The Rising Juggernaut

Cleveland looked championship-caliber as LeBron flew over the Raptors for dunk after dunk Tuesday night.

There's plenty of talk about Boston and L.A., but do the Cavs get mentioned in the same breath?

They're 18-3, and LeBron is becoming more and more unstoppable as the team gels together.
Cavs fans were as rowdy and excited for the Raptors game as a 2006-2007 Warriors crowd would have been. They're 12-0 at home this year.

In an interview on NBA TV with Gary Payton, new PG Mo Williams said his team is ready to play Boston again.

In last year's playoffs, LeBron almost single-handedly carried his team past the Celtics in game 7 of the east semis. Only Paul Pierce's LeBron-like performance staved him off.

Last year, LeBron often played with an exasperated look. Exasperated that he didn't have the supporting cast to be a champion.

This prompted last season's Bulls-Cavs-Sonics trade, which was overshadowed by all the other big trades.

The Cavs unloaded a couple players they didn't want (I didn't totally agree with getting rid of Drew Gooden). But look who they got out of it!

#1 is Delonte West, probably one of the more overlooked players in the league. I guess he was a throw-away player for a dysfunctional Sonics team, but he's not a guy you leave open at the 3 point line (43.5%). A smart ball player getting 11.4 PPG.

#2 is Ben Wallace. He was languishing in Chicago, another dysfunctional franchise, where everyone pronounced him dead. He's pulling in 7 boards a game as a low-minute (23.4) starter. He's 34 and not as dominant as he once was, but he was a Defensive MVP. The Cavs are getting what they can out of him.

#3 is Wally Sczerbiak. Yet another dangerous 3-point shooter. Adding Wally and Delonte to Danny Gibson means there are more threats sitting at the 3 point line that LeBron can kick the ball to when the defense collapses on him.

This season, Mo Williams has taken Cleveland to another level.

This team was still new during last years playoffs, just a few months after the trade. The chemistry wasn't quite there. But now they have a quarterback in Mo.

Williams is a great ball-handler and ideal guy to push the ball up the court, a consummate team player, and yet another 3 point threat. But even more impressive than his outside shooting is his ability to draw the defense with his ball handling.

LeBron and Mo already have an almost psychic chemistry together. He is the running mate King James has been pleading for.

Both draw attention as scoring threats who can create their own shot. This means LeBron gets triple-teamed less than he did last year.

And the combined stealing ability of LeBron, Mo, and Delonte has provided a nice fast break game that usually results in an electrifying LeBron dunk.

Mo talked about how LeBron would have to score 40 and carry the team last year, and how things are different now.

He said LeBron is coming off screens instead of having screens set for him now that Mo's the ball handler. LeBron is able to get out and run more now that Mo's pushing the ball.

But Williams emphasized that his role means LeBron is less worn out. James doesn't have to run around as much in an effort to get open, and is fresher for 4th quarters. This also means he'll be fresher for the playoffs.

So if you want to know what's up with the 2008-2009 Cavs, don't think about how they played last year. Three of their starters weren't on the team before February of 08.

LeBron's still the star, but it's a brand new team.

Now we can return to the age-old comparison...Is this "the year" for the Chosen One?
Jordan's "year" happened when the superstar had a good enough team around him and great chemistry. MJ and the Bulls marked a new era when they got past a veteran Magic and the Lakers.

Maybe LeBron and the Cavs win the Finals this year by beating a veteran Kobe and his Lakers or a veteran Duncan and his Spurs. And maybe all the New York Knicks talk will end as a new dynasty is anointed in Cleveland.