Kyrie Irving
82 games (80 starts)
25.4ppg 4.6rpg 8.2apg 3.1spg .542 FG .353 3ptA case could be made that Kyrie Irving lost the MVP trophy thanks to the woeful April the Cavaliers had. He was first in the league in steals, and second in scoring. He made his second All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive Team (although let's face it, it was because of his steals category).
Amongst having career highs in just about everything, it was also the first season Kyrie Irving played the full 82 game schedule. Fans of Cleveland and the NBA got to see what Kyrie can do when he's unaffected by injury. What they saw was a man lead an unheralded Cleveland team back into the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James left.
His highly anticipated first playoff will finally be a reality.
Dion Waiters
66 games (66 starts)
14.7ppg 3.9rpg 3.6apg .481 FG .323 3ptWhat a terrible month April ended up being; and it all started when Dion Waiters went down against the Wizards. He wasn't the most consistent scorer, but when your second best offensive player is taken out of the equation, there's a void that needs to be filled.
But it wasn't just scoring. With Hinrich and Bibby being underwhelming backups for Kyrie, Waiters got a lot of minutes at the point. With him out, the Cavs had to rely on the services of the retiring Hinrich and Bibby more, which has been to the detriment of the team.
Unless the Cavaliers make it past the Bulls, Dion might have to play through at least another regular season before he makes his playoff debut.
Paul Pierce
81 games (54 starts)
14.9ppg 3.2rpg .439 FG .324 3ptUnless he wins the improbable championship with the Cavaliers, it's likely that Paul Pierce's stint in Cleveland will be compared to Michael Jordan's stint in Washington. At a glance, the numbers are reasonable (perhaps a little inefficient), but fans of the Truth will see his swansong with the Cavs as an aberration on an otherwise one team career.
The Cavs were looking for a reliable second or third scorer when they acquired him. Unfortunately he was unable to deliver that stability for the most part. With Dion Waiters out of the first round of the playoffs, it will at least be interesting to see if Pierce can step up for one last time.
Tristan Thompson
56 games (55 starts)
10.3ppg 6.6rpg 1.1bpg .596FGAt this stage of his career, it's easy to see that Tristan Thompson was definitely a reach as the 4th overall selection in 2011. With that being said, he's still one of my favourite players on this team. He gets his 10 points per game purely from effort and has become a poor man's Kenneth Faried. His numbers might note support that claim, but keep in mind that his season was also stifled by injury.
As an upcoming restricted free agent, a good playoff performance could earn him an inflated offer sheet, which is something I'm a little torn about.
Steven Adams
73 games (24 starts)
5.6ppg 5.7rpg 1.1bpg .604FGAdams was labeled a project going into his NBA career, but he surprised everyone with how quickly he was able to contribute to the Cavs franchise.
A lot of people attribute the Cavaliers disasterous April to the Dion Waiters injury. While that played a big part, it can't be underestimated how much Adams' plantar fasciitis injury impacted the franchise as well. When Adams sat out, Cleveland lost a lot of their defensive presense and overall effort. His blocks per game average isn't that high (1.1) but he manages to alter a lot of shots and is the scrappy player that every team needs.
On the offensive end, Steven Adams is still very raw. Much like Blake Griffin in his rookie year, a lot of Steven Adams' points come off athletic plays and offensive rebounds. Developing a mid-range game would help him become one of the elite centres in the league, because he seems to have everything else in his favour.
J.J. Redick
68 games (2 starts)
13.9ppg 2.4apg .424 FG .364 3PTAt times when Paul Pierce or Dion Waiters couldn't get going, Redick came off the bench and gave the Cavaliers the offensive spark they needed. This is the main reason he won the 6th man award for the second straight season.
Redick has a player option next season. I'm hoping he will pick it up and continue to be the team's leader off the bench.
Andrei Kirilenko
80 games (25 starts)
6.1ppg 4.2rpg 1bpg .492 FGAs far as roles are concerned, AK47 probably took the biggest step back out of everyone this season. He became an integral role player for the majority of the season. Even in April, he was one of the better players for the Cavaliers. I know his versatility gets mentioned a lot, but it really does help, especially when a team gets hit by injuries.
Kirilenko is one of the many players hitting the free agency this off-season. No matter how the season ends for Cleveland, he's likely to be one of the few players on the bench that will be offered a new contract.
Carl Landry
68 games (22 starts)
6.5ppg 3.3rpg .582 FGSeen as a major upgrade over Charlie Villanueva; but only ended up being a marginal upgrade. With his lack of three point shooting, some might even consider it a downgrade. But since Landry knows how to rebound, I will say it's a marginal upgrade.
His contract is on the books for next season, but he's likely to be shopped around as a potential draft day/preseason trade.
Thabo Sefolosha
57 games (18 starts)
4.6ppg 2.6rpg .429 FGThabo will never be the envy of any NBA player with his stats, but that doesn't mean he's not a valuable guy to have on the bench. Earlier in the season when Cleveland played defense, he was one of the guys setting the example for the rest of the team. Although the Cavaliers have lost 9 of their last 10 games, Sefolosha has also done a pretty decent job at filling in for Dion Waiters in the starting lineup.
He comes off contract at the end of the season, but he could find himself in a Cavaliers uniform once again next season.
Timofey Mozgov
79 games
4.8ppg 2.8rpg .545 FG Mozgov has emerged as a decent rotation centre, and will probably stay in the NBA a long time because of his size (see Kwame Brown).
He's not a scrub by any means, he's just kind of in the mediocre Drew Gooden category. He does everything you need a centre to do fairly adequately, but doesn't command any major attention. His contract is on the books for next season, which isn't a bad thing. The Cavaliers could do a lot worse.
Channing Frye
15 games (9 starts)
10.6ppg 4.3rpg .395 FG .286 3ptThe late season Channing Frye signing was a good one in theory, and to his credit, the initial games he played showed a lot of promise. The problem was that he ended up getting too many minutes in the rotation too soon. As the season progressed, the rust from being out of the game for over a season became more evident. His shooting touch started to wane and he was basically bullied by Jason Thompson in the Orlando game.
When your three point shooting centre is hitting below 30 percent from beyond the arc, he isn't doing his job. But at the moment, he's filling the starting centre role because of Cleveland's lack of options.
Kirk Hinrich
24 games
4.2ppg 2apg .374 FGI honestly don't know what to say about Hinrich. Since his stint with the Cavaliers has been rather forgetable, his retirement at the end of the season is probably for the best.
Adam Morrison
57 games
6.2ppg 1.5rpg .411 FGThe player I was hoping to be the feel good story of the season ended up being, well, Adam Morrison.
The stache showed glimpses of the guy who was such a force for Gonzaga, but there are too many deficiencies in his game to get regular minutes in the NBA.
One more season?
Mike Bibby
26 games
1.1ppg 1apg .481 FGBibby came to life in the final game against Orlando, which makes me believe he could play some meaningful minutes in the first round against Chicago. But we can't go crazy with our expectations of Mike. He only played 26 games during the regular season and he's on his way out of the league.
Mouphtaou Yarou
16 games
1ppg 0.8rpg .304 FGSecond rounders are hit-and-miss when it comes to panning out in the NBA. Unfortunately for Cleveland, Yarou was the latter.