The regular season is a little more than half over. Much lies ahead for sure.

But even to this point, you've got to wonder: Is this the best Cavs team ever?

Better than NBA Finals Cavs of 2006-07?

That team finished the regular season 50-32 as LeBron James led a playoff run past Washington, New Jersey and Detroit before being swept by San Antonio in the Finals.

Better than "The Shot" Cavs of 1988-89, who fell a Michael Jordan jumper short of possible greatness?

That team rolled to 57 wins, sporting an all-star lineup that featured Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Larry Nance, Ron Harper and John "Hot Rod" Williams. Sports Illustrated predicted it would be the team of the '90s.

Better than the overachieving "Miracle of Richfield" Cavs of 1975-76?

That gang of lunch-bucket heroes finished 49-33, becoming the first Cavs team to reach the playoffs. After playing league doormat for years, they ignited the Richfield Coliseum and the entire region, shedding Washington in the semifinals before falling to Boston in six games in the conference finals.

Each Cavs team was formidable, each memorable for different reasons. Each could rightfully claim itself the "Greatest Cavs Team."

But only one can hold the title. Suppose they could play each other in a seven-game series. Who would rule the court?

Bill Fitch,

Cavs coach (1970-79)

Fitch, who earned Coach of the Year honors for his Miracle of Richfield season, believes his Cavs team could compete with anyone because of its interchangeable parts and deep bench. The Cavs' entire roster was a composite of role players, and Fitch had mastered the control switch.

At any point, the Cavs could put a fresh combination of Jim Chones and Nate Thurmond at center, forwards Bingo Smith, Jim Brewer and Campy Russell, and guards Dick Snyder, Jim Cleamons, Austin Carr and Foots Walker on the floor.

"Let's face it," Fitch said, "none of those [other Cavs] teams has got a player as outstanding as James. [But] all those other teams had more help than LeBron's got right now. None of those teams had the depth that the '76 team had. I could play nine players."

Fitch remains convinced that had Chones been healthy for the Celtics series, his Cavs would have discarded them, too.

Jim Chones,

Cavs C/F (1974-79)

His former coach's confidence aside, Chones doesn't believe the Miracle team could physically compete with the current Cavs.

"They're so much bigger than we were," he said. "Oh my goodness, I don't think we could compare to this team. I would have been a small forward [today]."

This season's team would handle the 2006-07 NBA Finals version, Chones said, because James is better, it has Ben Wallace as a force inside, Anderson Varejao has matured and improved and because the Finals team couldn't touch the current guard combination of Mo Williams and Delonte West.

But the 1988-89 "Shot" team? That lineup, starting with Daugherty's 19 points and nine rebounds per game, might have an edge over James & Co. - for now.

"This team is getting there," he said.

Lenny Wilkens,

Cavs guard (1972-74)

Cavs coach (1986-93)

"The Shot" team in a seven-game series against the current Cavs?

"I like our chances," said Wilkens, a Hall of Fame player and coach. "I would stack that team up against anybody."

Besides points and rebounds, he said, Daugherty was among the best passing centers in the game. He and point guard Price had their pick-and-roll game down to a science. Then, with the athleticism of Harper and Nance, and with Craig Ehlo, Mike Sanders and Williams off the bench. . . .

"It would be a hell of a match," Wilkens said.

Larry Nance,

Cavs forward (1987-94)

"We had the best team of all of them," Nance said, "but the problem is LeBron James. I can't figure out how I would stop a guy like that. He's unstoppable. I would have to call it a tie between our team and the current team. I think it would go right down to seven [games]."

The thing about that 1988-89 team, an unselfish bunch that dished off to whoever held the hot hand on a given night, was that the magic transcended its success on the court.

"First of all, we loved each other," Nance said. "We loved to be around each other. We got to practice early, we stayed after practice and, more than likely, we might have gone to one another's house afterwards. That's how close we were."

Austin Carr, Cavs guard (1971-80) Cavs broadcaster (1997-present)

Carr senses a similar closeness in this year's Cavs. The locker room demeanor with this team feels different than the Finals squad two seasons ago.

"They're more in tune to each other now," Carr said. "When you've been around the game as long as I have, you can feel that immediately."

Among the four best Cavs teams, Carr believes the 2006-07 Finals roster would fall short of the other three, and that the Miracle team would take the current Cavs to a Game 7. But the nod goes to the 2008-09 Cavs, he said, because of James and their playoff experience. Much of the current roster has played in an NBA Finals.

"That extra edge and hunger give this team a huge advantage," he said.

Wayne Embry,

Cavs VP/GM (1985-92)

The Miracle team played at a time when the NBA had fewer franchises, meaning the competition was tougher night in and night out, said Embry, now an executive with the Toronto Raptors.

But among the four Cavs teams in this imaginary tourney, it would come down to the current Cavs and "The Shot" team, said Embry, who rates his 1991-92 Cavs better than the 1988-89 version because they made it to the Eastern Conference finals.

The late-80s-to-early-90s Cavs were deeper than the current team, he said. With three All-Stars and a bench of solid role players, Embry still believes those teams from player one through 12 were better than Jordan and his Bulls.

"But the Bulls had the trump card in Michael Jordan, and we just couldn't overcome his greatness," Embry said. "I guess what I'm saying is greatness trumps a lot of things. I'm not so sure the '90s team could beat the current team because of LeBron. I think it would be a close series. I think the edge would be LeBron."

Joe Tait,

Cavs broadcaster (1970-81, '83-present)

At first, Tait, the man behind the radio microphone for all four special Cavs seasons, considered the question about which team would prevail impossible to answer. But as he played out the tournament in his mind, the winner came into focus.

The controlled style of Basketball played in the Miracle year couldn't match today's high-powered game, Tait said. The Finals team of two years ago was fortunate to even get that far: Chicago choked down the stretch that season, allowing the Cavs to avoid a tough Miami team in the playoffs. Instead, the Cavs eliminated a beat-up Washington team, bounced New Jersey, which wasn't that strong, and rode James and his performance for the ages past Detroit.

That leaves two - the 1988-89 Cavs, which Tait said could compete with anyone, and the current team.

"I'd have to say this team, right now, would finish number two to the Nance, Daugherty crowd in a seven-game series, and it would take all seven," he said. "But by the time this season is over, that may well be turned around. This team has the potential to be the best team ever to wear a Cavs uniform. They're certainly aimed in the right direction."

And the winner is. . . .

Enough talk. Let the debate officially end today.

WhatIfSports.com, a Cincinnati-based company that uses computers to match teams past and present, agreed to simulate a tournament of all four great Cavs teams, including the current one. Each team played the other three 10,000 times to calculate winning percentages and average scores.

Paul Bessire, the Web site's content manager, said player height doesn't figure into the calculations and neither does crowd impact - all games were "played" at neutral sites.

To resolve the burning question - Which Cavs team was the best of all time? - here are the results:

The 2008-09 Cavs won 70 percent of their games by an average score of 106-97.

The 2006-07 "Finals" Cavs won 52 percent of their games by an average score of 99-97.

"The Shot" Cavs of 1988-89 won 48 percent of their games, losing by an average score of 104-103.

"The Miracle of Richfield" Cavs of 1975-76 won 31 percent of their games, losing by an average score of 106-97.

The fact that the teams finished chronologically was merely coincidental, Bessire said. When WhatIfSports fired up its computer to find the best NBA team of all time, for instance, the 72-win Chicago Bulls of 1995-96 clinched that title, edging the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers.

So there you have it. This year's Cavs are indeed the best ever.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: blubinger@plaind.com, 216-999-5531