Cavs 09-10 Season (official thread)

[Buckeye Nut]

Didnt hear any "Cleveland sucks" chants from the Bull fans today..wonder why? [censored] Bull fans and [censored] Noah.

I heard one in the first half right after Noah picked up his second foul.

 

[jlb1705]

I heard the chant too. It came right about the same time as the post about being raped by Boston. The Cavs really were playing like ass up to that point. In fact, it was pretty much from that point on where they played championship-level basketball for the first time in this series.

I can't say I blame the sentiment of that post, though that's probably not the way I would've said it. At that point the Cavs were staring at the very real possibility of the series being tied 2-2 against a team from the bottom half of the league. The Cavs were allowing Joakim Noah to impose his will on this series. Think for a second about how ridiculous that is. I'd be pissed at the Cavs too - in fact I was.

I feel better about this team after the way they finished that game than I have at any point since the start of this series.

 

[exhawg]

I heard the chant too. It came right about the same time as the post about being raped by Boston. The Cavs really were playing like ass up to that point. In fact, it was pretty much from that point on where they played championship-level basketball for the first time in this series.

I can't say I blame the sentiment of that post, though that's probably not the way I would've said it. At that point the Cavs were staring at the very real possibility of the series being tied 2-2 against a team from the bottom half of the league. The Cavs were allowing Joakim Noah to impose his will on this series. Think for a second about how ridiculous that is. I'd be pissed at the Cavs too - in fact I was.

I feel better about this team after the way they finished that game than I have at any point since the start of this series.

Just think how you'd feel if you were a fan of one of the favorites in the West? At least the East is taking care of business. I'm hoping that the Cavs and Celtics take care of business Tuesday so they can get started on the second round with Atlanta needing 6 or 7 to beat the Bucks.

 

[OHSportsFan]

to Lebron. God-like.

A few things about this picture...

1- ClevelandSpTorture (CleveSpTorture) on Twitter got this shot, I re-sized it a little because it's huge
2- Elevation
3- Bulls fan, few rows above ref's head, middle of image

 

[jlb1705]

Just think how you'd feel if you were a fan of one of the favorites in the West? At least the East is taking care of business. I'm hoping that the Cavs and Celtics take care of business Tuesday so they can get started on the second round with Atlanta needing 6 or 7 to beat the Bucks.

The teams in the East should be taking care of business. For the most part they have better matchups.

The #6-7-8 teams in the West all have the same record as the Boston Celtics, a team has home court advantage in their first round matchup in the East.

The Lakers had the 3rd best record in the NBA this year. They are playing a team in the Thunder who tied for the 9th best record and finished 7 games behind them. Meanwhile the Cavs were the best team in the league and are playing the team with the 17th best record who finished 20 games behind them.

It's hard for me to judge the Lakers or most of the other teams right now because I haven't really watched them closely. Just looking at those matchups I'd think it would be a little more acceptable for one of them to hit a bump in the road at this stage. I don't know how they're playing relative to their potential, but those other teams probably should be having it a little tougher than the Cavs right now.

 

[NFBuck]

Wow, and this is what happens when you win, I would hate to see the reaction if the Cavs had lost today. That was one of the best player performances I have seen in a long time. This team should blow through the east.

Read back through the thread. Pretty much anytime the Cavs find themselves down (at any point in the game), you'll find one of those posts from him.

 

[tsteele316]

The teams in the East should be taking care of business. For the most part they have better matchups.

The #6-7-8 teams in the West all have the same record as the Boston Celtics, a team has home court advantage in their first round matchup in the East.

The Lakers had the 3rd best record in the NBA this year. They are playing a team in the Thunder who tied for the 9th best record and finished 7 games behind them. Meanwhile the Cavs were the best team in the league and are playing the team with the 17th best record who finished 20 games behind them.

It's hard for me to judge the Lakers or most of the other teams right now because I haven't really watched them closely. Just looking at those matchups I'd think it would be a little more acceptable for one of them to hit a bump in the road at this stage. I don't know how they're playing relative to their potential, but those other teams probably should be having it a little tougher than the Cavs right now.

way to toss out deceiving stats. the cavs had the best non-conference record in the nba as well. generally, the top 4 teams in both the east and west had close to identical records against the other conference, which really deflates your argument.

EAST:
1. Cle 23-7
2. orl 20-10
3. Atl 21-9
4. Bos 17-13

WEST
1. LA 22-8
2. Dal 22-8
3. phx 19-11
4. Den 19-11

that's about as even as it gets. hard to say the west is so much tougher than the east when the top 4 in each conference are about identical in non-conference record.

 

[jlb1705]

Citing teams' records is now "throwing out deceiving stats"?

You're the one who's leaving out information.

I'm talking about first round playoff matchups, and you're the one who's presenting evidence about strength of the conference without even bothering to mention the teams that the top seeds are playing against in the first round. Here's the rest of the information on non-conference records for playoff teams:

EAST:

MIA: 15-15
MIL: 15-15
CHA: 17-13
CHI: 13-17
​

WEST:

UTAH: 22-8
POR: 17-13
SA: 19-11
OKC: 22-8

​

The best non-conference record in the bottom half of the East bracket is equal to the worst non-conference record in the bottom half of the West bracket.

You're right that when you look at the top four in each conference that it's pretty much even. I'm talking about first round matchups though - there are no 1 vs. 4 or 2 vs. 3 matchups yet. When we're talking about 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc. it's an easier road to the second round in the East than in the West.

Since your stat of choice is non-conference records instead of overall records, I'll illustrate it again this way: The Cavs were 23-7 vs. the West and they are playing a team right now in the Bulls that went 13-17 vs. the West. The Bulls sucked ass all year and the Cavs should be pounding them, but instead they've played down to their level on a few occasions in this series. The Lakers were 22-8 vs. the East, and are playing a team in the Thunder that also went 22-8 vs. the East. On paper at least, without having seen the Lakers play in this series it's more understandable to me for them to have a hiccup or two in the first round.

 

[Merih]

Is the discussion that's being had here about which conference is better? That's a no brainer, and has been since the beginning of the season. The east might be better at the top, but from 1-8 the West has a sizeable advantage over the East. Anyone who has been following the NBA this year would see this. Teams like San Antonio, OKC, and Portland were struggling to make the playoffs with .610 winning percentages and winning 50 games. Usually winning 50 games leaves you as a shoe in.

 

[y0yoyoin]

i am more afraid of orlando then any team in the western confrence

 

[Flocka]

i am more afraid of orlando then any team in the western confrence

I look at Cleveland and Orlando as 1a and 1b, followed by a sizeable drop off.

 

[exhawg]

i am more afraid of orlando then any team in the western confrence

I think most Cavs fans are, but the NBA is a 3 team league. The West is top to bottom a stronger conference, but I don't think the Cavs would have a worse record against the Thunder than they do against the Bulls.

 

[y0yoyoin]

I think most Cavs fans are, but the NBA is a 3 team league. The West is top to bottom a stronger conference, but I don't think the Cavs would have a worse record against the Thunder than they do against the Bulls.

i agree the west is a stronger conference and you would be dumb to argue that...i just have a feeling the title is coming out of the east this year and if the cavs cant beat orlando then orlando will beat whoever is in the finals for the west...just my opinion

 

[tsteele316]

Citing teams' records is now "throwing out deceiving stats"?

You're the one who's leaving out information.

I'm talking about first round playoff matchups, and you're the one who's presenting evidence about strength of the conference without even bothering to mention the teams that the top seeds are playing against in the first round. Here's the rest of the information on non-conference records for playoff teams:

EAST:

MIA: 15-15
MIL: 15-15
CHA: 17-13
CHI: 13-17
​

WEST:

UTAH: 22-8
POR: 17-13
SA: 19-11
OKC: 22-8

​

The best non-conference record in the bottom half of the East bracket is equal to the worst non-conference record in the bottom half of the West bracket.

You're right that when you look at the top four in each conference that it's pretty much even. I'm talking about first round matchups though - there are no 1 vs. 4 or 2 vs. 3 matchups yet. When we're talking about 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc. it's an easier road to the second round in the East than in the West.

Since your stat of choice is non-conference records instead of overall records, I'll illustrate it again this way: The Cavs were 23-7 vs. the West and they are playing a team right now in the Bulls that went 13-17 vs. the West. The Bulls sucked ass all year and the Cavs should be pounding them, but instead they've played down to their level on a few occasions in this series. The Lakers were 22-8 vs. the East, and are playing a team in the Thunder that also went 22-8 vs. the East. On paper at least, without having seen the Lakers play in this series it's more understandable to me for them to have a hiccup or two in the first round.

so, your position is that orlando whipping the bobcats, who have a god record against the west, is meaningless. however, the cavs have easily beaten the bulls in 2 of their 3 wins, and their only loss was one of the more shoddily officiated games in the playoffs, which caused danny ferry to run down to the court and pull the head of officiating into the locker room. but, that is not a big enough horsewhipping in this series for your taste.

so, again, it comes down to you whining for no reason just like after game 1. and, by the by, i only showed the top 4 in the east because those 4 are all going to win their series.

 

[jlb1705]

so, your position is that orlando whipping the bobcats, who have a god record against the west, is meaningless. however, the cavs have easily beaten the bulls in 2 of their 3 wins, and their only loss was one of the more shoddily officiated games in the playoffs, which caused danny ferry to run down to the court and pull the head of officiating into the locker room. but, that is not a big enough horsewhipping in this series for your taste.

so, again, it comes down to you whining for no reason just like after game 1. and, by the by, i only showed the top 4 in the east because those 4 are all going to win their series.

My position is that Orlando is doing what the 2nd best team in the playoffs should do to the 15th best team in the playoffs.

My position is that regardless of what the scoreboard said in at least one of these games, the Cavs did not start playing their best basketball until the second quarter on Sunday.

My position is that anything less than the highest level of execution and effort will result in less than a championship.

My position that is that if the Cavs were taking care of business at the time the refs wouldn't even matter in this series.

Also, since your remark about only including teams that were likely to win their series at this point, I just realized that you included San Antonio as a top-4 team in the West instead of Dallas. That's fine - whatever floats your boat. Just for the sake of being complete, DAL went 22-8 in non-conference games. To me the fact that that series is being led by the lower seed is more evidence that the road to the second round is a little tougher in the West than in the East.

In summary, if I'm whining it's because I'm holding this team to a higher standard than in the past. In my opinion it's going to take a higher level of performance from this team than what we've seen in playoffs past for them to achieve what everyone in this thread wants to see.