Why the Cavs Will Repeat in the Eastern Conference

Having just come off what many are referring to as a controversial call against the New Jersey Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers have now secured home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, which will pit LeBron James and the Cavs up against Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards.

The biggest question surrounding the Cavs as the playoffs are fast approaching is can they once again win the Eastern Conference and head to the NBA Finals, despite last year's embarrassment in the NBA Finals against San Antonio.

In what was probably Danny Ferry's largest move as a General Manager, the Cavaliers took a good team and made it better earlier this season by bringing in Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Joe Smith and Ben Wallace. That, combined with Sasha Pavolic and Anderson Varejao coming to terms with the Cavs at the beginning of the season, has helped the Cavs put together a solid team for a deep playoff run.

While it is clearly evident that LeBron is the focal point of the team and is a necessity for a Cavaliers win, there is less pressure on LeBron to have to make all of the plays to continue pushing the Cavaliers through the playoffs. The depth that the Cavs are taking into the playoffs allows LeBron to set up players such as Joe Smith and Delonte West to take some of the weight off of his shoulders, creating more of a team effort than the Cavs have experienced in the past.

A player to watch in the 2008 NBA Playoffs for the Cavs will be Daniel Gibson. It was around this time last year that Daniel 'Boobie' Gibson emerged as a solid player, in perfect time for the Cavs as he helped lead the Cavaliers of their run to the 2007 NBA Finals. Now that he has returned and healthy after having been out for over a month, he should be anxious to get back in the action, providing LeBron another option to go to on offense.

While LeBron is averaging 30 points, nearly 8 rebounds and 7 assists, he is still the go-to-guy for the Cavaliers, but unlike last season when Larry Hughes was the struggling '2' guard, LeBron has more firepower on the offense this year, which should create more options on the court. By having more scoring threats on the court, it both takes a slight bit of defensive pressure off of LeBron and also creates a less predictable offense to defend against.

Depth will be key for the Cavs in the 2008 NBA Playoffs. As long as Mike Brown properly rotates his bench into the game and maximizes the talent he has both on the court and on the bench, the Cavaliers should be set to make a long run in the playoffs. Potential future games against Detroit and Boston will pose challenges along the way, but the Cavaliers should be able to not only put up a strong fight against those teams, but defeat them along their way to the 2008 NBA Finals.