RealGM

we manhandled the cavs and lakers in a span of two weeks. in january we manhandled the spurs, cavs, heat and suns. in all of those games it was our defensive intensity that stood out. just look at how hard we played last night. look at how different we looked on defense last night compared to other nights. we contested every shot, every layup. we defended like it game 7 of the finals. this team has the ability to be the best (not one of the best) but the best defensive team in the league. we have shown such ability at times this season - but only when the team gets up to play hard. as this season progresses it becomes more obvious that our fate is directly tied to our defensive effort on most nights. so, while i am stoked we manhandled the lakers, again, it also frustrates the hell out of me because its obvious that we dont come to play hard every night. hell, if we just brought 80% of that energy on a consistent basis we would not be in the precarious playoff spot that we now find ourselves.

is anyone else as frustrated as me by these recent wins over the lakers and cavs?

i guess with this logic, hopefully the intensity of the upcoming playoff race will motivate our guys to bring this type of effort every night until the end of the season.

I almost hope we don't move passed the 8th spot just so we can play the Cavs. The other lesser teams would crush us, lol.

I still think we could give the celtics a run for their money, but the easiest first round match up of the top 4 would def be Cavs or Atlanta, we could be ethier teams if we played like we did last night, the difference between January and February is that we didn't have a center other then a 37 year old theo

Oh I want the Cavs. Beating them would put us on the map.