LeBron James and the Cavs are off to a rough start.
The Golden State Warriors are 5 and 3, what? Surely Cleveland Can’t be doing that bad, wait, they’re 3 and 4, what? The dubs and the Cavs have largely disappointed with lackluster effort and a do-not-care attitude.
Most likely it is just championship hangover after three long playoff seasons from each team, and the early regular season woes will end in a few weeks. Golden State has much less of a reason to be worried compared to Cleveland because they started last season off almost the same way, and then turned into the 67 win juggernaut and almost swept the playoffs. Let’s also not forget that the dubs have two MVP’s on their roster and one of the strongest benches in the league.
Let’s face it, the Warriors don’t need to care in the regular season because they are guaranteed a playoff spot and most likely a spot back in the finals. Chances are, the Warriors just need a few more games to kick into their brand of basketball and start playing the way Steve Kerr wants them to.
Cleveland, on the other hand, has a much bigger problem. At 3 and 5 the Cavs sit at 13th place in the east and don’t have many bright spots on their roster. What’s worse is that they’ve dropped five of their last six games. Of course, we never expect any LeBron team to try in the regular season, but this is embarrassing.
The Cavs coach, Ty Lue, even said it himself that the players aren’t having any fun. Any team with LeBron on it is expected to go far, and while his numbers have been spectacular as per usual, Cleveland might not make it to the second round, much less the finals. An important part of the Cavs roster, J.R. Smith, is currently shooting 27% from the field and only 20% from deep. Smith is a player who needs to step up with the loss of Kyrie Irving and help the offense retain championship form, but he isn’t doing that.
Cleveland’s struggles are also not helped by the fact that Isaiah Thomas won’t be back until early 2018, makes you wonder what Cleveland is going to do until he is back. It is also concerning that Thomas might not be near the level of play he once was with the Celtics, which could really set the Cavs back.
Both of these teams are expected to make deep playoff runs and with neither team having played double-digit games, that still reigns true. The Warriors are still the best team in the league and any team with LeBron on it always has a chance at the finals, so we will just have to wait.
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