tOfficial Eastern Conference Playoffs Thread

[LAD]

i think that is a false narrative about the defense though.

Do you think Delly is playing his best defense when- he- ideally a role player- is playing Steph Curry 35 plus minutes a night? You think LeBron is playingh is best defense when he has to carry the whole load offensively playing OVER 42 minutes a night? You think Thompson can play his best defense playing 40 minutes a night?----

by both REDUCING Delly and Thompsons minutes by giving SOME of their minutes to Love and Irving- and getting Delly and Thompson into minutes that correspond with their ideal roles--- causes them to be BETTER defenders.

With Irving scoring 25 a game- that makes the Cavs defense BETTER- because LeBron can actually FOCUS on the defensive end- like we have seen already this playoffs!!!


not too mention- getting the minutes of James Jones - and Miller and the rest- and even mozgov who is a LIABILITY against a team like the Warriors defensively but the Cavs had no choice but to play him---- and replacing them with Irving and Love should only HELP the defense.


its easy to say- Love and Irving are back- defense gets worse- but its a totally false narrative that anyone with some very rudimentary levels of common sense can reason out.

One thing you always conveniently leave out is that the Warriors ARE BETTER THIS SEASON THAN LAST SEASON. So it's not only about minutes played in terms of defense. All the Cavs will be challenged-yes even your sweetheart LBJ on defense-THE ENTIRE SERIES. Will they be able to keep up or will they be looking somewhat akin to the Spurs in game six of their series with OKC?

 

[bksballer89]

 

[Heatles84]

Oh, Woj.......love that reporter.

 

[WiggyRuss]

this scenario has to be unpresented....

one team in the Conference Finals will have played the minimum amount of games- 8....while the other will have played the maximum amount - 14...

Ill take rest over rust every single time, but geezus...the Cavs will have like 10 days off! it feels like the playoffs stopped for them and they dont even play for 4 more days!

If Whiteside's injury was similar to Curry's, i imagine he should be back by game 2 or 3 if the Heat make it...it sounds like Valunciunas' injury was more series than Whiteside's...i seriously hate playoff injuries- i wanted to watch that matchup all series long. Whiteside's injury was caused by a specific incident- but i become more and more convinced that when players have nagging injuries it leaves them much more susceptible to serious injuries- like Kyrie last...once you start hurting something you start compensating and things can really get bad from there.

Thats why i am so impressed with Curry...he looked legitimately back to himself much much faster than i think most of us would anticipate which is great for the Playoffs as a whole.

Lets hope Curry brings his full squad and LeBron brings his full squad and we can let the chips fall as they may.

 

[WiggyRuss]

One thing you always conveniently leave out is that the Warriors ARE BETTER THIS SEASON THAN LAST SEASON. So it's not only about minutes played in terms of defense. All the Cavs will be challenged-yes even your sweetheart LBJ on defense-THE ENTIRE SERIES. Will they be able to keep up or will they be looking somewhat akin to the Spurs in game six of their series with OKC?

Oh I totally agree that the Warriors are much more confident - and in some ways a lot better than last year--- though sometimes the confidence they are displaying can work against you.

I dont think Iguadala is playing as well as he did last year. I dont think Barnes is playing particularly well last year. David Lee actually played great against the CAvs in the Finals at times- i thought having a big man that could move and score really helped them- they dont really have that this year.

And Iguadala isnt gonna get a LeBron that has no options and had to force it and HAS to play 40+ minutes- hes gonna get a healthy rested LeBron with options and revenge on his mind.


The Warriors have earned and deserve their reputation as favorites but as we saw last round- the team with the best player usually wins in the playoffs no matter how good of a regular season record a team might have. I cant wait to see how it plays out.

And yes- if the Cavs do indeed play the Warriors and get through the ECF healthy i will without a doubt make a bet...but- i want to see A. who they play B. if they are healthy......obviously if the Cavs play the Thunder and have homecourt their odds would significantly increase.

 

[gordontrue]

You know what's funny.... for all of this talk of the Cavs having an easy path...

If the Raptors win tomorrow, the Cavs will end up with a harder path to the Finals than the Warriors... by the numbers at least.

Pistons 44 wins, Rockets 41 wins
Hawks 48 wins, Blazers 44 wins
Raptors 56 wins, Thunder 55 wins

The big difference is the star players faced. Warriors going through Harden, Howard, Damian, Durant, & Westbrook. Cavs would have... uh.... Jackson, Millsap, DeRozan, & Lowry?

That and the fact that the Thunder seem to be playing about 1,000 times better than the Raptors right now.

 

[trojanfan12]

You know what's funny.... for all of this talk of the Cavs having an easy path...

If the Raptors win tomorrow, the Cavs will end up with a harder path to the Finals than the Warriors... by the numbers at least.

Pistons 44 wins, Rockets 41 wins
Hawks 48 wins, Blazers 44 wins
Raptors 56 wins, Thunder 55 wins

The big difference is the star players faced. Warriors going through Harden, Howard, Damian, Durant, & Westbrook. Cavs would have... uh.... Jackson, Millsap, DeRozan, & Lowry?

That and the fact that the Thunder seem to be playing about 1,000 times better than the Raptors right now.

So you made a point and then disproved your own point.

What's the point?

 

[gordontrue]

So you made a point and then disproved your own point.

What's the point?

mmm... I dunno... just thought it was interesting. There was a time the Raptors looked every bit as dangerous as the Thunder. Things have changed dramatically since then, though.

I do believe the first 2 rounds were tougher for Cavs than Warriors (not accounting for the fact that Curry missed most of the games, just from an opponents played perspective).

 

[bksballer89]

This just in....Tyronn Lue is an idiot.

 

[bksballer89]

 

[WiggyRuss]

This just in....Tyronn Lue is an idiot.

sure is nice having Kyrie IRving and Kevin Love and a coach you trust!

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

sure is nice having Kyrie IRving and Kevin Love and a coach you trust!

The 3 of them have accomplished exactly what, EVER, on their own?
And so far have accomplished what even with James?

Talk is cheap, and seems like the Cavs /Cavs fans have a lot to say so far.
Let's see how it goes once they are facing hopefully the Warriors.

#championshiporbust
#keeptrustingLove

 

[WiggyRuss]

The 3 of them have accomplished exactly what, EVER, on their own?
And so far have accomplished what even with James?
Seems like even the coach is saying the competition has been easy.

Talk is cheap, and seems like the Cavs /Cavs fans have a lot to say so far.
Let's see how it goes once they are facing hopefully the Warriors.

#championshiporbust

well yah thats what im saying-- i was just agreeing iwth the post- not talking about blah blah blah going forward

just saying that its probably been the easiest lebron has EVER had it in his career because of irving, love, a coach he trusts- and thus far playing 2 sweeps.

 

[bksballer89]

well yah thats what im saying-- i was just agreeing iwth the post- not talking about blah blah blah going forward

just saying that its probably been the easiest lebron has EVER had it in his career because of irving, love, a coach he trusts- and thus far playing 2 sweeps.

Numbers prove this is a lie

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

well yah thats what im saying-- i was just agreeing iwth the post- not talking about blah blah blah going forward

just saying that its probably been the easiest lebron has EVER had it in his career because of irving, love, a coach he trusts- and thus far playing 2 sweeps.

It only easier because the teams the Cavs have had to face are much weaker then the Celts, Pacers type teams we played in round 2.

You can preach to the choir about Love/Kyrie> Wade, Bosh...but you're also the same clown who thinks Tristan is some special talent.
Take James away from them and they can't beat anyone.
Not the case with the Heat players when James was here and since he's left.

 

[Black Adam]

It only easier because the teams the Cavs have had to face are much weaker then the Celts, Pacers type teams we played in round 2.

You can preach to the choir about Love/Kyrie> Wade, Bosh...but you're also the same clown who thinks Tristan is some special talent.
Take James away from them and they can't beat anyone.
Not the case with the Heat players when James was here and since he's left.

LMAO @ TT being a "special talent". special CASE might be more appropriate considering LeClown essentially got him the money he makes...

 

[Heatles84]

You know what's funny.... for all of this talk of the Cavs having an easy path...

If the Raptors win tomorrow, the Cavs will end up with a harder path to the Finals than the Warriors... by the numbers at least.

Pistons 44 wins, Rockets 41 wins
Hawks 48 wins, Blazers 44 wins
Raptors 56 wins, Thunder 55 wins

The big difference is the star players faced. Warriors going through Harden, Howard, Damian, Durant, & Westbrook. Cavs would have... uh.... Jackson, Millsap, DeRozan, & Lowry?

That and the fact that the Thunder seem to be playing about 1,000 times better than the Raptors right now.

Compare seeds:

Houston vs. Detroit
Portland vs. Atlanta
Oklahoma vs Miami/Toronto

Talk yourself into it all you want, the East is just more balanced. It's still weak given that you have no true contenders outside of Cleveland. In the West you have/had the Thunder, Warriors, and Spurs.

 

[LAD]

Oh I totally agree that the Warriors are much more confident - and in some ways a lot better than last year--- though sometimes the confidence they are displaying can work against you.

I dont think Iguadala is playing as well as he did last year. I dont think Barnes is playing particularly well last year. David Lee actually played great against the CAvs in the Finals at times- i thought having a big man that could move and score really helped them- they dont really have that this year.

And Iguadala isnt gonna get a LeBron that has no options and had to force it and HAS to play 40+ minutes- hes gonna get a healthy rested LeBron with options and revenge on his mind.


The Warriors have earned and deserve their reputation as favorites but as we saw last round- the team with the best player usually wins in the playoffs no matter how good of a regular season record a team might have. I cant wait to see how it plays out.

And yes- if the Cavs do indeed play the Warriors and get through the ECF healthy i will without a doubt make a bet...but- i want to see A. who they play B. if they are healthy......obviously if the Cavs play the Thunder and have homecourt their odds would significantly increase.

I will give you Barnes isn't playing as good as he can but Iggy has been playing well considering he missed three weeks towards the end of the season. So it'll be interesting no doubt- especially watching Kyrie try to guard Steph.

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[Battlelyon]

Looks like a must buy