Fansided

NBA: Contender Or Pretender?

By Gerald Bourguet

Oct 20, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) at Value City Arena. Cleveland won the game 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 20, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) at Value City Arena. Cleveland won the game 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 17, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dunks in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Quicken Loans Arena. After a video review by officials, the basket was taken away due to a foul before the score. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Cavaliers

Contender:

Over the last five years, you’ve either needed a LeBron James, a Gregg Popovich or a Rick Carlisle to win a championship in this league. So right off the bat, the Cleveland Cavaliers are doing something good. By lucking into their third No. 1 draft pick in the last four years, they were able to turn Andrew Wiggins into quite possibly the best power forward in the league. Kyrie Irving is no longer the face of the franchise and won’t have to bear that burden of being LeBron’s successor anymore.

The Cavs also added valuable veterans like Shawn Marion, Mike Miller and James Jones. Cleveland still needs a rim protector and their defense has a lot of work to do, but in the East this team should be good for around 60 wins and they have an extremely favorable path to the Finals. With one of the most potent offensive attacks in the league, it appears that God no longer hates Cleveland.

Pretender:

Let’s not waste our breath here. The only way this powerhouse isn’t a contender in the East is the same reason any contender in the league might not be there in the end: injury problems. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have been injury-prone at times in their careers, but LeBron James alone is enough to win games in the Eastern Conference.

Verdict: Contender. Duh.

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