I'm guessing they probably assumed that LeBron wasn't going to make a decision to stay in Cleveland based on Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. No idea if that ends up being right or wrong, but I don't think it was an awful assumption. Further, I don't think anyone, even the most optimistic Cavs fan, could have predicted that all the new guys would gel immediately. Most of us assumed the game last night and the Celtics game were going to end up schedule losses, just bad timing with the trade. Instead, our team looks like they've been playing together for years and just blew out the Celtics and beat the Thunder pretty handily.
No one expected this type of turnaround this quickly. I'm sure the Lakers are as baffled by it as we are.