Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Reasons They're The Current Title Favorites
Feb 27, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) goes to the basket during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
There are tons of great stories in the NBA in 2016-17, but here's why the Cleveland Cavaliers should be the consensus title favorites so far this season.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA championship, it was one of the greatest underdog/comeback stories in the history of professional sports.
It wasn't that people doubted LeBron James; it's that the odds were insurmountably stacked against him. It wouldn't have been the first time he lost a Finals series simply because his opponent was a more complete team, and facing a Golden State Warriors juggernaut that won an NBA-record 73 games, nobody expected the Cavs squad to put up a fight.
And yet, when Draymond Green's Game 5 suspension turned "Dubs in 5" predictions to a jaw-dropping comeback from a 3-1 deficit, the Warriors still weren't done. They lost their chance at the greatest season in NBA history, but that loss opened the door for them to sign Kevin Durant over the summer.
No one will ever take that championship away from the Cleveland faithful, but there was no question Golden State's power move stole some of the Cavs' thunder (and Oklahoma City's too). The defending champs hadn't gone anywhere, yet the story shifted back to the Warriors and the rising powers in the East like the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and now even the Washington Wizards.
Heading into Saturday's action, the Cavaliers have the league's third-best record. If they played in the West, they'd be the 3-seed, trailing the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, and mere win percentage points ahead of the Houston Rockets in fourth.
The Warriors have been the NBA's best team to this point, the Spurs continue to fly under the radar as they always do and teams like the Rockets, Celtics, Raptors and Wizards are on the rise as well. But as we enter the home stretch of the 2016-17 season, it's worth mentioning why the Cavs should still be the consensus NBA title favorites.
Mar 1, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas (4) reacts during the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
5. Boston Stood Pat
Standing pat at the 2017 NBA Trade Deadline was not the end of the world for Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics. They'll get more chances to trade for Jimmy Butler or Paul George, possibly as soon as the 2017 NBA Draft when everyone knows where that valuable Brooklyn Nets pick will end up.
However, if the Celtics were planning on contending for another championship this season, their inability to land a game-changing superstar who would've bumped them into the upper echelon in the East limits their ceiling.
That might seem like a premature verdict since Boston got its best win of the season against the Cavs this past Wednesday, but that game was played with Kevin Love and J.R. Smith sidelined and Deron Williams and Derrick Williams playing crunch-time minutes. That probably won't be the case in the playoffs.
Why the Cavs aren't sweating the Celtics' big win. @MrMichaelLee on @TheVertical. https://t.co/ZGTMKqnf12
— The Vertical (@TheVertical) March 2, 2017
Isaiah Thomas has been a fringe MVP candidate this year, averaging a career-best 29.4 points and 6.2 assists per game on .460/.380/.908 shooting splits. That gives Boston the league's leading scorer in the fourth quarter, a perfect two-way fit in Al Horford, a 3-and-D wing in Jae Crowder, a defensive stud to slow down Kyrie Irving in Avery Bradley and a jack-of-all-trades gamer in Marcus Smart.
But without landing PG-13 or Butler, this team is still not good enough to top a fully healthy, fully engaged Cleveland Cavaliers side. The Cavs will have home-court advantage in a playoff series unless the Celtics can make up the three games that separate them from the No. 1 seed, and you can be guaranteed IT will have to play the best series of his life when the Cavs start sticking LeBron or Iman Shumpert on him to slow him down.
The Celtics didn't need to make a hasty move and put all their assets to use at this year's trade deadline, since they can sustain their success and maybe even build on it for the long-term with all those valuable draft picks and flexible contracts. But for the 2016-17 NBA season, being unable to make a blockbuster move limits their ceiling to No. 2 in the East.
Feb 11, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyle Korver (26) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Derrick Williams (3) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson (24) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Channing Frye (8) during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
4. Superior Depth
Last year, everyone lamented the Cavs' title chances because they were so short on quality bench depth, while the Warriors went 12-deep. Part of Golden State's success all season long was its second unit, while the Cavs had to ride their starting five for most of the postseason.
In 2017, that narrative has completely flip-flopped. Though the Dubs' bench is better than people realize, it's a mostly unproven second unit in the context of playoff experience. Cleveland's depth, however, is much better than it was last year, which is scary for a team that could breeze through the improved East simply by virtue of their starting five.
Deron Williams gives LeBron the secondary playmaker he's been waiting for. Andrew Bogut provides Cleveland with frontcourt depth behind Tristan Thompson, rim protection in a pinch and an inside track to getting underneath the Warriors' skin as he seeks revenge for being shipped off to make room for KD.
Even Derrick Williams, who will be signed for the remainder of the season after his second 10-day contract expires, has been a tremendous help with Love sidelined. And how could we forget sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who's posting .500/.500/.889 shooting splits since joining the Cavs?
Between the two D-Wills, Bogut, Korver, Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson, Cleveland's bench has a TON of experience, talent and three-point shooting to fall back on — behind an already stellar starting lineup of Kyrie, J.R., LeBron, Love and Thompson.
The Warriors have the NBA's best starting five with a healthy KD, but outside of Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, their second unit will rely on JaVale McGee, David West, Ian Clark, rookie Patrick McCaw and Matt Barnes. Advantage, Cleveland.
Feb 11, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) shoots over Denver Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson (1) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 125-109. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
3. Three-Point Prowess
The Houston Rockets' offense features the NBA's heaviest three-point onslaught, and the Warriors can never be excluded from the conversation when they've got the Splash Brothers and Kevin Durant, but if you're looking for the league's most effective three-point shooting team this year, it's the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Rockets lead the NBA in three-point makes at 14.7 per game, but that's only because they're taking an outrageous 40.5 per game — 6.6 more than the next-closest team, Cleveland. The Cavs are second to Houston in both categories, making 13.3 of their 33.9 attempts per game, giving them a 39.2 percent to 36.3 percent advantage in efficiency.
The Cavs have 10 players shooting better than 36 percent from three-point range, and nine above 38 percent. LeBron is unstoppable when his long range shot is falling, which it definitely is this season at 39.8 percent. Korver is at 50 percent. Kyrie and Love are both above 38 percent. Good luck defending a Kyrie-Korver-LeBron-Love-Frye spread offense.
With two unstoppable penetrators like LeBron and Kyrie on the roster, defenses have to pick their poison. Doubling LeBron or sending help for Kyrie is bound to leave someone open, and though Irving still leaves something to be desired as a facilitator, King James' passing is perhaps the crown jewel in his collection of basketball wealth.
This team moves the ball well most of the time and they have the perimeter shooters to make defenses regret paying too much attention to the Big Three. The Warriors were once the NBA's best three-point shooting team too when they lost their 3-1 Finals lead, but considering they were one suspension from probably closing at home, we're going to chalk this category up as a positive for the Cavs either way.
Dec 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland defeats Golden State 109-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
2. KD Injury
Golden State missing Kevin Durant would obviously help make Cleveland the title favorites, but since he's expected to be back for the postseason, why does this matter? For a recent example of how hard it is the shake off injury-related rust in the postseason, look no further than Stephen Curry last year.
The Cavaliers did a great job guarding him in last year's Finals series, sure. But anyone who thought that was the same old Steph Curry out there is kidding themselves after his knee sprain that forced him to miss two weeks of his team's playoff run.
But what about Curry's 40-point masterpiece in his first game back against Portland? is what you're probably wondering. Injuries like that rob a player of their consistency, not their peak. Curry was good for a few detonations, but in a seven-game Finals series, he never got in a rhythm, his burst wasn't the same and the foul trouble certainly didn't help.
cavaliers
Hoops Habit 17hCavaliers' Roster Most-Talented LeBron James Has Ever Had
More headlines around FanSided:
18h - Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James Wins Player Of The Month For February, Should Win NBA MVP Award20h - NBA Positional Power Rankings: Mr. 4th Quarter And James Harden's MVP Push23h - Cleveland Cavaliers: Three Keys To Beating The Atlanta Hawks1 d - Cleveland Cavaliers Flashback Friday: Cavs Set NBA Three Record vs Hawks1 d - Cleveland Cavaliers: The Bittersweet Nature of Signing Andrew BogutMore News at King James Gospel
Golden State could be facing a similar situation in their playoff run this season, even if they get KD back at the beginning of April and secure the No. 1 seed in the West. This isn't some knee-jerk reaction to the Warriors losing consecutive regular season games for the first time since 2015, nor is it an overreaction to Steph Curry's recent shooting slump. It goes deeper than that.
A trio of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green is still good enough to win ball games, but there is no Harrison Barnes or Andrew Bogut supporting them this time around.
Those spots are now filled by rookie Patrick McCaw and Zaza Pachulia, taking a further toll on Golden State's bench depth (even with the addition of Matt Barnes). And of course, this is all assuming KD is ready to return when he's due for re-evaluation, and that there are no further setbacks the rest of the way.
The Cavs are still waiting to get Kevin Love and J.R. Smith back from injuries as well, so they'll have similar issues to deal with. But the Warriors missing KD is very different from the Cavs missing the third-most important member of their Big Three and Smith, whose shooting is entirely replaceable in the Cavs' system by Korver.
With Love and J.R. set to return soon anyway, cohesion and momentum will be on Cleveland's side, especially if they're able to make short work of their competition in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Mar 3, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) waits for the game to resume in the fourth quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Cavaliers won 135-130. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
1. They Have A LeBron James
Remember in The Avengers when Loki tells Tony Stark that he has an army and Iron Man simply responds, "We have a Hulk"? That's LeBron James in this equation. We saw it last year when he brought the Cavs back from the brink against the most successful regular season team in NBA history, and no one should be surprised to see it again in 2017.
The odds aren't in his favor, since the Warriors added another former MVP in Kevin Durant. If he's healthy, Warriors vs. Cavs Part 3 is going to be 100 percent LIT. There's a chance the King could lose his fifth Finals series.
But considering LeBron's 18-5 record against KD in head-to-head matchups (including playoffs), his indomitable will in downing a 73-win team last year and the way he always rises to the occasion on the game's biggest stage, the pressure is still on the Warriors.
More from Hoops Habit
In last year's Finals, he elevated his game to an otherworldly 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from downtown. In the final three games, he put up a 41-16-7-3-3 stat line, a 41-11-8-4-3 line and a 27-11-11 triple-double to close it out. Can Kevin Durant stop a man on a mission like that, healthy or otherwise?
So far this season, the Cavs have split their season series with Golden State — a narrow comeback win on Christmas Day and a 35-point blowout loss in mid-January. But let's not forget the Dubs thumped Cleveland by 34 in January the year before and everyone thought they were invincible. That didn't quite pan out.
In the East, the Cavs sport a 7-1 record against Boston, Washington and Toronto, so even though a couple of those games were close, they still have that conference in the palm of their hands. Even the Raptors, who added Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker in win-now moves at the deadline, will have to hope Kyle Lowry can quickly recover from his current wrist injury to be a legitimate threat.
Cleveland lost its lone matchup against San Antonio, but no matter which team comes out of the West, when you bear in mind this team's improved bench depth, its three-point potency, Kevin Durant's injury and LeBron still being at the apex of his powers, the Cavaliers should still be seen as the NBA's title favorites in 2017.
