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

[gordontrue]

There is some truth, of course, to the notion that the Eastern teams don't perform well in the playoffs.

At least some of that, though, should be attributed directly to what LeBron James and his teams do to them in the playoffs.

Everytime LeBron and his team come out and blitz a team in the playoffs... the perception unfairly invalidates who that team really was and what they accomplished, imo.

Whenever a good team gets killed you have to ask whether it was because that team wasn't that good or because the other team was that good. It is usually a combination of both.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

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.

It will also happen over time as draft picks mature. It really only takes 1 or 2 players in the NBA to totally turn a team around. It is almost a given that this will occur for teams in the East - may not be in the next few years, but it will happen.

 

[WiggyRuss]

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

dude...they will do whatever is possible to deny the Cavs as much credit as possible....The Warriors had a JOKE to the Finals last year and you didnt hear them last year talking about it. Cavs can only play their schedule. Lets hope that when we get to the Finals that both the Warriors or the Thunder are fully healthy so we can see a truly great Finals!

 

[WiggyRuss]

There is some truth, of course, to the notion that the Eastern teams don't perform well in the playoffs.

At least some of that, though, should be attributed directly to what LeBron James and his teams do to them in the playoffs.

Everytime LeBron and his team come out and blitz a team in the playoffs... the perception unfairly invalidates who that team really was and what they accomplished, imo.

Whenever a good team gets killed you have to ask whether it was because that team wasn't that good or because the other team was that good. It is usually a combination of both.

LeBron has won like 16 straight eastern playoff series, lol.....i mean...i think LeBron has a lot more to do with it than anything...not to mention Dan G's wallet...KI and KLOVE...

and lil Kevin...cant forget him.

 

[WiggyRuss]

i just dont see any team positioned to challenge the Cavs in the East for the foreseeable future...every team would have to make multiple MULTIPLE moves. LeBron could honestly make 10-11 straight Finals.

that would be insane to look back 50 years from now- and see in that era of the NBA with 30 teams that one guy could make the Finals so often...just crazy.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Miami fans just did watch the Raptors beat them in a 7 game series despite some very good performances by DWade....and Lowry did show up in 3 of the 7 games....so i can see where they might think/hope that the Raptors will give the Cavs a challenge.

Im sorry- its just not happening. The Raptors are in WAAAAAAAY over their heads- as is the whole East when compared with the Cavs. With Valunciunas maybe these games are a lot closer...the very MAX this goes is 5...the "Gentleman's Sweep"...after watching last night i dont know how the most likely outcome is not an ACTUAL sweep.....keep those brooms ready.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

[QUOTE="WiggyRuss, post: 8399590, member: 8255"]i just dont see any team positioned to challenge the Cavs in the East for the foreseeable future...every team would have to make multiple MULTIPLE moves. LeBron could honestly make 10-11 straight Finals.

that would be insane to look back 50 years from now- and see in that era of the NBA with 30 teams that one guy could make the Finals so often...just crazy.[/QUOTE]

Not as currently assembled.

 

[Shanemansj13]

i just dont see any team positioned to challenge the Cavs in the East for the foreseeable future...every team would have to make multiple MULTIPLE moves. LeBron could honestly make 10-11 straight Finals.

that would be insane to look back 50 years from now- and see in that era of the NBA with 30 teams that one guy could make the Finals so often...just crazy.

The contenders:
Toronto- they have All-Stars but not a star, need a better supporting cast and experience.
Miami - Wade still looks good and once Bosh gets back that could help. They will probably lose Whiteside which could really hurt but they need another big name guy to truly contend.
Atlanta - most likely if they keep this roster intact they aren't a threat, if they do change it up we have to give them a couple years to truly contend if they ever do.
Milwaukee- they need time and experience. Could be 3-4 years.
Washington - they need time and experience. Better role players around Wall and Beal.
Indiana - needs another all-star/star player beside PG and they could be legit. A pretty good supporting cast but they need more depth.
Boston- they need a star. They actually have the best supporting cast in the East other than Cleveland IMO, but a couple teams are better bc they have more All-Stars or star power. Draft picks could help but they need time and experience as well.
Bulls- time and a whole new roster. That could take some time and patience.
Charlotte- a pretty good supporting cast but Kemba is just an All-Star and Jefferson is getting older. They need another star/All-star next to Kemba.

Naming all the teams that were in the playoffs or that could be good in the future none can really contend with the Cavs, like you said. The Heat have the best shot, but who could they get? And could they afford it? Even then Wade probably has 2-3 years tops, so they would have to do it soon. Other than Miami and maybe if Toronto gets more depth or bigs those are the only likely to challenge Cleveland honestly unless a team changes their whole roster and gains star power which will still take a couple years.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

dude...they will do whatever is possible to deny the Cavs as much credit as possible....The Warriors had a JOKE to the Finals last year and you didnt hear them last year talking about it. Cavs can only play their schedule. Lets hope that when we get to the Finals that both the Warriors or the Thunder are fully healthy so we can see a truly great Finals!

Everyone here has given the Cavs credit.
That doesn't mean some of the other comments don't have merit.
Let's not forget though, that regardless of how good 3 of the 4 remaining teams look, the season will be a bust if they aren't the last one standing.

 

[WiggyRuss]

There is some truth, of course, to the notion that the Eastern teams don't perform well in the playoffs.

At least some of that, though, should be attributed directly to what LeBron James and his teams do to them in the playoffs.

Everytime LeBron and his team come out and blitz a team in the playoffs... the perception unfairly invalidates who that team really was and what they accomplished, imo.

Whenever a good team gets killed you have to ask whether it was because that team wasn't that good or because the other team was that good. It is usually a combination of both.

totally agree.

for people to act like the Cavs dont have a huge hand in making these teams look bad is missing the point.

We have seen Detroit try and guard the perimeter and allow KI and LeBron to roam free early in the series- and then for them to adjust to double teaming- but then having the 3 pt shot light them up.

Atlanta decided to pack the middle- and got burnt by the 3 pt shot- Coach Bud even said- we are playing the type and style of defense we want to play- we just cant handle it.

Toronto says- we need to shut down the 3's, but at the expense of single teaming. They learned what happens when u single team 2 of the most dominant ISO players in the league.

These East teams are trying to make adjustments and pick their poison, but the Cavs are too talented, too deep, too well lead, and the Cavs have paid an EXTRAORDINARY attention to detail- their preperation blows away the rest of the EC playoff teams. While I will in no way shape or form talk about how difficult this road has been- the majority of the credit belongs with the Cavs dominance thus far.

Ty Lue has done just an AMAZING job of turning the Cavs into the versatile offensive juggernaut we all thought we were getting when these 3 big time players came together in the first place. He is really unlocking the best of LeBron's abilities like no other coach ahs before

 

[Shanemansj13]

"We beat them [in the regular season], so we don't feel like we have anything to fear like they're a super team or anything," Terrence Ross told cleveland.com. "But we're just going out there to play our game and compete."

I guess some of these guys don't realize the regular season is over and doesn't mean anything. This is a whole different ballgame, so put your big boy shoes on.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

totally agree.

for people to act like the Cavs dont have a huge hand in making these teams look bad is missing the point.

We have seen Detroit try and guard the perimeter and allow KI and LeBron to roam free early in the series- and then for them to adjust to double teaming- but then having the 3 pt shot light them up.

Atlanta decided to pack the middle- and got burnt by the 3 pt shot- Coach Bud even said- we are playing the type and style of defense we want to play- we just cant handle it.

Toronto says- we need to shut down the 3's, but at the expense of single teaming. They learned what happens when u single team 2 of the most dominant ISO players in the league.

These East teams are trying to make adjustments and pick their poison, but the Cavs are too talented, too deep, too well lead, and the Cavs have paid an EXTRAORDINARY attention to detail- their preperation blows away the rest of the EC playoff teams. While I will in no way shape or form talk about how difficult this road has been- the majority of the credit belongs with the Cavs dominance thus far.

Ty Lue has done just an AMAZING job of turning the Cavs into the versatile offensive juggernaut we all thought we were getting when these 3 big time players came together in the first place. He is really unlocking the best of LeBron's abilities like no other coach ahs before

The Cavs haven't made any team look bad yet in any of the road games.
They've gutted out wins, which is most important , but they had to work hard for them.
It's not to this level, but if a college football team destroys much less competition in the first few games, they usually get a dose of reality soon after.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

totally agree.

for people to act like the Cavs dont have a huge hand in making these teams look bad is missing the point.

We have seen Detroit try and guard the perimeter and allow KI and LeBron to roam free early in the series- and then for them to adjust to double teaming- but then having the 3 pt shot light them up.

Atlanta decided to pack the middle- and got burnt by the 3 pt shot- Coach Bud even said- we are playing the type and style of defense we want to play- we just cant handle it.

Toronto says- we need to shut down the 3's, but at the expense of single teaming. They learned what happens when u single team 2 of the most dominant ISO players in the league.

These East teams are trying to make adjustments and pick their poison, but the Cavs are too talented, too deep, too well lead, and the Cavs have paid an EXTRAORDINARY attention to detail- their preperation blows away the rest of the EC playoff teams. While I will in no way shape or form talk about how difficult this road has been- the majority of the credit belongs with the Cavs dominance thus far.

Ty Lue has done just an AMAZING job of turning the Cavs into the versatile offensive juggernaut we all thought we were getting when these 3 big time players came together in the first place. He is really unlocking the best of LeBron's abilities like no other coach ahs before

Only you wouldn't just be happy with what you are currently seeing.
Like no other coach has before?
Unless you win the next 3 titles, the previous coach HAD to do a better job, plus back then, LeBron could actually shoot.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Only you wouldn't just be happy with what you are currently seeing.
Like no other coach has before?
Unless you win the next 3 titles, the previous coach HAD to do a better job, plus back then, LeBron could actually shoot.

8/19 42% from 3 vs Atlanta

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Miami fans just did watch the Raptors beat them in a 7 game series despite some very good performances by DWade....and Lowry did show up in 3 of the 7 games....so i can see where they might think/hope that the Raptors will give the Cavs a challenge.

Im sorry- its just not happening. The Raptors are in WAAAAAAAY over their heads- as is the whole East when compared with the Cavs. With Valunciunas maybe these games are a lot closer...the very MAX this goes is 5...the "Gentleman's Sweep"...after watching last night i dont know how the most likely outcome is not an ACTUAL sweep.....keep those brooms ready.

Raptors are a decent team...not to make excuses for them, but they've played like 15 playoff games to 8 for CLE...the CAVS didn't pickup any rust and it clearly showed early in that game. So far CLE has done nothing more than hold serve at home...the manner in which they did it was impressive.

I thought CAVS in 5 initially, but I wouldn't be surprised if they swept.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Through the first game of the conference finals last season, James had played 455 minutes and taken 269 shots. With Kevin Love out and Kyrie Irving dealing with foot and knee issues, the stress on James had ramped up and he was in the process of getting ground down a year ago at this time.

At the same point this season, James has played 116 fewer minutes and taken 103 fewer shots. It's not a mystery why he's shooting 52 percent so far in these playoffs compared to 43 percent last season.

 

[Heatles84]

dude...they will do whatever is possible to deny the Cavs as much credit as possible....The Warriors had a JOKE to the Finals last year and you didnt hear them last year talking about it. Cavs can only play their schedule. Lets hope that when we get to the Finals that both the Warriors or the Thunder are fully healthy so we can see a truly great Finals!

I just gave credit to the Cavs earlier in this thread. Jesus christ....this was the butt hurt betty syndrome that I was referencing. Why don't you go back and look earlier in this thread, I'll even help you out:

Post #336
Series Thread: - Eastern Conference Finals: 1) Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25) vs. 2) Toronto Raptors (56-26)

 

[trojanfan12]

I dont think any team has ever swept their way through a conference before...

do you ever remember it?

The Lakers have done it twice. '88-'89 and '00-'01.

 

[WiggyRuss]

"We beat them [in the regular season], so we don't feel like we have anything to fear like they're a super team or anything," Terrence Ross told cleveland.com. "But we're just going out there to play our game and compete."

I guess some of these guys don't realize the regular season is over and doesn't mean anything. This is a whole different ballgame, so put your big boy shoes on.

I really believe Kyrie Irving is making a humongous difference.

When LeBron does not have to worry about scoring 30 as he has had to due through pretty much his entire playoff career- you lose some of what makes LeBron LeBron. When he has to dominate the ball on offense you miss the amazing player he is defensively, you miss how ridiculous he is in transition, you miss just how explosive he is when he has to put so much effort into carrying the offense.

With Kyrie Irving taking so much pressure off LeBron to score- LeBron can focus on other things that make him so great- passing, defense, transition etc....

I mean- LeBron has to feel vindicated right now..he came ot Cleveland not ot have to carry the load going forward into his later years- and lo and behold you have Kyrie Irving stepping up and playing like one of the very best players in the game during the playoffs. I gotta think this is exactly what he imagined when he came back with Kyrie- and exactly what he imagined when he called Kyrie a future possible MVP during last winter.

Kyrie becoming the guy that us fans always thought he could be and was destined to be certainly helps LeBron and helps put the Cavs on a tier far above the rest of the East. Honestly...take away Paul George....and the 2 best players in the East probably/possibly are on the Cavs.

 

[lakersrule]

The Lakers have done it twice. '88-'89 and '00-'01.

Much tougher competition for the '01 Lakers (San Antonio, Sacramento, and Portland). The Finals were a cakewalk even though they lost game 1.