CAVS.SPACE

Over the past few seasons, there has always been talk of how the Western Conference is superior to the Eastern Conference. By comparing regular season records, this appears to be a valid issue. Yet, regardless of which conference is better, both conferences offer loads of competition and are both up for grabs. In the East, the Bulls, Pistons, and Celtics are the early favorites to win the conference. Yet, the defending conference champion Cavaliers look to raise eyebrows again this season despite having a roster in question. Likewise, teams such as the Nets, Wizards, Heat, and Magic believe they have the pieces in place to overtake the East. Meanwhile, the West boasts the Spurs, Mavericks, and Suns as the most respected teams in the NBA. Behind them are teams such as the Rockets, Jazz, and Nuggets. The rest of the West also has some potential, with the Warriors humbling the Mavericks in last year's playoffs. Regardless of win-loss records and scoring averages, both confer

Drew Gooden has had a decent run thus far as the starting power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He enters each game as a potential double-double threat. However, he still shows room for growth in his game. He tends to feed off of his offense, which was a successful strategy in college when he was a feature player but is now less effective at the pro level as a secondary option for the Cavaliers. Regardless, he has displayed respectable shooting range and the ability to score in bunches. Now, with the season opener just a week away, Gooden finds himself in a situation he has not been in since joining the Cavs. That is, the backup situation for him and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is not clear. When Gooden first joined the Cavs, they had Robert "Tractor" Traylor as a reserve big man. Also on the roster was the project known as DeSagana Diop, as well as the hidden gem in the Gooden trade with Orlando three years ago: Anderson Varejao. When Traylor had developed career-threate

Last night, the Cleveland Indians hung tough and blew away the Boston Red Sox in extra innings. What the Cavaliers can learn from the game is the way Manager Eric Wedge and the coaching staff used their bench. When young star pitchers Fausto Carmona and Rafael Perez had unsuccessful outings, they were boosted by the rest of the bullpen, especially still developing Jensen Lewis and Tom Mastny. In the case of Mastny, while he still needs more time to develop, he had great experience and some solid success as a closer during his rookie season. When called on last night, Mastny did something that his peers have struggled to do: get both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez out. Meanwhile, the coaches showed much confidence in their position players on the bench when making late inning substitutions. They removed star Designated Hitter Travis Hafner from the game and replaced him with Josh Barfield for pinching running purposes during the ninth inning of a tie game. Sure, the short-term gain

The Cavaliers were a year ahead of themselves when they marched to the Finals last season. Unfortunately, the agents for Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic realized this and they continue to keep their players out of training camp in hopes for better contracts. As several teams in the East are quickly familiarizing themselves with improved rosters, the Cavs are potentially looking to field a less talented roster than last year. With that said, Coach Mike Brown and the rest of the staff need to realize the importance of developing the Cavalier roster this season. The way things are looking, the Cavs might find themselves without home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and a repeat run to the Finals may be slipping out of reach with each day Varejao and Pavlovic miss. As veteran players such as Eric Snow and Zydrunas Ilgauskas continue to age, more help is needed from other players. Drew Gooden needs to take his game up a few notches to take pressure off Z and co

The Cleveland Cavaliers might not have brought about any fear with their recent roster moves, but bringing guard Devin Brown and forward Cedric Simmons to town could prove to be prime examples of the scouting talent of the Ferry-Brown and company brain trust. Three words that come to mind when trying to describe Devin Brown are 'young', 'talented', and 'versatile'. With a solid player like Brown coming off the bench, the team has some insurance in case Pavlovic does not return to the team, Snow struggles with the knee recovery, and/or Hughes and Shannon Brown get hurt again. Devin Brown this year might be what Flip Murray was two years ago to this team--a lesser-known yet quite capable talent. Meanwhile, Simmons is said to have potential as a rebounding and shot-blocking threat. If there is anything this team needs, it is a solid, hard-nosed inside player. With the salary cap dilemma the Cavs face over the next couple years or so, the ability to scout and

If Coach Mike Brown wants to stick with Larry Hughes as the starting point guard, he should seriously consider running Daniel Gibson as the two-guard. While Hughes wants the ball in his hands as much as possible, Gibson showed in the playoffs just how deadly he is as a shooting guard on offense. This is not to say that Gibson would only play at the two. Gibson is the future at the point guard position for this team. In the meantime, though, running Gibson at the two would ease him back into the starting lineup on the offensive end while also appeasing Hughes's desire to constantly have control of the basketball. At the same time, Gibson's playmaking abilities would help alleviate some of the ballhandling pressure experienced by Hughes and LeBron James last season in the 'three-swingman' starting lineup with Sasha Pavlovic. On defense, though, Gibson should get the call covering point guards while Hughes sticks to guarding shooting guards.

Unfortunately, Eric Snow has suffered a knee injury that will likely sideline him until next month. While Snow has gradually seen his minutes reduced since joining the Cavaliers, he has maintained his role as a veteran leader on the team. Now, Snow's torn meniscus, paired with Sasha Pavlovic's continued holdout for a better contract offer, should open the door for a Gibson-Hughes starting backcourt.