Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers - Game 2 - Full Highlights | May 19, 2016 | 2016 NBA Playoffs
The Cleveland Cavaliers took a 100-60 lead into the fourth quarter of tonights Eastern Conference finals game, and thats all you need to know and all Ill say about whats happening on the court. Or at least with the basketball players on the court, because this bald-headed Cavs fan got into a funny little shouting match with Dwane Casey and had to remind him YOURE IN CLEVELAND NOW!
Our friends compatriots were so bored by the blowout that they just sorta took off and hit this reporter with an all-too understandable shrug. The ESPN crew at one point noted that there were a surprising amount of Cavs fans left.
Game 6 is Friday, and, as of publication, Game 5 isoh who cares.
Cavs Celebrate with Fancy Handshakes | Raptors vs Cavaliers | Game 2 | May 19, 2016 | NBA Playoffs
Another Cleveland playoff game, another hopelessly one-sided rout. With a 108-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, LeBron James and the Cavaliers kept their perfect 2016 playoff record intact, piling up a 10th consecutive win, and it looks like nothing will stand in Clevelands path to the NBA Finals. Where does this run rank among historical playoff starts?
Its near the top. The Cavs 10-game streak is tied for the third-longest to start the playoffs.1 One way to quantify the impressiveness of those streaks is to use Elo ratings to judge the competition. The Cavs opponents have had an average rating of 1572 lower than that of comparable teams like the 1989 Los Angeles Lakers (who were swept in the NBA Finals) and the 2012 San Antonio Spurs (who went on to lose four straight games to the Oklahoma City Thunder). And it leaves them far short of the 2001 Lakers, who went 15-1 en route to the championship.
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YEARTEAMWINNING STREAKAVG. OPPONENT ELO2001Lakers1116531989Lakers1115732012Spurs1016022016Cavaliers1015721982Lakers915582010Magic815781950Lakers815502005Heat815182009Cavaliers81499Longest playoff-opening winning streaks in NBA history
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
But you can only beat the teams you play, and the Cavs havent just beaten them 10 straight times theyve made the Eastern Conference look like a high school tournament, embarrassing opponents in huge blowouts.
In the playoffs thus far, Cleveland is winning by an average margin of 13.4 points per game, fourth-highest among conference finalists since 1984 (through two games of the third round). And they rise even higher after adjusting for strength of schedule and the championship leverage of each game. Because the Cavs have beaten better teams by more points in the games that have mattered most to the extent any game can really be considered pressure-packed when you sweep every series Clevelands adjusted margin of victory in these playoffs is 19.8 points, giving them the most dominant start to the playoffs since 1984.
POINTS PER GAME MARGINYEARTEAMWINSLOSSESRAWADJUSTED2016Cavaliers100+13.4+19.82014Spurs104+9.5+18.32001Lakers90+11.3+17.91986Celtics91+13.2+17.11996Bulls91+14.3+16.92009Nuggets93+13.4+15.61992Trail Blazers92+10.6+15.22000Trail Blazers83+7.0+14.72010Celtics103+6.2+14.42008Lakers102+8.8+14.2Most dominant playoff starts since 1984 (through first two games of conference finals)
Adjustments are for schedule strength and championship leverage
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
The next-best performance by this measure came in 2014, when the Spurs eventually beat LeBron in the NBA Finals. Perhaps those Spurs also illustrate a shortcoming in this metric they did lose four games by the time they were two games into the conference finals but they got three of the losses out of the way early in the playoffs, when the games have comparatively less effect on the championship. And they won by an average of 18 points a game from Game 7 of the first round on through our cutoff.
Either way, between the two measures, we can strike a balance between only crediting a teams wins and giving it a bonus for the margins by which it crushed opponents. And by that standard, the current Cavs run is only rivaled by the hot start of those fabled 2001 Lakers.
So can the Cavs keep it going? Well, theyre still a long shot to go undefeated in the playoffs and cap off the long-unattainable Fo Fo Fo Fo. Our model gives the Cavs just a 29 percent chance of winning the next two games and sweeping the Raptors (which would be the first Fo Fo Fo ever, since the first round only went to seven-game series in 2003) and a 1-in-80 chance of going 16-0. Still, thats up from about 1-in-5,000 before the playoffs started; the Cavs title chances have also risen from 8 percent before the playoffs to 30 percent now.
Those daunting championship odds owe a lot to Clevelands potential NBA Finals opponents. Unlike the 01 Lakers, who got to face the relatively weak Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland will have to power through either Golden State or Oklahoma City, whichever of the two wins the most stacked conference final in recent history. As dominant as the Cavs have been, the real work is yet to come.
Cavs with a 12-0 Run | Raptors vs Cavaliers | Game 1 | May 17, 2016 | 2016 NBA Playoffs
By: Nate Scott| May 19, 2016 9:42 amFollow @aNateScott
The Eastern Conference playoffs this year havent been nearly as exciting as the Western Conference, so its understandable that a lot of the focus has been on the Warriors, Spurs and Thunder.
But LeBron James and the Cavaliers are sneakily putting together one of the greatest starts to a postseason ever.
The Cavaliers have started the playoffs 9-0, something no Michael Jordan Bulls team ever accomplished. The 1990-91 Bulls did go 15-2 in the playoffs on the road to a title, but stumbled in the second round, dropping a game to the 76ers.
Similarly, the 1995-96 Bulls went 15-3 in the playoffs, but dropped a second round game to the New York Knicks.
Mike Powell / Getty Images
Both the 1989 and 2001 Lakers playoff runs went longerthan this years Cavaliers start, with the 1989 Lakers run made strange by the fact that they started the playoffs 11-0 before being swept in the Finals by the Detroit Pistons.
The 2001 Lakers set the gold standard for playoff runs, sweeping the first three rounds and only dropping one game in the Finals to the 76ers.
The longest NBA playoff win streak ever belongs to the 1999 Spurs team, which won 12 straight, but did so after dropping a game in their opening series to the Timberwolves.
Cavaliers dancers videobomb ESPNs live shot again, this time Steve Levy joins the party5hr agoCory Joseph airballs 3-pointer after Cavs bench players scream and wave behind him5hr agoLeBron James goes sky high for two-handed reverse slam dunk6hr ago
Chicago Bulls, Cleveland, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, NBA Playoffs, Streaks, NBA
Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers - Full Game Highlights | Game 1 | May 2, 2016 | NBA Playoffs
Q: Ira, after watching the Cavaliers on Tuesday, perhaps we were better escaping with our dignity. -- Graham.
A: Perhaps. But what bothers me is the insinuation is that the Eastern Conference never was going to produce competition for the Cavaliers this season. Yes, had the Heat moved on from a Game 7 victory in Toronto and then played the Cavaliers on one day of rest, I agree the result would have been similar to what the Raptors endured in Game 1. But. And there is a big but there (and sometimes I like big buts and I cannot lie), because when assessing what could have been you also have to assess what Heat-Cavaliers could have looked like if at least Hassan Whiteside was available, and perhaps even Chris Bosh. With Whiteside, the Heat would have had the type of second line of defense that dunk-at-will LeBron James never had to face in Game 1 against the Raptors (and even if Jonas Valanciunas was available for Toronto, he is not the deterrent that Whiteside has been). And if the Cavaliers stayed with Tristan Thompson at center in a theoretical series against the Heat, it would have allowed the Whiteside to essentially park himself in the paint. Factor in Bosh, had he been available, and you also would have had somewhat of a counter for Kevin Love. Look, these Cavaliers are on a mission, and they were overwhelming in Game 1, but to see the East again is down and there never was going to be competition for the Cavaliers is B.S. A Heat team with Whiteside and Bosh would have offered something far more compelling than we likely will see at any point of Cavaliers-Raptors until it comes to its merciful end.
Q: If we lose Hassan Whiteside, I think the Heat should pursue Al Horford and/or Pau Gasol. What do you think? -- Pablo, Harrisonburg, Va.
A: First, we won"t know about Hassan until we know in July. But if Whiteside does move on, then I think the Heat will find themselves at a major crossroads: Do they remain in something close to win-now mode to maximize Dwyane Wade"s final years? Or do they either turn to youth or even put off a major free-agency strike until the 2017 offseason, when it is possible that Chris Bosh"s salary comes off their luxury tax? The 2017 free-agency pool is far more compelling than what is available this summer beyond the Kevin Durant pipe dream. But Wade, even with his rejuvenated play this season, only has so many miles left in those knees. That"s why I believe it is so important to retain Hassan, since you still could deal him in the 2017 offseason, if that is when you decide to instead maximize cap space.
Q: If the Heat are still in the win-now mode (and why would they not be?), wouldn"t Micky Arison be willing to open his wallet and pay Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside and Kevin Durant? A lot of talk has been about staying under the cap, but I never heard any talk about possibly paying a luxury tax. Is that completely off the table? -- David, Plantation.
A: You are confusing the salary cap with the luxury tax, which basically is a mechanism that comes into play when you are re-signing your own free agents who have Bird Rights. Because Whiteside does not have full Bird Rights, he basically counts, for cap purposes, as an outside free agent. And when signing someone in Whiteside"s position or a Kevin Durant or other outside free agent, you have to make you entire roster mostly work under the salary cap, which is expected to fall in the $92 million range for 2016-17. And that"s that. There is no spending over the cap in that situation because you are willing to pay the tax. Apples and oranges. So, for the purposes of your question, if Whiteside or Durant (or another outside free agent) is part of the Heat"s plans, then the Heat have to wind up around that $92 million cap (there is a small degree of wiggle room because the NBA has a "soft" cap). Now, if the Heat decide this offseason to only lock up Wade, Luol Deng, Joe Johnson and the team"s free agents from the 2015-16 roster (including Udonis Haslem), then, yes, they could spend into the luxury-tax stratosphere for 2016-17. But it also would mean no incoming outside talent and no Whiteside.
