LeBron: Raptors have our attention

[Boogie!]

Hate to break it to you guys but somebody has to be Cleveland's rival. The East is so weak we win by default. Not only is Cleveland better than us, they have a GOAT player candidate, and their second best player would be the best player on our team. Unless something changes, we will be their little brother/doormat/Finals Warmup for the foreseeable future.

Kyle Lowry >>>> Kyrie Irving.

Yep, at least for us.

Honestly, switch Lowry/Kyrie and I think both teams get slightly worse.

you think lowry would make cleveland worse? no way...

the only thing irving really does better than lowry is score... he has a better handle and is more crafty... other than that, lowry provides way more intangibles... i think lowry actually makes that cleveland team better... more defense, more intensity and with lowry draining 3s like crazy, hed fit perfect with the cleveland offense.

kyrie on the other hand cannot replace what lowry does for us. yeah, lowry is just better period.

[Wo1verine]

LeBron just being respectful - He knows damn well we have no chance ( if he's healthy) comes post-season time.

[zippy]

The East is so weak

Huh?

First Place Cleveland
Second Place Toronto
Third Place Boston
4th Place Chicago
5th Place Milwaukee
6th Place Charlotte
7th Place New York
8th Place Detroit
9th Place Indiana
10th Place Atlanta

1 to 10 seem extremely competitive...

Not to mention Washington underachieving this year, up and coming Philly.. What about the East is weak?

First Place Golden State
Second Place San Antonio
Third Place LA
4th Place Houston
5th Place Oklahoma City
6th Place Memphis
7th Place Utah
8th Place Portland
9th Place Los Angeles
10th Place Sacramento

Memphis is overachieving they're hot trash, Lakers are over achieving, Sacramento is an embarrassment of a franchise. I'm pretty sure the West is on the weaker side of the spectrum this year.

[VinBaker6]

Yet he has a lower TS% than Kyle & less assists, while taking more shots and a much higher usage rate.


You're underratinf Kyles ability if anything because he isn't flashy really.

Would you really take Lowry or over Kyrie in a playoff series?

Ugh yeah without question. Kyrie is more Derozan tier than Lowry tier

So let's just ignore Kyle's playoff history and say he's better? Is that what we're doing here?

What happened in the ECF?

[GreatWhiteStiff]

Lebron knows how demar starts going off with 30 point games when #clowns like Sports Illustrated are bein' #realdisrespectful to the Compton born star. He's done his homework! Playing the mental game at the highest level, is LBJ.

[mademan]

Would you really take Lowry or over Kyrie in a playoff series?

Ugh yeah without question. Kyrie is more Derozan tier than Lowry tier

So let's just ignore Kyle's playoff history and say he's better? Is that what we're doing here?

What happened in the ECF?

Ya, Kyrie, in his only 2 playoff appearances, has been pretty impressive. More importantly, he's always been the best pg on the floor, and that includes series with Lowry/R.Jackson/IT/Teague and b2b MVP Curry

[tontonpoulet]

Would you really take Lowry or over Kyrie in a playoff series?

Ugh yeah without question. Kyrie is more Derozan tier than Lowry tier

So let's just ignore Kyle's playoff history and say he's better? Is that what we're doing here?

What happened in the ECF?

Different context for Kyle. He wouldn't be carrying the team, Lebron would. On top of that, Cleveland wouldn't need to score as much. The defense with Kyle at point, Lebron on the best player aand Tristan eating up rebounds would dominate. Even Golden State would have problems.

[dublo7]

I say to you all, what do you think there was a bigger chance of happening last year: Toronto beating the Cavs in the ECF, or the Cavs beating the Warriors in the Finals? LeBron knows his Cavs was a darkhorse last year, makes enough sense to pay attention to his closest darkhorse. I believe he pulled a move like this already being interviewed right after the Cavs clinching pennant game - " Hear that?" Made me tear up.

I just wish the American media would admit this. Sure, cave to the local team, but admit that their teams ( Celts/Pacers/Detroit/Pacers/Charlotte/ATL) are third tier this year. Admit it Cav haters - Tdot is the best chance you have keeping Cavs out of a Final.

[dublo7]

Does this mean the refs will take notice? the best this series will be is 2-2 regular season. another litmus test. And if we win, ESPN, SirusXM will just point the previous losses to Cavs.

We need to pick up a Lebron weakness: Paul George, or transform Wiggins into one.

[Inklink]

He said Toronto!!

[Veggamattic]

Derailing/Baiting

[YogurtProducer]

Would you really take Lowry or over Kyrie in a playoff series?

Ugh yeah without question. Kyrie is more Derozan tier than Lowry tier

So let's just ignore Kyle's playoff history and say he's better? Is that what we're doing here?

What happened in the ECF?

Let's ignore Kyries defensive inability then?

Kyle was STILL a superstar even without shooting well; that says a ton about his ability. Let's also not ignore that Lebron carries Kyrie

[soloxylo]

Shouldn't surprise anyone. I'm 100% sure in the Cavs locker room when they talk about their biggest threat in the East, I bet every single player/coach says it's Toronto.

We're the 2nd best team in the East without a doubt, but I don't think we'll beat a full strength Cavs team, we'd need Kyrie or Love to be out to have a chance

The fact the Warriors barely beat them in the 2015 Finals with Irving & Love out, then loss to them at full strength the following year; speaks volumes.

[Kevin Willis]

Although we lost, Lebron used a lot of energy in order to win by 4. If he wasn't so motivated I think the results would be different. Also if we had Sully's rebounding ability we might be able to beat a motivated Lebron-led team.

[nitrous]

LeBron praises Raptors.

[Basketball_Jones]

Ugh yeah without question. Kyrie is more Derozan tier than Lowry tier

So let's just ignore Kyle's playoff history and say he's better? Is that what we're doing here?

What happened in the ECF?

Let's ignore Kyries defensive inability then?

Kyle was STILL a superstar even without shooting well; that says a ton about his ability. Let's also not ignore that Lebron carries Kyrie

No, he doesn't. He carries Kevin Love, sure. Kyrie doesn't just catch and shoot. It's a similar relationship that DD has with Kyle. They don't carry each other, they both create and pull their own weight.

[YogurtProducer]

So let's just ignore Kyle's playoff history and say he's better? Is that what we're doing here?

What happened in the ECF?

Let's ignore Kyries defensive inability then?

Kyle was STILL a superstar even without shooting well; that says a ton about his ability. Let's also not ignore that Lebron carries Kyrie

No, he doesn't. He carries Kevin Love, sure. Kyrie doesn't just catch and shoot. It's a similar relationship that DD has with Kyle. They don't carry each other, they both create and pull their own weight.

Kyrie is more DD than he is Kyle. Lowry is unquestionably better then Irving

[Basketball_Jones]

Let's ignore Kyries defensive inability then?

Kyle was STILL a superstar even without shooting well; that says a ton about his ability. Let's also not ignore that Lebron carries Kyrie

No, he doesn't. He carries Kevin Love, sure. Kyrie doesn't just catch and shoot. It's a similar relationship that DD has with Kyle. They don't carry each other, they both create and pull their own weight.

Kyrie is more DD than he is Kyle. Lowry is unquestionably better then Irving

Yeah I agree

[refshateRaps]

We have their attention because Lowry is a Boss. Period

[ruckus]

I would rather us not have their attention so that we can steal a win or 2 from them. The only good thing about LBJ playing hard against us is that we can actually see where our deficiencies truly are against a championship caliber team.