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2023 NBA Playoffs 1st Round: Cavs vs. Knicks

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What will the series result be?

  • Total voters
    142
  • Poll closed .
CavsFaninNJ said:
Without LeBron that team wouldn't have gone past the first round - but because Kyrie is one of the most overrated players in NBA history. We saw his ability to lead a team or be a #1 option on a good team long before LeBron got here. Dribble dribble dribble. Blinders on. No leadership qualities. Efficiency ain't everything.

But Kyrie is a really good #2. And Love was a good #3. So I still call those teams stacked.
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Get beyond the first round????
We saw what happened the year he left, we were competing for the first pick in the draft once again. Their record in games LBJ sat was abysmal.
 
I still have a slimmer of hope that we can come back and win this in 7 for three reasons: (1) Garland had a great second half in the Garden, which was very important for his confidence; (2) it is still possible that Garland and Mitchell both have good shooting nights in Game 6; and (3) I'm a life-long Cleveland sports fan and setting myself up for disappointment has just become ingrained into me at this point.
 
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Dr. Claw said:
Unless the Knicks find another higher-tier talent to go with Brunson I'm not worried about them in the future.
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The Knicks, after not gutting their team and assets to acquire Mitchell, are in a fantastic place actually...they have a lot of draft capital and plenty of young pieces they can aggregate to get Brunson a running mate.

As long as they don't operate like yo mama's Knicks, they're not going away anytime soon...
 
cavsfever said:
How stacked were those 2015-2018 teams really? Without Lebron not sure any of them get beyond the first round. They were definitely built to fit well with him though (except for 2018)
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One of the things about Lebron during that era was he could fill in the gaps but also pick and choose where he wanted to exert himself. Like I think he picked Kyrie and Love because they could take the scoring load off him and provide spacing. He knew they could pick up defensive pieces if needed. They got Shump and JR Smith for very little asset which I think was key to rounding out the roster. They were able to cover for Kyrie on defense and prove 3pt shooting. Then Channing came along and gave us a way to play 5 out.

The east during that time didn't have any SF or PF that was going to make Lebron work hard on the defensive end. I think the biggest mistake was not finding a big wing that could take the defensive pressure off Lebron when the Warriors got Durant. I think Derrick Williams could have contribute if he was brought in earlier. I also think not getting a young backup PG to take over for Delly was a mistake. Hold off for Deron Williams didn't work out.
 
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cavsfever said:
How stacked were those 2015-2018 teams really? Without Lebron not sure any of them get beyond the first round. They were definitely built to fit well with him though (except for 2018)
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A lot of elite teams, without their best player, aren't likely to get beyond the first round. That doesn't really speak to the team not being good. I thought those teams were really good. We had three all-stars. Some pretty good role players. Perfect team, no... Not suggesting they were one of the best teams put together.

I always wanted to see what happen in 2015, after the Shump, Moz, and JR moves, where they went like on a 34-3 run, or something absurd like that. That may have been the one great team we had, and I think the best LeBron team ever, here, by far. Injuries made it not to be unfortunately, otherwise, I'm very confident we win it all that season. We are then sitting at 2 titles, during the LeBron era, second time around, and history looks at us much better.

I thought we were pretty damn good, with some bad luck here and there. Health the first year, then Durant going to the Warriors.

And once Warriors got Kevin Durant, no team had a chance. Yeah, LeBron was/is great. It wasn't just him.
 
godfather said:
I always wanted to see what happen in 2015, after the Shump, Moz, and JR moves, where they went like on a 34-3 run, or something absurd like that. That may have been the one great team we had, and I think the best LeBron team ever, here, by far. Injuries made it not to be unfortunately, otherwise, I'm very confident we win it all that season. We are then sitting at 2 titles, during the LeBron era, second time around, and history looks at us much better.
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We were an absolute behemoth in 2015 post-trades...I'll go to my grave believing we would have decimated the Warriors in 5 tops if we got there fully healthy. Just awful, shitty Cleveland luck.
 
JMoneyYourHoney said:
We were an absolute behemoth in 2015 post-trades...I'll go to my grave believing we would have decimated the Warriors in 5 tops if we got there fully healthy. Just awful, shitty Cleveland luck.
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Makes me sick. Everyone meshed so well together, and we weren't the same in 2016, because Kyrie was coming back from a serious injury. And we won it all, because that team WAS really, really good. And they weren't ever at full peak, even that year.

Could have had a dynasty. At least we got one, and ruin those dick riders perfect season. That also made them go and get Durant, like the bitches they are.
 
godfather said:
A lot of elite teams, without their best player, aren't likely to get beyond the first round. That doesn't really speak to the team not being good. I thought those teams were really good. We had three all-stars. Some pretty good role players. Perfect team, no... Not suggesting they were one of the best teams put together.

I always wanted to see what happen in 2015, after the Shump, Moz, and JR moves, where they went like on a 34-3 run, or something absurd like that. That may have been the one great team we had, and I think the best LeBron team ever, here, by far. Injuries made it not to be unfortunately, otherwise, I'm very confident we win it all that season. We are then sitting at 2 titles, during the LeBron era, second time around, and history looks at us much better.

I thought we were pretty damn good, with some bad luck here and there. Health the first year, then Durant going to the Warriors.

And once Warriors got Kevin Durant, no team had a chance. Yeah, LeBron was/is great. It wasn't just him.
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It didn't help that in 2017 when the Bulls got Wade and was willing to give us either Dunleavy or Tony Snell, Griff decides to take Dunleavy while Snell goes on to shoot 40% from 3 with the Bucks. We then use our last available asset to get Korver to try to make up for missing on Dunleavy.
 
JMoneyYourHoney said:
The Knicks, after not gutting their team and assets to acquire Mitchell, are in a fantastic place actually...they have a lot of draft capital and plenty of young pieces they can aggregate to get Brunson a running mate.

As long as they don't operate like yo mama's Knicks, they're not going away anytime soon...
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Eh, Hart is a FA this summer, Hartenstein is on an expiring contract next year, Toppin (and maybe IQ) will be in the last year of their rookie deals, and Randle, who is getting paid a good amount, just got benched. The thing about winning with depth is that it's hard to retain and harder to replace when you're well over the cap.
 
JMoneyYourHoney said:
The Knicks, after not gutting their team and assets to acquire Mitchell, are in a fantastic place actually...they have a lot of draft capital and plenty of young pieces they can aggregate to get Brunson a running mate.

As long as they don't operate like yo mama's Knicks, they're not going away anytime soon...
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There still the Knicks they will F it up
 
JMoneyYourHoney said:
The Knicks, after not gutting their team and assets to acquire Mitchell, are in a fantastic place actually...they have a lot of draft capital and plenty of young pieces they can aggregate to get Brunson a running mate.

As long as they don't operate like yo mama's Knicks, they're not going away anytime soon...
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We used to be in that position before the Mitchell trade :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead:
 
Isaac Okoro's Mom said:
We used to be in that position before the Mitchell trade :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead:
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We also had Garland, Mobley, and Allen - and were totally relying on a massive leap from Mobley to even be a top 6, non play in team this year.

When you’re a market like Cleveland and you won’t use your picks to get a 26 year old Mitchell, under contract for years, and who is willing to play in Cleveland - what the hell are you going to use the picks for? He’s a fringe top 10 guy - you may never be able to get a top 6-7 guy under similar circumstances. Luka, KD, Giannis, Embiid, Jokic, Steph…those guys are not coming through the door. Lucky enough to get a Dame or Mitchell. I still make that deal any day of the week.
 
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Right now I’m not mad at the Mitchell trade. It happened a year too early, but agreed that players like him aren’t regularly available so I don’t blame the FO for making the move.

Mostly just disappointed they didn’t have a viable plan to properly construct a roster with him on it.
 
This team is going nowhere with our atrocious bench. Most of those guys wouldn't be rotation players on other teams. Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro, Ricky Rubio (still not 100%), Dean Wade (good if healthy), Robin Lopez, Raul Neto, Danny Green, Lamar Stevens. It's just awful. Thankfully, the offseason will give Altman the opportunity to improve it.

I'm honestly surprised we've made it this far with that bench, it's nothing short of a miracle.

Making it this far shows how talented our starting line-up is & that we're well coached. With an upgraded bench, we instantly become title contenders.

I'm high on Travers & Diop, they will bolster our second unit. I'd like to see us go after Jordan Clarkson. We have some pieces to offer in a S&T.

This is not a post to put the blame on Altman. He's done a great job, clearly has a plan & a vision. I can't wait to see what he does this offseason. The Mitchell trade cost us depth, but it was so worth it.
 
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