Tim_Hardawayy wrote:Vee-Rex wrote:Where are all the concern trolls that were plaguing Cavs-related topics in the regular season?
Crickets.
Right, and if the Cavs unexpectedly choked this series away, or get blown out by the Warriors, one could say the same about Cavs fans disappearing. Obviously some people were trolling but championship teams don't commonly just punt on the regular season, and we have seen it blow up in those teams faces before. This is not a concern troll statement but something that I speak on from experience rooting for a LeBron James-led team, I'd be somewhat worried getting such an easy path to the Finals.
What Cleveland is doing now is impressive, but firstly it is not the norm or something to be expected when a team is as utterly average in the regular season as they were, and second, it IS fair to point out their competition has been somewhat weak. Indiana put up the most fight, you have a Toronto team that everyone knows is doomed to forever be treadmill, and this Boston team is arguably the worst #1 seed in the last 20 years, a #1 seed with an SRS below 3.0 is embarrassing.
For reference, the 2006 Heat are usually agreed on this site to be the weakest NBA champion in the last 20 years, and if not them, the 2004 Pistons. The 2006 Heat sleepwalked through the regular season and had an SRS of 3.59. The Pistons only really started looking elite after acquiring Rasheed, and had an SRS of 5.04. The Celtics this season, 2.25, while the Cavs were at 2.87. These are absolutely anemic regular season numbers for the top 2 teams in a conference. For even more reference, the Jason Kidd Nets that got destroyed in the Finals, 3.67. The Reggie Miller/Rik Smits Pacers? 4.15. The Allen Iverson 76ers? 3.63.
If I could find a way to sort it, I suspect there's a good chance that none of the Finals teams from the past 20 years have had an SRS under 3. So people questioning the Cavs were perfectly within their rights from a logical perspective, and not just automatically "trolls".
EDIT: I looked it up, the lowest SRS by a Finals team in the last 20 years was the '99 Knicks, 1.45, and they got wrecked. The next lowest, the 2005 Pistons at 3.31. The next after that, the 2007 Cavs at 3.33. None of those teams won the Finals. The lowest by a champion was the 2006 Heat.