Boston or Detroit?

[Snakebites]

Just a friendly 2 cents from the opposition : Regardless of how things shake out with Boston and Detroit, the odds are heavily in favor having to face both in the postseason in any path that ends with the Cavs reaching the finals. It doesnt really come down to a choice between the two.

Barring a major upset that has one of the two eliminated in the first or second round by one of the other 5 playoff teams, this is all but certain I dont put much stock in the playoff chances of any but the 3 main east teams. If you are the fourth seed, you'll play Boston in round 2 and (most likely) Detroit in the ECF (if you get past Boston, of course). If you're the third, its reversed, and I dont think the order particularly effects your odds.

Happy trails, for now.

[Icness]

I said it preseason, I say it now: Boston does not scare me one bit. As long as Rajon Rondo is their PG and their bench is what it is, they're not winning more than one playoff series. And we won't see them in the 1st round.

Detroit is the only team in the East that can beat a healthy Cavs team. Another Cavs-Pistons series is a coin flip to me.

[pat don]

Cmon, do you guys really think you can take either one? Im not trying to rain on your parade or anything but I thought your team was better off pre-trade. It could happen, but I just find it unlikely that the cavs could beat the pistons or celts in the playoffs.

[The Penguin]

I know you guys want to quickly discount Larry Hughes, but he played excellent D on Chauncey and along with Sasha and Lebron they really affected Rip and Tayshaun. Now that Larry is gone, even if they Cavs play Sasha and Lebron, one of the Piston's perimeter players will have an offensive miss match. That will get magnified if its Wally and Boobie or D. West on Rip and Chauncey.

Gooden got into Rasheed's head without fail for some reason, which caused him to get off his game which made him useless. Don't ask me why, it's Rasheed, I'm not sure he knows why. Rasheed is going to see Ben as a friendly competition, so he will be much more focused and motivated. Don't be so quick to discount the improvements the Pistons made through the draft (2 1st round picks vs. the Cavs 0) and the continuing development of Maxiell who has traditionally played well vs Cleveland.

The Cavs beat Detroit because Chauncey was on a contract drive and Larry was able to shut him down, causing his turnover to assist to soar (he's traditionally one of the best in the league). Rasheed was completely out of his head, which combined with Chauncey's situation caused friction in the locker room. They lost a DOUBLE OVERTIME game 5 to one of the top 5 performances of all time, and the Cavs homecourt advantage in game 6 which just too much of an emtional advantage with 30 years of pent up frustration spilling over as Detroit finally exploded.

The Pistons were one missed Lebron turnaround fade away 28 footer miss away from winning game 5 (since he drilled what seemed like 6 of them) and being a game up with two games to play. They have also won a championship and been to the ECF 5 consecutive years (never been done before), they deserve a little more respect than the "why doesn't anyone respect us, the Pistons don't stand a change" rally cry, at least cool it till the playoffs, your constant search for more respect and depressing reminders of the past is what turns the rest of the leagues fans off. Sit back and enjoy having arguably the best player in the league and possibly one of the best ever and don't worry so much what everyone else thinks about you.

As for the Atlanta Braves comparison, I'm sure Braves fans would have rather been Braves fans than Indians fans in the mid-90s.

[TheOUTLAW]

Why do people keep bringing up Hughes defense on Billups? Hughes was hurt and only played limited minutes in that series last year. The year before that he really didn't play meaningful minutes at all. It's not Hughes, it's the teams defense that made Billups have the ordinary shooting series that he's had the last 2 seasons.

[B Mac]

It was actually Gibson that severely hampered Billups in that series. For whatever reason Boobie killed Chauncey... not Larry.

Also, it wasnt Gooden that got into Rasheed's head. LOL It was Anderson. He's the one that always pisses of Sheed and he's the one that did it last year.

[The Penguin]

It was Gooden who got body slammed and effectively knocked McDyess out of the series. The situation around Detroit is different last year and both teams made enough changes so that if they played again it would be an interesting series. Cleveland says they aren't afriad of Detroit, that definately goes both ways (ok, I may be a little nervous about Lebron, the refs and the NBA's constant need to promote its superstars).

[heathmalc]

Yeah...it was boobie that was on Billups. Everyone here was talking about how well he did for a rookie. And it was Varejao who got into Sheed's head...check the papers...Sheed was always talking about "...he should be in hollywood if he wants to act." Varejao also got into Webber's head..but since he is gone that doesn't matter.

As for being afraid of each other...I don't think either team is even slightly "afraid", but I do think both have a healthy respect for the other.

Boston? They haven't proved anything to me yet.

[Triple M]

The Cavs should not be scared of either team from a Celtics point of view I'm not sure how you can say they are not build for the playoffs as one person said in this thread. They are the best defensive team which last time I checked is quite valuable come April, May and June while still being a capable offensive team. Now I'm not going to turn this around to be critical of the Cavs as they have their flaws as do the Celtics but I don't see how one can say they are not built for the playoffs or they haven't proved anything or ect.

[heathmalc]

The Cavs should not be scared of either team from a Celtics point of view I'm not sure how you can say they are not build for the playoffs as one person said in this thread. They are the best defensive team which last time I checked is quite valuable come April, May and June while still being a capable offensive team. Now I'm not going to turn this around to be critical of the Cavs as they have their flaws as do the Celtics but I don't see how one can say they are not built for the playoffs or they haven't proved anything or ect.

I said : "They haven't proved anything to me yet."

Boston is a good team...it would take an idiot to say otherwise. But the playoffs are always different than the regular season.

Detroit in 06 = Best record in NBA... Lost in conf finals
Dallas in 07= Best record in NBA... Lost in first round

I could give you a LOT of examples like this, but I think you get my point.

I'm not saying that Boston can't or Wont goto or win the finals...I'm just saying I want to see them come playoff time. And the only two teams that I think will prove anything is Cleveland or Detroit. If Boston beats them, then they have proven something. They are the only two teams that have the experience and talent that would make people "really" believe that Boston was going to win it.

Dark horse team that Boston doesn't want to face: Washington

Yeah,yeah... I know: They suck. But keep this in the back of your heads - Washington is the only other team besides Detroit and Cleveland who has the experience and Talent to really compete. Washington has been injured all year (since Nov) too. So, don't overlook them, or you may regret it.

That being said, I think that the only two teams that can realistically beat Boston is Detroit and Cleveland. And if it wasn't for LeBron...Cleveland would be down in the Washington tier.

[Rocky5000]

Who are you kidding? If it wasn't for Lebron, Cleveland would be down in the Miami tier. Aren't the Cavs something like 0-6 without him?

[L&H_05]

Who are you kidding? If it wasn't for Lebron, Cleveland would be down in the Miami tier. Aren't the Cavs something like 0-6 without him?

Who cares about tiers, it's all about winning a championship...

Spurs without Duncan

Jazz without Williams

Celtics without Garnett

Pistons without Billups

Rockets without Yao

Lakers without Kobe

etc... etc...

Okay, so those teams are better than us without their main player, but who gives a damn when the ultimate goal is winning it all..

Your record minus your main player >>>> our record minus our main player..Congrats I guess..

[L&H_05]

The part I find hilarious when reading these other boards is that Cavs fans are the only fans of the east teams that simply is not afraid to play anyone..

I keep reading: "I'd like to avoid LeBron in round 2 if we could"

All I want is a 100% healthy team come playoff time... None of this regular season stuff means a damn thing.. As Cavs fans, we know this very well.... We struggled against Detroit last season, and we literally had them on the rope on all 6 playoff games (we lost games 1 and 2, but LBJ had the ball in the final seconds with their playoff lives hanging in the balance), and then we eventually beat 'em 4 straight times..

We played the Spurs tough during the regular season and beat 'em both times, then they turned the tables on us..

What I'm getting at is this... Even if Boston would have beaten us all 4 times this season, and Detroit beat us all 4 times, none of it matters... Playoff Bron and healthy cast of characters is all that I ask..

[celticfan42487]

^ Well you have to consider for other team's it's matchups. For Cavs it's the same no matter who you face... can LeBron beat them.

Somehow the Spurs slowed you down.

Really I think it would be a coin flip for all 3 of the teams.

I'm sorry for fans who think ORL is better then you that's sad.

I think Cavs,Celts,Pistons are all on the same tier.

With ORL and WAS being a step lower. I expect you or DET to take care of WAS. It was one series in the middle of the regular season.. but idk about WAS Areneas could go Lebron on the Celts.

Besides it's hard to say right now, CLE has all new people and they have to learn to love DWest for his defeciences as well as his pros [doesn't have good handles, is slow for a PG]. And DET insterts Dale Davis. And it's unknown if Celts are going to insert Cassell with PJ Brown to their line-ups.

[LiquidFire]

It was Gooden who got body slammed and effectively knocked McDyess out of the series. The situation around Detroit is different last year and both teams made enough changes so that if they played again it would be an interesting series. Cleveland says they aren't afriad of Detroit, that definately goes both ways (ok, I may be a little nervous about Lebron, the refs and the NBA's constant need to promote its superstars).

wrong.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6zcEeZKmyII

[heathmalc]

All I want is a 100% healthy team come playoff time... None of this regular season stuff means a damn thing.. As Cavs fans, we know this very well.... We struggled against Detroit last season, and we literally had them on the rope on all 6 playoff games (we lost games 1 and 2, but LBJ had the ball in the final seconds with their playoff lives hanging in the balance), and then we eventually beat 'em 4 straight times.

I have to say: "That is my #1 hope!!!"

[B Mac]

-= original quote snipped =-



wrong.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6zcEeZKmyII

Props.

Oooh thats a stinger.