Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls will be looking to get back into championship contention after hiring Fred Hoiberg to replace Tom Thibodeau as coach.
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When James was in Miami for four years, getting to the title round was practically necessary to keep the critics at bay. The White House hasn’t formally confirmed Obama’s presence at tonight’s opener, but the United Center was crawling with Secret Service agents even before the Cavs took the court for shootaround. Both of their starting guards, Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, are out for the foreseeable future, at least through December.
That’s how it was for Kevin Love with the Cavaliers last season. Like Draymond Green and the Warriors, Thompson’s skill-set isn’t just a nice contrast from Kevin Love’s game, but a very real addendum to a lineup also featuring Love. The Bulls have to throw a number of bodies at LeBron and force him to beat them from the perimeter.
James has said his unique contracts – short, maximum salary deals with a player’s option to terminate the deal after one year – are a means for him to maximize his financial flexibility. “There are a lot of wild cards on that team”.
“It’s been a fun group to be around, ” Hoiberg said.
This year, the trial runs are a thing of the past. The Cavs understand it’s more important to have James playing at an optimal level in June – not January.
And now, as he embarks on his 13th pro season, James, just two months shy of turning 31, understands getting back to the Finals will not come easy for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “We have the greatest athletes, greatest fans and so on and so on”, James said. He’s 37 and entering the final year of his contract, and said even he doesn’t know if this is his last season with the Lakers, or as a player. We were happy on how we progressed last year and how we played all the way to the end, but this is a new year.
“I believe our league is the greatest league that we have in the world”, James continued.
“Everyone has to sacrifice”, James said.
Wall’s Passing: Washington’s John Wall had 792 assists last season, which is 259 more than anyone else in the East posted a year ago. Varejão is coming back from an Achilles tear and Irving is still not cleared to play yet. Per Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, James is intent on playing on Tuesday night.
The Cavs will open up their season on Tuesday night, when they visit Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls are hungry to make this year the year they finally break the LeBron barrier.
“It actually makes you work harder”, Rose said.
But they have the pieces, after shelling out big bucks to assemble one of the most expensive teams in National Basketball Association history, to get the job done this time. “We don’t know what the reason is now, but we’re hoping that it will lead to a championship”.
New York Knicks The Knicks’ season could be tragic or a nice first step in their rebuilding process. Consider it a dress rehearsal for the playoffs, when they will have no room for error.
The four-time league MVP has a list of goals written down, but did not reveal what they were, individually or team-wise.
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