Does the Cavs still have an easy road to the Finals?

[Dresta]

Cavs are so overrated on here. If we are going simply off how good teams have been, then you might as well already hand the chip to the Warriors and not bother with the rest of the season. The way people on here chant out their certainties, which never seem to change with the circumstances, can get tedious to say the least. Cavs just scraped a win against the Hornets, and had they lost they'd have had as many loses as 3 other East teams.

After this, anyone going 'naw Lebron and Cavs in finals is a dead cert, 100%' is only showing how dogmatic they are.

How many teams can hold onto a top 3 record while missing their 2nd best player, their starting 2 guard and having injuries to another starter/6th man. They are atop the East while missing a top 5 player in the East

To add onto that, saying that a Lebron-led team will make the Finals is certainly not some outlandish, dogmatic prediction. The man has made the Finals every year since 2011. The Cavs are destroying the conference with the aforementioned injuries. These other Eastern Conference teams have WAY more to prove than Lebron and the Cavs right now. The fact that the Cavs aren't playing their best in November with 3 starters missing is not shocking and it's okay for them to lose regular season games here and there. They've proven that they can turn it up in the playoffs and it's silly to think otherwise until another team can match them.

That is exactly what makes it an outlandish thing to predict with certainty, especially when the Cleveland roster is filled with injury-prone players - that, added to the fact that the East was at its near-weakest last season, and was decimated by injuries. Calling it a certainty, is quite frankly idiotic.

I don't see how they've proved they can 'turn it up' in the playoffs: they nearly lost to an average Bulls team (if they lost game 4 the series was over, and they won it by 2 points), and managed to beat up on a very inexperienced Atlanta team lacking star power. Woop-e-dee-do. Guaranteed finalists! They proved it with one single seasons when they had no competition - it's inevitable!

What rubbish.

[Heat_Fan_87]

LOL
[tweet]https://twitter.com/tomhaberstroh/status/670633335157350400[/tweet]

[mademan]

How many teams can hold onto a top 3 record while missing their 2nd best player, their starting 2 guard and having injuries to another starter/6th man. They are atop the East while missing a top 5 player in the East

To add onto that, saying that a Lebron-led team will make the Finals is certainly not some outlandish, dogmatic prediction. The man has made the Finals every year since 2011. The Cavs are destroying the conference with the aforementioned injuries. These other Eastern Conference teams have WAY more to prove than Lebron and the Cavs right now. The fact that the Cavs aren't playing their best in November with 3 starters missing is not shocking and it's okay for them to lose regular season games here and there. They've proven that they can turn it up in the playoffs and it's silly to think otherwise until another team can match them.

That is exactly what makes it an outlandish thing to predict with certainty, especially when the Cleveland roster is filled with injury-prone players - that, added to the fact that the East was at its near-weakest last season, and was decimated by injuries. Calling it a certainty, is quite frankly idiotic.

I don't see how they've proved they can 'turn it up' in the playoffs: they nearly lost to an average Bulls team (if they lost game 4 the series was over, and they won it by 2 points), and managed to beat up on a very inexperienced Atlanta team lacking star power. Woop-e-dee-do. Guaranteed finalists! They proved it with one single seasons when they had no competition - it's inevitable!

What rubbish.

They proved they could beat the best the East had to offer without Love, with a less than 50% Irving and JR missing 2 games against the Bulls. Lebron-ball even gave them a punchers chance in the finals. It may not be a certainty that they make it, but theyre huuuuge favourites.

[mademan]

LOL
[tweet]https://twitter.com/tomhaberstroh/status/670633335157350400[/tweet]

Adjust it for competition, home/away splits and the Heat drop all the way to 7th in the East

[BKing10]

November. Things have a way of regressing to the mean. Not to mention the Cavs are the only east team built for the playoffs. They will be able to walk to the finals again

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Cavs have a very good team, no doubt.

By the end of the year however, they could be an infirmary ward due to knock on effect. It's hard to go from a team with a lot of injuries to start the year and end up a healthy team after 82 games. The question becomes, who's left standing at the end of the year for them and how good do they look with who's left.

Most of it depends on how Lebron's bad back hold up and how Kyrie looks after he refurns.

But, if healthy they should sail through...but that's a big "if".

[laika]

Cavs have a very good team, no doubt.

By the end of the year however, they could be an infirmary ward due to knock on effect. It's hard to go from a team with a lot of injuries to start the year and end up a healthy team after 82 games. The question becomes, who's left standing at the end of the year for them and how good do they look with who's left.

Most of it depends on how Lebron's bad back hold up and how Kyrie looks after he refurns.

But, if healthy they should sail through...but that's a big "if".

The Cavs can crush the east without Irving. Given how well Lebron is playing I highly doubt he is seriously injured.
The Cavs are about as big a lock to win a conference as anyone ever has been.

[likashing]

Less easy than last season? Yes.

Is it still hell easy compared to the West? Yes.

If the Warriors/Spurs/OKC had a choice to play in either the West of the East, where would they choose to play in? East.

If the Cavs could choose to play in the West, would they? Hell no.

Cavs fans should stop fooling themselves.

Winning from the West is much harder than from the East.

[improvisor]

Less easy than last season? Yes.

Is it still hell easy compared to the West? Yes.

If the Warriors/Spurs/OKC had a choice to play in either the West of the East, where would they choose to play in? East.

If the Cavs could choose to play in the West, would they? Hell no.

Cavs fans should stop fooling themselves.

Winning from the West is much harder than from the East.

Cleveland with Mozgov,JR and Shump, plays the West better than East teams so I really don't understand your knowledge there.

[damonPope]

not only do the cavs have 3 of the top 10 players in the east, they also have the best depth. look at the cavs 4-10, and no team in the east comes even close.

[pipfan]

I think it is 80-90% that Clev comes out. That is tough to say as a Bulls' fan, but Chi, Miami, Atl and the rest are all second round fodder, for the most part

[Blame Rasho]

Less easy than last season? Yes.

Is it still hell easy compared to the West? Yes.

If the Warriors/Spurs/OKC had a choice to play in either the West of the East, where would they choose to play in? East.

If the Cavs could choose to play in the West, would they? Hell no.

Cavs fans should stop fooling themselves.

Winning from the West is much harder than from the East.

Cleveland with Mozgov,JR and Shump, plays the West better than East teams so I really don't understand your knowledge there.

Seriously? Thanks for the laugh... I am sure that the Cavs would love to play in the west and the west teams would hate to go thru the grueling eastern conference.

I dont know why Cavs fans, and eastern fans over the years don't acknowledge that their conference as an aggregate sucks compared to the west due to the level of top tier teams in each over the years.

In the 80s the Lakers had a relatively easy path compared to the Eastern Conference team... and it is just acknowledged instead of manufacturing BS to say other wise.

[soda]

Put it this way, there is only one thing I can see as derailing the Cavs from winning the east, just one thing: an injury to Lebron. That's it. Doesn't matter if Irving and Love are hurt, Lebron proved he can carry the Cavs to the finals on his own. I don't see anything that has happened to make me alter my opinion on that. If Lebron is healthy, the Cavs are a lock in the east. He should take another sabbatical in March of this year, to get healthy for the stretch run and the playoffs. It doesn't really matter what seed the cavs are, they'll win the east so long as LBJ is healthy.

Yes, a lot of teams in the East have stepped up this year, but the Cavs are the only elite team, and they are in a class of their own right now.

On another topic, I see the west as coming down to the dubs and spurs, baring injury. I don't see OKC in that same tier with the Cavs, the Dubs and the Spurs. I think the Pacers and the Heat could beat OKC four times in seven tries. Durant and Goatbrook are both top five players when healthy, but I don't see OKC as having the kind of defensive ability to win a seven game series against the Spurs or the Dubs to come out of the west. OKC can score, but to advance in the playoffs, you have to be able to string together stops and I don't see the Thunder being able to do that.

[LLJ]

Yes they do. The only serious challenge might be Miami, health permitting.

[Johnny Firpo]

It doesn't really matter how much the Pistons or the Pacers improved, they don't have any chance whatsoever against a fully healthy Cavs squad. Same goes for the Heat, Bulls, Hawks. If the Cavs have problems playoff time, be that injuries or chemistry, then things can get interesting but otherwise, they are the massive favorites to come out of the East. Actually more so than the Warriors who could face a great Spurs team in the conference finals.

[jmnvcavs]

We're definitely the favorite, but teams like Miami will definitely beat us if we aren't healthy in the playoffs.

[LakersLegacy]

Who is going to stop the cavs? Heat or Bulls?

In the West they would have to thru Warriors, Spurs, Clippers.


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[Haddaway]

LOL
[tweet]https://twitter.com/tomhaberstroh/status/670633335157350400[/tweet]

Adjust it for competition, home/away splits and the Heat drop all the way to 7th in the East

And how do you accurately adjust for competition? I know of no accurate method to adjust a teams absolute rankings and make them relative based on competition. If you now have an accurate method, I and the statistical community would love to know.

[PlayerUp]

It won't be any easier than last season. Still too early to know how the East shapes up. Alot of teams still building chemistry. Alot of teams that go onto winning the championship struggle at the beginning of the season. Should revisit this question by all star break.

[RaptorsLife]

Nope it isn't easy pacers bulls raptors will give them work Raptors Have 2 Elite guards who can take over a game and demarre caraoll is LeBron kriptonite