Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) walks off the court after losing to the Golden State Warriors in game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Year’s Outcome: 53-29, L, NBA Finals
Best-Case Scenario: Win NBA Championship
Why: On every LeBron James-led team, this should be the ultimate goal. In order for this season to be considered a success for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it needs to end with LeBron bringing Cleveland its first Larry O’Brien trophy. It’s that simple for the Cavs, and probably unfair too.
However, for a team that consists of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, in addition to the best player in the world, winning an NBA Championship should be the ultimate goal. And after taking the Golden State Warriors to the brink, even without both Love and Irving, the Cavs have to like their chances if they can reach the postseason healthy.
Worst-Case Scenario: Lose Before The NBA Finals
Why: Assuming health, if the Cavaliers would fail to reach the NBA Finals, for whatever reason, the season would be a failure. Cleveland, if they have plans on ever winning an NBA Championship, can’t afford to waste another year of LeBron’s prime, which may or may not have only a couple years remaining.
The worst part about all of this, if the Cavs fail to win a championship this season, is the fact that LeBron probably ended up giving the Heat his best years of his career – if nothing else, that argument could very easily be made simply by looking at the statistics.
What Will Probably Happen: Lose In The NBA Finals
Why: While I believe LeBron is the best player in the world, I’m also very understanding that he’s played in five-straight NBA Finals and that he’s human. He’ll also be 31. At a certain point, LeBron is eventually going to start deteriorating as a player. Even if that doesn’t begin this season, he’ll have a tall task in front of him and his Cavs in the Finals against whichever team comes out of the Western Conference – the Warriors, Spurs or Thunder.
Next: Dallas Mavericks