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In some ways, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the team that many want the Philadelphia 76ers to be.

On the surface, the previous sentence may appear to be a mistake. After all, the Sixers have a better record from the Cavs, and are (sadly) only a few wins removed from playoff contention.

But as history as shown us, mediocrity is akin to a death sentence in the NBA. Under the league’s current competitive structure, it’s better to be bad than it is to be average, and Cleveland is as bad as they come.

Even so, the Cavs are a promising franchise centered around a dazzling young point guard (Kyrie Irving), and they’re only a couple of drafts/smart offseasons away from making some noise in Eastern Conference. There’s little preventing the Sixers from following that same blueprint, but in order to do so, they have to be willing to take a step or two backward in order to take a few steps forward. If they don’t, then the team’s title drought will continue well into its fourth decade.

During the game against the Cavs - the last home contest of the season - the 76ers will celebrate the accomplishments of the 1982-83 team that captured Philadelphia’s last professional basketball championship some 30 years ago.

And on what usually would have been Fan Appreciation Day down at the Wells Fargo Center, we here at Liberty Ballers would like to take a moment to express our appreciation and gratitude to those of you who have hung with us over these past six months. We’ve been through a lot this year - most of it unpleasant - and if losing builds character, then we’re all better people after this train wreck of a season.

There was the emergence of Jrue Holiday, followed by the brief love affair with Swaggy P. Jason Richardson sprained his ankle landing on a cameraman, and then he injured his knee by… just being old.

Maalik Wayns and Shelvin Mack both made an impression during their brief stints as Sixers, while Kwame Brown has been here all year and we’ve barely seen him. And between Orthokine, bone bruises, and cartilage grown in Petri dishes, we all became medical experts thanks to the presence (or lack thereof) of one Andrew Bynum.

We’ll always remember this year as the season that Thaddeus Young proved that he could be a solid option at power forward. The season that Damien Wilkins shot better than 49 percent after the All-Star Break. The season that the Sixers took (and missed) more long 2s than any other team in the league.

There were times where it seemed like Doug Collins spent more time looking at the box scores of Maurice Harkless and Nik Vucevic than he did coaching Arnett Moultrie. It wasn’t too long ago that Adam Aron gave Collins a vote of confidence at a recent town hall meeting, and now reports are that the front office wants their head coach to walk away from the final year of his deal.

With the end of the season-long marathon finally in sight, we’re left with more questions than we had at the beginning of the year. Are the Sixers willing to cut their losses with Bynum? Will the team bring back Collins for a lame duck season? Should we be worried about Holiday’s lack of production at the end of the year? Does Evan Turner fit into the team’s long-term plans?

No matter how you look at it, the Sixers are clearly at a crossroads…

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Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - Tha Crossroads (DJ U-Neek Sixers Remix)

Bone Bone Bone Bone.. Bone.. Bone.. Bone.. Bone.. Bone

Now tell me whatcha gonna do

When Moultrie gets no run

When judgment comes for you, when judgment comes for you

Now tell me whatcha gonna do

When we only play for pride

When judgment comes for you (Cause it’s gonna come for you)

Head south, bring it in for Marc Z., Malik and even Molly

There’s Blue, but Doug’s got him and I’m gonna miss everybody

When Bynum collected a wage, we wondered when he would play

And then there’s Swaggy P, Nick’s too deep for me to say

Back when Kwame came to me, told me if he could sit out, well then please

Bury him on that bench was the plan, and when you can, DNP-CD

Doug bless you working on a plan for winning

Ride in the tank all 24/7 days

Lucy’s who we praise

Even though Adam Aron’s all up in my face

But he keeping me safe and in my place, say grace

For the case to tank, we couldn’t even give a nudge

Our draft position won’t budge

We live in a world that’s Doug’s

Ooh what can I do, it’s all about the Sixers and how we roll

Can I get a witness, let it unfold

We living our lives, no Oladipo, aye-oh-aye-oh

Prayyyyyyy, and we pray and we pray, and we pray, and we pray

That the guy that we take at 11 can play

And we pray, and we pray, and we pray, and we pray

In 9th place

Now listen up real slow

Losing games is Heaven

Come let’s go take a visit of people that’s long gone

Shelvin, Maalik, Maurice, Nik Vuc

We still wish they were part of the family

Exactly how many games we got lasting

While you laughing, we’re passing, passing away

So y’all go rest y’all souls

Cause I know I’ma meet you up at the crossroads

Y’all know y’all forever got love from the Night Shift, baby

Mo Cheeks is long gone

Really wish he would come home

But I want to pick high

Can’t believe my eyes

All a lil’ fan can do is cry, cry

Why they trade my dog, remember

When we had Sir Charles y’all

and he shoudn’t be gone, from his first home

When didn’t know who was wrong

Oh so wrong, oh so wrong

Gotta hold on gotta stay strong

When the day comes

Moses Malone got a shoulder you can lean on (lean on)

Hey… and we pray, and we pray, and we pray, and we pray

That the guy that we take at 11 can play

and we pray, and we pray, and we pray, and we pray

That the guy that we take at 11 can play

Sixers at the crossroads

Where’s Marc Iavaroni?

Sixers at the crossroads

Where is Andrew Toney?

Sixers at the crossroads

Where’s Marc Iavaroni?

Sixers at the crossroads

Where is Andrew Toney?

And I’m gonna miss everybody

And I’m gonna miss everybody (when Doug’s gone)

And I’m gonna miss everybody 

And I’m gonna miss everybody

And I’m gonna miss everybody (when Doug’s gone)

And I’m gonna miss everybody

Winning in a tanking world sending us straight to Hell (That’s how we roll)

Winning in a tanking world sending us straight to Hell (That’s how we roll)

Winning in a tanking world sending us straight to Hell (That’s how we roll)

I turn and ask Coach Collins “Why?” and sigh

He told me that we play for pride

What’s up with that winning y’all, Damien Wilkins and Thaddeus Young

You’re doing it wrong, you must not read our blog

Then Coach Collins wanted Ivey to ball, 

and nobody’s quitting and Doug intended on ending it when it ends

Wanna win again, again and again

Now tell me what’s he gonna do

Can somebody anybody tell me why?

Hey… can somebody anybody tell me why we can’t pick high?

Just want to pick high…

Ohhh so wrong

Ohhhhh wrong

Ohhh so wrong

Ohhhhh wrong

Sixers at the crossroads

Where’s Marc Iavaroni?

Sixers at the crossroads

Where is Andrew Toney?

Sixers at the crossroads

Where’s Marc Iavaroni?

Sixers at the crossroads

Where is Andrew Toney?

Source: libertyballers.com

Kyrie Irving is the next great NBA point guard.

The above sentence isn’t an opinion, but rather a statement of fact.

Fifty-one games into his professional career, there isn’t much that the 20-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers star can’t do on the basketball court. Irving is a deft passer and ridiculously adept ball-handler, and few players in the league are more efficient in one-on-one situations. Last season, Irving averaged 1.01 points per possession in isolation sets, 10th-best in the NBA per Synergy Sports.

All of which begs the question: How is he already this good?

After only 11 games at Duke, it was fair to wonder how long it would take for Irving to acclimate himself to the NBA game.

The answer? Not long at all.

Irving won the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors in January of his first year after averaging 18.1 points per game—on 51.1 percent shooting—during his first 20 NBA contests.

He won the award again in February. And then again in March. And if he didn’t miss most of April with a sprained right shoulder, Irving would have swept the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for the entire season.

Instead, he had to “settle” for the league-wide Rookie of the Year award as the cap to a wildly successful freshman campaign. The 6’3” point guard actually put up better numbers as an NBA rookie (18.5 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.7 RPG) than he did during his lone season on the collegiate level (17.5 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.4 RPG).

“He has surpassed our expectations and probably everybody in the basketball world’s expectations,” said Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott in an interview with HoopsHype earlier this year. “Kyrie is one of those rare guys who comes in this league and takes it by storm.”

Irving—who has already established himself as one of the best playmakers in the NBA—is remarkably quick, but he rarely plays out of control. And unlike other young point guards, he’s extremely careful with the ball: Irving had only 19 games last season in which he had four or more turnovers.

“He’s a great talent,” LeBron James told CBSSports.com during the USA Basketball training camp last July. “I see him in a couple years being one of the best point guards that we have in this league.”

Irving has a similar skill set to that of Chris Paul, and much like theLos Angeles Clippers point guard, the 20-year-old Irving doesn’t suffer from a lack of confidence. At the USA Basketball training camp, the Cleveland star unflinchingly challenged Kobe Bryant to a one-on-one showdown.

Yet as good as Irving is, he isn’t a transcendent type of player that can lead a below-average Cleveland team deep into the playoffs—at least not at this stage of his career.

True success will come if and when the Cavaliers surround him with the right complementary pieces. Tristan Thompson is an emerging young talent at the power forward position, and if rookie shooting guard Dion Waiters can make a successful transition to the NBA, Cleveland could have one of the best young backcourts in the Eastern Conference.

With Irving still several years away from his prime, the mind can only wonder as to how good he can ultimately become. He’s already placing himself among the league’s best, as his 21.49 Player Efficiency Rating last season was better than that of both Deron Williams (20.34) and Steve Nash (20.29).

The post-LeBron era was supposed to be filled with years of figurative pain and sadness for Cleveland fans. However, with Irving at the controls, the future of the Cavaliers—and the NBA in general—appears to be in good hands.

Source: bleacherreport.com

Maybe the Cleveland Cavaliers know something that the rest of us don’t.

While nearly everyone expected the Charlotte Bobcats to shake up the NBA draft at No. 2, it was Cleveland which had the first stunner of the evening, selecting Syracuse combo guard Dion Waiters with the fourth overall pick.

To be fair, the selection wasn’t a complete surprise.

Hours before the draft, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Waiters was the Cavaliers’ contingency plan if the team was unable to land Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal.

Cleveland made no secret of its desire to trade up to the No. 2 spot, but with the Bobcats unwilling to budge and Washington snagging Beal with the No. 3 pick, the Cavaliers chose Waiters, sending Twitter into a frenzy.

Waiters has lottery-level talent, to be sure, but with so many skilled wing players on the board, the Cavs may have been able to move down a few spots to draft the Syracuse guard while adding some assets in the process.

Shortly after the pick, the newest Cleveland Cavalier disagreed with those who thought that his new employer reached for him at No. 4.

“I’m an all-around player,” said Waiters on a conference call after the selection was made. “I feel like I don’t have any weaknesses.”

While his confidence is inspiring, every player has weaknesses. And when it comes to Waiters, one of the major flaws in his game is his inconsistent jumper.

His shooting percentages last season were decent (47.6 percent overall, 36.3 percent from beyond the arc), but not necessarily good enough to warrant the fourth overall pick.

To his credit, the 20-year-old Waiters found a way to be an efficient scorer at Syracuse (12.6 PPG in 24.1 minutes per game off of the bench), despite the fact that his shot selection left much to be desired.

What also leaves much to be desired is his height: Waiters is 6’4” and will routinely be forced to defend taller guards every time he steps out onto the court. His strength and athleticism will help even the scales somewhat, but after two years playing zone defense for the Orange, it remains to be seen how well he’ll be able to match up one-on-one.

After a disappointing freshman season with the Orange, Waiters re-dedicated himself to the game of basketball and became perhaps the best sixth man in the college game last year.

His improved focus paid immediate dividends: On Thursday, Waiters became only the second player in history to be drafted in the lottery after having never started a game on the collegiate level. (Atlanta’s Marvin Williams was the first, back in 2005.)

Cleveland also caused a stir with the No. 4 pick last year when they selected University of Texas forward Tristan Thompson.

The 6’9” Thompson had a better rookie season than every other big man taken in the 2011 lottery, so perhaps the Cavs—who didn’t have a chance to work out Waiters prior to the draft—are hoping that good fortune will shine on them two years in a row.

If it does, expect to see a letter from Dan Gilbert (in Comic Sans MS) criticizing those who thought the Waiters selection was an unnecessary risk.

Source: bleacherreport.com

If the 2011 NBA Draft was conducted based on sheer bravado, Derrick Williams would be the No. 1 overall pick.

Not that the former Arizona Wildcat is cocky, necessarily. But Williams doesn’t want for confidence in his abilities, and fully believes that he’s the best player in the entire draft class.

Just ask him.

“I think I’m the No. 1 pick because I have more star quality,” said Williams while comparing himself to his peers during a recent interview with ESPN. “Just a bigger person…a big star like LeBron that [Cleveland is] missing…that missing piece.”

Now anyone who has watched the Cavaliers in the A.L. (After LeBron) era knows that they’re far more than a single missing piece away from anything at this point. But selecting Williams with their No. 1 pick is a step in the right direction for an organization looking to recover from a dreadful 19-63 campaign last season.

Those in the know had already pegged the 6’8”, 235-pound Arizona forward as a potential lottery selection at the beginning of the 2010-11 season. However, his performances during the NCAA Tournament this past March served as Williams’ unofficial coming-out party.

After strong outings against Memphis and Texas, Williams exploded into the national consciousness during Arizona’s Sweet 16 matchup with Duke. Against the Blue Devils, Williams scored 32 points—25 in the first half—while displaying a dazzling array of moves that left fans buzzing on Twitter.

Ironically enough, Duke’s leading scorer that evening was point guard Kyrie Irving, Williams’ primary competition for the No. 1 pick in this June’s draft. In only his third game back from a toe injury that kept him out for most of the year, Irving finished with 28 points off of the bench in just his 11th—and final—game in a college uniform.

Both players are ready to step into an NBA starting lineup today, and Cleveland will be well off regardless of which player they ultimately wind up taking. But given their current roster, Williams makes the most sense with the first overall pick.

Choosing Irving first means that the Cavaliers would basically have to pray that Turkey’s Enes Kanter fell into their lap three picks later. A true center, Kanter—who was slated to play at Kentucky this past season, but was ruled ineligible—would pair nicely in the frontcourt with the emerging J.J. Hickson.

If Kanter doesn’t fall to No. 4, they’d probably take Czech-born forward Jan Vesely who, while talented, is not nearly as ready to step into an NBA starting lineup as Williams.

Selecting Williams with the first overall pick gives them a myriad of options at No. 4. Although Irving will be off of the board by then, the Cavs can quickly address their point guard issue as either Kentucky’s Brandon Knight or UConn’s Kemba Walker (or perhaps both) will still be available.

Knight is the latest in a long line of blue-chip point guards developed by John Calipari. While only 19 years old, the 6’3” former Wildcat has all of the tools to become a successful lead guard in the NBA.

In Walker, the Cavs would get an explosive point guard who can fill both seats and box scores at a moment’s notice. Despite being the primary focus of opposing teams’ game plans each and every night, Walker was the most productive player in college basketball last season, averaging 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals, as he led the Huskies to a national title.

Either Knight or Walker paired alongside Williams would be an impressive draft haul for a team trying to sort through the wreckage left after LeBron’s departure. Along with Hickson, the Cavaliers would quickly have a solid foundation which they could build upon for the next several seasons.

The keystone of their rebuilding movement should be Williams, whose impressive skill set will make him one of the more difficult matchups in the entire league. While he has the length to be a stretch four, Williams is adamant about playing the three-position in the NBA.

“I’m not a power forward. I want to clear that up,” said Williams at the NBA draft combine on Thursday. “I’m a small forward that can play the four.”

While the position he winds up playing may still be up for discussion, there should be no debate that Cleveland is the perfect landing spot for Williams. As Nick Gilbert (son of Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert) would say: “What’s not to like?”

Source: bleacherreport.com