Some early thoughts and observations on the Cavaliers, who must labor through seven more exhibition games before they toss it up for real in their Oct. 28 season opener against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics:
• This Cleveland team has a chance to be very, very, very good. We’re talking, quite possibly, championship good. With the addition of point guard Mo Williams, the Cavaliers are a better team than they were in 2007, when they were swept by San Antonio in the NBA Finals, and last year, when they came within a whisker of defeating Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
With no outside distractions in training camp comparable to the absences of Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic last year, plus no team-changing deal looming at the trade deadline like the one that brought Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and the since-traded Joe Smith a season ago, there’s no excuse the Cavaliers can’t have a great regular season and position themselves better in the postseason.
Cleveland should be able to challenge Detroit for the Central Division title and, if the Celtics have any hangover at all from their championship season, push for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
LeBron James can talk all he wants about not being concerned with playoff seeding or who the Cavaliers play in the postseason. Likewise, coach Mike Brown can talk all he wants about not being afraid to play anyone on the road in Game 7.
Their bravado is admirable, but make no mistake about it: Home-court advantage is vitally important in the playoffs, and it’s time for the Cavaliers to acknowledge that, then go out and win 55 to 60 games in the regular season.
• Williams is exactly what this team needed, and general manager Danny Ferry is to be commended for going out and getting him without losing any major pieces.
The guy can score, create and push the tempo. He also seems like a willing defender – he will probably tend to gamble a bit too much – who should only get better in Brown’s system.
Most importantly, unlike the departed Larry Hughes, early returns indicate Williams has the heart of a lion. He understands James is always going to be the man, but he’s not going to sit idly by and repeatedly defer to his teammate.
Williams will — and should — attack, attack, attack. Sure, he’s going to fire up a few shots that will cause Brown to scratch his bald head, but Williams has enough confidence to keep at it and play through the rough spots.
• Now 33, Zydrunas Ilgauskas will have made almost $115 million from the Cavaliers when his current contract expires following the 2009-10 season, but the 7-foot-3 center could be in line to make dozens of millions more.
The big fellow’s ability to post up and score with his back to the basket has declined a bit the last few years, but he’s still way, way above average at the center position.
Ilgauskas can make open shots, he’s a much better defender than many radio hacks realize and he’s always going to be 7-3 and long-armed, which makes him extremely dangerous on the offensive boards.
If he wants to, Ilgauskas might be able to play until the age of 40.
• Wallace is a different story. Big Ben still looks like a million bucks, but he’s nowhere near the player he was in his Detroit Pistons heyday, when he played for a team whose system perfectly fit his strengths.
Wallace is a complete, total non-factor at the offensive end and not nearly as good a rebounder as most people think. Sure, he’s still an above-average defender, but a player who has to do nothing at the offensive end should average 14, 15, 16 rebounds a night, like Dennis Rodman did with the San Antonio Spurs.
Here’s hoping Brown doesn’t put Varejao and Wallace on the floor together at the end of games, like he did way too often last season at the expense of Ilgauskas.
• Given the offensive shortcomings of Varejao and Wallace and the fact raw and unproven rookie J.J. Hickson was waiting for his senior season of high school ball to start at this point two years ago, don’t be surprised if James plays a lot of power forward this season.
With James at the 4 spot and Williams, West, Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, Pavlovic and Szczerbiak to choose from at the wing positions, the Cavaliers have the potential to put many explosive lineups on the court.
That will create a ton of matchup problems for opponents and, for once, let the Cavaliers be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to dictating how the game is going to be played.
• Razor-thin guard Tarence Kinsey, who is 6-6, 180 and in desperate need of a Wendy’s combo meal, has a guaranteed contract that will pay him almost $800,000 this season. Only Ferry knows why.
• West might be Cleveland’s fifth guard right now, but he’s a tremendously valuable asset and could end up playing quite a bit at both guard spots. At worst, he’s a very valuable insurance policy in the event of an injury or two. At best, he could end up starting at shooting guard if Szczerbiak and Pavlovic flop.
• Speaking of flopping, Varejao is now listed at 6-11, 260 pounds, up one inch and 20 pounds from last season. “The Wild Thing” can also opt to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, so there is definitely incentive – and a lot of available playing time, given Wallace’s declining ability – for him to have a great season. …
The Cavaliers still have seven preseason games left before they start playing for keeps, but right now things look more promising than they have in any of James’ five previous seasons.
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

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