Cleveland Cavaliers Playoff Preview

NBA Odds makers and basketball fans alike respect the talents of the King, LeBron James, but can LeBron carry Cleveland one step further on 2008?

Last season the Cleveland Cavaliers overachieved and made it all the way to the NBA Finals ahead of schedule. At least that’s how most of the experts saw it. LeBron James set a new standard for what had been a languishing franchise before his arrival, and he may have a hard time living up to it this time around.

Cleveland checked into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the East, which draws them a tough first round matchup with the dangerous Washington Wizards. The Wizards must have used some black magic to even get to the playoffs after their injury-plagued season. Cleveland got through most of the season unscathed but head into the postseason short Sasha Pavlovic, who is out for at least a few weeks with an ankle injury.

Truth be told, the only player that matters to Cleveland and to the basketball betting lines is King James. Even though the Cavaliers tried to give James the support he needs for Cleveland to go all the way, it’s all resting on his shoulders. James had a solid regular season, leading the league in scoring while averaging 30 points per game.

James’ supporting cast is a lot different than the team he took to the finals last season. Gone are Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown and Donyell Marshall, and in are Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. They’ll also join holdovers Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Damon Jones, Daniel Gibson and Anderson Varejao to try and take Cleveland one step further than they went in last year’s postseason.

Do the new additions really make Cleveland a championship contender? Not according to the latest NBA betting lines and NBA playoff odds. The Cavaliers are underdogs to Boston and Detroit in the East, so LeBron may have his work cut out for him to get Cleveland back to the finals.