By passing on Nerlens Noel did the Cavaliers cost themselves: The Return of the King?
Cleveland comes into the game on a four game skid after losing to The Miami Heat at home in what has been one of the most written about games of the season due to LeBron James upcoming free agency.
LeBron notwithstanding, Cleveland is very much an organization in disarray.
Their number one pick in the 2013 draft Anthony Bennett is getting booed by fans while shooting the ball at a 21 percent clip and averaging two points a game.
The big off season signing of Andrew Bynum is a bust as he is only averaging seventeen minutes per contest and will possibly be waived after the first of the year
Kyrie Irving was supposed to have a breakout year and is only one of five players (James, Lillard, Lawson, Bledsoe) in the NBA averaging over 20 points and 6 assists but is also struggling from the field at just over 40%.
The Cavaliers are a miserable 1-8 on the road this season.
Disillusioned Cavalier fans are organizing "Come Home Lebron" rallies.
Which brings me to the question of whether there is any possibility of LeBron coming back to Cleveland next season?
I initially thought this was going to happen before last year's draft but that was with the assumption that The Cavalier organization was going to draft Nerlens Noel.
With Noel The Cavs would've had a rim protector, an up and coming point guard in Irving and a good young power forward in Tristan Thompson. Add LeBron and some three point marksmen and that's a very nice nucleus for James to return home the conquering hero to win some more titles and retire in his home state.
Unfortunately, The Cavalier organization decided to draft Bennett which made no sense given they had Tristan Thompson. Also, if they were worried about Noel's knee then why would they go out and look to spend potentially big money on a center who has had chronic knee problems throughout his career.
The only rationale I can think of is Cavaliers G.M. Chris Grant thought Bennett and Bynum would make the team better immediately thus being more attractive for James to return.
This thinking is completely flawed, however, given the depth of the 2014 draft, Bynum's injury prone nature and the aforementioned fact that Cleveland already had an up and coming power forward in Tristan Thompson.
Also, LeBron's smart enough to think about his long term prospects (next six seasons) not just about being competitive immediately.
I also should point out that I am not picking on Anthony Bennett. I didn't really have an opinion on him before the draft I just thought Noel was a better fit.
In fact, I grew up in Nevada and have some affinity for the Runnin' Rebels program so would actually really like to see the kid turn it around.
Of course all this speculation becomes academic if The Heat three-peat because there's no way he could leave town without defending these titles.
The way he's playing that is a very distinct possibility considering statistically he's having easily one of his best seasons shooting close to 60 percent from the field and just under 50 percent from three.
My pick is still The Pacers but James' numbers thus far are more than impressive and it's possible that he could carry this year's Miami team on his back en route to a third straight title.
With regards to tonight's game, Cleveland's woes will in all likelihood continue as Boston has shown the signs of a fighting team almost coming back against The Grizzlies and having made a comeback in the fourth quarter a couple nights prior in Charlotte.
Cleveland feels to me like a battered team merely going through the motions and steamrolling toward next year's lottery.
My prediction:
Celts 97 Cavs 88
Please leave your own thoughts and predictions on tonight's game in the comments below.
Follow Clint on Twitter @coolhandc
