Cavs Lose Again-LA loses again,Philly just loses

[Sophomore]

I watched the beginning of the Houston-Cavs game last night. Lebron had two dunks early in that game, an alley-oop two-foot-two-hander and a one-foot-one-hander. This was before he rolled his ankle.

I thought both times, "Man, Lebron has lost some explosiveness."

I mean, he's still a beast. But players often lose their two-foot jumping explosiveness first. The first dunk had Lebron loading up to explode to the rim without getting much higher. The second dunk had him beat his man and explode off of one foot for his patented tomahawk slam. He had space, but even that one did not look like vintage Lebron.

Lebron looks human to me. His other-worldly explosiveness is waning. He is still one of the strongest guys in the league, but his quickness and explosiveness on the finish is lacking. That's why he has consistently relied on muscle "slow-drives." They have worked for his shooting percentage, but they haven't worked for the cavs winning percentage.

I dunno. That dunk of his in traffic in the 2nd quarter--who else can do that? Maybe GA.

Houston is a very good team, better than I thought pre-season, especially considering the loss of CP.  Cavs played them very closely.  Them losing to Houston last night did not signify another example of their decline.

He is still ridiculous. He’s averaging 29 points (on 60% shooting!!), seven boards, and nine assists. Statistically it’s one of his best years so far, and he’s doing it with a reduced surrounding cast.  His game against the wizards was just bonkers. While he might’ve lost a little bit, he is still plenty explosive and so smart about how to use it.

He might benefit more than anybody from the cut-down in back to backs and the end of four games in five nights. Once he’s in the playoffs, with extra rest, look out.

[mctyson]

Cleveland cannot be judged until IT comes back and plays 10 games.

[Hank Finkel]

Cleveland cannot be judged until IT comes back and plays 10 games.

I agree.  Thompson is out too and he is a hard nosed dirty work guy that helps keep the stars scoring. Cleveland is still the team to beat in the east.

[celticsclay]

Cleveland cannot be judged until IT comes back and plays 10 games.

I agree.  Thompson is out too and he is a hard nosed dirty work guy that helps keep the stars scoring. Cleveland is still the team to beat in the east.

Thompson? The guy averaging 4 points 6 rebounds a a turnover this year? They have actually played better since he got injured....

[Moranis]

This was the first Cavs loss against a good team. They were seemingly playing up for the big games and not showing up for the crappy games.

[More Banners]

The thing about Cleveland is that they really, and this season I mean really really don't care about seeding.

Are they at risk of missing the playoffs?  Highly unlikely.

Are they afraid of any team in the east?  No.

Do they think they need home court?  No.

Does anyone want to face them in the first round?  No.

They could be 8th seed and have about the same chance of making the Finals. Maybe a bit rougher road, but they could easily still be favorites against anyone in the east.

[celticsclay]

This was the first Cavs loss against a good team. They were seemingly playing up for the big games and not showing up for the crappy games.

They matchup with the Bucks well because the Bucks are a poor shooting 3pt team that can't fully exploit the slow defense of the Cleveland backcourt. Their only good win aside from that was the Washington Game where Lebron played like god.

[chilidawg]

The thing about Cleveland is that they really, and this season I mean really really don't care about seeding.

Are they at risk of missing the playoffs?  Highly unlikely.

Are they afraid of any team in the east?  No.

Do they think they need home court?  No.

Does anyone want to face them in the first round?  No.

They could be 8th seed and have about the same chance of making the Finals. Maybe a bit rougher road, but they could easily still be favorites against anyone in the east.

How do you know what they think?

[celticsclay]

The thing about Cleveland is that they really, and this season I mean really really don't care about seeding.

Are they at risk of missing the playoffs?  Highly unlikely.

Are they afraid of any team in the east?  No.

Do they think they need home court?  No.

Does anyone want to face them in the first round?  No.

They could be 8th seed and have about the same chance of making the Finals. Maybe a bit rougher road, but they could easily still be favorites against anyone in the east.

How do you know what they think?

If Cleveland doesn't care at all about the regular season why is

Lebron averaging 38 minutes a game right before he turns 33?
Why are they holding team meetings to try and figure out their slide?
Why are they so upset?

[More Banners]

The thing about Cleveland is that they really, and this season I mean really really don't care about seeding.

Are they at risk of missing the playoffs?  Highly unlikely.

Are they afraid of any team in the east?  No.

Do they think they need home court?  No.

Does anyone want to face them in the first round?  No.

They could be 8th seed and have about the same chance of making the Finals. Maybe a bit rougher road, but they could easily still be favorites against anyone in the east.

How do you know what they think?

If Cleveland doesn't care at all about the regular season why is

Lebron averaging 38 minutes a game right before he turns 33?
Why are they holding team meetings to try and figure out their slide?
Why are they so upset?

In short, because Ty Lue is an idiot of a coach, and in spite of that fact they're still favorites to make the Finals as they have with him wearing the coach suit for the past 3 seasons.

[Moranis]

This was the first Cavs loss against a good team. They were seemingly playing up for the big games and not showing up for the crappy games.

They matchup with the Bucks well because the Bucks are a poor shooting 3pt team that can't fully exploit the slow defense of the Cleveland backcourt. Their only good win aside from that was the Washington Game where Lebron played like god.

wins - Milwaukee x2, Boston, Washington, Chicago
Losses - Orlando, Brooklyn, New Orleans, New York, Indiana, Atlanta, Houston

Only Chicago and Houston are misplaced.