Look Out! LeBron, Cavs a LeProblem

LeBron James hit his stride during the 2008 NBA summer offseason, winning that elusive gold medal that was taunting him in his loss from four years before in the summer Olympics. He's back at 6'9 1/2" and 260 lbs. and with an even more versatile floor game as a shooter/penetrator, expect dominance from everywhere on the court. Don't be surprised if he makes another position change to power forward, he's done it in his first three years in the league (2003-2004 at point guard, '04-05 at shooting guard and '05-06 at small forward). But that isn't quite the talk of the town--the Cleveland Cavaliers finally have a deep point guard rotation!

The Cavaliers made huge progress in their acquisition of point/shooting guard Delonte West from the former Seattle SuperSonics and he was a huge reason for their threatening battle for the Eastern crown with the Boston Celtics. Daniel Gibson, while inconsistent due to injuries, was also an asset as an outside threat, but now high-scoring distributor Mo Williams, formerly of the Milwaukee Bucks, has joined Cleveland to form a formidable attack at the point guard and shooting guard openings. Not the original Buck that the Cavs sought out (Michael Redd re-signed with the Bucks in 2006 after seriously considering a partnership with LeBron), Williams is everything that the Cavs were missing in a complete starting point guard--a perimeter offensive threat, an initiator and an effective team defender.

Not to rest on their wonderful acquisition, Cleveland and general manager Danny Ferry improved their depth to further assist LeBron on the floor. Tarence Kinsey, a former Memphis Grizzly who notably averaged 20 points/game in the last stretch of the 2006-07 season, was added as a swingman. Rookie power forwards J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson will get significant looks throughout to provide a little bit of scoring and some much needed rebounding as well.

A number of veterans will also be returning with their health intact starting the season, namely Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Aleksander "Sasha" Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak--all of whom factor in as full-time or partial-season starters. Ilgauskas has been on a hot streak, health-wise and his presence is the key for Cleveland to remain as dangerous as they are in the paint; likewise for Varejao, who showed a reliable outside shot alongside his brawling style in the middle. Unfortunately, Wallace is on the decline, athletically, but he is still able to make a difference with his defense and rebounding when healthy. As for Pavlovic, a severe lower leg sprain kept him from hitting his stride and he will be counted on to build onto his game as a shooter/penetrator/defender alongside No. 23 on the perimeter; on the other hand, Szczerbiak just needs to shoot well, play decent team defense and not be a liability on the court, as his movement in play has stiffened some as he has aged.

A number of spectators will say that the Boston Celtics are going to be automatically in the Finals in 2009, but the Cavs were a mere few minutes away from putting the Celtics away in the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Cleveland is in position to win now, and with the proper support of his more talented teammates, LeBron could very well hold another golden artifact up in June 2009.