Now the Cavs are still in the beginning of their rebuilding stages, but fans are hoping with the talent we have on the roster, there is no reason we can’t compete for an eight seed in the playoffs.  A playoff spot is available for Cleveland and is definitely a possibility, but it won’t be because the Cavs are good enough, but because the Eastern Conference is just going to be that weak.  Besides the Indiana Pacers, the Cavs, Bulls, Pistons, and Bucks all have holes in the roster.  The way the team’s rosters look now, the four bottom teams in the Central Division will not stick out from each other.  Here are the power rankings:

Apr 23, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) dribbles the ball up the court during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. Memphis Grizzlies defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-101. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

The Cavs are sporting a young roster with two first round picks from last year, Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, and two first round picks from this year, Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller.  No Antawn Jamison, no Anthony Parker.  Our most veteran player is Luke Walton with nine years under his belt, but I don’t know how much experience you can say he has.  The Cavs front office made a lot of noise in free agency with being involved in the Dwight Howard trade, but didn’t really do anything.  The Cavs have approximately $16 million in cap space, and refused to invest in any key free agents.  Friday it was announced that Cleveland and C.J. Miles agreed to terms.  Other than that, claiming Jon Luer off waivers and dealing D.J. Kennedy for Jeremy Pargo have been the off-season moves.  I’m okay with the lack of activity in the offseason because any acquisition wouldn’t have taken us over the top.  This season will be crucial to the development of the team.  We have the core of our team in place; head coach Byron Scott will be grooming them as a team.  He must prevent the young players from getting into bad habits.  I don’t think the number of wins will reflect how successful this season will be, but I predict the Cavs to compete for an eight seed late in the NBA, but come up short and re-enter the lottery one last time.

The Chicago Bulls come into this year with an almost identical roster as last year except for one big change; they will be without their All-Star point guard, Derrick Rose.   After Game 1 of their opening round playoff series against Philadelphia, the Bulls were only able to win one more game after Rose went down.  Without Rose for most the season, the Bulls will win a decent amount, but depending on when Rose returns, I expect Chicago to win a good amount of games and finish with a six or seven seed in the playoffs.

May 22, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) battles for low post position against Miami Heat center Ronny Turiaf (21) in the first quarter during game 5 of the 2012 NBA eastern conference semi-finals at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Last year the Pacers turned some heads in the playoffs when they went up on the Miami Heat 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.  They would then lose three straight and their season ended.  The size they have at each position proved to be a big benefit on the court.  They were able to resign their All-Star center Roy Hibbert, and brought in D.J. Augustine from Charlotte to backup George Hill.  These aren’t moves that will take your team over the top. Even with Larry Bird out as team president, this team will still receive home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but still aren’t good enough to be Eastern Conference champs.

The Detroit Pistons are on the same road as the Cavs, the rebuilding road, but Detroit’s ride seems to be a little rockier. They also drafted the highly questionable Andre Drummond in the first round.  Their problems are that they have too much money invested in players who aren’t any good anymore.  Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe showed promise last year, but they are the lone bright spots on this roster.  Financially they aren’t in good shape They did make the right move by trading Gordon and shedding an extra year of a guaranteed contract.

Mar 31, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Bradley Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Bucks 99-95. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

They were never a major player in free agency, but they were able to resign their guy, Ersan Ilyasova.  Ilyasova can do a lot of things offensively and will play good off Monta Ellis.  They received an extra bonus when they saw their lottery pick, John Henson, play in summer league.  Henson turned some heads this summer and they hope he can make an immediate impact for this team.  Other than Ellis, Ilyasova, Henson, and Brandon Jennings, the Bucks do not have enough players on their roster to compete.  I predict Milwaukee to finish about the same as the Cavs, just missing the playoffs.

May 28, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) makes a basket over Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (34) during the first half in game one of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

By watching Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals I can already deduce that matches between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics will not be won off the bench. Despite a dominating 35-point second quarter, there wasn’t much to smile about in Celtic country after the Heat delivered a statement victory to open the Eastern Conference Finals.

And no one delivered more of a statement than three-time MVP LeBron James, who recorded his fourth 30+ points and 10+ rebounds game of the playoffs so far. James finished with a game-high 32 points and 13 rebounds in a 93-79 victory over the Celtics. Getting off to a hot start was critical if Miami wants to move on past Boston to the Finals, and that’s just what they did.

After finally getting over the Boston hump last year in the second round (won series 4-1), Miami is facing a much more worn-down team with a much more electrifying star in Rajon Rondo. After going down with an arm injury in Game 3 of the  second round of the 201-11 playoffs, Rondo seemed more than bothered when he came back and registered 11 assists.

The two games following Rondo’s epic return to the court didn’t play out too well for the star point guard, as he played limited time in Game 4 and was very ineffective in the final game of the series. That’s the way this series looks like its going to play out with an again Ray Allen, who has only averaged 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 26.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

To put that into perspective Allen has a lifetime postseason three-point percentage average of 40.4 percent and has never shot below 35.0 percent until this postseason. I don’t think that there is enough time in the postseason for Allen to get his average back to what it used to be, but in order to move on to the Finals the three-point king needs to be able to help out his team. He’s not doing this right now.

May 28, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) makes a shot past Boston Celtics power forward Brandon Bass (30) during the second half in game one of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

While the Celtics new “Big Three” of Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce failed to get really anything going from the field (shot 22-54 from the field), the Heat tandem of James and Dwayne Wade, without their final piece Chris Bosh, are making playoff history. Wade is averaging 23.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting close to 50 percent from the field while James is averaging 29.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals steals while shooting over 50 percent from the field.

The way I see this series going is that James and Wade can finish the Celtics off almost by themselves. If Bosh comes back and Brandon Bass doesn’t show up (he has been very inconsistent in the playoffs), then we will see the Heat advance to their second NBA Finals in as many years.

If the Heat win on Wednesday night, the Celtics must win both of their following home games. If the Celtics go down 3-1 at any point in the series, consider it over.

Before Sunday’s game the Thunder were 4-1 in playoff games this season that were decided by three points or less. Riding a 47-46 lead going into halftime, fans were expecting another crazy finish, something that Thunder fans have become accustomed to.

May 27, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Manu GInobili (20) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Derek Fisher (37) during the first half in game one of the Western Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at the AT

The Spurs “Big Three” of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili kept the game close at home, but they didn’t sweep the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers just to come close to beating a young and talented team like the Thunder. The Spurs have been dogged all year for resting their older players, but it seems that experience is a better indicator of how the Spurs have been playing compared with their age.

Age looked to be a big factor affected the play of the Spurs after the third quarter, as San Antonio let the Thunder lead build to nine points. The Spurs shot 25 percent from the field in the 12 minutes following halftime and just looked finished.

Despite a weak showing in the third quarter, Parker, Ginobili and Stephen Jackson all stepped up to put their team up 1-0 at home. Parker closed out the game with seven points (2-3 from the field, 3-5 from the free throw line) four rebounds and three assists. Closing out tight playoff games is an aspect of playoff basketball that the Spurs have experience with it, and it showed with a huge 39-point quarter from San Antonio.

Part of the reason why the Thunder struggled on Sunday was the performance from their “Big Three.” Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with 27 points, Russell Westbrook and James Harden shot a combined 38.6 percent from the field, taking 68.7 percent of the team’s shots. It’s fine if those three want to take that many shots (as they have done all season), but it’s crucial that if they’re struggling from the field someone else needs to step up.

May 27, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (right) goes up for ad dunk against San Antonio Spurs forward Boris Diaw (33) during the second half in game one of the Western Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at the AT

The Thunder may have an age advantage, but in order for Oklahoma City to finally make the moves necessary to advance to the Finals they need to be able to depend on their other starters and bench players if Durant or Westbrook are having an off day.

Comparing the failings of the Thunder’s “Big Three” with the success that the experienced Spurs “Big Three” had on Sunday, it’s easy to tell how the game was won by San Antonio. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili combined for 60 points on 47.7 percent shooting from the field. Duncan also managed to record a double-double, grabbing 11 rebounds in the 101-98 victory over the Thunder.

The Thunder are right now treading in unknown territory. They haven’t trailed in any series throughout the playoffs thus far and face going down 2-0 to the Spurs on Tuesday night in San Antonio at 9 p.m.

The Thunder will have to win at least one game in San Antonio to advance to the NBA Finals, but in order to do that Serge Ibaka must be a force both defensively and offensively. The Thunder won’t be able to beat the Spurs with just Durant, Westbrook and Harden alone. Players like Derek Fisher, Nick Collison and Ibaka will have to help out on offense whenever their main offensive producers are being engulfed by the Spurs dominating defense.