Woj's article on Lebron and his lack of leadership w/Cavs

[fairweatherfan]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

[Fafnir]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Are the Bulls really good? Noah/Rose are gimpy and inconsistent and have a point differential of a .589 winning team not a .667 winning team, that's a big difference.

Given that Cleveland was missing a MVP caliber player for 8 games out of the last ten and prior to that they were just 3 games behind the Bulls there is plenty of time to make up ground on them.

Will they? I don't think so, but with 43 games left to play there is time to catch up.

[TwinTower14]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

Nope it's impossible - Playoff start next week.  Not to mention Gasol is 34, playing more minutes a game since the 11'12 season.  Rose is made of paper and can literally go down at a moments notice.

The Wizards have yet to make their run through the West as well...

7 Games with over 40 to go it's not ideal but it's NOT impossible.  Especially when you have the best player in the world on your roster, in a league where talent rules....

[celticsclay]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

I mean I feel like we are starting to cherry pick statistics and games here. The bulls have already made their rodeo trip which is a 7 game road trip. They have some tough games coming up but they also only play 3 games against teams over .500 in the month of February.
Yes Lebron missed games but Noah, Rose and Gibson have been banged up this year also. While Rose is to be expected, the other two have traditionally been pretty healthy players.

[celticsclay]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

Nope it's impossible - Playoff start next week.  Not to mention Gasol is 34, playing more minutes a game since the 11'12 season.  Rose is made of paper and can literally go down at a moments notice.

The Wizards have yet to make their run through the West as well...

7 Games with over 40 to go it's not ideal but it's NOT impossible.  Especially when you have the best player in the world on your roster, in a league where talent rules....

I guess you are a pretty big Cavs/Lebron fan?

[fairweatherfan]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

I mean I feel like we are starting to cherry pick statistics and games here. The bulls have already made their rodeo trip which is a 7 game road trip. They have some tough games coming up but they also only play 3 games against teams over .500 in the month of February.
Yes Lebron missed games but Noah, Rose and Gibson have been banged up this year also. While Rose is to be expected, the other two have traditionally been pretty healthy players.

I'm just saying, if you're talking about it being hard for the Bulls to have a really horrible stretch, there's a big opportunity for one starting literally tonight.

[TwinTower14]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

Nope it's impossible - Playoff start next week.  Not to mention Gasol is 34, playing more minutes a game since the 11'12 season.  Rose is made of paper and can literally go down at a moments notice.

The Wizards have yet to make their run through the West as well...

7 Games with over 40 to go it's not ideal but it's NOT impossible.  Especially when you have the best player in the world on your roster, in a league where talent rules....

I guess you are a pretty big Cavs/Lebron fan?

I am not actually - I get your math, I understand it but I don't think making up 7 games with 43 to play is impossible.  A lot of different variables at play here: ( injuries, fatigue, losing streaks, Schedules, etc )...It's a long season and I believe that water seeks it's level.  I think the Cavs have elite talent and I think they will eventually play like that, especially if you we see the Lebron that we saw last night...

If I am wrong, I will come on this thread and say I was completely wrong and I should have followed the numbers that you laid out...

[celticsclay]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

I mean I feel like we are starting to cherry pick statistics and games here. The bulls have already made their rodeo trip which is a 7 game road trip. They have some tough games coming up but they also only play 3 games against teams over .500 in the month of February.
Yes Lebron missed games but Noah, Rose and Gibson have been banged up this year also. While Rose is to be expected, the other two have traditionally been pretty healthy players.

I'm just saying, if you're talking about it being hard for the Bulls to have a really horrible stretch, there's a big opportunity for one starting literally tonight.

That is fair. I personally predict they will beat wizards, celtics (boo) and cavs and lose to hawks. The next stretch is a lot tougher to predict because I am having a hard time figuring out how good the spurs and mavs are actually are at this point in the season. 

[celticsclay]

7 games back is a lot to make up, but doable in half a season.

The Cavs haven't shown me anything to make me think that they will though.

I think people are not realizing that 7 games back of a team with a .667 winning percentage is a lot different of being 7 games back of a team that is .500 (or worse).  This is pretty basic math. Anything is possible, but it is pretty unlikely barring major injuries. Another fun fact do people realize the 76ers are about the same distance out of a playoff spot that the cavs are out of 4th place?

Chicago has a point of differential of just about +3.0. They're 3 wins above their pythagorean expected record. Big losing streaks and winning streaks happen.

fafnir I appreciate you at least having a discussion and expressing why believe what you do (with some stats/facts to back it up). I would counter that while I agree winning and losing streaks happen, even with top level teams another factor to consider is that the East is super top heavy. So it is kind of hard for the Bulls (or hawks, raptors or wiz) to have a completely horrible stretch because they are consistently going to  have a lot of games mixed in versus the 76ers, celtics, knicks, nets, magic and hornets. This makes it harder to pick up games on a really good team.

Over the next 3 weeks the Bulls play Washington, @Boston/vs Atlanta as a back-to-back, @Cleveland, then 7 out of 8 games against the West, with 6 of those games on the road, and 5 of the teams currently in the West playoffs, plus #9 New Orleans.  And 4 sets of back-to-backs in the same stretch to boot.

If they can do reasonably well during that stretch you're probably right, but that's an awfully tough gauntlet to run.

Nope it's impossible - Playoff start next week.  Not to mention Gasol is 34, playing more minutes a game since the 11'12 season.  Rose is made of paper and can literally go down at a moments notice.

The Wizards have yet to make their run through the West as well...

7 Games with over 40 to go it's not ideal but it's NOT impossible.  Especially when you have the best player in the world on your roster, in a league where talent rules....

I guess you are a pretty big Cavs/Lebron fan?

I am not actually - I get your math, I understand it but I don't think making up 7 games with 43 to play is impossible.  A lot of different variables at play here: ( injuries, fatigue, losing streaks, Schedules, etc )...It's a long season and I believe that water seeks it's level.  I think the Cavs have elite talent and I think they will eventually play like that, especially if you we see the Lebron that we saw last night...

If I am wrong, I will come on this thread and say I was completely wrong and I should have followed the numbers that you laid out...

cool man same here. tommy point

[Moranis]

I like the article but I do think the Cavs will be fine, Lebron looked explosive last night, by far the most explosive he has all year.  I wonder what he did in Miami for those two weeks??  Was Tony Bosch in Miami at the same time:)

How was last night encouraging? Yes Lebron played very well, but they still lost to 10th best team in the West and benched one of their starters. They may beat the Lakers in their next game but then will probably be back under .500 with their next two games against Clippers and Bulls.

when your second and third best players combine for 7 of 25 (2 of 9 from three) and you lose by 7 on the road while your best player comes back from injury and plays better than he has all year, I think you can say it was a bit promising despite the loss.

[celticsclay]

I like the article but I do think the Cavs will be fine, Lebron looked explosive last night, by far the most explosive he has all year.  I wonder what he did in Miami for those two weeks??  Was Tony Bosch in Miami at the same time:)

How was last night encouraging? Yes Lebron played very well, but they still lost to 10th best team in the West and benched one of their starters. They may beat the Lakers in their next game but then will probably be back under .500 with their next two games against Clippers and Bulls.

when your second and third best players combine for 7 of 25 (2 of 9 from three) and you lose by 7 on the road while your best player comes back from injury and plays better than he has all year, I think you can say it was a bit promising despite the loss.

When a guy that was a throw in a trade and viewed as a negative net asset somehow hits 8 3 pointers and gets a season high in points with 29 and you still lose by 7 that is a really demoralizing!

[LB3533]

The Cavs need to fix Kyrie Irving, and that should do the trick. The dude can't be shooting Rondo's FT% from the field. (38.5 FG% for Jan'15)

Kevin Love was struggling in Dec, but he seems to have picked up the slack while Lebron was out....Kyrie is the one who has struggled the most without Lebron.

For the +/- statistic fans: Triston Thompson plus CLE's "Big 3" with whatever 5th Cav you want....are something like a +94 over at 82games.

Maybe the Varejao injury is a blessing?

CLE was 18-14 (Win 56%) prior to the month of Jan'15 and before Lebron returned the other night, CLE was 1 - 5 record in the month of JAN.

Before 2015, CLE was a much better team, but so was CHI.

Both CHI and TOR have played mediocre to poorly in Jan. If CLE can fix Kyrie, maintain Love's improved play and Lebron's health?......I see CLE catching CHI and TOR.

No one is catching ATL, the team who has nobody awesome, just a team that plays awesome together.

I don't see WAS slumping either with Bradley Beal more healthy, that team has a good mix of youngsters and role players plus a familar HoF presence....they will be tough to catch, but an injury to their rotation can change things.

If Kyrie isn't fixed, CLE will be the 5th seed or lower....I am pretty sure Lebron did not expect his 2nd go around in CLE to go as it has gone.

[TwinTower14]

Cavs cut it to 6 baby, they are back!!!!  only 6 games out of the 4 seed 

[TwinTower14]

Well I guess the demise of the Cavs was a little premature, they have rattled off 8 wins in a row and are now only 3 games out of the 4 spot with 35 games to play, still think they will be the team to beat in the East when the playoffs roll around...

[TheFlex]

Woj sucks.