They've been dominating.... I imagine it is a weak schedule, but they do lead in point differential. 13.1 points a game. Still, they weren't playing like this last year.
they're good. and i believe they're the one team in the east that can beat the celtics. pairing lebron james, who is now the best player in the nba, with a good pg in mo williams, and still maintaining the great defense under coach brown, winning a championship is a definite possibility for the cavs.
It's a bit of a surprise. Here's a "4-factors" comparison between this year and last for them: OFFENSE: Code: [B]EFG% REB% TO% FT/FGA OVERALL[/B] 08/09 2 6 4 8 1 07/08 26 2 12 20 19 DEFENSE: Code: [B]EFG% REB% TO% FT/FGA OVERALL[/B] 08/09 3 12 4 20 4 07/08 10 2 19 18 11 Just a dramatic improvement on the offensive end in every facet, except offensive rebounding%. Then again, good offensive teams typically don't need to work as hard on the offensive boards anyways, and they're still pretty damn good at it. They aren't controlling the defensive boards as much this season as they did a year ago, but they're forcing more turnovers (which leads to fast breaks) and getting stops from the field.
1. They have indeed played a very weak schedule with most of their games at home. There will be bumps down the line. 2. All of their guys were in training camp this year and are healthy, a lot of their key guys were out of shape and/or holding out for more money last year. 3. Mo Williams gives LeBron a legit threat. Maybe not a true second option, but he's a huge upgrade over what they had before. Larry Hughes shot like 35% with them, he was a colossal bust and has already alienated Chicago fans.
You'd be surprised what a good PG does for your team. Unfortunately, we wouldn't know what that's like. It just goes to show how important the PG position is.
Sure we do. Just compare our record when Rafer has good shooting games to when he doesn't. Huge, huge difference.
The year vs. year difference is offense. It still isn't the prettiest in the NBA, but it's no longer atrocious. That's all the change the Cavs needed to become a Finals favorite/contender. Their defense is still there and they just choke teams to death when they turn up the intensity. A rematch against the Celts in the ECFs against Boston would be welcome. But it can't really top the first one unless the Cavs win.
Good chemistry + LeBron gives them the opportunity to blow out most mediocre teams they face. However, they still haven't shown the ability to beat elite teams or anyone with a very good defense. Oct 28 at Boston L 85-90 Oct 30 vs Charlotte W 96-79 Nov 1 at New Orleans L 92-104 Nov 3 at Dallas W 100-81 Nov 5 vs Chicago W 107-93 Nov 7 vs Indiana W 111-107 Nov 8 at Chicago W 106-97 Nov 11 vs Milwaukee W 99-93 Nov 13 vs Denver W 110-99 (pre-Chauncey trade) Nov 15 vs Utah W 105-93 (No Deron, Kirilenko, Harpring) Nov 18 at New Jersey W 106-82 Nov 19 at Detroit L 89-96 Nov 22 vs Atlanta W 110-96 Nov 25 at New York W 119-101 Nov 26 vs Oklahoma City W 117-82 Nov 28 vs Golden State W 112-97 Nov 29 at Milwaukee W 97-85 They are 1-3 against good teams, and their victory against an injury-depleted Utah came after Utah had lost 3 straight. Don't see them being a threat to the West this year.
In the past, the Cavs had a tendency to play to the competition. Now, they're dominating against teams they're supposed to beat. That means they'll get a top seed, have a cake walk through the first two rounds, and with LeBron playing like Black Jesus the Cavs will have as good a shot as any team at dethroning the Celtics.
If they do get to the Finals, I don't see them beating the WC team that makes it. Athletic teams have traditionally given Boston problems so it's possible that Cleveland does make it to the Finals. But I don't see them winning more than 2 games against LA, healthy Houston or San Antonio. Utah and New Orleans have great PG's but don't have the defense to make key stops down the stretch (in playoff basketball). The West has too many elite combinations and won't let LeBron win games single-handedly or in transition. The West is still very strong; they're just off to a slow start.
I have watched alot of Cleveland games this year. Their defense has been superb.. similar to last year when Rockets won 22 games. Their offense has been clicking in every aspect as well. Regardless who they have played, the way they have been blowing out every team is ridiculous..
I wonder if teams like the Cavs went back to the tape and looked at what we were doing during our streak.
I think you, like some others here, have an unrealistic view of how strong "the West" is. It's almost as if being in the Eastern Conference, by itself, demeans a team. Not saying you did, but after the regular season last year, some here still said the Celts hadn't proven themselves because they were in the East (not realizing the Celts went 25-5 against the West). I think the Cavs grind it out, brass knuckles defensive style matches up very well against any of the West teams. The difference now is their offense is much better. In fact, though their balance on offense is not as spread out, the Cavs are copying last year's Celtics formula for winning the title. From my observation so far, none of the teams in the West play defense like the Cavs and Celts. But it's a long season and it's too early to say which teams in the West will challenge the Lakers for the Finals. Right now, the Western Conference seems to be deeper than the East. But at the top, 2 out the 3 best teams in the NBA are in the East. We'll see how it evolves from here.
The best team Cleveland beat this season so far is Atlanta..... nuff said I see them as no threat. Being in the East doesn't demean a team, it just skewers their record. A team like Boston would certainly be on top even in the West, but they would not have won 66 games in the dominating fashion they were. I'd say around 57-60max.
The Cavs are bigger threats to win it all than the Rockets. The Rockets better hope the bandages, tape and rubber bands hold up AND team chemistry develops late in the season. The Celts went 25-5 against the West last season, 83.3%, which was better than against the East (41-11). I don't see how they would lose 9 more games in your scenario. Going 25-5 against the West is actually what "skewered" their record to 66 wins.
the cavs aren't a better team than the rockets, not if mcgrady is healthy. considering that is a significant question mark, i guess you could say they're a bigger threat to the championship at this exact moment, but should these two teams meet in the finals, we'd be heavily favored to take that series.
An unrealistic view of how strong "the West" is? Is this because I don't base my opinions on the first month of the season? Probably. "The West" has teams that have proven time and time again their ability to turn it on in the 2nd half of the season. There's no point stereotyping me into the group that underrated the Celtics, because I wouldn't count out a trio of wily veterans who play winning basketball and great defense. The Cavaliers are going to storm into the playoffs with a great record and a lot of hype. It's very possible they knock out the Celtics in the ECF, because the Celtics in particular struggle against athletic teams. But I don't see them winning more than 2 games against whoever makes it out of "the West". The Cavaliers playoff success begins and ends with LeBron, whereas the Celtics have 3 legit options who can beat a team.
While I'm not sayin the Celtics could not have done it, it would have been more unlikely for them to do so in the West. If they were in the West they would have had twice the number of games against the Western Conference teams, more road trips, more back to backs against tougher competition. Also Western conference teams are more spread out travel-wise, they do try to have trips in certain regions, but those are more used for Eastern teams. Also, because of so few match-ups with "the Western powers," it is easier to build them games up to play better and for the Celts' to prove they were better. It's harder to do that when with you play every one of those team 3-4 times. They are still important, but they aren't built as much. Also remember, it was not like the Celtics were blowing everyone away last year. They played really well, but they played a lot of close games and showed they were an amazing 4th quarter team. You can't just take 83% winning percentage in 30 games and say that would happen over 82 games, or even over 50 games. That nearly 70 wins which has happened only once. The Celtics were a good team, but there is a slim chance they would have won as many games being in the West last year. About the Cavs. They are playing really well right now, but it is true that their schedule has been relatively easy (of their last 10 games-SOS .472). But there is something to be said for taking care of business and beating the teams you are supposed. They are not elite yet, but they seem to be getting there.
Nov 22 vs Atlanta Nov 25 at New York Nov 26 vs Oklahoma City Nov 28 vs Golden State Nov 29 at Milwaukee Dec 03 vs New York Dec 05 vs Indiana Dec 06 at Charlotte Dec 09 vs Toronto Dec 10 at Philadelphia Dec 12 vs Philadelphia Dec 13 at Atlanta Dec 17 at Minnesota wow, talk about an easy month i do think that they are quite similar to the rockets, not elite but are championship contenders
