The NBA landscape today looks an awful lot like the real estate market: Location is everything. That's particularly true in Cleveland, where location has twice blessed the NBA franchise that resides there.
Simply being the birthplace of LeBron James (or close to it) was enough to entice the world's best player to come home; and being east of the Mississippi has provided the Cavs with precious time to help find their footing in their first year as contenders.
The Cavs entered the weekend 18-11 and comfortably secure as the fifth seed in the East. That same record in the West would give them a slim hold on the seventh seed and very much fighting just to make the playoffs.
But the clock is speeding up on all teams this season -- East and West -- and the Cavs are about to get caught in the vortex. Anderson Varejao's season-ending Achilles injury has intensified the team's need for a big man. It's too early to say if Varejao's injury will increase the price on available big men, but the Cavs are trying to stay patient and assess what they have before spending.
They might not be able to wait long. The competitiveness of the West is hastening the market.
"You're going to see more activity ahead of the trade deadline this year," one rival head coach predicted recently. "Teams in the West can't wait. If you're .500 [in the West] and you wait until the trade deadline, you might be too late."
Evidence of that is already surfacing. Rajon Rondo was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, Corey Brewer was dealt to the Houston Rockets and now Josh Smith has signed with the Rockets -- all within the last 10 days. Two of those three moved to the West from the East, further widening the gap between the haves and have-nots.
The imbalance between the conferences seems to expand every year. The eighth seed in the East has averaged between 38 and 39 victories in the past 10 full (non-lockout) seasons. A total of 10 teams in the past decade have made the playoffs with a losing record.
Eighth seeds in the West, conversely, have averaged 46 victories the past 10 years. Twice 50-win teams had to settle for an eighth seed and that doesn't include the Mavericks, who needed 49 wins just to hold off the Phoenix Suns for the final playoff spot last season.
The lower half of the East is in a constant rebuild. A couple of teams (the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics) in contention to make the playoffs aren't even trying to win. The Celtics entered the weekend just 1 1/2 games behind the Brooklyn Nets for a playoff spot and they will move anything not nailed down.
One rival front office executive recently predicted Jeff Green will follow Rondo out the door and there have already been whispers the Celtics would be open to moving Brandan Wright, whom they just acquired in the Rondo deal.
The Indiana Pacers are struggling through an identity crisis after the loss of Paul George and the Charlotte Bobcats are a dysfunctional mess after making the playoffs last season. Yet both teams entered Friday with 10-19 records and only three games out of the final playoff spot.
The Nets, who currently hold the eighth seed, are on pace to win just 36 games. That would be the lowest victory total for a playoff team since 2004 when the Celtics made it in with 36 victories.
All of which means the Cavs have plenty of time to figure out their defensive woes, and judging by recent performances, they're going to need it. Compile a list of all big men making $5.2 million or less (the value of their trade exception) and the Cavs were calling all of them to check the price and availability long before Varejao's injury.
"We're not that good right now," James said following the Cavs' Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat. "We've won some really good games, we've lost some games, but we're not that good right now."
He doubled down when asked about it again on Friday: "We're nowhere near championship ball," he said.
Yet the Cavs have something the Rockets, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors can never obtain: Time. They're one hot streak from challenging the Toronto Raptors for the best record in the East, yet even if they continue to sputter, it's hard to see them slipping beyond the fifth seed.
It's clear at this point the Cavs are not a completed product. This is still a flawed roster despite a Big Three. And although the schedule or East standings won't force them to move quickly on Varejao's replacement, the market might. Buyers in the West are already lining up and closing deals.
The same that is true of the ultra-competitive West can also apply to the Cavs in a supply-and-demand sort of way: If they wait until the trade deadline, it might be too late.
Sports on 12/28/2014