ruh roh! <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Tyson Chandler will not play tonight because of back spasms.</p>— Dwain Price (@DwainPrice) <a href="https://twitter.com/DwainPrice/status/549338334598672384">December 28, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The East is Lebron's to lose. Trust me, you will see a different Lebron, and thus Cavs, by March. No team in the East can beat Lebron in a 7 game series.
Is he maybe on the downside of his career? He's 29(for another day anyway), but there are some serious miles on that body. And he was carrying the Heat last season much like he did with the Cavs earlier in his career. It's possible he's playing with so little energy because he doesn't have that much left in the tank.
This Cavs team is just brutal to watch. I never thought I'd see the day where a LeBron led team is boring to watch, but this Cavs team just plays with no passion and intensity.
Did you not see the Finals or playoffs last year? He was out of this world offensively. Lebron saved himself for the playoffs last year by coasting on defense in the regular season. He's coasting now too. But now his coasting also applies on offense. That's just frustrating for a fan to see.
A theory of mine: When SVG became Coach + President of Basketball Operations of the Pistons, some of us suspected that it isn't often the best idea to have anyone in such a dual role, no matter how brilliant he is, because of the conflict between living every possession of every game and having to look at the big picture. This will tend to make the team more prone to make short term moves in the absence of someone to check the coach/president's power. It also creates kind of a weird dynamic with the players. Whereas Kevin McHale can at least tell the players (truthfully or not) that all he's trying to do is to help the group that he has win and he isn't involved in any of Morey's schemes to trade them as assets, Stan Van Gundy and Doc Rivers cannot do the same. LeBron's situation in Cleveland is like SVG's only 10 times worse: LeBron is essentially the Star Player, Coach and Team President. You know that Blatt runs whatever offense LeBron wants and the front office makes whatever moves that LeBron wants to happen. Now, not only do we have a front office making short term moves to appease a player with a limited window left in his prime, we have an even more awkward dynamic of your teammate, that you supposedly go to battle with, likely plotting to trade your ass to suit whatever goals he has. LeBron may not have liked that Miami did things he didn't want-- amnesty Mike Miller, for one-- but it was still useful to him that somebody other than himself has that job and gets to make that decision and take the blame.
They'll be fine with Brandon Wri... Never mind. Warmly welcome to the starting lineup, Charlie Villanueva?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Patty mills to suit up for spurs vs. rockets per Pop</p>— Mike Monroe (@Monroe_SA) <a href="https://twitter.com/Monroe_SA/status/549329356418318336">December 28, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> #THERETURN
Maybe. I guess we'll know after the All-Star Break if/when he turns it on. But the East has a few respectable teams this season unlike last year where all the Heat had to do was beat the Pacers who played like garbage for the last couple months and into the playoffs. So it's not like the Cavs can just coast and expect to beat the Raptors, Bulls, or Hawks in the postseason.
Man Cavs are getting clowned now by the Pistons. This has happened 3-4 times already AT HOME for the Cavs.
