With the Cavaliers starting their season on Wednesday night an opening night litmus test against the Brooklyn Nets, the focus will be on Kyrie Irving, Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters, and, of course, Andrew Bynum as the Cavs look to go from one of the worst teams in the NBA to a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference. We asked our staff for their thoughts on what they expect from the Cavs this season and who will play for the NBA Championship.

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“What if?”

It’s the most Cleveland of questions. The Indians liked it so much they turned it into their advertising slogan for several years. But this year’s Cavaliers team might have every right to snatch that slogan for themselves.

Perhaps no team in the NBA presently has a bigger factor of variables than the Cavs. We know the Heat, barring a catastrophic injury to LeBron James, are going to be the league’s best team. We’re almost certain the 76ers are going to be the league’s worst team, fronting the Andrew Wiggins lottery derby in 2014.

But the Cavs? They could fall just about anywhere in between.

What if Kyrie Irving takes the next step to superstardom? What if injuries limit him to fewer than 65 games again?

What if Andrew Bynum recovers to his 2011-12 form, when he had the best statistical season of his career? What if his knees can’t keep him on the floor?

What if Andy Varejao once again flourishes in Mike Brown’s defense? What if he keeps adding lines to his rapidly-lengthening injury history?

What if Dion Waiters really is Joe Dumars to Kyrie’s Isiah Thomas? What if he’s a chronic shot-chucker who consistently sabotages offensive possessions, and he never gets any better?

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The injury prone label is one of the most dubious honors that can be bestowed on a player. All it takes is for a guy to suffer a few ill-timed injuries before fans quickly slap the injury prone label on him. And once a guy is perceived as injury prone, it’s a monumental task to reverse that perception.

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The Cavaliers played their sixth of eight preseason games at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Monday night. The game was a typical preseason game in the sense that the rotations didn’t appear to have as much rhyme or reason as a regular season game, but Mike Brown made a point to play more of his starters to finish the game.

The Cavs held a lead for the majority of the matchup. They jumped to a 31-19 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers. Even though they are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league in the upcoming season, it is always promising to see the starters do so well against starters from the opposing team. The Cavs had a balanced attack offensively in the quarter. Seven players scored and none had more than 6 points. They held Philadelphia to 31.8% shooting and shot 57.1% from the field.

The Cavaliers took their foot off the pedal in the 2nd quarter. They were outscored 31-23 which left them with an unimpressive 54-50 lead going into halftime. Kyrie Irving dazzled in the first half. He had 12 points and 6 assists, which would be a decent preseason performance for the third year point guard. Irving had a bevy of fun passes and drives to the basket which left the crowd of 11,276 in awe.

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