Cavaliers 2017-18 season's direction a mystery
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2017-18 season officially began on Monday as the team held its annual media day. Where the season takes the Cavs is the mystery.
Will the Cavs reach a fourth straight NBA Finals? If so, can they claim a second Larry O’Brien Trophy in three seasons once they get there? There’s a team residing in the Bay Area that certainly has something to say about that.
The questions are fair, considering the turnover the team experienced in the offseason. Kyrie Irving is now in Boston with the Celtics, but the Cavs brought in reinforcements with the acquisitions of Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Jeff Green, Jae Crowder and Jose Calderon, amongst others.
On paper, the latest version of the Cavs could be better than last season’s squad. Thomas was an MVP candidate last season, finishing one spot behind James in the voting. Green and Crowder are versatile wings that can contribute on both ends of the floor, and Rose has played at least 60 games in each of the past two seasons after experiencing serious knee issues, while averaging 18 points per game a season ago.
Where concern creeps into heads is with Thomas’ hip injury, which forced him to exit last season’s playoffs early. Thomas and the Cavs were mum regarding the injury when he was introduced as a Cavalier a few weeks ago, but the team hopes to have Thomas back on the court before the new year arrives.
“I’m making progress each and every day,” Thomas said. “I’m getting stronger. These last three weeks, I’ve been able to be with this training staff six days a week, taking Sundays off, and really focusing on getting my strength back in that big muscle….I’m at a good place right now.”
While the status of Thomas’ hip will linger in the back of Cavs fans’ minds until he returns to the court, James was naturally the center of attention at media day. The most popular active basketball player on the planet had plenty to say, including opinions on the remarks from President Trump.
“The thing that kind of frustrated me and pissed me off a little bit is the fact that he (President Trump) used the sports platform to try to divide us,” James said.
James had a lot more to say on the topic, including his reaction to NFL players kneeling (which he supported), but let’s just hope he unleashes some of that anger on the court this season. James also spoke about Irving wanting out of Cleveland.
“I don’t think anybody in the organization sensed it coming,” James said of Irving requesting a trade. “It was definitely a shock, but we did a great job, Koby (Altman) and the guys in the front office did a great job of putting together a great package for our team to be as complete as we’ve been in a long time.”
While the Golden State Warriors will be heavy favorites to win their second straight championship this season, anything less than a title for the Cavs will be a failure.
POSTED 09/26/2017 12:38
Lake County Sentinel
