Where do Cavs go from here?

At the start of the season, there were still plenty of questions about LeBron James’ supporting cast. The big men were getting old, Wally Szczerbiak seemed to be losing his skills fast and it remained to be seen how a shoot-first point guard like Mo Williams would fit next to James.

There was nothing but smooth sailing during the regular season, though, as Cleveland cruised to 66 wins, celebrating and showboating like the old Saturday morning Harlem Globetrotters every step of the way.

So what happened in the Eastern Conference finals against Orlando? Well, the Magic definitely matched up well, especially on the front line, and did a good job of turning the Cavaliers back into a one-man team.

PIETRUS, LEWIS MADE THE DIFFERENCE
Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu were their usual selves against Cleveland, but two others gave Orlando a big lift. Swingman Mickael Pietrus played the best six-game stretch of his NBA career and the Cavs had no one to guard forward Rashard Lewis.

Remember in the 2003 draft, Pietrus was a popular choice for the Bulls’ No. 7 pick before they went with Kirk Hinrich. A native of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Pietrus went to Golden State in the draft and turned in a decent, but unremarkable six seasons as a pro.

In this series, Pietrus guarded James almost exclusively and didn’t approach lockdown defense – James averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists. But Pietrus managed to pester Cleveland’s superstar into 4.2 turnovers per game and steer him into traffic late in close contests.

Pietrus averaged 13.8 points during the series and knocked down more 3-pointers in the series than anyone on the Magic (17 for 36). In the regular season, Pietrus averaged 9.4 points and shot 35.9 percent from 3-point land. That’s quite a difference.

The 6-foot-10 Lewis was too fast for any of Cleveland’s big men and averaged 18.3 points while drilling 15 of 31 shots from 3-point range.

Statistically, the Cavs and Magic were close to even in most every category except 3-point shooting. Orlando made 20 more 3-point baskets while knocking down 40.8 percent of their attempts. Cleveland shot 32.3 percent from behind the arc.

WHERE DO THE CAVS GO FROM HERE?
Here’s what the rest of the Cavalier did against Orlando while James piled up gigantic numbers:

--Williams, an all-star fill-in, averaged 18.3 points, but shot a disappointing 37.1 percent from the field.

--Guard Delonte West was pretty good, contributing 14.5 points while shooting 44.9 percent.

--Power forward Anderson Varejao and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas couldn’t stay out of foul trouble against Dwight Howard and the other Orlando big men. Varejao averaged 5 fouls per game in just 29.2 minutes.

--Veterans Joe Smith (3.2 points), Ben Wallace (3.7 rebounds) and Szczerbiak (3 of 14 field goals) didn’t contribute much of anything.

Ilgauskas turns 34 on Friday, Wallace will be 35 in September and free agent Smith is 34 in July.

It will be tough for the Cavaliers to do much this summer. They’ll lose Szczerbiak’s $13-million salary, but will still be well above the salary cap until 2010.

Wallace mentioned that he’ll consider retiring this summer, but talking about it and actually walking away from next year’s $14-million salary are two very different things.

Varejao is expected to opt out of his contract and the Cavs need to re-sign him badly. Ilgauskas has another year left at $11.5 million.

Assuming Cleveland can’t afford to lose Varejao, it has few marketable assets beyond West, Williams and maybe young big man J.J. Hickson. The Cavs can use their mid-level exception, but will probably have to pay double because of the luxury tax.

The best hope for the Cavaliers future is they should have cap room in 2010 to try and find a free agent to join James – if they can convince their home-grown star to stay.

There is no way to know for sure how James will approach free agency in 2010. Is he more likely to leave if the Cavs take a step back next year or if he delivers Cleveland’s first major pro sports title in 46 years? The entire league will be breathlessly awaiting the answer to that question.