Dan Labbe, who will be blogging on the Cavaliers for Cleveland.com, had a list of 10 questions going into the ‘07-’08 season.  Now, from this humble blogger, a few answers.

 1.  Can Daniel Gibson start at one of the guard spots?

 Answer:  Why not?  Gibson has a good shooting touch, and showed very little fear when he stepped up big in the playoffs last year.  That courage was the difference between Gibson and a number of other guards that have had difficulty living in LeBron’s shadow.  But Gibson is not a great ballhandler, and he’s not big enough to get into the lane with regularity.  Cavs fans should look at this kid like a Cleveland B.J. Armstrong.  Then again, Armstrong once started an All-Star Game, so that should be enough.

2.  Will Sasha and Anderson be on the rooster?

Answer: Yes.  Look, athletes, especially NBA athletes, overestimate their value to a team.  Pavlovic and Varejao were important parts of the Cavaliers’ run to the Finals, and their heads got a little big.  Once it’s clear that they’ll be leaving money on the table, they’ll be back in the fold, and all will be forgiven.  Danny Ferry has been playing them perfectly, and I would say not only will Sasha and Andy be in camp when the Cavs get back from China, but it’s also likely that they will be signed to reasonable short-term deals as well.

That being said, it is absolutely imperative that the Cavs have these guys on the team this year.  These are good players who should only get better in the next few years.  (And yes, I meant “rooster,” and it’s a joke taken from that opus of baseball movies, Major League II.  Go TRIBE.)

3.  What will the offense look like?

Answer:  Well, for the first few months, it will look like it was designed by hamsters.  Drunk hamsters.   But it will get better throughout the year, and in the playoffs it will be efficient enough to get the Cavs back to the Finals.

4.  Will Larry Hughes show up?

Answer:  Brian Windhorst tells us that Larry has been dunking in practice.  At the same time, I didn’t see Larry go to the hoop once during the first two preseason games.  I don’t know if it’s a physical thing with Hughes, or if it’s a mental thing, but he has never been able to get to the hoop consistenly since he’s been in Cleveland.  Larry Hughes is not useful as a spot shooter, and he has not adapted the mentality of a point guard.  He’s still valuable on defense, but I believe that Hughes will continue to be an anchor dragging down the Cavs offense this season.

5.  How committed will the Cavs be to going inside?

Answer:  Mike Brown knows that the post game is like the running game in football.  You have to have it, otherwise you become easy to defend.  The Bulls are a very good team, but without a post presence, they’re not going anywhere (no matter what John Hollinger says).  I expect the offense to continue to feed Z for several possessions a game, and I expect Gooden to get his too.  Even when the Cavs had no offense to speak of, they managed to get the ball inside enough.

I will say that I was very surprised to see Gooden with the ball at the top of the circle many times on Thursday.  I just don’t think that puts him or the rest of the team in a good position to succeed.

And while Z’s hook shot is ugly, it’s still much more effective than the Larry Hughes jumper for the elbow.  Z contributed well in the playoffs, and they Cavs will need him to be effective again this  year.

6.  Will the Cavaliers have a consistent scorer off the bench?

Answer:  I think so, if they commit to bringing Pavlovic off the bench and make him the primary option when LeBron sits down.  I think that Pavlovic has the size, speed and skill to be a potent scorer, and there have been signs of that in the past.  But I also think that Sasha has trouble deciding when to be aggressive and when to defer to LeBron when both of them are on the court.  It’s clear to me that LeBron needs more rest during the regular season this year, and the Cavs can make up for any lost production if Pavlovic can thrive as a primary bench-scoring option.

After two preseason games, I feel safe in saying that the bench scoring won’t be coming from Shannon Brown, at least not until February.  The kid has not been good.

7.  What will the Eastern Conference look like?

Answer: Pretty much the same.  Boston may have gotten better, but I think they’ll just be playing the Miami role this season, putting together a mediocre year, then falling in the playoffs.  Chicago and Detroit are good, but they don’t have the MVP-caliber player they need.  While the Cavs might not find the path to the Finals as easy as last year, the regular season looks to be pretty comparable.  Is another 50-32 season in the works?

8.  Can Ferry pull the trigger?

Answer: He won’t need to.  The offense should develop throughout the season, and if the Cavs do a better job on offense, the cries for a point guard will die down.  This is pretty much the team, assuming that Sasha and Andy come on board.  It was good enough to get to the Finals last year, and it will be good enough to do the same this year.

9.  Will LeBron play like he did in ‘05-’06?

Answer: No.  He doesn’t need to.  In ‘05-’06, LeBron was trying to prove to the world that he was an elite player.  He did that, and now he knows that the only thing that matters is the Championship.  He will still have a fantastic season, but it won’t be record-breaking.  He’s saving all the good stuff for the Playoffs.  Now that, that will be something.

10.  Is this a step back year?

Answer:  Not a chance.  No one on the team, especially LeBron, is satisfied with the way things ended last year, and they’re going to make every effort to get back to the Finals.  The numbers might not improve, but LeBron will be a better all-around player this year, just like he has been every year.  The offense will have fits and starts, but it will be better than last year.  The defense is going to hold steady.  And the younger players like Gibson, Pavlovic, Varejao and Shannon Brown should improve (remember, all of those guys are in their low-20’s).

Even if the Cavaliers don’t reach the Finals (and I think they will), they will be a better team next year.  They were ahead of schedule in ‘06-’07, and I expect them to continue to improve.  The only way they could take a step back is if LeBron gets complacent.  And after what I’ve seen for four years, I’m not about to doubt him.

Go Cavs.

Mike C.