Cleveland Cavaliers Dancers

Every team should have their dancers for a Swimsuit Calendar.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

Cleveland has had a frustrating offseason in their stare down with Pavlovic and Varejao. I agree with Danny Ferry on principal, BUT this team did nothing to improve this summer, while so many other eastern teams improved dramatically. They cannot afford to lose those two guys, if winning is their biggest concern. The were the first people off the bench for this team and did so much that doesn’t show up on the stats. Look, the fact is that Danny Ferry has not done a very good job putting this team together. LeBron is one of the top 4 players in the league, but he can’t do all by himself. He’ll get tired an falter at some point, like in the NBA finals!!! Anyways, the loss of those two players opens things up for other guys. Here’s the starting lineup:

Projected starting lineup with last year’s stats:
Stats follow this format – Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks, FG percentage & Minutes

PG – Daniel Gibson
4.6 – 1.5 – 1.2 – 0.4 – 0.1 – 42% & 16.5 min

SG – Larry Hughes
14.9 – 3.8 – 3.7 – 1.3 – 0.4 – 40% & 37 min

SF – LeBron James
27.3 – 6.7 – 6 – 1.6 – 0.7 – 48% & 41 min

PF – Drew Gooden
11.1 – 8.5 – 1.1 – 0.9 – 0.3 – 47% & 28 min

C – Zydrunas Ilgauskas
11.9 – 7.7 – 1.6 – 0.6 – 1.3 – 49% & 27 min

Key Bench Players

Eric Snow
Donyell Marshall
Shannon Brown
Ira Newble
Devin Brown
Dwayne Jones

LeBron is LeBron. I look for his scoring average to go up this year because it appears that he has really worked on his shooting mechanics. He is doing a much better job squaring up and keeping his body in-line when jumping. His percentages have been up all summer and in the preseason. If he shoots more consistently from the outside, he’ll easily average over 30 ppg and he’ll lead the league in scoring this year. The skies the limit with him.

Daniel Gibson is interesting. He’s fearless and has a great shot, but can he run the team for 30 plus minutes per game? They need him, so they’ll give him every chance to prove he can.

Larry Hughes is healthy and he’s looked good during the preseason. He’ll get more minutes with Pavlovic gone, so I expect all of his numbers to increase, though be it slightly.

Drew Good gets the biggest increase of fantasy value with the absence of Varejao. He almost averaged a double double with only 28 minutes. He’ll easily average that double double with 32 – 35 minutes per. He is great offensive rebounder, so I expect a big year from him.

Big Z will do the same he did last year. He simply cannot handle big minutes, so he will always be somewhat limited.

I really like Shannon Brown, but he’s still young, so give him some time. Donyell Marshall will have value with his three point shooting and rebounding ability. He should also see an increase in minutes.

The Cavs won’t get back to the finals, but they will still be one of the best teams in the east, as long as LeBron is on the court.

Detroit Pistons Dancers

Detroit Pistons Preview

I have way behind my preseason previews due to my daughter’s birth, so I’ll have to shorten this up. I’ll just pick and choose which teams I get detailed on. The Pistons will be on of these quick reviews, because although I really like their young guys, Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson and Rodney Stuckey, they won’t be effective until they get minutes and as long as the starting five are healthy, they won’t get many. Actually, Maxiell should get decent minutes because he’s backing up McDyess, who is better served off the bench, so we’ll see how that develops. So here is the starting five:

Projected starting lineup with last year’s stats:
Stats follow this format – Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks, FG percentage & Minutes

PG – Chauncey Billups
17 – 3.4 – 7.2 – 1.2 – 0.24 – 43% & 36 min

SG – Richard Hamilton
19.8 – 3.8 – 3.8 – 0.79 – 0.2 – 47% & 37 min

SF – Tayshaun Prince
14.3 – 5.2 – 2.8 – 0.62 – 0.67 – 46% & 37 min

PF – Rasheed Wallace
12.3 – 7.2 – 1.7 – 1 – 1.57 – 42% & 32 min

C – Antonio McDyess
8.1 – 6 – 0.9 – 0.74 – 0.79 – 53% & 21 min

They have 4 guys who average 32 minutes or more, that’s why you wont see anything from the young guys, but Maxiell. I actually really like Amir and I hope he gets a chance, because he could help this team out a ton. Back to the starters. I expect the same numbers from the 4 main guys again this year. Nothing has changed with any of them. People are taking a flyer on McDyess, and I like him a lot, but he’s not worth the risk. Maxiell is a better player at this stage, so he should slowly get the minutes and I hope he takes over the starting role sometime this year.

Nets Dancers

 

New Jersey Nets Preview

New Jersey loves to run, and with Kidd steering the ship, that’s the best option.  Every year I think Kidd is going to start declining and every year he proves me wrong.  He was incredible last year; ranked number 8 over all in our scoring system.  I’m not a big Vince Carter fan, but that’s primarily because of the way he left Toronto, although he has become too much of a jump shooter.  Richard Jefferson is healthy this year, so what will he mean to the team and what kind of stats can he put up with Vince dominating the shots?  They got Jamaal Magloire, which people are praising, so we’ll discuss that. 

Projected starting lineup with last year’s stats:

Stats follow this format – Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks, FG percentage & Minutes  

PG – Jason Kidd

13 – 8.2 – 9.2 – 1.59 – 0.29 – 41% & 37 min

 

SG – Vince Carter

25.2 – 6 – 4.8 – 1 – 0.37 – 45% & 38 min

 

SF – Richard Jefferson

16.3 – 4.4 – 2.7 – 0.62 – 0.15 -46% & 36 min

 

PF – Nenad Krstic

16.4 – 6.8 – 1.8 – 0.38 – 0.92 – 53% & 33 min

 

C – Jamaal Magloire

6.5 – 6.1 – 0.40 – 0.26 – 0.81 – 50% & 21 min

 

Key Bench Players

 

Marcus Williams

Antoine Wright

Bostjan Nachbar

Josh Boone

Sean Williams

Jason Collins

 

PG

 I have already discussed Kidd briefly.  My main concern about him right now is his age and the fact that he is suffering from back pains already.  It might just be that he doesn’t need to play in the last two preseason games, or it could be serious.  I would find out for sure before you draft him too high, but when healthy he is great.  Marcus Williams will be backing him up, who is also banged up.  Marcus will be a very nice pickup if Kidd goes down with an injury.

 

SG

Vince is on a downward climb in his career, but he’s still incredibly skilled and can fill up the stat sheet.  I actually see his scoring total decrease this year, with a healthy RJ and Nenad back in the fold.  Antoine Wright is his backup, but he won’t get any burn. 

 

SF

I like Richard Jefferson a lot this year.  He is healthy and I look for him to build on last year’s stats.  I see 18 points, 6 boards and 3 assists this year.  Bostjan is his backup and he’ll be a decent play if you are in a deep league and only care about points.  He won’t do much more than just score. 

 

PF

Nenad is healthy and apparently he has stretched out his range to the three this year.  That will help his scoring, but he still doesn’t rebound at a high rate for a PF and he won’t get you assists or block, so I would stay away.  Josh Boone is still a project, but he’s the superior rebounder, if he can ever stay on the floor.  I actually like him for the Center spot long term.  Sean Williams is very gifted player but I don’t think he’ll get the opportunity to showcase it this year.  He is by far the best talent of the bigs on this team, but he’s a rookie, so don’t expect much of anything.

 

C

They got Jamaal Magloire, and I don’t understand why.  I know they are in desperate need of a rebounding defensive big, which Jamaal is, BUT he’s one of the slowest Centers in the league.  He can get up and down ok, but as soon as he gets the ball on the low block, he stands there and thinks for about 3-5 seconds before he does ANYTHING!  That just won’t work on this team or in the system.  Maybe he’ll figure out how to make quick moves and decisions, but I doubt it.  That may be why Jason Collins still has the starting gig, though he’s horrible too, which is why I put Jamaal as the starter.

 

This team will make the playoffs, but they are not contenders.  In the fantasy world, there are some options in Kidd, Carter, Jefferson and Krstic, but the list ends there, unless your in a very deep league.