The Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing better than everyone else in the NBA since the All-Star break, and this hot stretch vaulted them to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. As we head towards the postseason, what have we learned about the Cavs this season?
4) Kyrie Irving can give LeBron James a break
LeBron was worn down early in the season and had to take a two-week break to deal with multiple injuries, and that was because he was forced to carry Cleveland every single night. During the second half of the season, Kyrie Irving has shown that he can take over a game and carry the Cavs, allowing LeBron to take a break. Irving probably won't win a series by himself, but he is capable of winning one or two games - giving LeBron some much-needed help.
3) The bench is still inconsistent
The starters have figured out how to play together at an extremely productive rate, but the bench is still one of the worst in the league. Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert have shown that they're capable of producing, yet no one else has consistently shown that. They're ranked just 20th in the league in efficiency, a number that has to improve for them to be successful in the postseason.
2) It's going to be really hard to beat the Cavs in Cleveland
Cleveland had a 18-game home winning streak before losing to the Celtics when the Cavs were resting the starters, and they finished 31-10 at home on the season. All of those losses came early in the year when they were struggling, but the Cavs have now turned into the buzzsaw we all expected them to be at Quicken Loans Arena.
1) Cleveland should win the Eastern Conference
The Cavs have dominated some of the best teams in the NBA during the past few months - most notably the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs. Atlanta and Chicago are the only other teams that have shown they might be able to challenge the Cavs in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but Cleveland is more talented and are playing better than both of them.
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