Cavs are All in...

[crimson_stallion]

Hate to say this but if the Cavs were healthy, they would win it all

...

Hell, we would've three-peated but for all our injuries with PP/KG.

I agree with both statements, and I don't think there's anything wrong with fans being disappointed when injuries derail a championship season.  Whether it's Hondo or KG or Shaq or Perk or Rondo, it stinks seeing guys suffer injuries that create "what if" scenarios.

I feel for Cavs fans, and for Varejao, Love, and Kyrie individually.

I honestly believe we could've had 3, and probably even 4 championships

09 - if KG was not injured
2010 - if Perk wasn't injured
2011 - Shaq didn't get injured (was that also the year Wade took down Rondo's arm?)

Yeah, when healthy every one of those Boston teams was very good...extremely tough to beat.

It was absolutely unbelievable how much impact Shaq still had on that team when he was healthy - considering his age, his health issues and his physical conditioning (way overweight) he still dominated opponents when he was on the floor.  He was gobbling up rebounds, swatting shots, dunking over people, making pinpoint passes.  Plus the guy was just so strong and took up so much space - it's really hard to get around a guy that big.  If Shaq sets a screen on you, you're not getting around it easilly...and you're sure as hell not going through it lol

When he was on the floor, teams really struggled against us.  Just unfortunate that those times were so few and far between.  It's really a shame to see Shaq go out like that.  I know he wanted a couple of more years, and I would have like to see him to out fighting rather than go down with injuries.  Winning a title (or even just making a deep playoff run) with the Celtics would have been a great final chapter in the career of one of the most dominant players ever to play the game.

I still remember that one huge alley-oop dunk he had over somebody - and I think that was his first game back from injury.  The crowd just went absolutely ballistic for the guy - must have felt good!

[The_Price_Is_Right]

If the Cavs can bring everyone back from their team this season next year, and IF (and that's a HUGE IF) they can stay healthy through the playoffs.  They will be a really tough out.  Especially in the East.  You plug in a healthy Irving & Love (is that possible?) for an entire playoff run, along with Varejao, Delly & Thompson off the bench with the experience they've gotten this year.  Gonna be tough to beat that team 4 times.

[Moranis]

If the Cavs can bring everyone back from their team this season next year, and IF (and that's a HUGE IF) they can stay healthy through the playoffs.  They will be a really tough out.  Especially in the East.  You plug in a healthy Irving & Love (is that possible?) for an entire playoff run, along with Varejao, Delly & Thompson off the bench with the experience they've gotten this year.  Gonna be tough to beat that team 4 times.

The Cavs could be a dynasty and one of the greatest teams in NBA history if they bring everyone back and can stay at least reasonably healthy.  I mean look at this lineup.

PG - Irving, Dellavedova
SG - Shumpert, Harris
SF - James, Smith, Jones
PF - Love, Thompson
C - Mozgov, Varejao, Perkins

The only starter where you reasonably worry about age being a factor is by far the best player in the world.  That team could realistically win the next 4 titles with reasonable health and you would have to expect the Cavs to add some more veteran minimum players to fill out the bench and replace Marion, Miller, and Haywood.  Of course that team probably has a 150 million dollar payroll, which is a ton of money, and may be hard to pay for any extended period of time, but I could totally see Gilbert doing it if anyone would.

[D.o.s.]

I think the idea of Cleveland's current roster not succumbing to injury by the time playoffs roll around is too fanciful to be taken seriously. You can have Sideshow Andy on the depth chart all you want, but he's going to be bringing out the suits in April, just like always, so it doesn't do much good to pretend like he's going to be a contributor.

Irving had his healthiest year yet this season, and maybe that kneecap was a fluke, but I think it's more likely than not he'll be injured come his next playoff series too. A shame, but a reality.

[Moranis]

I think the idea of Cleveland's current roster not succumbing to injury by the time playoffs roll around is too fanciful to be taken seriously. You can have Sideshow Andy on the depth chart all you want, but he's going to be bringing out the suits in April, just like always, so it doesn't do much good to pretend like he's going to be a contributor.

Irving had his healthiest year yet this season, and maybe that kneecap was a fluke, but I think it's more likely than not he'll be injured come his next playoff series too. A shame, but a reality.

Well I do think if that is the roster SideShow is playing what 10 minutes a game at most on most nights.  A lot easier to stay healthy when you are playing a limited role with limited minutes.  And they don't need to be healthy all season, just for the playoffs.  With a lot more depth to start the year, they will be better able to manage minutes and get guys rest.  That would be a team that doesn't care about regular season record, it is all about being ready for the playoffs and the playoffs only.  They could limp in as the 8th seed, but if they were healthy would still be the odds on favorites to win the title.

[GratefulCs]

Serious question.  If the Celtics of the 80's had the Cavs injury luck from this postseason, how many titles would they have won without McHale and Parrish, or Bird?

dude, did lebron get injured?


Or are you saying dennis johnson is the lebron of the 80's celtics?

[GratefulCs]

Average Attendance Stats courtesy of ESPN.

Cavs:
2010 (LeBron’s last year before leaving) – 20,562
2011 – 20,112
2012 – 15,926
2013 – 16,192
2014 – 17,329
2015 – 20,562

Celtics:
2010 – 18,169
2011 – 18,624
2012 – 18,624
2013 – 18,624
2014 – 18,107
2015 – 17,593

You would think that after LeBron left with some of those terrible teams Cleveland had that the attendance would actually be lower than what it was.  In 2003, the year before the Cavs would draft LeBron, they were last in the NBA in attendance, averaging right around 11,000 per game.

Worth noting, of course, that in, say, 2011, the Celtics had 100% attendance and the Cavs only had 97%, because we'd hate to look at raw numbers in differently sized stadiums without any control for that, right?

big ole TP dos!


I was wondering how many people could fit in the garden

[D.o.s.]

I think the idea of Cleveland's current roster not succumbing to injury by the time playoffs roll around is too fanciful to be taken seriously. You can have Sideshow Andy on the depth chart all you want, but he's going to be bringing out the suits in April, just like always, so it doesn't do much good to pretend like he's going to be a contributor.

Irving had his healthiest year yet this season, and maybe that kneecap was a fluke, but I think it's more likely than not he'll be injured come his next playoff series too. A shame, but a reality.

Well I do think if that is the roster SideShow is playing what 10 minutes a game at most on most nights.  A lot easier to stay healthy when you are playing a limited role with limited minutes.  And they don't need to be healthy all season, just for the playoffs.  With a lot more depth to start the year, they will be better able to manage minutes and get guys rest.  That would be a team that doesn't care about regular season record, it is all about being ready for the playoffs and the playoffs only.  They could limp in as the 8th seed, but if they were healthy would still be the odds on favorites to win the title.

I think I'd agree with that. The other Eastern playoffs Teams (in my mind's eye Chicago/Indiana/New York/Atlanta/Charlotte/Miami and us, maybe?) all have pretty glaring weaknesses.

[spikelovetheCelts]

Average Attendance Stats courtesy of ESPN.

Cavs:
2010 (LeBron’s last year before leaving) – 20,562
2011 – 20,112
2012 – 15,926
2013 – 16,192
2014 – 17,329
2015 – 20,562

Celtics:
2010 – 18,169
2011 – 18,624
2012 – 18,624
2013 – 18,624
2014 – 18,107
2015 – 17,593

You would think that after LeBron left with some of those terrible teams Cleveland had that the attendance would actually be lower than what it was.  In 2003, the year before the Cavs would draft LeBron, they were last in the NBA in attendance, averaging right around 11,000 per game.

This could have something to do with it:
Population  Cleveland   396,815 48th
Population Boston  617,594 24th
Cleveland is Brown's first. I was blessed to go to the Dog Pound.

[D.o.s.]

Average Attendance Stats courtesy of ESPN.

Cavs:
2010 (LeBron’s last year before leaving) – 20,562
2011 – 20,112
2012 – 15,926
2013 – 16,192
2014 – 17,329
2015 – 20,562

Celtics:
2010 – 18,169
2011 – 18,624
2012 – 18,624
2013 – 18,624
2014 – 18,107
2015 – 17,593

You would think that after LeBron left with some of those terrible teams Cleveland had that the attendance would actually be lower than what it was.  In 2003, the year before the Cavs would draft LeBron, they were last in the NBA in attendance, averaging right around 11,000 per game.

This could have something to do with it:
Population  Cleveland   396,815 48th
Population Boston  617,594 24th
Cleveland is Brown's first. I was blessed to go to the Dog Pound.

If you are suggesting that Boston is a Celtics-first sports city you are most assuredly mistaken.