The Cleveland Cavaliers look like they’re still figuring things out. Normally, this would be an issue when a team is halfway through the season, but Cleveland is just now getting an All-Star point guard folded into its rotation, plus we’ve seen in years past that the Cavaliers are capable of flipping a switch once the postseason rolls around.
It also helps that Cleveland has LeBron James, and over the course of the last decade, beating him in the postseason has proven to be something that no team in the Eastern Conference can do. James has famously made it to NBA Finals each of the last seven seasons, and while teams like Boston and Toronto are dangerous, the Cavaliers will feel really good going into any postseason series as long as they have No. 23.
In fact, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t seem worried at all that the Cavaliers currently sit in third in the Eastern Conference. While meeting with the media prior to the team’s Martin Luther King Day showdown with the Golden State Warriors, Lue let everyone know that he believes they’re still the best team in the East once the postseason rolls around because of James.
Reporter: “Do you still feel like you’re the best team in the East?” Ty Lue: “Yes.” Reporter: “Why?” Lue: “Because we got the best player in the world.” … Lue later added, “We’re not the best right now but we will be”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 15, 2018
Lue’s confidence might be a bit off base right now — again, the Cavs are in third, seven games behind the one seed — but once the postseason rolls around, he does have history on his side. Having James in a seven-game series has proven to be the ultimate trump card in the Eastern Conference, and while that can conceivably change this season, Lue probably is right to feel confident right now.
