Over the last few months, fans and analysts have found it worthwhile to predict the starting lineup of the Cleveland Cavaliers, now touted as the Super Team of the NBA, thanks in no small part to the LeBron James multiplier effect.
According to an ESPN report back in July, the recruitment of shooting specialists James Jones and Mike Miller from the Miami Heat—two of the five best three-pointers in the NBA—the lineup was beginning to take form.
Here's the possible opening-night starting unit of the team.
Kyrie Irving
First off is Kyrie Irving who, although backsliding in the past season, is still remembered for his promising numbers in the two previous ones. He just had an injury, but he said on Twitter there's nothing to worry about. According to ESPN, he underwent tests on Tuesday and they returned negative.
According to the Bleacher Report, the 22-year-old point guard can learn a thing or two from minutes playing with James and under coach David Blatt. After that, the hope is that he live up to his promise.
Dion Waiters
The Bleacher Report thinks that if the shooting guard and Irving can get over their bitterness toward one another, his performance index can shoot up. He was a good player in the last season, increasing in efficiency in most all the aspects, but there's more to unleash, it noted.
Reporting on his role in the word war against the Washington Wizards backcourt, Bullets Forever said his readiness for on-court action can only be made easier by the presence of James and Kevin Love.
Anderson Varejao
He hasn't seen much action in the past owing to injuries and the preference for Spencer Hawes, but the guy was singled out by James on Sports Illustrated as a favorite teammate and Hawes will be with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Bleacher Report said.
The willing passer and low-post scorer also "was a huge part of the success we had in my years before," James was quoted as saying by an Associated Press report on Yahoo Sports. Rant Sports added that a healthy Varejao helped Cleveland in their games, with a solid performance in defense and offense in 65 games of the 2013-14 season.
Kevin Love
The power forward would be a shoo-in, another Rant Sports report said—even before he was let go by the Minnesota Timberwolves—commenting that just in case it unfolded, the Miami Heat won't stop them from taking over the Eastern Conference.
Applying statistics, Five Thirty Eight said the move effectively made the team a title contender, projecting that their win total in the season could be 65, which makes the probability of winning the title 60 percent. Before adding Love, the projection was in the 50s, or a 5-percent chance.
LeBron James
Of course, he'll be the small forward. Need we say more?
What do you think about the lineup? How does it compare to yours?
