Does Anybody Wish We’d Taken A Different Path

[Goldstar88]

Had Jarrett Allen been able to go, the Cavs might have beaten the Nets, and I'd have rather played the Cavs than Bulls.  Just no way to know what was going to happen in the play-ins.

The Cavs had Allen against the Hawks and they still couldn’t win. It wouldn’t have mattered much.

[Phantom255x]

Toronto may have been a layup for the C's in the 1st round. Keep in mind, that same Toronto team nearly lost to the C's when they played literally their bench and Smart.

[slamtheking]

satisfied with our current path.  would rather play to win than throw games hoping to avoid a team you may need to beat in the playoffs anyway.

[tenn_smoothie]

That's a tough one. The Celtic competitor in me says we do not lose games to arrange our playoff bracket, Bring on the Nets, anytime and anywhere. And beating psycho Kyrie will be very sweet. However, if we lose this series, it's gonna be real painful and who knows if we get another shot at Irving in the playoffs (not because of our failure, but because of his self-destructive tendencies).

So, the possible downsides are the possibility of losing or the concern over how much winning a very tough 7-game series might take out of us for the next round (we are not the obvious best team in the East like in 2008 after the Atlanta series). All things considered though, you gotta go with winning those games at the end and claiming the #2 seed. It's a message from the coach to the players and a message to the players from themselves that we don't dodge other teams. We have carried that great momentum into the playoffs and Sunday had to be another boost to our young team's confidence both for this year and into the future. We did the right thing.

[tenn_smoothie]

You play to win. Maybe for this team, this is the dragon they need to slay to help them learn how to win in the playoffs.

Excellent point. Sure feels that way.

[radiohead]

A positive way of looking at this is that if we make it out of this series, we’ll be battle scarred and tested. That will come in handy as the playoffs goes on.

[Moranis]

Had Jarrett Allen been able to go, the Cavs might have beaten the Nets, and I'd have rather played the Cavs than Bulls.  Just no way to know what was going to happen in the play-ins.

The Cavs had Allen against the Hawks and they still couldn’t win. It wouldn’t have mattered much.

different teams different match ups.  Allen would have mattered more against the Nets then a Capella less Hawks (there is a reason the Hawks were -21 in Capela's 13 minutes in the game).

[footey]

I frankly wish we had lost that Memphis game, and played Toronto.  I feel we would have beaten them pretty easily, even if they were healthy.

I'm still quite nervous about the Nets.  Think it will go 7 games, and anything can happen in a Game 7.

[pablohoney]

If we don’t beat the Nets, no one else will.  They will only get better with time playing together and the integration of a healthy Simmons.  If winning it all is the goal, drawing the Nets and ending their run early was the best way.  Beating the Bulls or Raps only to lose later means little to me.

[Roy H.]

So our current path isn't looking so bad at this point:

Nets -->  Milwaukee at home with no Middleton --> Winner of Miami (on road) / Philly (at home)

If the team executes, it's not the nightmare schedule that it looked like.

[Goldstar88]

So our current path isn't looking so bad at this point:

Nets -->  Milwaukee at home with no Middleton --> Winner of Miami (on road) / Philly (at home)

If the team executes, it's not the nightmare schedule that it looked like.

I will feel a lot better if the C’s can grab one of the next 2 games in Brooklyn. All they’ve done so far is hold home court and both games have been dogfights. Honestly, without Middleton, I’m not sure the Bucks get past the Bulls. That’s a huge blow and Chicago now has home court advantage.

[Donoghus]

So our current path isn't looking so bad at this point:

Nets -->  Milwaukee at home with no Middleton --> Winner of Miami (on road) / Philly (at home)

If the team executes, it's not the nightmare schedule that it looked like.

So far, so good.

[pokeKingCurtis]

I was anxious about the Nets

But man, the only series in the playoffs to be a blowout currently right?

[Phantom255x]

Regardless how anyone felt about it, it's hard to complain now. Only team in the East currently that has a chance at sweeping a series 

[colincb]

Regardless how anyone felt about it, it's hard to complain now. Only team in the East currently that has a chance at sweeping a series 

Given what's happened, it's easy to see why Vegas has us coming out of the East.