Nick Gilbert struck again. The 14-year-old son of Cleveland Cavaliers' owner, Dan Gilbert, represented the team in the NBA Draft Lottery and he brought his father's organization luck once again. Though the highlight of the evening was the Cavaliers winning the No. 1 NBA Draft pick for the second time in three years, there was something Gilbert did that attracted some attention and many wonder if in fact his luck will continuing going.
Gilbert predicted a final appearance in the NBA Lottery for the Cavaliers, which is awarded to the worst teams in the NBA. With this, Gilbert was saying that the Cavaliers are going to make a playoff appearance in 2014 with their new unknown star set to make immediate contributions to a young Cavaliers team.
How likely is this?
Well, if anything was learned from the 2013 season it is that the Eastern Conference, though home of the best record in basketball, isn't as competitive as the West. This is good news for the Cavs as they could finish the season under .500 and still have a chance to make the playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks were 38-44, winning 14 more games than the 2013 Cavaliers who finished 24-58, and they made the playoffs.
The Cavaliers already have one of the better, young stars in the league as Kyrie Irving has not been a fluke in his two years in the league. The Cavs also have a scrappy veteran in Anderson Varejao who has been improving year after year. Entering his age 30 season, Varejao averaged the first double-double of his career scoring 14 points and grabbing 14 rebounds per game.
Rumors have it that Nerlens Noel will be the first pick of the draft and he can do what the big man Varejao can't as Noel's game is blocking. Varejao averaged less than a block per game, meanwhile, Noel brought his presence to the paint while in Kentucky blocking over four shots per game and he is only 19 years old.
Noel is coming off an injury, which will raise questions in regards to his health. The last thing the Cavaliers need is a Sam Bowie situation. Noel could add to the young talented roster in Cleveland as Alonzo Gee, C.J. Miles and Dion Walters are all under 26 years of age. Varejao and Miles are the only guys in this group with playoff experience, but with Irving set to come back with another year of experience, it will be interesting to see if Gilbert's predictions do become a reality.
