Series Thread: Eastern Conference Finals: 1) Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25) vs. 2) Toronto Raptors (56-26)

[bksballer89]

did you see what happened?

The Raptors committed to trying to stop the 3- and left 2 of the best ISO players in the world a totally open lane. lol....

I mean- what is the adjustment?

Biyombo was the only one that played decently and played with any heart from what i saw until they put the end of the bench in at the end of the game.

I just dont know if Toronto even believes they can do anything. They just finished a 7 game series with 3 overtimes- have advanced the farthest ever in franchise history- and a juggernaut was waiting for them well rested and prepared.

Itll be interesting seeing what adjustment Toronto makes- but as LeBron has been saying- the Cavs ARENT a 3 pt shooting team- no team with the abilities of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James to dominate in the paint will ever be a 3 pt shooting team---- but if you give them the 3 - they will hurt you-- if you give them the lane- they will hurt you...

I wonder what Casey does next. Pray?

So we should expect a 30+ Cavs win every game? Cool

 

[Wamu]

So we should expect a 30+ Cavs win every game? Cool

If that would happen then this years ECF's would be the most boring of all time.

 

[bksballer89]

If that would happen then this years ECF's would be the most boring of all time.

It's already pretty boring IMO. Hopefully Toronto can compete the rest of the series. Not rushing to judgement though. Rushing to judgments after a home game 1 win is not the best idea. Still sticking with Cleveland in 5 but think it will be close games

 

[Wamu]

It's already pretty boring IMO. Hopefully Toronto can compete the rest of the series. Not rushing to judgement though. Rushing to judgments after a home game 1 win is not the best idea. Still sticking with Cleveland in 5 but think it will be close games

Yeah Cavs in 5 sounds right. I could see the Raptors winning either game 3 or 4 @ home.

 

[gordontrue]

Times like the last 2 years is when I kind of wish they did away with conferences and the playoffs just included the top 16 teams. Semi finals series would be much better like that instead of having teams like the 2015 Hawks and 2016 Raptors in the final 4

If we had a top 16...

Last years Hawks would've been the overall #2.
This years Raptors would've been the overall #4.

Even if you put aside regular season records and had them evaluated and ranked going into the playoffs... both teams are easily consensus top 5 teams in the league.

So what's the big problem with having them in the final four??

 

[bksballer89]

If we had a top 16...

Last years Hawks would've been the overall #2.
This years Raptors would've been the overall #4.

Even if you put aside regular season records and had them evaluated and ranked going into the playoffs... both teams are easily consensus top 5 teams in the league.

So what's the big problem with having them in the final four??

Schedule would be different if they did so I doubt either of those teams would be top 5 if we played a balance schedule instead of playing the East 52 times and the West 30 times

 

[WiggyRuss]

So we should expect a 30+ Cavs win every game? Cool

I doubt that----BUT---that 17 point avg. you were running your mouth about is CERTAINLY gonna cause Toronto some work to get back that is for sure!!!

 

[gordontrue]

Schedule would be different if they did so I doubt either of those teams would be top 5 if we played a balance schedule instead of playing the East 50 times and the West 32 times

A fair point, but I disagree with your conclusion on those 2 teams.

This year the difference in SOS was essentially none at all. W-L numbers would be unlikely to change much.

Last year, the west definitely had a tougher SOS. Atlanta didn't just edge those guys out, though. Hawks had the 2nd best record in the league by a wide margin. Maybe HOU and LAC have a chance to equal them in the standings. No way they fall out of top 5 though.

The whole point of the regular season is to earn your position in the playoffs. Hawks last year and Raptors this year had GREAT regular seasons. They both earned their way to the conf finals. How they perform in the conf finals doesn't take anything away from that.


I would get your point if the top 4 teams in the West all had better records than last years Hawks or this years Raptors... but they didn't.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I think regular season is bullshit to a certain point. Certain teams are built for the playoffs, others are built for glitz and glamor of the regular season. Put them in a focused centralized environment where every possession counts and they can't beat you with depth (Warriors excluded from the depth argument) because you're limited to a 8-10 man rotation, talent eventually takes over. This is why that, although Toronto finished with 1 more regular season win than the Thunder, I'll take the Thunder hands down over the Raptors any day of the week.

Also, Lillard wasn't the Blazer's only threat. McCollum played big the entire season and in that series, he's no scrub. And Portland has a nice complement of players that the coaching staff developed over there.

Houston's a mess, not going to deny that. But Atlanta is a consistent choke job in the playoffs, and Detroit is young and immature as was evident in the playoffs. I'd take Portland over any of those teams in a minute.

Well it's all about matchups. The Pistons, I said before the playoffs, would probably be the toughest matchup for Cleveland other than Miami if healthy. I think if Portland-Detroit played in a series, I think Detroit with their good perimeter defense and bigs inside would take care of Portland. So it isn't really about what teams are better bc you can't say that, it goes back to matchups like everything. Atlanta is a choke job or they just cant beat Cleveland and/or they are in their head.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

Schedule would be different if they did so I doubt either of those teams would be top 5 if we played a balance schedule instead of playing the East 52 times and the West 30 times

If they went to that format then travel would be insane & no doubt this would drag out (the already too long) NBA schedule & result in more cost to the league. These things go in phases so I would not worry about it - over time teams from both conferences will get much better & worse.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

if the Cavs win tonight- they sweep...id take an avatar bet on that....

Good luck, Wiggy!

First blood, Wiggy! And we're on!

 

[bksballer89]

First blood, Wiggy! And we're on!

It's on like Donkey Kong

 

[Heatles84]

Well it's all about matchups. The Pistons, I said before the playoffs, would probably be the toughest matchup for Cleveland other than Miami if healthy. I think if Portland-Detroit played in a series, I think Detroit with their good perimeter defense and bigs inside would take care of Portland. So it isn't really about what teams are better bc you can't say that, it goes back to matchups like everything. Atlanta is a choke job or they just cant beat Cleveland and/or they are in their head.

I agree with you to a certain extent. I believe if you put Portland and Detroit in a series, Portland wins as Golden St. has/had a good perimeter defense as well, but Portland kept hitting shots all series long. Detroit doesn't have the firepower to keep up.

 

[Heatles84]

Longest playoff winning streak is the Spurs at 12. (lockout year)

Spurs lost a game in the first round ... then won 12 straight ... including winning the first 2 in the Finals. (first round was best of 5)

So as far as I could tell, no team has swept the first 3 rounds in the playoffs. (at least since they went to 16 teams in the playoffs)

Lakers.

2001 NBA Playoffs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Heatles84]

That is a stupid comment. If you really think the best any NBA team can do is lose by 31 then something is seriously wrong with you.

I never overreact to 1 game like you are. Especially when the 1 game is a home win for the team with HCA. I've seen teams get destroyed by 30 or 40 points in game 1 then come back in game 2 to steal HCA (not saying Toronto would do that) but game 1 overreactions are the funniest thing in the Playoffs

It happened with OKC against the Spurs. They got demolished in game 1, then stole game 2. They would also go on to win the series. Toronto obviously won't beat Cleveland in this series, just supporting your post.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

They aren't going to end conference play.
What I predict we'll see soon, is more of the current WC FA stars/superstars looking for homes in the EC.

 

[bksballer89]

They aren't going to end conference play.
What I predict we'll see soon, is more of the current WC FA stars/superstars looking for homes in the EC.

Yep I agree with this. With the East all you have to do is worry about beating Lebron. You don't have to worry about 3 or 4 really difficult teams standing in your way

 

[bksballer89]

It happened with OKC against the Spurs. They got demolished in game 1, then stole game 2. They would also go on to win the series. Toronto obviously won't beat Cleveland in this series, just supporting your post.

Yeah exactly. This isn't 1 and done like March Madness ol

 

[Shanemansj13]

I agree with you to a certain extent. I believe if you put Portland and Detroit in a series, Portland wins as Golden St. has/had a good perimeter defense as well, but Portland kept hitting shots all series long. Detroit doesn't have the firepower to keep up.

Yeah but then you have to look at the pace of the game. Detroit plays at a much slower pace and wears you down inside. They wear you down and play good D, rebound well. All I know is it would be a good series, too bad we will never see them play in a series

 

[Shanemansj13]

Yep I agree with this. With the East all you have to do is worry about beating Lebron. You don't have to worry about 3 or 4 really difficult teams standing in your way

I think there are some really good teams in the East but they are built for the regular season not playoffs and most of them are lacking stars/superstars and/or the experience to go deep in the playoffs. Like Turnup said more stars could be looking to go to the East soon, just not sure which ones. Seems like most of the big name guys in the West will be staying in the West. Some of these Eastern conference teams just need time and experience to expand or develop their rosters but as long as they don't have those star players not sure they can compete.