After finishing 17-65 in 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted high school phenom LeBron James from nearby Akron and added other pieces to the team which finished 18 games better than the year before and just missed the playoffs in the East. The team played well for stretches last season but had periods of basketball where inexperience showed. The team played better after the break but lost a few key games down the stretch and missed what would have been their first playoff appearance since 1998. In the off-season, the team lost Carlos Boozer to the Jazz but traded for Drew Gooden and Eric Snow to help ease the pain.
The Cavaliers will match up with the Detroit Pistons, the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Chicago Bulls in the newly realigned Central division. The Central will likely see at least three teams make the playoffs this year (possibly four) and the Cavs would like nothing better than to be one of those teams. The organization realizes the team is less than two years removed from finishing with the worst record in the league but they also realize this team is full of talent and could be one of the sleepers in a weak conference.
The team had only one draft pick in 2004 and selected Luke Jackson, a small forward out of Oregon, who should compliment James well. The starting lineup will likely see Eric Snow and Lebron James team up in the backcourt with Jackson jumping into the small forward spot. Drew Gooden will fill the four spot and Zydrunas Ilgauskas will play the center position. The Cavs should finally have something resembling a bench after years of searching for sixth and seventh men and that could help them hold onto games more effectively later in the season when some of the starters might be getting tired.
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