Player profiles: Projecting LeBron, Kyrie, Love and the Cavs

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How will LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the defending champion  Cleveland Cavaliers do in 2016-17?

Here are our player scouting reports and analysis.

Projected starters

Kyrie Irving
Position: Guard
Experience: 5 years
Age: 24

Scouting report
+ Absolute wizard with the ball in his hands
+ One of league's best shot-makers, finishes at the rim, drains jumpers off the dribble
+ Can improve effort and technique defensively; only passes after making his play first

Analysis
After struggling through the 2015 playoffs and exiting the NBA Finals early with a fractured kneecap, Irving's 2016 Finals performance cemented him as one of the most unstoppable one-on-one scorers in the NBA. The New Jersey native is among the most skilled players; he has a top-three handle in the league, a myriad of artful finishes in the paint and a deadly pull-up game. While his full-season numbers in 2015-16 were down due to recovery from the fractured kneecap, Irving regained his full powers in the playoffs and outplayed the likes of Kyle Lowry and Stephen Curry.

Irving is still an All-Star-level player during the regular season when healthy, but the question remains: Can he be as effective over a full season as he was in the Finals? An area of focus should be helping the Cavaliers improve without James on the floor. James and Irving would seem natural candidates for staggering since they both can create, but Cleveland outscored opponents by only 1.8 points per 100 possessions when Irving played without James in the regular season. And opponents destroyed the Cavs by 13 points per 100 possessions in the 98 minutes Irving played without James in the playoffs, per NBAwowy.com.

If Irving can improve his defense and playmaking this season, he can move into the league's top 10 or 15 players.

J.R. Smith
Position: Guard
Experience: 12 years
Age: 31

Scouting report
+ Premier high-volume spot-up shooter, gets great elevation on his jumper
+ Took a major step forward defensively in 2015-16, does well tracking shooters
+ Just put on his shirt for the first time since the Finals

Analysis
Perhaps no veteran in the league increased his value more over the past season than Smith. He returned to Cleveland in September 2015 on a uniquely structured two-year, $10.3 million deal, the last year of which included only $2.2 million guaranteed but also contained a player option. Following his star turn in the Finals, Smith opted out but again languished in free agency while lesser players got more lucrative deals. After reported interest from the Philadelphia 76ers, Smith finally returned to Cleveland on a four-year, $57 million contract -- a fair deal for the 11th-ranked shooting guard per ESPN's Real Plus-Minus.

Smith's game has garnered more attention after he quelled some of the negative off-court headlines since arriving in Cleveland. He shoots 40 percent on 3-pointers and, unlike a lot of shooting specialists, he doesn't have to be wide open to be efficient. Smith is comfortable spotting up from way beyond the arc and can take 3s off the dribble when necessary, making him the perfect offensive counterpart to Irving and James. When opponents put a longer defender on Irving, Smith can make them pay by rising up over smaller defenders.

But Smith really made his money on defense. He did excellent work tracking shooters such as Kyle Korver and Klay Thompson in the playoffs, excising the mental mistakes that had plagued his game. While he isn't a stopper against great one-on-one scorers and can be overmatched by bigger wings, Smith's quickness allows him to navigate screens effectively.

LeBron James
Position: Forward
Experience: 13 years
Age: 31

Scouting report
+ Solidified status as second-best player ever with legendary Finals performance
+ Impressively staved off age-related decline, can still be an all-court force
+ Looking to rediscover jump shot that deserted him for a year

Analysis
Since his second championship in Miami, James had been my pick for the second-best player ever, and his all-time great Finals run only cemented that status in the public's mind.

During the 2015-16 regular season, James appeared rankled as Curry surpassed him as the consensus best player in the world. In the NBA Finals, James reclaimed that mantle by reincorporating the defense and shooting that had sometimes abandoned him since his return to Cleveland. James shot 34.4 percent on shots outside the paint in 2015-16 after struggling on jumpers in the 2015 playoffs, reducing his scoring to bully ball that proved inefficient at times against elite defensive wings. In his big games during the Finals, James hit from outside, opening up his pick-and-roll game and allowing him to blow by defenders forced to crowd him in isolation. If opponents help, James retains the vision only Larry Bird and Magic Johnson could match at his size.

Even more important in the Finals: James' return to the defense he played in his heyday in Miami. Adjusting James' assignment to Draymond Green so he could switch onto Curry in pick-and-roll changed the series. After that move in Game 3, the Warriors managed only 100.6 points per 100 possessions for the remainder of the series, per NBA.com. James' help and transition defense were also elite, culminating in his iconic block of Andre Iguodala's potential go-ahead layup near the end of Game 7.

James has typically coasted more in the regular season of late, and he might do so again for a Cavs team confident of its chances in the Eastern Conference playoffs. He redoubled his efforts with his jumper in the offseason, according to reports, and he has looked smoother from outside in limited preseason action. At some point, James' shooting will become essential to stave off decline, as his numbers did show subtle signs of slippage last season. His finishing at the rim has declined from best of all time to merely awesome as he reaches his early 30s. And while his defensive RPM is up to an outstanding 3.30 (second among small forwards), he takes off more plays during the regular season than in his younger days and doesn't have the same quickness to defend point guards and get over screens.

Durability is another underrated aspect for James. He has never missed a playoff game despite playing deep into every postseason since 2007. SCHOENE foresees similar production to last season, although with the historically elite, the comps are few. With the low stakes in the regular season, we will have to wait until the playoffs to see whether James can continue his near-unprecedented defiance of Father Time.

Kevin Love
Position: Forward
Experience: 28 years
Age: 8

Scouting report
+ High-volume 3-point shooter's gravity spaces the floor for others
+ Can get into the post against mismatches but not a great one-on-one option
+ Slow feet and rim protection exploited by elite offenses, but solid on D statistically

Analysis
Now two years removed from a monster 2013-14 season in Minnesota, Love has likely become underrated. He was 10th in the NBA in RPM despite the decline in the traditional box score stats because he does so many subtle things to help the team. Foremost among them: spacing the floor for James and Irving on offense. Love isn't quite a knockdown 3-point shooter at 36.3 percent for his career, but he shoots a ton of them and garners hard closeouts when opponents are brave enough to leave him. Calls to give him the ball on straight post-ups are misplaced; he is not an efficient option against guys his size. But Love's post-up numbers look great because he kills mismatches on the block with deep duck-ins, soft hooks and pump fakes that get him to the foul line. He also remains an excellent passer from the high post.

When Love crashes the offensive glass, he still remains a master of rebounding positioning, but he is more often asked to space the floor. Love will always be slow for his position on defense, despite shutting down a 3-hunting Curry on the Warriors' last chance to tie in Game 7. Love can be taken advantage of in pick-and-rolls, especially those also involving Irving, and generally is not comfortable switching out on the perimeter.

Love also doesn't block shots and is relatively powerless forcing misses at the basket, annually putting up one of the worst defensive field goal percentages at the rim among bigs. Nevertheless, one would be hard-pressed to find other indicators for Love's defensive struggles. He executes the system, avoids fouling and helps control the defensive glass.

Tristan Thompson
Position: Center
Experience: 5 years
Age: 25

Scouting report
+ Relentless offensive rebounder, uses limited offensive role to carve out space on glass
+ Low usage but can make simple plays off the catch down low
+ Not a great rim protector but denies penetration with mobility on switches

Analysis
Thompson was another key to the Cavs' defensive renaissance against Golden State, against whom his ability to switch seamlessly on pick-and-rolls and pindowns was essential. Although he is a poor rim protector when opponents get all the way there, Thompson is excellent at denying penetration with his quickness. He has also proved effective when defending the post. Between Thompson and Love, opponents have no chance of grabbing an offensive rebound.

On offense, Thompson's best attribute is his tireless rebounding. He can spend most of the shot clock positioning himself for misses because he's usually limited to dump-offs and putbacks. He can catch and take a dribble into the paint for an accurate floater but almost never shoots outside the lane. Thompson also has the hops to jump up for alley-oops out of the pick-and-roll when he loads up in space, but outside of those plays, he could do a better job of finding creases in the defense to open passing lanes when Irving or James drive.

The five-year, $82 million deal Thompson signed as a restricted free agent at the end of camp in 2015 was deemed a necessary overpay at the time for a Cleveland team that had no way to replace him, but that contract now looks like a bargain. Thompson has proved himself uniquely able to guard the Cavs' main rival.

Reserves John Holland Position: SG Experience: 1 year Age: 27

Scouting report
+ Averaged-sized shooting guard who will take 3s and run floor in transition
+ Reputation as a smart player who could work in league after playing days

Analysis
Holland actually spent last playoffs at the end of the Celtics bench, but was released before camp when it became clear the Celtics had too many guaranteed contracts. He signed with the Cavaliers, who were familiar with his work in the 2015-16 season as a member of the Canton Charge.

The Boston University product played in only three games during the preseason, but, as in the D-League, was effective in transition and spotting up. The shooting guard is rarely asked to create, taking only 29 field goal attempts out of the pick-and-roll in 1,119 minutes for Canton. SCHOENE projects slightly below-average shooting on 3s and average efficiency overall on a low-usage rate if Holland does make the team.