2017 Cavaliers -- greatest pro team in Cleveland history? (Canton, Washington: sales, costs)

[teacherdad]

I love the CAVS, but have seen them lose to much "lower" teams this year. Their defense has been terrible. I am nervous about the playoffs. Am I alone? Are they just saving their strength for the playoffs? I have seen games and thought, "They will not even make it out of the first round."

[bjimmy24]

I was nervous 2 years in a row now and they've won 1 ship and cam close to another. So I'm not really nervous this year. Yes would love to see the d pick up. But ya know, I do think that the regular season can seem like the preseason sometimes and I get that. Not saying it's ok. I think the cavs sometimes play lazy. In the playoffs they won't be. As we saw with gsw, win all you want in the regular season. After a certain point, it doesn't matter.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by teacherdad

I love the CAVS, but have seen them lose to much "lower" teams this year. Their defense has been terrible. I am nervous about the playoffs. Am I alone? Are they just saving their strength for the playoffs? I have seen games and thought, "They will not even make it out of the first round."

I'm not nervous at all. I think what you're seeing is a still great, but older, wiser LeBron James who is pacing himself. I think the team has taken these cues and are not killing themselves for all regular season games. Add to that, once again, the injury bug has bitten them. JR's loss threw off team balance -- he's a high quality, big defensive guard, and without his ball pressure on the wings, guards are busting into the paint and causing havoc. Kyrie has slipped back into old defensive habits as well. Moving Shumpert to starter has impacted him as well. And losing Love's rebounding and underrated defense, as well as his ability to draw 4s and 5s out on the wing, have all contributed... This team both has the comfort level of knowing they won the championship and they also have fear of regular season injuries.

... Once the playoffs start, you're going to see LeBron and the team kick it into high gear. And with the depth of this bench, who I'm praying will finally all be healthy by late April, you'll see the Cavs back to where they were last year ... and then some.

[WRnative]

Much of my confidence at the beginning of this thread was based on the addition of Bogut as a proven defensive presence in the paint, the Cavaliers' biggest area of concern. Bogut's quick injury was immensely bad luck.

Keeping Love and Thompson healthy is crucial, but much also might depend now upon whether Larry Sanders can resurrect his game.

<< That’s the next step on his road back to a career that seemed so promising when he finished seventh in the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year race.>>

Tyronn Lue jumped through hoops to get Larry Sanders his Cavaliers debut

[TheProf]

^I don't think we have to worry about "Iron Man" Thompson staying healthy. I also don't think Sanders will be much of a factor this season... Lue may plug him occasionally to bang around with an imposing center or 2, but he won't be in the playoff rotation and probably mostly be a coach's DNP...

Look around at the other elites viz a viz the Cavs. We completed a good week, including having a worn out Cavs team at the end of grueling road trip take an elite Houston team to the wall but simply wore down in the 4th quarter of a highly entertaining game. After that, we came back and walloped Detroit, who we may be once again facing in the 1st round, and ground out a tough win against a tough Utah team when our long-distance shooters like Frye and RJ went ice cold, esp in the 2nd half.

Meanwhile the Warriors have been treading water coming out of a losing trend and barely squeaking by a weak Philly team having Curry on a cold shooting trend. Golden State has obviously taken a hit with Durant's injury (and we don't know when and how well he'll come back). The Spurs have been stumbling after Lemarcus Aldridge has been sidelined indefinitely with his heart problems. All this while the mega-deep Cavs are getting healthy and their key pieces (like JR and Love and soon, Korver) back.

... again, I have no worries.

[mbowes80]

Like the last couple of seasons, I worry that the Cavs can't hang with the West's best teams. Last year I was, barely, proven wrong, but that doesn't make that worry disappear.

I also think the NBA regular season is a farce which is way too long and largely pointless. When you're a team like the Cavs for whom anything other than a championship will be a let-down, it's just 6+ months of irrelevant foreplay before anything that matters happens. What a tiring waste of time, punctuated by banal little manufactured soap operas to keep the players from being bored. The NBA would be a much better product if they would massively cut down the regular season so that the games mattered more, and you didn't have to rest your best players constantly to keep them healthy for the real season, which begins in late April.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by TheProf

^I don't think we have to worry about "Iron Man" Thompson staying healthy.

... again, I have no worries.

Hate to point this out:

<<Wait, wait. Did Lue said Thompson was "starting to get healthy?" He's the only Cav to play in all 58 games this season and make all 58 starts.

"Yeah. He's been going through some tendinitis all year, his knee has been bothering him a little bit all year," Lue said. "He's finally starting to come around and he's feeling good."


Thompson, what say you?


"No, no tendinitis, I'm fine," he said. "I'm good. Not sure what coach Lue's talking about. Nothing more than the usual bumps and bruises. I'm good.">>


Wait, is Tristan Thompson playing hurt for the Cavs? Tyronn Lue thought so | cleveland.com



Would the Cavs be better for the play-offs if they started to close Thompson down for games against weaker opponents, despite his iron man reputation and record? If Sanders rounds into form, if I were Lue and/or Griffin, I would strongly consider sitting Thompson and/or limiting his minutes when possible.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by mbowes80

I also think the NBA regular season is a farce which is way too long and largely pointless. When you're a team like the Cavs for whom anything other than a championship will be a let-down, it's just 6+ months of irrelevant foreplay before anything that matters happens. What a tiring waste of time, punctuated by banal little manufactured soap operas to keep the players from being bored.

This is an understandable opinion, except that owner profits and player salaries would be much lower, and ticket prices maybe even higher, without the long season.

The regular season also tests the depth and durability of teams.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Hate to point this out:

<<Wait, wait. Did Lue said Thompson was "starting to get healthy?" He's the only Cav to play in all 58 games this season and make all 58 starts.

"Yeah. He's been going through some tendinitis all year, his knee has been bothering him a little bit all year," Lue said. "He's finally starting to come around and he's feeling good."


Thompson, what say you?


"No, no tendinitis, I'm fine," he said. "I'm good. Not sure what coach Lue's talking about. Nothing more than the usual bumps and bruises. I'm good.">>


Wait, is Tristan Thompson playing hurt for the Cavs? Tyronn Lue thought so | cleveland.com



Would the Cavs be better for the play-offs if they started to close Thompson down for games against weaker opponents, despite his iron man reputation and record? If Sanders rounds into form, if I were Lue and/or Griffin, I would strongly consider sitting Thompson and/or limiting his minutes when possible.

Still not worried. I don't think Lue let much of a cat of the bag, but may consider playing the game of putting in Tristan for a minute or 2 and pulling him to keep his consecutive game streak alive. But Thompson is the least of my worries... Health-wise, we always have to worry about guys like Kyrie and Love... and, to some degree, Korver who, of course, is much older... Even though last night's Clippers' sit-down was controversial and provided us, and the nation, of a crappy Cavaliers' creaming by troubled LAC, (and why not rest these guys for a Lakers' game, tonight, that nobody carers about?), I absolutely believe in resting our crown jewels for the playoffs run. But again, assuming we are indeed healthy, I wish someone would make the case as to why they believe this Cavs team can't win another title?

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by TheProf

But again, assuming we are indeed healthy, I wish someone would make the case as to why they believe this Cavs team can't win another title?

The Cavs, if healthy, definitely can win another title.

However, the weakness is in the paint, and that's why Bogut was such an incredible addition. Love and Thompson must be healthy, and if Sanders can contribute, that will be a big bonus.