The Cleveland Cavaliers

[Warlord23]

The Cavs have quietly overtaken the Lakers in PPG differential (+12.9 to +12.2). Although they've dropped some games to the big boys, they've beaten everyone they were supposed to beat and are also undefeated at home.

If Lebron gets homecourt in the playoffs, they will get to the Finals at least. Boston will need homecourt at the very least to beat the Cavs, and I'm not sure if even that will be enough for Detroit (and they're already 4.5 games behind the Cavs).

[Thunder Dan]

The Cavs have quietly overtaken the Lakers in PPG differential (+12.9 to +12.2). Although they've dropped some games to the big boys, they've beaten everyone they were supposed to beat and are also undefeated at home.

If Lebron gets homecourt in the playoffs, they will get to the Finals at least. Boston will need homecourt at the very least to beat the Cavs, and I'm not sure if even that will be enough for Detroit (and they're already 4.5 games behind the Cavs).

The Boston game was unexplainable other than it was the first time Mo Williams played with the team, and the rotations were messed up. They were up 14 at one point

Detroit was a road 2nd half of a B2B which they lead by 11 or something at the half

New Orleans was their opening night, and they were leading by 11 going into the 4th

not making excuses, just saying that their 3 losses are not that bad of loses- they were in every game


Also, Lebron scored 11 last night and they still won by 24...so all the people that say the Cavs are only Lebron obviously do not watch the Cavs this year

[JoeTait75]

I'm surprised that Mo Williams seems to have made that much of a difference.

The most pleasant surprise about Mo has been his defensive tenacity. He came over from a club that didn't emphasize defense, so he was really an unknown quan y on that end of the floor, but he's bought in fully to what we do here, and he's doing a nice job so far.

[Kobe™]

That's what a "PG" can do for you.

[JoeTait75]

That's what a "PG" can do for you.

Yeah, we hadn't had a legitimate PG since Andre Miller. I'd damn near forgotten what one looked like.

[KidCongo]

I had just come in here to start a thread like this.

I think the Cavs are legit. Somewhat Spur-like in you look at their roster and other than the obvious (LeBron), it's hard to believe that they're really that much better than last year. But the parts seem to fit really well. Yes, they're playing defense, but they are currently FIRST in the league in offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions). So it's not just winning with ugly defense.

I'm surprised that Mo Williams seems to have made that much of a difference.

Mike Brown is still developing as a coach, he is to be thanked for the greatly improved offense also.

[ShoogarBear]

Mike Brown is still developing as a coach, he is to be thanked for the greatly improved offense also.

Hmm, emphasizing defense first, improving the offense as the years go on . . . wonder where he got that pattern from?

[Allanon]

I think the Cavs are legit contenders but I don't think they can beat whoever comes out of the West.

[Thunder Dan]

I think the Cavs are legit contenders but I don't think they can beat whoever comes out of the West.

dude, have you got the memo yet...the West isn't the 2005 &2006 West anymore- It's one good team, a bunch of middle of the road teams, and about 4 terrible teams. The east has one really bad team, who are w/o their best player and were in the playoffs last year

[ShoogarBear]

dude, have you got the memo yet...the West isn't the 2005 &2006 West anymore- It's one good team, a bunch of middle of the road teams, and about 4 terrible teams. The east has one really bad team, who are w/o their best player and were in the playoffs last year

How come you didn't say 2007?

[Thunder Dan]

How come you didn't say 2007?

because the Celtics slapped the Lakers in the Finals. My basketball years go from when the season starts

[JoeTait75]

I think the Cavs are legit contenders but I don't think they can beat whoever comes out of the West.

The Cavaliers will beat any team in the league if they have homecourt in a series, including the Lake Show.

[Thunder Dan]

The Cavaliers will beat any team in the league if they have homecourt in a series, including the Lake Show.

haven't the Cavs won 4 in a row vs. the Lakers? and that was the ty Cavs

[DrHouse]

The Cavs won't be able to keep this up for a full NBA season. They aren't balanced enough and their bench isn't deep enough.

The top two teams in the league record wise will be LAL and BOS. The only way the Cavs beat BOS in the playoffs is with HCA. In fact if BOS has the best record in the league again they will win another ring. Nobody is beating them w/o HCA.

[sook]

The Cav's can not beat any team that comes out of the west...they matchup well with a lot of the east teams but that doesn't translate to the west. The only team i think they might be able to beat are the hornets, blazers, or suns.

And if the spurs come out in the finals once more, just give it up cleveland fans.
Will be another sweep.

[Allanon]

dude, have you got the memo yet...the West isn't the 2005 &2006 West anymore- It's one good team, a bunch of middle of the road teams, and about 4 terrible teams. The east has one really bad team, who are w/o their best player and were in the playoffs last year

Are you kidding me? The West had a major adjustment period due to injuries, new players and coaching changes.

The West is starting to come on strong again after they've adjusted. The East is still much weaker than the West although they're not as bad as last year.

Look at the Eastern Playoffs.

Chicago Bulls are 9-11. 45% wins and is in the 8th seed.

Phoenix Suns are 12-9. 57% wins and they are out of the Playoffs as of right now.

[DrHouse]

^This. The Cavs do well against the EC teams because they don't need to score much to win. Against the WC you need to be able to score as well as defend, which is why BOS was so dominant against the WC last season. They could do both effectively, I'm not sold that the Cavs can.

[sook]

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.

[SpurForLife]

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.

Chauncey was playing with Denver at the time they played the Cav's. With that said I don't think they are going to beat the West just yet. At least not without homecourt.

[Thunder Dan]

^This. The Cavs do well against the EC teams because they don't need to score much to win. Against the WC you need to be able to score as well as defend, which is why BOS was so dominant against the WC last season. They could do both effectively, I'm not sold that the Cavs can.

they are top 3 in the league in scoring and defense. Give it up bro, you don't know what your talking about

[Thunder Dan]

Chauncey was playing with Denver at the time they played the Cav's. With that said I don't think they are going to beat the West just yet. At least not without homecourt.

the West isn't what it used to be. Don't hate the Cavs becuase they beat teams they are supposed to beat. The Spurs (Bucks), Rockets (Pacers), Lakers (Pacers), Jazz (KNICKS, WASHINGTON WIZARDS (have 2 wins), Charlotte f'ing Bobcats, Bulls and Nets) and Suns (Bulls, Nets AND Heat) can't do the same

[m33p0]

they're still a one-man show. limit his contributions and the cavs will go down.

[Thunder Dan]

they're still a one-man show. limit his contributions and the cavs will go down.

yeah thats why he scored 11 points last night and they beat the pacers by like 30....the Pacers that beat the Celtics, Lakers and The Rockets. He has played the 4th quarter about 3 times this year.

Stop with the jealously, just because the Cavs are dominating teams the way you wish your teams would doesn't mean you need to hate or make judgements when you don't even watch them. They are top 3 in scoring, top 3 in defense, and lead the league in point differential which over the last 10 years, the leader of that has won the championship 8 times.

Cavs only belong on the court with the Celtics and Lakers...all you other haters, better luck next year

[Thunder Dan]

West scout on how many legit le contenders there are at the 20-game mark

"I can't give you more than three. I should probably reserve the right to include San Antonio, out of respect for all [the Spurs'] championship experience. Who's going to be surprised if they're a factor in the playoffs? But it's Boston, Cleveland and the Lakers. We're all looking up at Boston and L.A. and I can find too many flaws in everyone else."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...dime-081206-07

whats this, a West scout saying only one team from the West has a shot thus far?

[mystargtr34]

Cavs are looking damn good. They beat the Nuggets with Billups, and the Mavs, albeit when they were in their funk, and were right in games until the last minutes in all three of their losses.

I think they can beat the Celtics regardless of whether they have HCA or not, everybody saw how LeBron struggled individually against them in last years series, yet they were still 3 minutes from knocking them out on the road. Now that Mo is in town, they have 3 legitimate scoring threats and an awesome defense and some damn good role players.

Boston are still favourite, but Cavs are a close second.

They can compete with any team in the West, but i would put my money on LA, Houston and SA beating them provided everyone is healthy.