Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
In the wake of the 2013 NBA Schedule release, the Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten news of quite the interesting opening matchup. On October 30th, the Cavs will make their debut at home against Jason Kidd and his new team, the Brooklyn Nets.
With the moves both teams have made this offseason, it will sure look quite a bit different than any recent meetings. Let the predictions begin.
On one side, you have the Cavs who have added Andrew Bynum, Anthony Bennett – via the draft — and Earl Clark down low which could figure to make one of the better front court depths in the league combined with Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson.
Cleveland features the better point guard in this one — contrary to many opinions — when Kyrie Irving battles Deron Williams. Irving is a young and continually improving guard who has already launched himself quite close the the elite category.
The Nets on the other hand have added, well, age. In acquiring Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry from the Boston Celtics the Nets have bolstered their roster in a big way. Also adding in Andrei Kirilenko will give them a nice, consistent defensive presence on the wing.
With a new head coach — who has never coached previously — and plenty of age, the Nets are going to be in trouble when taking on the much younger and faster Cavs. Brooklyn will be overrated heading into this season and on opening night I don’t expect them to have it all together by any means.
The Cavs have plenty of reason to believe they will win this game. They’ve gotten much better this summer and also have the sophomore season of Dion Waiters to look forward to. Plenty of depth down low and an exciting back court that has built some solid chemistry, the way I see it, gives Cleveland an edge over the newly-thrown-together Nets.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
