Author Topic: Calm Down Guys. Cleveland Still (Unfortunately) Makes It Out Of The East  (Read 9043 times)

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Offline trickybilly

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So heartbreaking to hear people still worried about Cleveland..

Minnesota on the other hand....
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Online Donoghus

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I've said it here before & I'll say it again, I won't bury that team until they're actually dead.

I don't care what they're doing right now in January, they still have the best player on the planet.


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Offline Phantom255x

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Oh dang, I didn't realize my post would cause so much mayhem on here  :P

I'm not trying to diss the Celtics or anything in my post, but while I tend to be very optimistic around here, I also tend to be realistic as well. Even last year, there were spurts where CLE looked awful and we thought "oh they won't make it out of the East", but they did, and relatively easily.

Now I agree, overall I think this Cavs team is too old and a little worse than last year. They can put up a ton of points, but they give up a ton as well. Isaiah doesn't help on defense, and so he needs to put up 25 PPG consistently to have a real impact. I even acknowledged in my original post that they won't have it easy as they navigate the East this year, unlike the last 2-3 years where it's been easy.

But I just think Boston has its flaws as well, and some inexperience as well which can show in the playoffs (as it has the last 2-3 years if you've watched them). Especially in the playoffs the last 3 years, there tend to be many games where they start cold and have really cold shooting stretches while the other team lights it up.

Now if they had a healthy Hayward and the same kind of impact Tatum is having now (even in limited minutes), I think there's a great chance they make it out of the East (better than TOR too).

Before the season, I thought there was an 85% chance the Cavs make it out of the East, and 10% chance Boston does, and 2.5% Raptors and Wizards each. NOW? I have it as 50% Cavs, 25% Raptors, 20% Celtics, and 5% rest of field (Wizards maybe?).

Yeah, Toronto could cool down and have a tendency to choke in the playoffs as well, but idk, this year they just look legit, more balanced, and they definitely could be the "sleeper" in the East (everyone assumes it's Cavaliers or Celtics, but the Raptors are right there too).
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Offline Phantom255x

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Even with the Cavs struggling now, the Celtics are in a cold stretch as well.
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Offline hodgy03038

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Even with the Cavs struggling now, the Celtics are in a cold stretch as well.

I just told my wife that we look as bad as Cleveland right now. To not only lose to an Orlando team that can't beat anybody - we were dominated by Orlando. Sad.

Offline CFAN38

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I hate to say it but ultimate agree with the OP.

The Cavs are trending down while the Cs are trending up however Lebron is still dominate enough to carry them to a series win. I expect a Cs and Cavs series to go 6-7 games. Then it will be a Warriors sweep that sends Lebron off to try to find greener pastures. His departure will and the healthy return of Hayward will set the stage for a long run of dominance and finals clashes with GS for the Cs.   
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Offline Phantom255x

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Even with the Cavs struggling now, the Celtics are in a cold stretch as well.

I just told my wife that we look as bad as Cleveland right now. To not only lose to an Orlando team that can't beat anybody - we were dominated by Orlando. Sad.

It's disappointing because our two biggest strengths this season (defense and effort/hustle) have all been pretty much missing the last 3 games. Hence, the ugly losing streak.
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Offline Monkhouse

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Even with the Cavs struggling now, the Celtics are in a cold stretch as well.

I just told my wife that we look as bad as Cleveland right now. To not only lose to an Orlando team that can't beat anybody - we were dominated by Orlando. Sad.

Gonna have to forgive me, I haven't had my morning coffee, but I thought I read
you writing that your wife looked as bad as Cleveland right now, lol.

To expand on your points, I do agree, that we look relatively as bad as Cleveland right now,
but do we really? We faced plenty of injuries, and honestly, I still don't think
we're 100% there chemistry wise. You have a lot of youngsters and rookies who are all capable
of performing the best they can, but of course rookies are gonna face the rookie walls.

I do wish Horford would be more aggressive, and take more shots, or at least
try to feed Tatum more shots. He gives and go for Kyrie, and passes him the ball majority
of the time, but what I don't understand is why they don't seem to give Tatum more better
looks or plan shots out for him.

This is all us just freaking out over nothing... We're the 1st seed, we have 6 rookies,
and one of the biggest roster overhauls in the league right now.

I mean, other than Hayward being out, which is an unfortunate scenario, it has led
to the emergence in Tatum's stellar rookie play.

All we need is a consistent scorer off the bench. Williams or Evans would be perfect fits,
but I was also thinking about someone like Jonathan Simmons.

I'm not that high on Marcus Morris. In fact, I actually dislike him now. He reminds me
eerily of Antonie Walker, not the numbers or statistical categories, but just
how the ball movement seems to die when they both have the ball in their hands.

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Offline LRNation_

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So we lost 3 in a row and now our future is set? With your logic, the Warriors won't make it out of the WCF. If I'm not mistaken they took 3 losses in a row. Let the Celtics go through bumps in the season, it sets them up for the playoffs, not to mention, we've beaten every team in the ECF once, even the raptors. I'm p sure we destroyed the cavs last meeting....

Offline incoherent

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100% Speculation Doom and Gloom that is pointless to entertain.

In 4 months you have no idea what kind of team the Celtics will be and you have even less idea what kind of team the Cavs will be.

I didn't read this and think "yeah I guess so, we are done the Cavs got this", and no one else should either.

Instead you propose the most obvious story line and easiest one to fall back on.  Cavs / Warriors Finals with Warriors winning.  How original, thanks for the take.

Offline keevsnick

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I would not at all be surprised if we lost to CLE or TOR. Lebron is still the best player in the world, we always struggle with Love and Thomas will want to kill us. They may not be able to play defense, but they have ALOT of offensive firepower. Thomas hasn't looked great so far but between rust and being worked into their offense he will likely get a lot better. It will be a lot closer than last year, but CLE should still be favorites untill we prove otherwise.

Offline Phantom255x

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100% Speculation Doom and Gloom that is pointless to entertain.

In 4 months you have no idea what kind of team the Celtics will be and you have even less idea what kind of team the Cavs will be.

I didn't read this and think "yeah I guess so, we are done the Cavs got this", and no one else should either.

Instead you propose the most obvious story line and easiest one to fall back on.  Cavs / Warriors Finals with Warriors winning.  How original, thanks for the take.

Not sure what problem you have with all this. It's a REALISTIC take. And we can't speculate on things here? Funny, because A LOT of threads here involve speculation and looking ahead, and sometimes looking at the past and how it's gone in the past can play a role in speculating for the future as well.

I just made a prediction and posted some reasons on why I think so. And some posters on here also agree with my points, while some don't. Leads to good discussion.
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Offline KGBirdBias

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Even though we've lost 2 straight games, I'm enjoying all this news that the Cavs are imploding. Now we know why Kyrie wanted out and IT is complaining. Now they're blaming Love for everything.

Bron sucks all the oxygen out the room and a drama queen. They're finished...too old and can't play defense.

Offline MattyIce

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Even though we've lost 2 straight games, I'm enjoying all this news that the Cavs are imploding. Now we know why Kyrie wanted out and IT is complaining. Now they're blaming Love for everything.

Bron sucks all the oxygen out the room and a drama queen. They're finished...too old and can't play defense.

3, still feel the same?  ;)

Offline Phantom255x

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Even though we've lost 2 straight games, I'm enjoying all this news that the Cavs are imploding. Now we know why Kyrie wanted out and IT is complaining. Now they're blaming Love for everything.

Bron sucks all the oxygen out the room and a drama queen. They're finished...too old and can't play defense.

3, still feel the same?  ;)

OH NO! IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT!!

 :laugh:
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller