As the NBA preseason marches on, Ball Don't Lie looks at all 30 teams, outlining off-season transactions, projecting win totals, spinning tracks, and much, much more. It's a fun, hot mess. Next up, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Last Season: 45-37; lost in the second round of playoffs to The Truth, Celtics

Key Players Added: Mo Williams (traded to Cleveland as part of a three team, six player orgy with the Cavs, Bucks and Soni— er, Thunder), journey man Lorenzen Wright (free agent), Darnell Jackson (draft), JJ Hickson (draft, draft)

Key Players Lost: Damon Jones (traded to Bucks, parted ways, looked in the mirror) Joe Smith (traded to OKC), Dwayne Jones (free agent, signed with Magic)

Kelly Dwyer's Endless Grey Ribbon: Getting Mo Williams helps, it really does. Any semblance of scoring and consistent spacing from that point guard spot, to say nothing of the occasional extra pass, means a ton. The Cavaliers are going to benefit so much from his presence.

With that said, Cleveland might be the easiest read in the NBA this year, and that’s not a good thing.

This is a talented outfit with some good parts that do fine things. The Cavs have good players surrounding the best player in the league, even if they’re not exactly providing a solid foundation or proper pairing for his talents. Cleveland is a dominant rebounding team, it plays solid defense, and LeBron James can carry things for a game at a time, but it really shouldn’t have to be like this.

LeBron isn’t some martyred superstar wasting away on a lottery team, mind you. The Cavs can play, and the rest of the roster isn’t an absolute waste. This isn’t a KG-in-Minnesota situation. I’m not trying to tell you that the Cavalier brass has failed in helping James reach his goals. Far from it. Considering the salary cap and the chances (like, the summer of 2005) Cleveland has had, Danny Ferry hasn’t done a bad job. I don’t like his coach, and yet, things could be worse.

But James can’t run with these guys. He can’t hit them with pinpoint passes because none of them are high percentages finishers. Or medium percentage finishers. Or finishers. He can hope they knock down the open three pointer, but beyond that, he’s at it himself.

I’m not saying this has anything to do with what decision James will make in 2010, I’m tired of that noise and see no reason to take that subject on. But you will see the album cover below soon enough, and I just can’t imagine James is happy with his less-than-ideal situation. He keeps a brave face, but you know how LeBron feels when he’s triple-teamed 26 feet from the hoop while nobody guards Ben Wallace.

This team will be better in 2008-09, though, and not just because of Williams. It will also be better in spite of the continued drop-off for the squad’s (sometimes, in the case of the last two) well-meaning older types like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, and Wally Szczerbiak.

You see, James’ increased production will make up for that drop off. Should he continue to improve at the rate he’s improved at from year to year (with one noticeable fall-off in 2006-07), James should be doing some pretty legendary stuff this season, assuming his play over the last few seasons hasn’t been exemplary enough. Throw in Daniel Gibson getting a wee bit better, Anderson Varejao being in shape from the beginning of the year, Delonte West’s weird neck tattoos, and Williams’ presence, and you have a team that has as good a chance as any to make it to the Finals.

This is all dependent on a healthy team, though, and James’ continued growth. A month-long injury to Williams or Big Z could have the Cavs struggling to top .500. You have to wish that it didn’t have to be that way, just treading water. I wish a player like this had a better group to work with, but that’s not going to be the case this year or next; not until Cleveland’s payroll falls to essentially nil in 2010.

So, fingers crossed until then, and in the meantime, prepare for some missed lay-ups, not enough fast breaks, some 78-76 wins, and another underrated season for the ages from LeBron.

Expected Record: 47-35

Lolnbaz:

Anderson Varejao's Grade 6 School Picture:

Real Talk, Blog Talk (aka excerpts from other blogger team previews):

Cavalier Attitude: "I was fired up the minute I heard that the Cavs had landed Mo Williams. There were rumblings around the league during the week leading up to the big deal, and when it finally happened, I knew that Danny Ferry had arrived as an upper-echelon General Manager. The man simply won’t make a move in which there is any chance that he’ll lose. In this case, he gets a point guard who put up 17 points and six dimes for ... Damon Jones and Joe Smith. Think about that for a moment."

Waiting For Next Year: Frontcourt depth could very well be the Cavs’ biggest weakness this season. The only proven big men the Cavaliers have are Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, and Anderson Varejao. Lorenzen Wright is unlikely to have much to offer at all, and Darnell Jackson is unlikely to be ready to play yet. A lot of pressure will be on J.J. Hickson to pick up the NBA game and the Cavaliers’ defensive rotations quickly, as the Cavs will need him to be able to contribute meaningful minutes. Finding an offensive system in general is another weakness on this team. Entering into his 4th season as head coach, Mike Brown has yet to find a way to get the team to run any kind of offense whatsoever, and the stats bear that out. In his first 3 seasons as coach the Cavs have ranked 15th, 19th, and 24th in points per game, despite having one of the league’s premiere offensive players in LeBron James. The regression of offense is a trend Mike Brown needs to get turned around this season for the Cavaliers to rise out of relative mediocrity."

Fear The Sword: "What are the goals for this team? A Divisional Title, a top-2 seed in the playoffs and a trip back to the Finals. The Cavaliers have the best player in the game and a decent set of pieces around him to make that happen. The Cavaliers also possess a $13.5 million bullet in the form of Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract. Should the need arise come February for the Cavaliers to make a move to bring in an impact player, Danny Ferry has the tools at his disposal to make that happen. There is no reason to think a trip to the Finals is out of reach for this team, and who has the stones to ever bet against Lebron James in a 7-game series?  Yea, me neither."

Associated Wax: The Afghan Whigs, What Jail Is Like

Michael Bay's Twitter Season Projection:

michael_bay: You know, with a little make-up, Ilgauskas could make one killer Transformer. Quick! Somebody get me some cardboard! Bay's got a vison!
about 3 hours ago from web

Related: 08-09 NBA Preview