Cleveland Cavaliers 2012-2013 prediction

IF there is one thing for certain about the Cleveland Cavaliers, is that Kyrie Irving will be a star in this league. The Cleveland Cavaliers finished last season with a 21-45 record but with plenty of reason to be optimistic about their future. Let's look at their current roster:
G Kelenna Azubuike, F Omri Casspi, C-F Michael Eric, G Daniel Gibson, F Luke Harangody, G Kyrie Irving, F Jon Leuer, G-F C.J. Miles, G Jeremy Pargo, C Samardo Samuels, G Donald Sloan, C Tristan Thompson, C Anderson Varejao, G Dion Waiters, F Luke Walton, F-C Tyler Zeller
The Cavaliers have done a nice job building pieces since the departure of Lebron James, and this season will be our favorite team to watch. They are very well coached in Byron Scott and have the young pieces to keep growing. For their record last year, they got Dion Waiters in the top 5, and later on Tyler Zeller. The Cavs are high on Waiters, who will provide the necessary fire power in the backcourt for Irving.
In addition, they will have a healthy Varejao this season, to go along with young players such as Thompson and Zeller. However, it ultimately comes down to Kyrie Irving, the reigning rookie of the year will suffer from no sophomore slump we believe, and we expect him to have another marvelous season. In an era where point guards are expected to be more of a scoring threat than a passing one, Kyrie flourish last year in getting in the paint at will, converting difficult layups and finding open teammates when necessary.
The Cavaliers will not make the playoffs for another few years, and truthfully as of right now, we see no clear robin to Kyrie's batman. Their roster still has lots of gaping holes. Besides Varejao, they do not have a capable defender on the team, and a lack of a post presence does not help them either. We do not necessarily believe that Zeller's offensive repertoire in college will translate to the pros. They are young, and thus Scott must suffer through the growing pains and learning lessons that will come with time.
We expect the Cavs to win 30-35 games just on the brilliance of Kyrie Irving, but do not believe that they will make it an the eastern conference that looks a lot stronger this year than in recent years. The Cavs are well coached, and have a potential superstar at the point guard position, they will be very fun to watch this year at the very least.

Sacramento Kings 2012-2013 prediction

The Sacramento Kings are a very intriguing team heading into the next NBA season. They finished the season 22-44 and beat out the New Orleans Hornets for the worse record in the western conference by a mere win. For their trouble, and the second worse record in the conference they got the fifth overall pick in this year's draft (nothing new here, the Kings seem to be in the lottery every year). Let's take a look at this young but talented roster:
G Aaron Brooks, C Demarcus Cousins, G Tyreke Evans, G Jimmer Fredette, F-G Francisco Garcia, F Chuck Hayes, F Tyler Honeycutt, F James Johnson, F Travis Outlaw, F Thomas Robinson, F-G John Salmons, G Isaiah Thomas, F Jason Thompson, G Marcus Thornton
Free Agents: F Donte Greene, G-F Terrence Williams
Usually two or three names stand out to you in each team, but the Kings have a number of players who just stick out to you. The kings weren't very good last year, a coaching change after what seemed to be a "me or him" situation between Cousins and Westphal did not help either. The Kings have a lot of "potential" on this team, but it starts with Tyreke Evans and Demarcus Cousins. Evans had a marvelous rookie season in which he averaged 20 5 and 5, but a foot injury derailed his sophomore year, and since then he has not exploded like we thought he would. Then there's Cousins, already considered by many as a top 3 center in this league. He's a double double machine, averaging 18.1 PPG and 11 rebounds in only his second year. If these two players develop to their full potential, then the Kings will have a deadly one two punch.
Now, for their 5th overall selection, they drafted Thomas Robinson out of Kansas, we figure that Robinson will eventually become the starting power forward and is flat out a beast. Now, the most intriguing story of this season for us will be the development at the point guard position. One of the most intriguing stories last year for those who follow the whole NBA and not just one team, was that of Isaiah Thomas, the last selection (60th overall) of last year's draft. Thomas not played his way into the starting spot for the Kings (well over lottery pick Jimmer Fredette), but also saw his mention in for rookie of the year besides Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio (before Rubio's injury). Thomas was a force, holding his own against the game's elite point guards.
Thomas finished the season averaging 11.5 ppg and 4.1 assists setting up the beginning for a promising career. And yet, the Kings have brought to the team Aaron Brooks who spent last year being backup to Steve Nash but who clearly is a starting point guard in this league. Will Brooks play Isaiah out of his starting spot? If he does not, will he be complacent coming off the bench? The point guard position is perhaps the most important position on the floor, and we are eager to see how this plays out. One thing is certain though, the Kings have a bright future should the peaces stay in place and develop. The Kings will certainly not make the playoffs, but we expect them to win at least 30 games and be very fun to watch.