The 2014-15 Cleveland Cavs' early-season struggles are a thing of the seemingly-distant past, as Cleveland has put together multiple hot streaks over the past few months to secure the #2 seed going into the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Regardless of the team's molten-hot ascent to Eastern elite status, there's still plenty of work to be done by some key contributors in order for this team to realize its NBA Finals dreams. Here's our list of 3 Players That Must Step Up For The Cleveland Cavs To Win A Championship.
G Matthew Dellavedova
The Cavs were unable (or unwilling) to add depth at the point behind Kyrie Irving before or after the trade deadline, placing the onus on Dellavedova to make every minute as Kyrie's backup count for something. If Dellavedova continues to play to his strengths (lockdown defense, sneaky range), the Cavs won't have to extend Irving to injury-risking levels of on-court minutes.
G Iman Shumpert
An underrated and valuable bench piece for head coach David Blatt, Shumpert is currently nursing a right quad contusion suffered against Milwaukee on Wednesday. He is a talented and versatile facilitator when he's on the floor, and his chemistry/comfort level with the thriving JR Smith can easily be the dual-headed weapon that puts the already talented Cavs over the top.
F Kevin Love
The obvious choice for anyone that has seen Love struggle to put it together for the majority of the 2014-15 campaign, Love is the X-factor that'll stir the drink for Cleveland in the postseason. When teams inevitably key in on LeBron James and Kyrie as the going gets tougher, it'll be up to Love to confidently assert himself as the offensive force he truly can be. For a guy that's already a valued asset even at his most out of sorts, he'll make the Cavs unstoppable if he returns to 90-95% of his Minnesota form.
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