When the Cavs got past the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago, the general consensus was that one player--LeBron James--had singlehandedly defeated an entire team. Regardless of where you fall on that debate, no one is arguing that now.
Danny Ferry has assembled himself a championship contender, a team no less deep as the Los Angeles Lakers, only the Cavs bring it on the defensive end every night. The Cavs are the league's stingiest defense in terms of points allowed, giving up only 89.1 points per game, while scoring more than 101 points per game. Cleveland bests Boston on both fronts (see next post). Cleveland also boasts an undefeated record at home.
The Cavs are a tall team, too. James is 6'8, Ben Wallace is 6'9" Z is 7'3," Anderson Varejao is 6'11," Delonte West is 6'3, and just for fun they have 6'7" wing Sasha Pavlovic, 6'7" wing Wally Szczerbiak, and 6'9" big J.J. Hickson on the bench. Oh, let's not forget 6'11" Lorenzen Wright is on the payroll as well.
Of course, height doesn't win or lose games by itself. Talent does, and you can only play five guys at a time. Speaking of PT, James is the only Cav averaging more than 33 minutes per game. So not only are the Cavs a gaudy 26-4, they are a well-rested 26-4.
Joe Smith has openly talked about returning to the Cavs if he's bought out. Danny Ferry may not have a need for him, but you can bet that if the Cavs are the only thing preventing Smith from wearing Celtic green, Ferry would welcome Smith back with open arms.
Act II of the NBA season should be an interesting one to watch in the Eastern Conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment