The Cleveland Cavaliers went from a formidable regular season, in which they had the best record in the NBA with a 66-16 record to a disappointing outcome in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic. I remember that the Cavaliers had swept the Pistons and the Hawks prior to that series, but against the Magic, even a terrific Lebron James wasn't enough for the Cavs to beat Orlando.

The Cavs simply couldn't guard Dwight Howard, as he dominated every single Cavs frontcourt player. The Cavs' wing players (besides Lebron James) were too undersized against the bigger and taller Magic's wing players and Mo Williams couldn't perform at the same level he did during the regular season. These were the three biggest problems for the Cavs in that series and GM Danny Ferry did everything to improve the Cavs in those areas during the offseason.

Shaquille O'Neal was the Cavs' biggest addition and the Cavs expect him to battle and limit Dwight Howard in a way that they couldn't do it in the postseason. However, let's not forget that Shaq is now 37 years old and head coach Mike Brown will need to monitor his minutes in order to get Shaq as fresh as possible for the Playoffs. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to watch Shaq playing along with Lebron James because the Cavs unlike in the past, have now two players who demand double team coverage from their opponents and this fact will give Lebron James some more room to operate. I'm saying this because going one on one against Shaq even though when he is 37 years old is not a good idea because almost all Centers in the league are completely undersized when compared to Shaq. In Phoenix last season, O'Neal averaged 17.8 PPG, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in just 30 minutes per game (he also led the league in FG%, converting 60.9% of his field goal attempts). During his career, when Shaquille O'Neal got the chance to play with a terrific wing player, he guided his team through the Finals. That happened with Penny Hardaway in Orlando, with Kobe Bryan in Los Angeles and with Dwayne Wade in Miami, so Shaq's challenge will be to guide Lebron James through his quest.

LeBron James is coming from a terrific season, in which he developed into the most potent and complete offensive weapon in the league. His 28.4 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 7.2 assists per game, while shooting 48.9 % from the field earned him his first MVP trophy, but James is also a fearless and terrific defender, as he led the Cavs in blocks (1.2 bpg) and steals (1.7 spg). In fact, he was second in the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award and this says how complete Lebron James is. However, now playing on his final contract with the Cavaliers, only one goal matters to James: the Championship. Even if he's earn another MVP trophy, but he isn't able to reach the NBA Finals, surely that it won't be a successful season for him and the Cavaliers fans should fear for his future in this organization.

Last season Mo Williams benefited from playing along with Lebron and he had a terrific regular season, in which he was named to the Eastern's All Star team. He finished the regular season with 17.8 ppg and 4.1 apg, while shooting 46.7 % from the field and took full advantage from the constant double team coverage to Lebron James. However when the real competition started for the Cavaliers (the playoffs and essentially the series against the Magic), Mo Williams simply disappeared in the crunch time (he ended the series connecting just 36 of his 97 field goal attempts). With Shaq and Lebron now playing along with him, Williams will have plenty of opportunities, in which he will be wild open. The challenge for him will be to perform consistently when it matters and Mo failed to do that last season, but he will surely have another shot to achieve that this season.

Delonte West was a solid contributor last season, but this season didn't start in the best way for him, as he is currently dealing with several personal problems. It is important for the Cavs that West can get back to his normal condition because he is a solid player in both ends of the floor. Last season, he averaged 11.7 points per game and shot almost 40% behind the arc, while also showing that he is a good overall defender with one and a half steals per game. Daniel Gibson and Anthony Parker will complete the Cavs' backcourt. Gibson is a solid shooter off the bench who can spread the floor for the Cavs, however he can't offer much more than that for the team. Meanwhile, Anthony Parker was a good signing, as he can shoot from the perimeter and he can also defend very well the opponent's shooting guard - something that the Cavs missed last season because they had a pure point guard (West) playing in the SG position.

For the frontcourt, Mike Brown has the biggest challenge to solve. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will now start off the bench and let's see how Z adapts to his new role. I remember that in his long tenure with the Cavs, he was always a starter. However, Ilgauskas is a player with a high basketball IQ who takes smart decisions and he will try to help his team in the way they want. Meanwhile, Anderson Varejao will now have a key role in this team. Unlike Z and Shaq, Andy is a mobile big man who can run up and down the court. He replaced Ben Wallace in doing the "dirty work" for the team and he didn't receive the proper credit for that. Last season, Varejao scored 8.6 points per game, while shooting 53.6 % from the field, but his role is to be aggressive in both ends of floor. When we think about a guy who can grab multiple offensive rebounds or charge his opponents with offensive fouls, we are talking about Varejao. GM Danny Ferry also added Leon Powe to the mix, but Powe is coming from an ACL surgery and he will not have a true impact early on the season.

The Cavs were the best NBA team in the regular season, with the best defense in the league, while Lebron James carried the team offensively, with his scoring and playmaker abilities. Now with Shaquille O'Neal and some additions in the wings, there isn't absolutely any reason to not think that they will battle for the best NBA record once again. Team chemistry will be a challenge especially in the frontcourt and Lebron must avoid all the possible distractions related to his free agency status in the next summer. It will be interesting to watch the regular season games between the Magic and the Cavs to see how Mike Brown will matchup his team to the Magic. Championship is the key word for the Cavs this season and anything less than that will be a failure for them.