Okay so were nearly at the half way point of the season and the Cavs have 4 losses...

[ArbitraryWater]

:lol


2 of those were b2b against the Hawks btw

[L.Kizzle]

Hopefully they don't play the Hawks in the playoffs.

[Xiao Yao You]

Cotm should know to pit mitchell on an island defensively

[fourkicks44]

Hopefully they don't play the Hawks in the playoffs.

Trae bouncing them from the playoffs would be surreal

[BarberSchool]

I just don’t see them beating any of the top 5 squads in the league in a 7-game series. Even with HCA.

[L.Kizzle]

I just don’t see them beating any of the top 5 squads in the league in a 7-game series. Even with HCA.

Who are the top 5 teams?

[sdot_thadon]

I'm confused about if they are the real deal yet and taking the wait till the playoffs approach to see if they are what this record indicates. They definitely need more exposure for what they've pulled off so far for sure.

[Neal Romer]

This is unrelated but every single time I see Jarrett Allen, I think he's Gil Scott-Heron.


https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273f934d342dbc570343c0f9213

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/02/06/arts/05mccraven/05mccraven-superJumbo.jpg

[ILLsmak]

I feel like if Cavs win ring without Bron that diminishes his legacy. @3ball

-Smak

[John8204]

I feel like if Cavs win ring without Bron that diminishes his legacy. @3ball

-Smak

I can see that to a point...unless the team makes multiple runs.

The big thing is going to be The Hall of Fame...we're never going to have a championship team without a hall of famer. The voters do have a bias for small market guys.

Last year in the prediction thread I said the Cavs were going to take out the Celtics...looks like I was a year off.

[jayfan]

Coaching matters.

And Bickerstaff did a nice job. As he's doing with Detroit this year. But Atkinson has them playing on another level team-wise. He's gotten Mitchell to buy in and be less ball-hoggy, and Mobley has really emerged as a result.

Atkinson has quickly proven that what he did with the Nets was not a mirage.



* If COTY voting took place today, it may well be...

1. Atkinson
2. Bickerstaff

Detroit is actually above .500 right now. That's crazy.


.

[Full Court]

I feel like if Cavs win ring without Bron that diminishes his legacy. @3ball

-Smak

Uh oh. You're going to send the Bronies into a panic. They're just PRAYING the Cavs don't win it all. :lol

[Wally450]

Hopefully they don't play the Hawks in the playoffs.

Imagine that shit :lol

[ShawkFactory]

They are really deep and play so well as a team. Ty Jerome off the bench in particular is a baller. Only gets 17 minutes a game but impacts every one of them.

I think last night he had 8 straight points in the 4th with a couple of steals mixed in there as well. When a team is getting contributions like that from their 7th guy then you know things are going well.

Last night also showed what is still OKCs weakness: size and rebounding in big moments. Allen and Mobley killed them on the glass in the 4th and had overall great games.

[Meticode]

I feel like if Cavs win ring without Bron that diminishes his legacy. @3ball

-Smak

Why? This makes no sense.

[Meticode]

Coaching matters.

And Bickerstaff did a nice job. As he's doing with Detroit this year. But Atkinson has them playing on another level team-wise. He's gotten Mitchell to buy in and be less ball-hoggy, and Mobley has really emerged as a result.

Atkinson has quickly proven that what he did with the Nets was not a mirage.



* If COTY voting took place today, it may well be...

1. Atkinson
2. Bickerstaff

Detroit is actually above .500 right now. That's crazy.


.

I think a big part of the coaching difference is Atkinson has them cutting and sharing the ball. Bickerstaff relied a lot of pick and rolls. Mobley's confidence has been awesome this since. The basket he had at the end of the game on a drive he wouldn't of done last year at all. It's nice to see Mitchell sacrifice some stats for team success.

[Kblaze8855]

They are right on pace for 73 wins, but I don’t think anyone expects that. I suppose it could turn out like the 2015 Warriors where coming in people expect a playoff team and then it just turns out they were one of the best teams ever.

[1987_Lakers]

What a random ass team to have this type of record. You look at their roster and do not expect 32-4.

[Uncle Drew]

My ****ing team. 😭

[Uncle Drew]

Coaching matters.

And Bickerstaff did a nice job. As he's doing with Detroit this year. But Atkinson has them playing on another level team-wise. He's gotten Mitchell to buy in and be less ball-hoggy, and Mobley has really emerged as a result.

Atkinson has quickly proven that what he did with the Nets was not a mirage.



* If COTY voting took place today, it may well be...

1. Atkinson
2. Bickerstaff

Detroit is actually above .500 right now. That's crazy.


.
JB did an okay job, nothing spectacular. He is very good at two things: get guys to play hard, raise the floor. He'll raise the floor, but never will reach the ceiling. As soon as Detroit wants to take it to the next level in two or three years, they need to rid of him immediately no matter what he has done the season prior. No adjustments and relies too much on one player to get something done. That can only get you so far, but will never work in the playoffs.

[L.Kizzle]

Why? This makes no sense.

Makes a lot of sense.

[Street Hunger]

Would the Cavs beat the Celtics in a seven game series

[Full Court]

Would the Cavs beat the Celtics in a seven game series

I'd give it 70%/30% in favor of the Celtics. I'd be rooting for the Cavs though.