Who’s Worse: Toronto Raptors or Cleveland Cavaliers?
Mo Williams
One of the more feeble darts thrown from Cleveland Cavaliers fans to LeBron James this summer is something along the lines of, “We made you.”
Right. Except now that LeBron is gone, the team that won 60-plus games in each of the past two seasons, that went to the ’07 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, that during the LeBron era put together its first five-year string of consecutive postseason appearances since its ’92-96 run, went from a legit title contender to arguably the worst team in the League the moment LeBron said he was moving to Miami. So who made who again?
Or maybe the Cavs won’t be the worst. The Toronto Raptors were also decimated by one player’s decision to join the powerhouse in Miami, as Chris Bosh‘s departure turned the Raptors — already a Lottery team in 2010 — into a certain cellar-dweller for next season.
So out of Cleveland and Toronto, which team is better as they approach respective rebuilding phases? Or more appropriately, which team is worse?
The Cavs’ best player now is Mo Williams, a one-time All-Star (alternate) who averaged 15.8 points and 5.3 assists per game last season. As a shoot-first point guard, Mo is in some ways a throwback to the Steve Francis/Allen Iverson era, only he relies more on his outside jumper than attacking the rim. In Mo’s last two sans-LeBron seasons — ’07 and ’08 with Milwaukee — his teams went 54-110 overall. That’s when Mo was the second option behind Michael Redd. What happens when he’s the No. 1 option in an improved Eastern Conference?
After Mo, the Cavs feature Antawn Jamison, who was supposed to be the final piece to the championship puzzle before his game got Murdered-at-1600 in the playoffs (11.8 ppg, 42% FG in the Boston series); Anderson Varejao, who is great on a contending team but just another scrap-iron guy on a mediocre team; J.J. Hickson, who has talent and potential but isn’t ready for a starring role yet; and other expendables like Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Ramon Sessions, Boobie Gibson and Ryan Hollins, who could disappear from the NBA tomorrow and few would notice. Cleveland’s coach, Byron Scott, has yet to prove he can win without an All-World point guard (Jason Kidd, Chris Paul), and after owner Dan Gilbert showed his ass in the LeBron aftermath, it’s only going to be tougher to convince top free agents to choose Cleveland.
The best thing the Cavs have going for them is (maybe) a chip on their shoulder. With everybody writing them off, the survivors from the LeBron regime may be inspired to prove they’re more than just faceless sidekicks. The Chicago Bulls were in a similar spot when Michael Jordan first retired in ’93, and turned that motivation into an Eastern Conference semifinals run. However, that Chicago team still had Scottie Pippen. The Cavs have Samardo Samuels.
Then there’s the Raptors. With Bosh and his 24 points and 10 rebounds per game out of the picture, the leading returning scorer/rebounder is Andrea Bargnani (17.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg). The top overall pick in the ’06 draft is making good progress in the League and has shown glimpses of his next-Dirk ceiling, but is he ready to be The Man for the Raptors?
Bargnani is the most talented player on the team, but the emotional leader will be Jarrett Jack (11.4 ppg, 5.0 apg), who emerged last season as Jose Calderon‘s backup but should have the starting job by this season’s Opening Night.
The Raps have built a young, athletic, promising roster headlined by DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, Ed Davis, Leandro Barbosa and Julian Wright. They should be exciting to watch, but their inexperience will cost them a lot of close games and will test their resolve later in the season when the losses pile up.
The franchise’s biggest problems in recent years have been interior defense, rebounding and toughness, which wasn’t really addressed in the offseason. Trade pickup David Andersen is another perimeter-based 7-footer like Bargnani, and while Joey Dorsey and Reggie Evans are grimy in the paint, they’re not skilled enough to play a lot of minutes on a good NBA team. Lottery pick Ed Davis has Bosh-like potential at power forward, but he’s also a slender finesse-type more than a banger. And second-round draft pick Solomon Alabi can develop into a quality shot-blocker, but he’s probably a couple of years away.
Like the Cavs, it will be tough for Toronto to draw elite free agents. Last year’s offseason prize-turned-bust, Hedo Turkoglu, said in an interview this summer, “People have to realize something is wrong with that organization and nobody wants to go there any more. It’s not just the players who see this.” Raptors’ apologists were quick to disregard Hedo’s comments, but history speaks for itself: Top free agents rarely even consider the Raptors, let alone sign on the dotted line.
So who will be worse this season? While the Cavs have more experience and battle-tested vets, the Raptors have a more youthful We-don’t-know-any-better mentality and fresh legs. And although the Cavs have farther to fall from their perch as the top seed in the East, the Raptors have at least some experience playing without Bosh due to his more common injuries. The Raps have shown to be OK sometimes without Bosh; when the Cavs didn’t have LeBron, they were always bad. Toronto added some decent talent this summer to compensate for losing their superstar; Cleveland’s top addition was Ramon Sessions. I also get the feeling that this is a throwaway season in Cleveland, and they’re mainly hoping to land another superstar in the 2011 Lottery.
So I’d go with Cleveland as the worse of the two for now. Fire up League Pass…
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August 24th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
JAY says:
I don’t have to read the article for this…
The 2 most important defensive positions on the court, PG and C… Calderon and Bargnani. The only Raptor who has even sniffed winning is Barbosa. Not a good look.
If we look at the coaches, Scott gets the nod over Triano.
The future may be bright for the Raps but that Cavs have more to work with right now. With just one starter (Bargnani) on the entire roster, they will be much worse than the Cavs this year. Jack really needs to step up and take over as the vocal leader of the team. I feel bad for him. Lol.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Loc says:
Ouch,
as a raptors fan I also had this conversation on the weekend.
Obviously I think the raptors are better, they are young, have legs and lots of players deep.
The Cavs are basically shittastic, but then I realize they do have Atawn Jamison and Mo, those two dudes are good ballers. The other cavs just seems a lot worse, they feature two raptors castoffs.
The raptors season basically comes down to how good Bargs can become, and quickly. Also, can Derozan/Weems blossom into a special type of tandem.
In a superstar league, neither team has one, but at least the Cavs have two somewhat stars, whereas the Raptors would need one or more guys to emerge in a BIG way.
Jack, Derozan, Kleiza, Johnson and Bargs
Calderon, Barbosa, Weems, Smith and Evans
Maybe the raptors should do a junior league five on five off?
August 24th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
JAY says:
One more point to answer AB’s question…
If you took any 1 of Cleveland’s starters and moved them to the Raps, other than Bargnani’s position, they would start.
Is there even an argument for the Cavs being worse? Lol
August 24th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
bob1 says:
This article is absurd, how dare you compare Toronto to Cleveland. Cleveland might break the record for fewest wins this season.
At least Toronto has some exciting players to watch.
btw, how can you call Mo Williams Cleveland’s best player, Jamison has been averaging almost 20 and 10 the past couple of seasons, you think he can’t do that on a Lebron-less bum squad? His numbers only went down because of Lebron.
The real question is who’s worse: Dime writers or the Phillippino swat team?
August 24th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Ian says:
cavs are worse well they will have the biggest drop anyways cuz the raptors with bosh sucked anyways.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
bookkwormmaster says:
I’m gonna have to say the Cavs will be the worst team. Outside of Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison who is gonna score for this team? They’re the only two guys on the team who can score on their own; the rest of the roster is made up of guys who are catch-and-shoot players. Plus as the team’s two best players they’re also the team’s two worst defenders as well. Jamison has never been known for his defense and Mo Williams…. They also lack an inside scorer unless Jamison decides to be less perimeter oriented or J.J. Hickson has a post game we haven’t seen yet. They’re also undersized and basically just not that talented without a superstar/all-star type player to garner attention away from them.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
control says:
I would go with Cleveland being worse. Not only do their players suck, with maybe Hickson being decent near the end of the season, but the environment they are going to play in is going to be a wasteland. Without James, how many fans are actually going to come out? People saying Mo Williams and Jamison are decent…well, they are decent players but in their careers, that hasn’t even came close to showing up on the win total. They are both really inefficient jackers, those types of players don’t win you games in the NBA.
Toronto is going to suck, they are soft and weak, but they don’t get THAT much worse without Bosh. Some of the players might actually get better without Bosh there, Bargs being the main beneficiary.
I see Clev losing A LOT, not just because their players suck, but also because of the whole depressed from losing your girl type of thing. It’s like that guy who gets dumped from a hot chick he had no right being with in the first place, trying to enter the dating game again…chances are he’s going to crash and burn for a while because his heads all fucked up.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Scott says:
I like how when the Knicks were consistently shitty, there was never an article involving them like this. And now that they’re only moderately horrible, there’s still no articles about how bad they’ll be.
Is Amare really that much better than David Lee? Take out Amare and the Knicks are worse off than both these squads. Actually they might end up fighting both these squads for the cellar.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
goof says:
Turk needs to shut his mouth…his ass signed in toronto…so i guess he’s sayin he wasn’t a top free agent…he just got paid like one….chump!
August 24th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Young Gunner says:
Cleveland will be bad. Toronto will be mediocre. At least Toronto has a plan B with Andres. Mo Williams to me isnt even a Plan C. I dont trust him to help carry a team. JJ Hickson should have fantasy value if anyone cares enough to pick him up
August 24th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
K Dizzle says:
I never heard anybody from Cleveland sayin “We made you” to Lebron. Maybe they did, I just never heard it.
No doubt, the Cavs are gonna be the worse team cuz the team was built around Lebron and they didn’t even bring in an average wing to replace him. Shit, even bring in a dude like Dorell Wright to see if he can do anything before he signed with GSW. Joey Graham was let go by the Raps n now Cleveland picks him up.
Raps r used to playin without Bosh anyways and him leavin was FULLY expected. Pickin up Ed Davis is a nice lil “sign of hope for the future”. Kid played well in the summer, no doubt he’ll be good when he gets some size on.
Pickin up experienced vets in Barbosa and Kleiza was asolid move. Bargnani SHOULD be ready to take over the team and Derozan and Weems bring the heat on the wings.
Basically, it’s easierto replace Bosh than it is to replace Lebron and the Raps made more significant moves.
That being said, I’m still takin the bet with Control that the Cavs don’t win 19 games. Byron Scott ain’t losin 63 games…
August 24th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
NYK says:
@Scott
The Knicks never had a franchise player who bolted for another franchise as a free agent in recent memory. In fact, the last player who really was considered a franchise player for NYK was Allan Houston, and we all know how that went.
Marbury could’ve been that next one, if he didn’t go crazy and played Starbury-ball and fought with coaches.
David Lee, while consistent and great, is not going to have his jersey retired in MSG.
If you notice the past few years, even the main starting players are never on huge posters. Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Gallo, because they are all good role players at best.
Now they have STAT, and he’s the new face of the franchise, while they hope for Melo and CP3 to join in.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
control says:
K Diz
Only way Byron Scott can avoid losing 63 games is if he decides to put on a uniform himself, shoot himself, or quit.
Not only will the Cavs probably have the worst record in the league, they will be the stupidest team to watch. I’d rather watch Kahnnnnnnnn actually pull off his 5 guys starting pg plan than watch the Cavs. The Cavs don’t even have a PG…Mo is just a jacking SG in a tiny lil’ PG body.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
The Journeyman says:
the raptors will suck more…
Cleveland wins 32 games this season while Toronto goes for 20
Can you dig it…..suckah!
August 24th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Jon F says:
Here’s a different angle for you dumb A** Americans to look at it from. True, Toronto lost talent; True Cleavland lost talent. But with all the supposed ‘all stars’ teaming-up to play with each other like it’s the second coming of kindergarten many, many teams got worse this off-season. This will continue until these immature pricks ruin a good CANADIAN game. (Yes Basketball is actually Canadian… Funny how all the good things in the world come from Canada and all the bad things in the world come from the the States…See the ‘Oil Wars’ as a prime example for the States….) All you Americans with this silly dream to become wealthy and powerful are wrecking pro sports. PERIOD!
August 24th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
K Dizzle says:
Control
you don’t really think the Cavs gonna be worse than the Nets or TWolves…
August 24th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
JA says:
Raps should trade Calderon away for some future first rounders, let their young guys develop, and keep their fingers crossed they land Harrison Barnes.
August 24th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
control says:
K Diz
Cavs will be worse than the Nets. TWolves though, that will be hard. Cavs and Wolves are going to be 1a and 1b for worst teams in the league, maybe even try to make history.
There’s no way I’d bet against KKKAAAAHHHNNNNN doing something even more shockingly retarded than what he’s already done. If he watched Entourage, and seen Kevin Love on there beside Eric Murphy, I wouldn’t put it past him to trade Love for E because E looked like a better PG than Love.
August 24th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Marty H says:
Please be advised that Canada, like all countries, has its share of morons like Jon F, but he in no way speaks for us as a people.
And while basketball was indeed invented by a Canadian, it was done so while he was working in the US, for an American institution, to be played by American players. Canada’s portrayal of basketball as a Canadian game is simply a symptom of Canada’s embarrassing “little-brother” complex.
I am looking forward to some terrible basketball in ’10/’11 on both sides of the border.
August 24th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Heckler says:
wow, this is like asking who’s worse: cub scouts or girl scouts?
August 24th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
TJ says:
No way are either of these teams going to be the worst in the league. One or more of following teams will be worse: Wolves, Nets, Pistons, Bucks, Pacers, Bobcats, Wizards, Kings, Knicks, or Sixers.
August 24th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
JAY says:
@Jon F
You’re just as bad as the ignorant Americans you speak of.
Basketball isn’t canadian, bud. Created by a Canadian who moved to Massachussetts and invented it there. He lived there for many years before inventing it. If it was invented in the US, and first played in the US, then it’s a US sport.
Basketball being Canadian is like saying Baywatch is a Canadian show because Pamela Anderson is Canadian.
Btw, I’m Canadian. Most Canadians don’t even like basketball. I’m not talking big-city cakers. Most of the country lives out in the sticks. They HATE basketball.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ JAY
False. Most Canadians do not hate basketball. Basketball is ahead of soccer and just behind hockey as the #2 participation sport in Canada and both soccer and basketball participation is increasing, while hockey growth is decreasing.
At the grassroots level, hoops is exploding. Check the huge increase of players heading down south on scholarships and the increase of actual NBA and pro prospects in the NCAA over the last 5-8 years.
I know it feels like Canadians don’t feel hoops like the US does, which they don’t, but popularity is increasing.
When the blue Jays were goin back to back, “everybody” was a baseball fan. It’s amazing that basketball is growing and the Raptors have had like 2 good seasons. Oh well, only been 15 seasons…
@ TJ – when we talkin worst teams in the Association and you put Milwaukee on the list, you lose instant credibility.
@ Control – Nets won’t be better than the Cavs. I doubt if the Wolves, Pacers, Pistons or Warriors will be either.
Byron Scott is at least a 5-6 game improvement over Mike Brown. If Lebron, Z and Shaq had come back, Cleveland goes deep into the playoffs just on coaching alone.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Mike says:
Why is this even being written? Of course the Raptors should be better they have had more lottery picks than Cleveland has had with Bosh(and will continue to have them without). I really don’t agree with most of the article.” Byron Scott hasn’t proved he can win without a star PG”? When has he had the chance? “It would be hard for Cleveland to get big name free agents without Lebron”? They got Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon with Lebron nothing should change here. Cleveland needs to be worse so they can get more young talent on their team.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Jon F says:
Hey, ignorance aside, the complete negative press Canadian ballers and the one Canadian ball team receive from Americans journalists is just ridiculous. And it is un-founded. There are many other American teams that should be receiving this negative press.(Wizards, Nets, Sixers, Wolves, ect.) Why even publish such an article other than to pour salt in the wounds of fans of Toronto and Cleavland. My response was as ludicrous as the original article, Period. I thought any knob can recognize sarcasm, but I guess not every ‘tard out there can. Sorry to get your undies in a knot Jay and Marty. Perhaps you guys should stop sucking on the metophorical nipple of the States tit and get a brain for yourself. Just cause you live in the sticks does not mean you do not like a particular sport Jay, do not use ignorance in an argument to show someones else’s ignorance hahaha. All and all it remains all the supposed ‘All Stars’ want to team together like its a play date in grade 2. Until these immature dumbasses realize what they are doing this league is going down the metaphorical sh*tter.
August 24th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Russ says:
The interesting question is if you combined both rosters and took the best players and made a team would it make the playoffs in the East?
PG – Mo Williams
SG – Barbosa
SF – DeRozan (had a great summer league, on verge of turning the corner)
PF – Jamison
C – Bargnani
throw in the best of the rest of the rejects to make up the bench and they might be able to compete for an 8th seed.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
card says:
The author didn’t mention it, but I will. Lebron missed 14 games with Cleveland over the last 3 years. The Cavs’ record in those games is 1 win and 13 losses. This season could get really ugly.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
12thMan says:
The Cavs are completely lost anyway, if they don’t dismantle the whole unit this year, and keep building around J.J. and…uh..Telfair?
August 24th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Bizz says:
The Cavs have a much more battle tested (although failed) roster that still has some components left over from a run to the playoffs, while Toronto has a bunch of mismatched players and no defensive presence. Despite LeBron’s departure, the players on Cleveland are far more capable of winning a game as a defensive unit than the Raptors are of winning a game by outscoring another team. Cleveland #29, Raptors #30. And this coming from a guy who actually lives in Toronto. But if we’re being realistic, why did Cleveland and Toronto get nominated for worst NBA team and the T-Wolves got a free pass?
August 24th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Andrew says:
I disagree with Bizz. The raps have more depth and young talent to be better than the Cavs.
Last season with lebron facing the raps. Cav won 2-1.
The last game the Raps fought with them with Lebron in and bosh out due to injuries. It was close!
PS. Remember Lebron said that he didn’t want to play the raps in the playoff…well KARMA… he got injured in the boston game and left cav (just a little off topic rant haha)
August 25th, 2010 at 1:05 am
Brad says:
First off lets be real about the Raps, It should be a canadian GM running the show, not a guy that has Italy roots and has this mission to bring all of these euro non factor ball players to the raps!!!!2nd Bosh was on his way out, Raps should have said, no sign and trade without beasley…if that was a no go, No sign Bosh and right off the hop, go after: Lee,Barnes,Bell and big Al.H!!!! HELLO, THE MONEY WAS THERE!!!!!!!FOR ALL 4 OF THEM!!!!!Then you trade Turk,Jose….The New RAPTORS: Boasa,Bell,Barnes,Lee,Bargs bench-Jack,Roszen,Kleaza,Evans,Harrington – with Weems,Davis as next options….Not a bad team, is it, ppl gotta think that the GM is at fault here no way around it
August 25th, 2010 at 1:20 am
jzsmoove says:
Hedo needs aduct tape over his damned mouth. so why did this dude sign on the dotted line? sumthin wrong with this guy.
answer to previous earlier post: Philippine SWAt team is worse than Dime writers. easily.
August 25th, 2010 at 8:50 am
JAY says:
@K Dizzle
“False. Most Canadians do not hate basketball. Basketball is ahead of soccer and just behind hockey as the #2 participation sport in Canada and both soccer and basketball participation is increasing, while hockey growth is decreasing.”
-I agree basketball is growing in Canada but it’s still hated by 90% true-cakers. The growth is with the 2nd-3rd generation Canadians.
-and yes, I agree there are more Canadian kids going south to play ball, but have you noticed the majority are big-city kids? My point was, people out in the sticks hate basketball. That’s not even disputable. Only 3 other people at my company follow basketball and I live in “supposed” Raptorland…. (btw there are over 200 employees in the building)
-and basketball is NOT ahead of soccer and hockey is not decreasing. There are hundreds of professional canadian soccer players around the world. And there are even more Canadian kids going south to play soccer in the States than going to play ball. Basketball is definitely growing but it’s still not up there with soccer and hockey.
-As far as basketball being “just being hockey”… that’s laughable. 80-90% of Canadians eat, sleep and breathe hockey. No sport is “just” behind hockey. I have numerous friends who flood their yards in the winter to play pond hockey and there are summer men’s hockey leagues with waiting lists as long as my arm. Just ridiculous.
Also, go to one of our sports stores and 1/3 of it will be hockey equipment…. go to the basketball section in the same store and you’ll find some cheap rubber balls and a couple of synthetic leather balls. That’s it. Good luck finding finger sleeves here. Speaking of retail stores, there’s a chain called “Just Hockey” and the stores are as big as a Best Buy, not even kidding. Lol.
August 25th, 2010 at 9:32 am
JAY says:
@Jon F
Nice attempt at a save. Anybody can write an ignorant-ladened post then come back and say “oh, you guys must be stupid if you didn’t get that sarcasm”.
You must be socially retarded if you think people can detect sarcasm by reading text.
I re-read your original post…. NOTHING in that post sarcasm. I smell bullshit.
August 25th, 2010 at 9:37 am
G_Nice says:
A lot of these responses sound complete emotional and not rational. I think to assume a team is so centred around one person that it would spiral from 61 wins to a record below teams that won 12-15 games is ridiculous.
Clevelands biggest problem might be that they become good enough to challenge for or just miss the 8th seed, but peak there. They have some legitimate talent and tons of experience, but I don’t think they are good enough to win a playoff series
From my memory, the Raptors did not fare well without Chris Bosh. Dropping from the 5th seed (nearing 4th) to the 8th was evidence of that last year. Chris created open looks that will disappear and Bargnani has not had much opportunity to face double teaming and the challenge of being the man. When he has, he hasn’t done well.
I like the Raptors young core and feel long term they are in a much better positions, but feel Cleveland is in a better position (to Win) next year. Though that doesn’t really mean much
August 25th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Jay Cool says:
Cavs will roll 50 games this year and make playoffs. JJ is ready to shine; Leon Powe (remember him?) will be primed to launch in his contract year, and Sessions + Jamison will be an efficient pair.
Raptors and their fans and weather are weak. Cavs without Lebron would have beat them a few years ago in playoffs as they did handily with Lebron. Turkey-poo was an indication of the Raps management stupidity.
August 25th, 2010 at 11:40 am
NIzzle says:
Both teams bad. Cavs bad for longer. Raps more fun to watch this year.
Question:
What matters LESS?
1) Basketball, in the opinions of people out in the sticks of Canada… or…
2) The opinions of the people out in the sticks of Canada?
Hmmm… Think about it…
August 25th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Taj says:
Card said it best…
Cleveland in 14 games without Lebron are 1-13. I know that the Raps have won a few games without Bosh…
@KDizzle, JAY & Jon F…
I live in Canada and although Basketball popularity is growing; Hockey is STILL number 1 while soccer and even Baseball rival bball for that number 2.. It also really depends were you live as well. Some sports are regionally popular such as volleyball..
All in all, i believe Canadian SPORTS fans support basketball up here because of Dr. Naismith and Steve Nash and would like to see a winning team on the floor. I’d like to see another team in Vancouver as well. There’s a huge market there waiting to be tapped. Just get a better ownership group than they did before and you’d be fine.
August 25th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Canadian BBall Fan says:
Both teams bad. Cavs bad for longer. Raps more fun to watch this year.
Trivia Question:
What matters LESS?
1) Basketball, in the opinions of people out in the sticks of Canada… or…
2) The opinions of people out in the sticks of Canada?
Hmmm… Think about it…
August 25th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Jay10do says:
Clearly the Raptors might be the worst team in the nba. Toronto Who!!! LMAO! “Cleveland ” will when b4 who! Real funny Dan Gilbert, Cleveland is bac to what they were b4 Lebron came, str8 Bums….. Cavs Suck the city of Cleveland sport wise hella suck, fuc Cleveland and those lame ass Cavs, but they will get ah championship in 2110 LMAO!!!! ah 100 year’s from now
August 25th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
ESIZ says:
I would assume the Cavs/Raps were picked for this article because both teams lost ‘franchise players’ in the offseason. Now the Cavs won 61 games last year, the Raps won 40. Lebron is a true ‘franchise player’; Bosh is not! Losing Bron probably means losing more than have the games they won last year… i.e. around ~30 wins. I say that because their team is more or less the same minus Bron, i.e., minus a near triple double every game.
The Raps on the other hand lose a 24pts, 10 boards from an all-star who clearly cannot carry the team. 10 boards will be covered between amir johnson and ed davis. 24pts? Well growing talent such as Amir johnson, Derozan, Weems, Barbosa, and Bargs should make up most of that, especially with added minutes and added shots. Really, the Raps got better defensively, losing turk, losing bosh (both poor/mediocre defenders) and replacing them with kleiza and Johnson, Calderon losing his starting role, and Bargs improving every year can only make this a better defensive team that wont need all of those 24 points to win. I honestly don’t think the rap will do much worse than last year, 40 wins is asking for much but 35 is not unreasonable.
East Conference projection
1-6 (in no particular order): Miami, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta, Milwaukee
Now pick 4 teams to fight for the 2 remaining playoff spot:
Bcats
NYK
Nets
Raps
are my pics.
I don’t see the 6rs, pistons, pacers, cavs, and wiz making the playoffs. maybe washington if they get a Big I suppose and wall turns out to be WALL.
To answer the question, the Cavs are worse but who cares – it’s best for that franchise to pick up young talent anyways. I’ll be the devil’s advocate and say that losing Bosh was the best thing for the Raps franchise (note i said franchise, not 10-11 season); him locked up for a ‘max contract’ would put them in the same hole as atlanta, a team that will not make it to the top ranks for the league for the next 6 years to come. On the other hand the Cavs lost a true ‘franchise player’ – I hope they land a good draft pick next year!
August 25th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
G_Nice says:
I am sometime amazed by the over exuberance of Raptors fans. It seem many see things through rose coloured glasses and two quickly by into media hype (anyone that lives in Toronto know this).
Last year Torontonians we in rage when Chris Webber suggested that the Raptors would miss the playoff. They bought into the 50 win team. We all know what happened.
The Raptors have always been an enigma. At best they could be a 6-8th seed if everything when right (Stranger things have happened), In all likelihood they will be slightly better than a New Jersey and maybe Washington or New York team (don’t think they are getting to the playoff either).
I think they could be fun to watch or a disaster. The East is better. The top end is really strong and their there is more talent in their than in recent years. I like the run guns on the team, but think they are a ways off from a playoff team.
August 27th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Kay says:
The wizards have to bad seasons now they a bad team huh Cleveland lost lebron now they suck and since when was mo Williams betta than antawn only thing mo did was kiss lebron’s ass and Toronto will won’t be betta than my wizards they lost there best player (Chris bosh) and they still sucked wit him
August 27th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Kay says:
The wizards have to bad seasons now they a bad team huh Cleveland lost lebron now they suck and since when was mo Williams betta than antawn only thing mo did was kiss lebron’s ass and Toronto will won’t be betta than my wizards they lost there best player (Chris bosh) and they still sucked wit him
August 27th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Jack says:
The Cavs will be worse. They aren’t used to playing without LeBron, lost their second best player in Shaq and a decent center in Illgauskas. And did nothing of value in the offseason.
Where as the raptors didn’t just hope Bosh would stay and drafted 2 draft steals. Got rid of the laziest player. And fixed alot of their mistakes in the offseason with David Anderson, Barbosa, Kleiza.
August 28th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
G_Nice says:
Bosh is not a superstar, and I don’t think the Raptors will be very bad wothout him cause of his terrible defence and his proness to injuries. But I do think Cavs will be bad for obvious reason that have already been stated that I’m to lazy to post
September 1st, 2010 at 3:36 am
AG says:
No Lebron… New Coach, New System that fits the playing style of the players on their team. Mo can actually attack the hoop, he did in Mil. Jamison is way better in a fast pace offense, so is Hickson and AV. Gibson has shined as a starter for the Cavs. The reason why the team hasn’t won much without Lebron is because the offense was all based off of Lebron.No one should be standing around nemore. Cavs will atleast win 40 games. Jamison still has game, Mo still has game, Av is very very underrated and Hickson + Boobie will surprise.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:04 am
MasterMikeStizzy says:
This is plain and simple. Mo Williams has shown no real ability to run a team. He was an All-Star in the season that Jameer Nelson and Devin Harris also made the team. And they where ahead of him in the rotation. Ouch. Antawn Jamison is still showing off some unused talent. Jack is better at running a team, but needs to step up and tell the management that they should have him start over Calderon. Weems and DeRozan are flashy and far better than their Young Gunz vocal leader Amir Johnson. The Cavs are starting Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon and Anderson Varejao. That’s enough for me to conclude; Raptors will be the third worst team in the Eastern Conferance, Pistons will be second worst(age) and the Cavaliers will be the worst team in the Eastern Conferance, second in the league to Minnesota.
September 13th, 2010 at 3:47 am
kl says:
As toronto fan, I kinda want to lose more games to get a better pick. except when we face miami. tehn I want davis or johnson to slap bosh silly or him injured his knee
September 13th, 2010 at 3:48 am
kl says:
As toronto fan, I kinda want to lose more games to get a better pick. except when we face miami. tehn I want davis or johnson to slap bosh silly or him injured his knee, then he can retire in toronto.
September 17th, 2010 at 2:35 am
beanz says:
cavs are gonna be way better then the raptors
raptors 12-70
cavs 44-38