points per game on 37 percent shooting. Dion takes far too many bad shots, possibly just too many shots on top of that. In the four losses without Irving, you can make the argument that Waiters has shot the Cavs out of the games. With the exception of the Suns game, the other three were close losses, where Waiters missed quite a few more shots than he made. Then there is the matter of Waiters complaining about not getting calls. I tend to agree with him on that, however you need to make a name for yourself in the NBA before you start getting those calls. It's just how it is. Is it fair? No, but it's the way t works. Refine your game a little Dion, stop driving so much and throwing up prayers, stop taking contested jumpers and unnecessary step-back jumpers with time remaining. Take your time, move the ball, if you're open, then take the shot. It'll get better for this kid in time.

#7 - Tristan Thompson (Down three spots)
TT is a weird one. Advanced stats suggest that he is a good player, but things like box scores and watching him play suggest otherwise. Overall defense is better with him on the floor and I feel like he's partly responsible for Andy playing like he is. He's averaging 8.9 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. Those are decent numbers, but you want a little more from a number four overall pick. His work on the offensive boards is commendable. Watching TT play offense is one of the hardest things in the world to do, it's like a car crash, you can't look away. He hasn't shown that he has a jumper (even though he spent a lot of offseason time working on one), His pump fakes are predictable and he gets blocked way too much and his free throw numbers still aren't at a productive level. He's got a ways to go and I hope he figures it all out, because at this point he really doesn't look much like a starter.

#8 - Omri Casspi (Up one spot)
Casspi has had a limited role thus far in the season, playing just 12.5 minutes per game. I am already seeing more production out of him than I saw all of last year. He averages 5.4 ppg on 45 percent shooting and 50 percent from deep. If you adjust those stats to starter minutes, that isn't bad. If he can be that catch-and-shoot small forward off the bench -- which is the reason the Cavs traded for him -- bench production has the potential to increase, as it has recently. Casspi has been a part of that.

#9 - Tyler Zeller (Down six spots)
Zeller is a rookie who is trying to figure out the NBA game and it doesn't help that he has to do so with a protective mask. Still Zeller hasn't been bad, but he's got a bit to go still. I don't think I've seen enough of Zeller to make a definitive statement on him yet, although I mostly like what I have seen.

#10 - Samardo Samuels (No change)
Samuels beats out C.J. Miles, Jon Leuer, Donald Sloan and Luke Walton for the last spot. Unlike Miles, Samuels doesn't shoot the Cavs out of games. Although, I hate that elbow jumper he keeps trying. Unlike Leuer, Samuels doesn't get thrown around in the post too badly. And unlike Sloan and Walton, Samuels isn't completely worthless. That's all I can say about it.

Biggest Winner: Anderson Varejao: Up six spots
Biggest Faller: C.J. Miles: Down nine spots
Cracking the top ten: Jeremy Pargo
Falling out of the top ten: C.J. Miles  

Phoenix 91 - Cleveland 78

The way the Cavs played tonight, you can disregard what was said in the last post. One bright spot is that Anderson Varejao is a monster, 20 points and 18 rebounds tonight. Here are my two schools of thought on the rest of the season:

First, Kyrie comes back and stays healthy. He keeps putting up 23 and 6 every night, along with Varejao's 15 and 15, and they get help from other Cavaliers. If that happens and the team plays like it did in the first four games of Kyrie's absence, no doubt they should be thinking playoffs.

Secondly, and admittedly most interestingly, the season ends with a Cavs lottery pick. I don't need to explain how that will happen, we've seen it two years in a row now. If Cleveland can nab one of the first two picks and take whoever is there, it could be magical going forward. Right now the top two seem as clear as day, in no particular order, UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel. With Muhammad, it would allow Alonzo Gee to come off the bench, and with that be a very productive member of the second team, probably the best the Cavs would have. With Noel, he could start at Power Forward or Center in combination with Varejao, with a secondary unit of Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller. That would be intersting either way.

But here's the thing, The Cavs are too good to have that good of a percentage for the lottery, right? I get that the record is bad, but look at all the close games they've lost, look at the teams they've beaten/almost beat. Maybe if Varejao is traded, then we can start talking top three picks again, but let's face it, he should absolutely not be moved this year. He has proven that he is an absolute beast, there would hardly be anything worth moving him for. Bad teams won't come calling with their high draft picks, fringe playoff teams won't have a package worthy of parting with him and championship contenders, who will need him most, will have absolutely nothing of value to give. Best case scenario is trading him to the Thunder for a package headlined by that Raptors draft pick, but even then I don't like it.

I feel like if this Cavs roster all stayed in place next year, an extra year of maturity for the entire team, we would be talking playoffs, no doubt. That's why this is interesting. The bench struggles, the injuries, the shooting slumps are all keeping the Cavs talking about adding another premiere player to this already ridiculously talented roster. Look out in two or three years when all these youngsters are in their prime, Irving, Thompson, Dion Waiters, Zeller and whatever new players Cleveland adds in the draft. They should be a force, and the best part is, they did it the right way.

Cavs minus Kyrie Summary

Since Kyrie has been out, the Cavs are 1-3, which initially sounds bad, however, that 1-3 record is a very respectable one.

The first game without Kyrie was played against the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that beat the Cavs (with Kyrie) just three days prior. Behind an improbable starting debut from Jeremy Pargo, the Cavs dropped the Sixers 92-83. This is a key game because this was the start of figuring out how to correct the bench struggles for Byron Scott.

Next up was the Orlando Magic. This was a winnable game even without Kyrie. Dion Waiters had a big scoring night (25), Anderson Varejao had a big rebounding night (17) but the Cavs fell 108-104. Omri Casspi played a good game and the bench was the best that I've ever seen them so far this year. This game was Cleveland's to lose, and they did.

The next night the Cavs were in Miami to take on the bad guys. Unlike the Magic game, without Kyrie Cleveland had no chance, right? The Cavaliers led mostly all game and even struck double-digit leads. The defense was good, the bench was good, the starters were good. It was a great performance from a team without their best player, taking on the defending world champs. Miami pulled it out 110-108.

And finally the Cavs traveled to Memphis to take on the best team in the league, the Grizzlies. More of the same, the Cavs played good basketball but slipped up in the fourth quarter, only scoring nine points. That could possibly be attributed to one of the leagues best closers on the Cavs bench with a splint on his finger. Varejao and Waiters each scored 15 and Varejao had another ridiculous rebounding night, pulling down 22 boards. By the way, he has 191 rebounds in 13 games. The Grizzlies beat the Cavs 84-78.

Overall great things so far in the four games that Kyrie has been out. Cleveland beat a probably playoff team in the Sixers, dropped a close game against the terrible Magic, but the led most of the games against two Championship contenders in the Heat and Grizzlies.It looks like the bench situation is figured out, the Cavs finally have a legitimate backup point guard for Kyrie and Varejao is playing out of his mind. If Kyrie and Varejao stay healthy and the Cavs can pull off a good move or two at the deadline, I don't think the playoffs are out of the question yet. Even with a 1-3 mark in this stretch of four games, this was the best four game streak of basketball Cleveland has played all year, and guess what, it was without their star. It's also worth mentioning that C.J. Miles is playing better as of late. Good things could be in store for Cleveland in the near future. By the way, John Hollinger's power rankings have the Cavs at number 18, even though they are tied for the second worst record in the league. As I've stated in this post, the record is not indicative of how the Cavs have been playing. So stay tuned, this will be an interesting season.

Cleveland just became unwatchable for about a month.

Kyrie Irving has a broken finger. Early indication is that he will miss about a month. Irving is the reason to get excited about Cavs basketball. This would be a great time to step up young Mr. Waiters.

Cavs bench struggles

After watching almost all Cavs games so far this season, I've seen how terrible the bench is. I wanted to brainstorm some ideas on how to make it better, here is that list.

First, here is the second team that keeps giving away Cavaliers victories:

PG: Donald Sloan
SG: Gibson
SF: C.J. Miles/Omri Casspi
PF: Jon Leuer/Luke Walton
C: Samardo Samuels

1) The obvious thing is to have either Kyrie or Varejao on the floor with Daniel Gibson and the scrubs. Maybe rest Kyrie with about four or five minutes left in the first, put him back in, in the second quarter, while you give AV a five minute rest or vice versa. You could do this with quarters three and four also. Especially when Tyler Zeller comes back, this second team may not be half bad.
With this lineup, there is no doubt points can be scored:

PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Gibson
SF: Miles
PF: Leuer
C: Zeller

Alternatively, if you let Varejao rest in the first:

PG: Sloan
SG: Gibson
SF: Miles
PF: Varejao
C: Zeller

Not as ideal as the first, but it could work if Miles ever comes around.

2) This is along the same lines as the first, but with different players. With this option, you would play Kyrie the entire first quarter as Dion Waiters would get pulled with about three or four minutes remaining in quarter one. Gibson would come in for him, and stay in during Kyrie's rest time.

PG: Gibson
SG: Waiters
SF: Miles
PF: Leuer
C: Zeller

Here I would play Gibson at point guard, specifically for defensive purposes. Watching him try to defend Joe Johnson the other night wasn't pretty. So we'll let Waiters handle the bigger guys. The offense however would go through Waiters. He's a better ball handler/playmaker than Gibson.

3) Run the offense through the bigs. Here I would sit Tristan Thompson and Varejao for a bit in the first. This way, you have a respectable amount of defense on the court, plus TT and AV can go up and get the rebound on the inevitable misses. I'd like to see a lot of pick-and-rolls with Varejao with this team.

PG: Sloan
SG: Gibson
SF: Miles
PF: Thompson
C: Varejao

4) Sign free-agents! There are plenty out there that frankly it's a surprise they don't have teams. The Cavs are so far below the salary cap that they could probably sign four or five players. It won't hurt the rebuilding effort to give some of these guys one or two-year deals. Admittedly, this one is more for fun, but here's what the bench could look like.

PG: Delonte West/Gilbert Arenas
SG: Gibson
SF:  Miles/Mickael Pietrus
PF: Eddy Curry
C: Zeller

An overhaul that big wouldn't be welcome I don't think. But an acquisition like West may pay dividends. We all know he has talent, offer him a contract where if he screws up, he's done. It would be Chris Grant's terms, make it low risk and high reward. West would instantly make the bench better.

Cleveland 91 - Oklahoma City 106

Cleveland again started out strong only to let it slip away over the course of the game. There is absolutely no way that any team will beat the Thunder when Russell Westbrook is making multiple three-points shots from literally everywhere on the court and Kevin Durant is hitting jumpers while being tripled teamed and fouled. I'm also not ok with Jon Leuer getting more minutes than Dion Waiters.

Here are some things that need to be fixed going forward:

- Anderson Varejao needs to quit taking elbow jumpers. You've hit it a few times Andy, but it's just not a good attempt from you. There is a reason that shot is and always will be open for you. Stick with the post game and scoring from the pick-and-roll. Please stop taking those shots.

- The combination of Donald Sloan and Daniel Gibson is on the court together too much. Gibson is a threat, but not with someone like Sloan running the offense. Sloan barely made the team, yet he's getting big minutes in crunch time, I don't get it. More often than not, I feel like at least one of Kyrie Irving or Dion Waiters should be on the floor, they both don't need to sit at the same time to start the fourth quarters.

- Free throws need to be worked on. Cleveland is the worst free-throw shooting team in the league and that shows every game. They were 16-of-23 tonight, which is just under 70 percent. They need to get better, as missing these free throws is leaving a lot of points on the table so far over the course of the first seven games.

Cleveland 96 - Golden State 106

Back to watching Cavs games! I'm going to keep this brief, here are a few thoughts from the game.

- This game was uglier than the score shows. Cleveland put together one good run, which they promptly lost right away. Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller were both out tonight and Golden State's big men took full advantage of that. Hopefully one or both of them will be back by Friday.

- C.J. Miles is really starting to irritate me. I had/still have high hopes for him as a sixth man, but if he keeps throwing up the ball every time it's in his hands, I hope his minutes drop. For the most part his shot selection was bad, here and there he had open shots which he missed as well. It crossed my mind in the second and third quarters that Miles was losing the game. If your shot isn't falling, find other ways to be productive, don't try to shoot out of your slump, the back of your jersey says Miles, not Bryant.

- Kyrie killed it again. He had the flu of some sort, it didn't matter. 29 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.

- Luke Walton didn't play, I have no problem with that.

- Tristan Thompson had a good stat line, however two thoughts here on TT. First, please stop trying to block everything. David Lee torched you on the offensive end because you tried to block every one of his shots. You need to learn when to go after the ball and when to stay home and play D. Second, watching Thompson try to create a shot from 10-feet away is painful. Keep working on it big guy, I know you have the ability.

- Dion Waiters had a pretty poor day shooting the ball, 5-of-15, but still scored 12. His shot selections looked alright to me, could have made a few better decisions, but all-in-all not bad. Waiters also had five assists, coupled with no turnovers.

- Daniel Gibson shot well from deep; 4-8 from beyond the arc.

So there you have it, a few random thoughts from this game, lets hope for a better result on Friday when the Cavs travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns. My prediction: Cleveland 96, Phoenix 91.