Is Any Team Going To Contend With The Cavaliers In The East?
One thing that in my eyes that has gotten the NBA going backwards over the years besides the superstars aligning up to form super-teams is the whole predictability bit. It may be one case or another, but we've seen really three teams that has a legitimate shot the last three years to win the whole thing and ironically, they are the last 3 NBA champions (San Antonio, Cleveland, and Golden State). We somewhat take for granted the Spurs will be there year in and year out with how they run things over there under Gregg Popovich, both on and off-the court. We've seen Golden State hit it rich with their drafts, getting the likes of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson while adding key pieces in the process, such as Andre Iguodala and this year Kevin Durant. And the Cavaliers have LeBron James and made trades/free agent signings to get them into that elite status. Can you fault those three teams for doing what they are doing? No. It is just the rest of the League hasn't caught up with them.
We can pretty much figure out that Golden State and San Antonio will be somewhat the representative for the Western Conference. I get the Rockets and the Clippers have an argument to make of representing the West, but I am that person of the "I'll believe it when I see it" mode (same goes for Utah). So there is a bit of suspense out there,
But what about the East? Or is it all Cleveland and it is just practice for the Cavaliers until they either have Cavs/Warriors 3, or LeBron vs. Spurs 4? Let's examine the Eastern Conference's chances of ANYBODY de-throning the Cleveland Cavaliers from their Eastern Conference dominance.
LeBron looks to run away to the Finals once again.
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First, let's cut the dead weight: Knicks, Hornets, Sixers, Magic, and Nets? Bye-bye.
Let's look at Cleveland's likely first round opponents in the unfortunate #8 spot (Heat, Bulls, Bucks, Pistons). There may be some intangible bits for all of them such as Miami and exacting revenge for LeBron leaving, but that is a dead issue for three years. Chicago has LeBron pal Wade, but that team pretty much threw in the towel when they sent Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott. Milwaukee is up and down up and down. Some games they look like a deep playoff team and others, they just get shellacked, losing to teams like Philadelphia (twice), Lakers at home, and New York at home. So consistency issues add on with them. The Pistons are unique for they have held 5 regular season wins against the Cavaliers in the last two seasons, but a couple of the wins LeBron has sat out on and the Cavs still swept Detroit in the first round. Add on top of it that Detroit's chemistry is in question with Reggie Jackson (though it seems like the Pistons have steered the ship in that direction since the trade deadline). So those four are gone.
It brings us to the Pacers, who probably won't see the Cavs, unless they jump Atlanta in the standings. Cleveland has beaten Indiana 2 out of 3 times this year, but the Pacers played tough. That said, if that is the best Indiana can do while not having exactly as much depth or talent the Cavaliers have? Moving on.
Currently, you can see the Hawks or Raptors being Cleveland's second round opponent and two teams Cleveland thumped last year en route to the Finals. I get the Cavaliers had a small bump against Toronto, but it was never any doubt. And Atlanta? Cleveland has drilled them the last two years in the playoffs. If Kyle Lowry returns, it may just push Cleveland to six in the second round, but probably with similar results. Toronto isn't as deep as last year and the Cavaliers would eat them for lunch. As for the Hawks? Similar to Milwaukee. They can look REALLY good, beating the likes of Houston on the road, but then losing to the likes of Brooklyn or Minnesota at home. Add on that they cannot defend the three-pointer for anything and what you can get is 120-130 points from the Cavaliers on a regular basis and probably another outright sweep.
Atlanta has been no match for Cleveland in April.
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So it leaves us with two teams: The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards as the great hope for the anti-LeBron faithful.
WIZARDS: There's solid depth, and you have a backcourt led by John Wall. Good news there. And they can play well on the road (12-6 on the road in the new calendar year), but so far winless against the Cavs (both games in Washington mind you) and have a knack of the inconsistency button as well and still a fairly immature group with Wall. And if the "minor" foot sprain he has is anything else, that could really de-rail Washington.
CELTICS: Boston is fairly well-rounded. They have Isaiah Thomas, who is becoming a superstar and having a monster year, with MVP caliber numbers while having supporting players such as Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, and veteran Al Horford to really build a nice round group. While they have lost 2 of 3 to Cleveland, a possible tell-tale sign if they are going to be competitive with the Cavaliers is April 5th as the winner was decided by 6 points or less each time with all games won by the home team. So there is that. However, the one thing that makes me think Cleveland will still smack Boston is there isn't a presence for the Celtics down low that can scare anybody on Cleveland from what they want to do. I guess you can make an argument for Kelly Olynyk, but probably not the argument Boston fans want. But again, 4 rebounds per from a 7-footer and only 8 per game if it is 36 minutes. And with a 6-10 Al Horford only getting the same amount as the shooting guard Bradley, the Celtics are hurting and many believe Atlanta preferred Dwight Howard over Horford for the lack of his inside presence. The other bit is that Boston can be a hot-tempered team as we've seen facing the other Eastern Conference teams such as the Hawks and Wizards. That doesn't bode well when LeBron tries to play his own mind games against teams. It could be bad news for Boston. I think the Celtics, if they can keep up with the roster and learn to play cooler a bit, could really give Cleveland fits, but not this year.
Boston could give Cleveland more than a fit or two.
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So that's really it. Barring a LeBron injury, I don't know if anybody can really stop the Cavaliers in the East. But then again, the years where teams look unstoppable, seeds for a new team to make noise happens. Maybe it IS Boston. Or maybe it is Washington. Who knows?
-Fan in the Obstructed Seat.
