For us, we can worry about what we need to do to get better, and that’s all that matters for myself, personally, as a leader, and for the rest of the guys, as Coach Lue as a captain, and for the rest of the coaching staff. No matter what kind of adversity the Cavaliers are facing in the locker room right now, it will not matter once the postseason begins.
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They’ll have home court advantage during the Eastern Conference playoffs after securing the No. 1 seed this week.
The Pistons will be banking on Morris, Harris and Pope to have a good series shooting the ball as it is critical for the spacing on the floor and the Jackson-Drummond pick-and-roll to work. With the Cavs, the best player he faced in multiple playoff series was Gilbert Arenas, who he played (and beat) in the first round of his first two playoff appearances.
Although the Cleveland team has finished their season at the top of the conference, they have been shaky at times, and lost to some unlikely teams.
The Cavaliers have said that they will start Tristan Thompson at center in place of Timofey Mozgov. Coach Fred Hoiberg said Gibson, who missed his sixth straight game, and Moore, who has missed four straight games, probably will be shut down for the remainder of the regular season.
I don’t necessarily like it as much as my bet sizing would indicate, but with my recurring issue of free-failing emerging again, it’s time to gamble in a last-ditch effort to get my bankroll back to a competitive level.
Van Gundy, a baseball junkie, said it’s like pitching to Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera.
“I’ve always been that guy”, he said.
But he also knows you only need to win 16 of them. If you’re Miguel Cabrera and you don’t have a hole – good luck.
The exciting Cavs are planning on rolling through the first round of the playoffs one game at a time. Will Irving and Love be up for the challenge?
The Golden State Warriors plow into the playoffs with a record 73 wins under their belt and championship rings already on their fingers. LeBron was the when-necessary point guard – a role he still occasionally holds – but he was saddled with Boobie Gibson, Mo Williams (the starter) Eric Snow, Delonte West (who I geniunely hope is getting the medical help he needs), Sebastian Telfair, and Damon Jones as his “point” guards over the years.
The Big Three of James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are healthy.
The sturdy and seasoned Van Gundy has a ton of experience and Tyronn Lue does not as a head coach, especially in the National Basketball Association playoffs.
One of the primary reasons for Detroit’s resurgence this season was the play of Andre Drummond, who wrapped up the regular season as one of the best pure big men in the Association. Curry is sitting on 392 threes this season – far and away a new National Basketball Association record – but can he get to the nice round number of 400?
James doesn’t know if his coach’s familiarity with playoff pressure will serve him, but he’s confident in Lue. However, Lebron James is experienced in the playoffs and will be ready to face any opponent. “We trust the system that he’s put in”. [It’s] fan-appreciation night. Also, more or less one more game wouldn’t hurt and I felt that way and we kind of voiced our concerns and just made an executive decision.
The struggle with figuring out the importance of a season series is trying to figure out which wins were scheduled losses for the other team, and what is sustainable and easy to counter on a game-to-game basis in a seven-game series. Jackson averages 18.8 points and Detroit’s counting on him to provide offense to counter Cleveland’s firepower.
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“I just told him we can’t have that, being down like we were and him being the leader”, Lue told cleveland.com. “He’s a load down there”.
