NBA Fantasy Team Analysis: The Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers won just 19 games last season, good for second worst in the NBA. They also dealt away their most promising big man before the lockout began, which is kind of a downer for fantasy purposes. While there are some things to get excited about — the arrivals of a skilled rookie point guard and a promising rookie power forward, along with the return of Sideshow Bob – this Cavs squad has “timeshare” written all over it. Put on your sad face as we dive into the fantasy prospects for Dan Gilbert‘s crew.

Depth chart:
PG: Baron Davis, Kyrie Irving, Ramon Sessions
SG: Anthony Parker*, Daniel Gibson, Manny Harris
SF: Omri Casspi, Alonzo Gee, Christian Eyenga, Joey Graham
PF: Antawn Jamison, Tristan Thompson, Samardo Samuels, Luke Harangody
C: Anderson Varejao, Semih Erden, Ryan Hollins, Milan Macvan

* unrestricted free agent

Relevant fantasy players and their projected draft positions/per-game stats:
– Omri Casspi, SG/SF (Rd. 8): 42% FG, 67% FT, 1.7 Threes, 12.5 Pts, 5 Reb, 1.5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1.5 TO
– Anderson Varejao, PF/C (Rd. 8): 55% FG, 67% FT, 9 Pts, 9.5 Reb, 1.5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1.5 TO
– Kyrie Irving, PG (Rd. 9): 45% FG, 85% FT, 12 Pts, 1 Three, 2.5 Reb, 3.5 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO
– Antawn Jamison, SF/PF (Rd. 9): 44% FG, 70% FT, 1.2 Threes, 11 Pts, 5.5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 0.5 Blk, 1.5 TO
– Baron Davis, PG (Rd. 10): 40% FG, 80% FT, 1.5 Threes, 12.5 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 6 Ast, 1.3 Stl, 2.5 TO
– Tristan Thompson, PF (Rd. 13+): 45% FG, 50% FT, 5 Pts, 4 Reb, 0.7 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO
– Daniel Gibson, PG/SG (Rd. 13+): 40% FG, 80% FT, 1.5 Threes, 9.5 Pts, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 0.5 Stl, 1 TO

Sleeper:
Casspi

Most likely to surprise:
Varejao

Most likely to disappoint:
Jamison

Category specialists:
– Threes: Casspi, Davis, Gibson

Things to consider:
– Davis’ motivation and health
– The potential three-way timeshare at point guard
– What Jamison’s role will be
– Whether a full-fledged youth movement will be set loose upon the court

Team’s statistical NBA ranks from 2010-11:
– Pts: 25th
– FGM: 28th
– FGA: T-13th
– FG%: 29th
– FT%: 24th
– 3PTM: T-15th
– Reb: T-21st
– Ast: T-19th
– TO: T-17th
– Stl: T-25th
– Blk: T-27th
– Pace: T-10th
– Offensive Efficiency: 29th
– Defensive Efficiency: 29th

Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.

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