Bulls biggest threat to Cavs in East

[queridiculo]

Assuming Washington and Chicago make it to the second round I really don't see how the Bulls can win a seven game series against Washington.

The Wizards aren't going to get bullied inside by Lopez, they have Gortat and Mahinmi to matchup with him, and on the other end I just don't see Bulls backcourt with enough athleticism to stick with Wall and Beal.

Butler would very likely draw Beal as his assignment, and while he's a great one-on-one defender he's going to have exert a ton of energy chasing Beal around.

The Wall vs. Rondo matchup could be particularly troublesome for Chicago. Rondo is going to need help and once Chicago starts cheating Porter is going to get a lot of good looks from outside with the much shorter Wade likely drawing his assignment.

With that said, I'm not ready to count Boston out just yet.

There's been a lot of smoke and mirrors for Chicago on the offensive end, and I just don't see them continuing to get the contributions they've gotten from their role players so far.

Crowder and Bradley can both play much better on offense, and Jaylen Brown is an x-factor that shouldn't be overlooked.

I see this series going to at least 6 games and the longer it goes on, the more it will tilt in Boston's favor.

[The_Hater]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

[Illmatic12]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

I wouldn't say Mil/Chi are lucky, they're straight up outplaying their opponents right now and deserve a lot of credit.

Toronto and Boston were teams expected to compete for big things (esp the Raptors who made a bunch of moves and loaded up their roster for this playoff run), and they are getting outplayed in the postseason environment by two teams with a lot of motivation.

[The_Hater]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

I wouldn't say Mil/Chi are lucky, they're straight up outplaying their opponents right now and deserve a lot of credit.

Toronto and Boston were teams expected to compete for big things (esp the Raptors who made a bunch of moves and loaded up their roster for this playoff run), and they are getting outplayed in the postseason environment by two teams with a lot of motivation.

Don't get caught up in that one word. The question is are a couple of .500 level teams really ready to compete with the Cavs or are they just leading a couple of severely flawed 50 win teams who weren't good enough to push the Cavs themselves? I pick the latter. Nobody in the east is a threat to the Cavs and the Cavs aren't going to be a threat to the Warriors in the finals either.

[Illmatic12]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

I wouldn't say Mil/Chi are lucky, they're straight up outplaying their opponents right now and deserve a lot of credit.

Toronto and Boston were teams expected to compete for big things (esp the Raptors who made a bunch of moves and loaded up their roster for this playoff run), and they are getting outplayed in the postseason environment by two teams with a lot of motivation.

The question is are a couple of .500 level teams really ready to compete with the Cavs or are they just leading a couple of severely flawed 50 win teams who weren't good enough to push the Cavs themselves? I pick the latter. Nobody in the east is a threat to the Cavs and the Cavs aren't going to be a threat to the Warriors in the finals either.

Considering Cleveland is in a dogfight with the 8-seed (they've won every game but by a slim margin and could easily be down 2-1), I would hesitate to say that they aren't being pushed. And this is just the first round.

The Cavs are still East favorites but I'm not ready to crown them this year. Lebron is Lebron, but that team's defense is legit terrible with not a lot of avenues for improvement. Over the course of the next few weeks, Cavs still have to prove that they're significantly better than the rest of the East because that isn't clear yet.

One thing I can agree with is that if the Cavs do make the Finals, they won't be close to competing with a healthy GSW.

[The_Hater]

I wouldn't say Mil/Chi are lucky, they're straight up outplaying their opponents right now and deserve a lot of credit.

Toronto and Boston were teams expected to compete for big things (esp the Raptors who made a bunch of moves and loaded up their roster for this playoff run), and they are getting outplayed in the postseason environment by two teams with a lot of motivation.

The question is are a couple of .500 level teams really ready to compete with the Cavs or are they just leading a couple of severely flawed 50 win teams who weren't good enough to push the Cavs themselves? I pick the latter. Nobody in the east is a threat to the Cavs and the Cavs aren't going to be a threat to the Warriors in the finals either.

Considering Cleveland is in a dogfight with the 8-seed (they've won every game but by a slim margin and could easily be down 2-1), I would hesitate to say that they aren't being pushed. And this is just the first round.

The Cavs are still East favorites but I'm not ready to crown them this year. Lebron is Lebron, but that team's defense is legit terrible with not a lot of avenues for improvement. Over the course of the next few weeks, Cavs still have to prove that they're significantly better than the rest of the East because that isn't clear yet.

One thing I can agree with is that if the Cavs do make the Finals, they won't be close to competing with a healthy GSW.

Paul George is playing out of his mind and they're still down 3-0. I'm not sure I see the dogfight taking place that you do. The Cavs played an absolutely wretched half of basketball last night and were still good enough to win.

[Illmatic12]

The question is are a couple of .500 level teams really ready to compete with the Cavs or are they just leading a couple of severely flawed 50 win teams who weren't good enough to push the Cavs themselves? I pick the latter. Nobody in the east is a threat to the Cavs and the Cavs aren't going to be a threat to the Warriors in the finals either.

Considering Cleveland is in a dogfight with the 8-seed (they've won every game but by a slim margin and could easily be down 2-1), I would hesitate to say that they aren't being pushed. And this is just the first round.

The Cavs are still East favorites but I'm not ready to crown them this year. Lebron is Lebron, but that team's defense is legit terrible with not a lot of avenues for improvement. Over the course of the next few weeks, Cavs still have to prove that they're significantly better than the rest of the East because that isn't clear yet.

One thing I can agree with is that if the Cavs do make the Finals, they won't be close to competing with a healthy GSW.

Paul George is playing out of his mind and they're still down 3-0. I'm not sure I see the dogfight taking place that you do. The Cavs played an absolutely wretched half of basketball last night and were still good enough to win.

Paul George? He's taking a ton of shots bc they have no one else on that team lol. They don't even have another player on that squad who can get 20 points in a game, and are still hanging with Cleveland.

I mean the Cavs had to bench their 2nd and 3rd best players for being terrible on defense, this is the team that's supposed to be a juggernaut? Maybe they run through their opponent next round and right the ship, but as of now I don't see it that way..

[The_Hater]

Considering Cleveland is in a dogfight with the 8-seed (they've won every game but by a slim margin and could easily be down 2-1), I would hesitate to say that they aren't being pushed. And this is just the first round.

The Cavs are still East favorites but I'm not ready to crown them this year. Lebron is Lebron, but that team's defense is legit terrible with not a lot of avenues for improvement. Over the course of the next few weeks, Cavs still have to prove that they're significantly better than the rest of the East because that isn't clear yet.

One thing I can agree with is that if the Cavs do make the Finals, they won't be close to competing with a healthy GSW.

Paul George is playing out of his mind and they're still down 3-0. I'm not sure I see the dogfight taking place that you do. The Cavs played an absolutely wretched half of basketball last night and were still good enough to win.

Paul George? He's taking a ton of shots bc they have no one else on that team lol. They don't even have another player on that squad who can get 20 points in a game, and are still hanging with Cleveland.

I mean the Cavs had to bench their 2nd and 3rd best players for being terrible on defense, this is the team that's supposed to be a juggernaut? Maybe they run through their opponent next round and right the ship, but as of now I don't see it that way..

I'm not calling the Cavs a juggernaut, their defense is horrible and I expect the Warriors to sweep them. But nobody in the east is taking more than a single game off them. The east is that terrible.

[Ice Man]

I don't know who the biggest threat is to the Cavs, but I'm pretty sure that the Pacers are the biggest non-threat. They have a few players but they are badly coached and they make poor decisions. That is a ragged team. Among the bottom seeds, the Bucks, Bulls, and Hawks know who they are. (Yeah the Hawks have lost twice but they've been competitive.) The Pacers ... a collection of guys kinda doing their thing.

[jbk1234]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

Bucks are a young team who suffered injuries to two core pieces this season. Their record isn't reflective of how good they are.

[Illmatic12]

Paul George is playing out of his mind and they're still down 3-0. I'm not sure I see the dogfight taking place that you do. The Cavs played an absolutely wretched half of basketball last night and were still good enough to win.

Paul George? He's taking a ton of shots bc they have no one else on that team lol. They don't even have another player on that squad who can get 20 points in a game, and are still hanging with Cleveland.

I mean the Cavs had to bench their 2nd and 3rd best players for being terrible on defense, this is the team that's supposed to be a juggernaut? Maybe they run through their opponent next round and right the ship, but as of now I don't see it that way..

I'm not calling the Cavs a juggernaut, their defense is horrible and I expect the Warriors to sweep them. But nobody in the east is taking more than a single game off them. The east is that terrible.

Doubt it and I'd put money on it.

[The_Hater]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

Bucks are a young team who suffered injuries to two core pieces this season. Their record isn't reflective of how good they are.

Probably, but one of those core pieces is out for the playoffs so are they're not as good as they could be right now either.

They look like the biggest threat to the Cavs right now, I just don't think they will be.

[The_Hater]

Paul George? He's taking a ton of shots bc they have no one else on that team lol. They don't even have another player on that squad who can get 20 points in a game, and are still hanging with Cleveland.

I mean the Cavs had to bench their 2nd and 3rd best players for being terrible on defense, this is the team that's supposed to be a juggernaut? Maybe they run through their opponent next round and right the ship, but as of now I don't see it that way..

I'm not calling the Cavs a juggernaut, their defense is horrible and I expect the Warriors to sweep them. But nobody in the east is taking more than a single game off them. The east is that terrible.

Doubt it and I'd put money on it.

If wizards/Cavs end up in the ECF, who wins in how many games?

[Hoopz Afrik]

Complacency, defense, and health are the biggest threats to the Cavs in the East. All their threats are internal.

[3Diamantidis]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

I disagree with this. It shows how much better the East was this season.
Both teams faced enough problems but in the playoffs they are showing from what they are made of.
Bulls have 2 guys with tones of experience and their star is showing that he can lead.
Bucks were always dangerous. Their coach held them back all season with bad rotations plus the injuries were severe. They don't have the roster of cavs/dubs to be able to cover middleton for long. They don't have experience(that's why i'm expecting the raps to wi the series) but they are scary.
A team like heat didn't make the playoffs despite their terrific coaching.
The east is still weaker than the west but the gap has closed significally and in the future things might turn around.
The potential of teams like bucks. sixers is scary.
If only the magic could gain advantage of their youngsters.

[The_Hater]

Aren't the east playoffs so far just proving what many of us already thought? That there really isn't a threat for knocking off the Cavs? It's like placing bets on a roulette table as everyone tries to guess which flawed team can get their act together long enough to make it a series. Right now, Milwaukee and Chicago are the lucky winners. Two .500 level teams. It just goes to show how terrible the eastern conference is yet again this season.

I disagree with this. It shows how much better the East was this season.
Both teams faced enough problems but in the playoffs they are showing from what they are made of.
Bulls have 2 guys with tones of experience and their star is showing that he can lead.
Bucks were always dangerous. Their coach held them back all season with bad rotations plus the injuries were severe. They don't have the roster of cavs/dubs to be able to cover middleton for long. They don't have experience(that's why i'm expecting the raps to wi the series) but they are scary.
A team like heat didn't make the playoffs despite their terrific coaching.
The east is still weaker than the west but the gap has closed significally and in the future things might turn around.
The potential of teams like bucks. sixers is scary.
If only the magic could gain advantage of their youngsters.

We'll see. If Cavs, clearly worse than last season due to their terrible defense, coast through the first 3 rounds as I expect them too then that points to a much weaker conference not a stronger one. And we already know looking at interconference records that once again there is a massive gap between the east and the west.

[Illmatic12]

I'm not calling the Cavs a juggernaut, their defense is horrible and I expect the Warriors to sweep them. But nobody in the east is taking more than a single game off them. The east is that terrible.

Doubt it and I'd put money on it.

If wizards/Cavs end up in the ECF, who wins in how many games?

As of now.. I'd say Cavs in 6-7 . I don't think they'd win the series easily

[wco81]

To compete with Cavs, you need a guy who can make Lebron work on offense. Lebron will always get his points but you have to make him inefficient, without doubling him up, so that he doesn't get wide-open looks for the shooters.

But when Lebron is hitting 3s like he was last night, there's no such defender.

[HurricaneKid]

I'm shocked by the universal assumption that the Cavs can just turn on the defense like a switch. They made their run last night with Kyrie and KLove on the bench. Their normal rotation has been horrifyingly bad defensively. If LeBron plays like he did last night I guess it doesn't matter. But they are going to need to prove it to me before I pencil them in. Even though they are up 3-0, they are giving up 119.1/100 possessions to the 15th ranked offensive team in the league so far this series.

If Cle was playing in Milwaukee tomorrow I would bet a lot of money on Milw. Likewise the Wiz. This is going to be a tougher path than people expect.

[RingsDontLie]

with rondo out it changes everything. i domt see it necessarily change the celtics series though but any chance at beating the cavs is slim.