The Contender to take down the Cavs in the East

[chambers]

If I had to guess I'd say a healthy Detroit has the best chance.  They have Drummond who is just a monster down low on both ends of the floor.  They have excellent 3 point shooting from the other 4 starters in Morris, Harris, KCP, and Jackson.  They have a quality and deep bench in Johnson, Smith, Leuer, Udrih, and Baynes. 

If they can stay healthy (now that Jackson is back), I think they would pose a very difficult matchup for Cleveland. 

The other team I think could pose an interesting matchup with the Cavs is the Pacers.  George is one of the few players in the East that will make James work on both ends of the floor (Butler is the other).  They have speed and athleticism in Turner and Young which forces Love into a weird defensive matchup.  Teague and Ellis are both super fast offensive players, though Irving would likely have a field day on the other end of the floor.  Pacers have some very strong quality veterans on their bench.

I realize both Detroit and Indiana are tied for the 8th seed right now, but if they can stay relatively healthy the rest of the way, I expect both to firmly be in the playoffs.

It's hard for me to say whether Detroit will be as good as theyve been recently. They are shooting the absolute lights out from deep.
Their shooting will cool down but they'll get Reggie Jackson back who will make their offense get even more good looks from deep.

I believe the only team in the East that can beat the Cavs is a healthy Toronto. They are looking pretty good right now.
Cavs still big favorites in 7 game series but if anyone can take them to 7 and win it's Toronto.

[Ed Hollison]

Lebron has looked mortal during the first part of the season the past couple years. Then he somehow finds an extra gear and gets more athletic in the second half and the playoffs. Same will happen this year. Don't be fooled.

[Who]

I still think the Celtics are the team best equipped in the East to beat the Cavs.


* Not convinced by Chicago. That backcourt with Rondo and Wade has too little shooting to play with two traditional big men. In a playoff series, teams have more to prepare their defenses for individual team's offenses and I expect Chicago in particular to struggle with this.

* Not convinced by the Pacers either. Myles Turner is still learning his trade and is still another year or two away from being the player Indy need him to be to threaten Cleveland.

* Toronto is a decent side. I am troubled by DeRozan vs LeBron though. LeBron can get at DeRozan and make him inefficient scoring wise. Limit DeRozan (one-on-one) and do not think Toronto have enough offense to trouble Cleveland's defense.

* Detroit are gaining ground but I do not think their young guns are quite ready yet. Marcus Morris, KCP, Toby Harris, Drummond, R.Jackson. Maybe next season.



I like the Celtics the best out of these teams because the Celtics have the most defensive talent, are well equipped to defend Cleveland's perimeter game and have the most even led team offense (multiple scoring options - lack of top scorers) of the bunch (if Isaiah stops playing hero-ball that is).

Of course, if Isaiah keeps playing hero-ball (as he has all season thus far), then Cleveland will really be able to dig in defensively on him and cause more problems for Boston's offense. Hurting Boston's chances significantly.

[green_bballers13]

I think the Cavs are the only team that can beat the Cavs in an Easter Conf. playoff series, barring injuries. You can count on Lebron to be special, and Kyrie also has a track record of turning it up now. I don't want to sleep on an open Kevin Love 3pter after Lebron shreds the interior defense.

The Celtics are fortunate to have more high draft picks coming. Let's hope that they materialize into special players, so in a couple years they can look to win the East.

But, boy would I like to be wrong and the Celtics play the Warriors in the finals. That would get messy real quick, but still fun to watch.

[Moranis]

If I had to guess I'd say a healthy Detroit has the best chance.  They have Drummond who is just a monster down low on both ends of the floor.  They have excellent 3 point shooting from the other 4 starters in Morris, Harris, KCP, and Jackson.  They have a quality and deep bench in Johnson, Smith, Leuer, Udrih, and Baynes. 

If they can stay healthy (now that Jackson is back), I think they would pose a very difficult matchup for Cleveland. 

The other team I think could pose an interesting matchup with the Cavs is the Pacers.  George is one of the few players in the East that will make James work on both ends of the floor (Butler is the other).  They have speed and athleticism in Turner and Young which forces Love into a weird defensive matchup.  Teague and Ellis are both super fast offensive players, though Irving would likely have a field day on the other end of the floor.  Pacers have some very strong quality veterans on their bench.

I realize both Detroit and Indiana are tied for the 8th seed right now, but if they can stay relatively healthy the rest of the way, I expect both to firmly be in the playoffs.

It's hard for me to say whether Detroit will be as good as theyve been recently. They are shooting the absolute lights out from deep.
Their shooting will cool down but they'll get Reggie Jackson back who will make their offense get even more good looks from deep.

I believe the only team in the East that can beat the Cavs is a healthy Toronto. They are looking pretty good right now.
Cavs still big favorites in 7 game series but if anyone can take them to 7 and win it's Toronto.

After the Harris trade last year, Detroit finished on a 52 win pace.  I'm not sure they will cool down shooting.  Morris, for example, is below his career average from 3.  Smith and Leuer are well below their career averages from 3.  Harris is slightly below where he was last year in Detroit from 3 and not much better than his last full season in Orlando.  KCP has definitely seen a 3 point accuracy jump, but that isn't that unusual for a 4th year player. 

Stan Van put together the near perfect team around Drummond.  Length, athleticism, and outside shooting.  I think they are probably a season or two away, but you just never know with these things.

I did say I thought about it more and came back around to Toronto.  They are clearly the 2nd best team in the East this year and they did take 2 games from the Cavs last year.