The Cleveland Cavaliers are a team that many are excited to watch compete this season, and LeBron James is one of the primary reasons why. After announcing that he was returning to the team earlier this season, Cleveland became instant favorites.
While it is expected that James will carry a large load for Cleveland even with the other additions the team made during the offseason which includes trading for Kevin Love, it is Kyrie Irving that James has put the spotlight on. The Akron, OH native has insisted that Irving who signed a five year extension earlier this summer will be the driving force behind the Cavaliers this season.
Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:
“I’ll probably handle the ball a little bit, but this is Kyrie [Irving’s] show,” James said Saturday following the team’s first practice of training camp. “He’s our point guard. He’s our floor general, and we need him to put us in position to succeed offensively. He has to demand that and command that from us with him handling the ball.”
Despite having Mario Chalmers at point guard, Miami often had James handling ball handling duties for the team. While the approach certainly benefitted the team, its understandable why James would prefer a situation where the point guard is capable of more than capable maintaining the offense.
“Coming back, my [Sports Illustrated] letter kind of spoke for it, what this city and Northeast Ohio, what I mean to it. That had a lot to do with it, probably 95 percent of it. And the fact that Kyrie was here as well. That’s a huge part,” James said. “I’ve never played with a point guard like Kyrie Irving, a guy that can kind of take over a game for himself. We need it. So, that was a huge thing and that was way before we even got [Kevin] Love and signed Mike Miller and Trix (Shawn Marion) and the rest of the guys. That was very intriguing.”
As one of the leagues more talented and promising young players, Irving is expected to progress in the midst of having a solid core of veterans to play off of this season.
Luol Deng Doesn’t Believe He’s Replacing LeBron James
When LeBron James returned to Cleveland as a free agent this summer, that left a void at small forward for the Miami Heat that they needed to fill.
Whether it was their intention or not, by signing Luol Deng over the summer Miami inevitably put him in a spot to be compared to James. While Deng is a capable player in his own right, the expectations of having to live up to a LeBron James are pretty high. Fortunately he acknowledges how unfair the comparisons are to him in regards to replacing James, or any player for that matter.
Per Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald:
Losing James has forced Spoelstra and his staff to make changes defensively, but Deng’s skills on that side of the court should ease the transition. His ability was apparent Saturday. It was Deng who gave James fits at times during the 2011 Eastern Conference finals, and, at 29 years old, he is still regarded as an elite two-way player.
“I’ve been in the league 11 years and I’m still improving,” Deng said. “I would never try to replace anybody no matter if they’re better than me or I’m better than somebody. We all bring different things. The biggest mistake I would make is try to be LeBron. I’m not LeBron.”
In an off-season where Deng’s reputation has been at the center of a controversy involving remarks read by Atlanta Hawks gm Danny Ferry, the All Star forward is keeping things professional and positive on his part.
The article also touches on how the Heat are preparing to move on as a whole without James, as other players such as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will be expected to carry larger loads again. As one of the newer members of the organization, Deng will surely find his place, but at the least he is self aware enough to know his own strengths and limitations. With training camps opening around the NBA and the pre-season officially beginning, the Heat will be able to build on the chemistry of their re-tooled roster.
Other News Around The League:
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins believes his experience with Team USA in the FIBA 2014 Basketball World Cup has helped him become a better player. Cousins was instrumental in helping Team USA dominate through the FIBA tournament where they took finished in first place winning the championship gold. According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee:
“I feel like I added a lot to my game, especially defensively,” Cousins said Friday during the team’s media day. “I have the confidence to know I really can do it on the defensive end as well as the offensive end. I learned a lot from it, it was an incredible experience.”
In 13.9 minutes per game, Cousins averaged 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks to go with 9.8 points.
Kings’ brass were impressed with the energy Cousins played with during the tournament. That he comes back knowing he can be a good defender bodes well.
“I want to share some of the knowledge I got from Team USA with some of my teammates,” Cousin said. “… I’m extremely excited about training camp.”
Cousins looks to be in as good a shape as he’s been to start a season as a pro, which is also due to his time with the national team.
Milwaukee Bucks rookie Jabari Parker had some interesting comments about his preferred playing position earlier this week. During an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio the second pick from this years draft said that he felt more comfortable playing power forward. Listed at 6’8, Parker would be undersized in comparison to other power forwards across the NBA. Per Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel: “As of right now I’m more comfortable with the 4 position,” he told interviewer Nancy Lieberman. “That’s where I played previously, before getting drafted, at Duke. I played a lot of 4. Even in high school. I know this is a different level. “But in coach’s style of play, it’s more a stretch 4. That’s where I like to play my game, even though I like to post up a little. Just being on the perimeter, setting screens and popping, that’s what we’ve been doing so far. That’s what coach Kidd has been anticipating me playing that role.”
Esau Howard is a regular contributor to Sheridan Hoops. You can follow him on Twitter.