Sports Illustrated writer, for example, thinks Cavs might contend for a playoff spot.
Two of the Cavs' best defensive players - Anderson Varejao (left) and Jamario Moon (right) - bother the Bulls' Joakim Noah.Cleveland, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers begin their NBA season on Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena.
Though many analysts believe the Cavaliers will not be competitive after the departure of LeBron James to the Miami Heat as a free agent, some have lately taken a look at the roster and decided the Cavs could be respectable.
Paul Forrester of Sports Illustrated's SI.com picks the Cavaliers as the league's "Biggest surprise" team. He writes:
I get the feeling Cleveland won't be as horrid as everyone thinks. That doesn't mean the Cavs will be a playoff team, but they will be in the conversation for the No. 8 seed. Byron Scott's Princeton offense will allow Cleveland to outscore a lot of teams, and this roster's motivation to prove it wasn't a bad supporting cast for LeBron will propel the Cavs toward a .500 mark -- assuming the Cavs don't do what they should and deal some veterans at the trade deadline.
Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Cavaliers coverage includes Mary Schmitt Boyer's feature story on forward Jamario Moon, and her report on the Cavs' ability to find role players among undrafted free agents.
And, you can still check The Plain Dealer's Cavaliers preview.
Middle of pack
More on the Cavaliers being better than many observers think from NBA.com. The website has Cleveland at No. 17 in its power rankings for the 30 teams, and comments:
If the Cavs can defend and rebound like they did in the preseason (with Anderson Varejao playing just two games), they won't be nearly as bad as many people think. New focal point J.J. Hickson averaged 23.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per 40 minutes. He'll start over Antawn Jamison at power forward.
Sessions-Scott sessions
One of the Cavaliers who made a solid preseason impression is guard Ramon Sessions.
Bob Finnan writes for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal about Sessions, who was acquired in an offseason trade:
He has been a fit with the Cavs. He'll come off the bench for Coach Byron Scott. He's able to push the ball in their uptempo attack and has been very productive scoring and distributing.
Scott has also tinkered with Sessions' midrange shot in training camp.
"Coach has a good release," Sessions said. "If you look at his shot, it's pure."
He admits it's not easy to change the release point on his shot.
"It's a lot harder than people think," he said. "It's something I've been doing for 20-some odd years. Over the course of time, it can get a lot better."
Baseline picks
Why it's difficult to predict what the Cavaliers will do this season, from WaitingForNextYear.com.
J.J. Hickson is named the starting power forward, by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Jamario Moon's task as the starting small forward, by the Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd.