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LeBron James, Cavs Turning Corner; Iman Shumpert’s Return

By Michael Saenz

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With LeBron James feeling better and refreshed and Iman Shumpert on the brink of a return, the Cleveland Cavaliers might be finally turning a corner

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I’m not sure if the two have any type of relationship with one another but I don’t believe that it’s simply a coincidence that after LeBron James says that he feels better now than he has all season long right, the Cleveland Cavaliers begin playing perhaps their best basketball of the year.

Although, considering that the Cavs haven’t been that good at all this season, with the exception of a few stretches here and there, that really isn’t saying much. Still, their last three games exhibit the exact reason why you simply can’t sleep on this team.

Or LeBron James.

"[via ESPN]I’ve felt better in the last three games than I did the whole season"

During their last three games, the Cavs have beaten the Los Angeles Lakers (109-102), the Los Angeles Clippers (126-121) and the Chicago Bulls (108-94). In those contests, LeBron is averaging 31 points on 50 percent shooting, five assists and seven rebounds per game. Overall, the the Cavs rank No. 1 in the NBA in offensive rating (118.9) during that stretch. While their defense is still considered bad, if not horrible during their last three games, that’s just how it’s going to be the rest of the year.

Timofey Mozgov isn’t going to fix this team’s defense alone; neither will Iman Shumpert, who will likely be making his Cavs debut later this week.

The bottom line is that as a whole, the Cavs even look better. Their offense has better structure, and LeBron is back to looking like peak LeBron. They’re now passing the eye test, which couldn’t be said about the team a few weeks ago.

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    • In essence, during the their last three games, the Cavs have been what I imagine what we all predicted them to look like this season — really good on offense and a struggle team on defense.

    That’s kind of what they’re going to be as currently constructed. They don’t have elite defenders at the wing, nor a great rim protector down low. The hope however, is that their exceptional offensive prowess, which they have displayed more recently, will be enough to overcompensate for what they lack on the defensive side of the ball.

    Meanwhile, the Cavs fully expect their wing defense to receive a shot in the arm with the debut of Shumpert later this week. Which, according to reports, appears to be right in line as the 24-year-old guard participated in yesterday’s shootaround for the Cavs.

    The hope is that Shumpert is ready to go for the team’s game against the Charlotte Hornets Friday, if not sooner.

    "[via Cleveland.com]He participated in the Cavaliers’ morning shootaround at the team’s practice facility in Independence, when sources told the Northeast Ohio Media Group that Shumpert could play Friday against Charlotte or Sunday against Oklahoma City.Shumpert will practice with the team Tuesday, and there is a chance he could even make his Cleveland debut Wednesday against Utah."

    At 22-20, and with what appears to be a fully healthy squad (with the exception of Kevin Love‘s battle with back spasms), the Cavs are going to have a legitimate chance to make a move up the Eastern Conference standings. As they currently stand, the Cavs are seven games out of the No. 2 seed in the conference, behind the Washington Wizards. That’s still an attainable amount of ground to cover.

    LeBron says he’s feeling great and after the slow start that he — and the Cavs — had to begin the year, maybe all he did need was a couple weeks off.

    After their last three games, it’s beginning to look that way.

    Next: Charting The NBA's Atlantic Division: A Brook-less Brooklyn?

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