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October 21, 2015Browns ABC’s: Another Bronco Conquest over the Browns, Week 6
October 21, 2015We’re No. 4? Last season’s Cleveland Cavaliers’ team was shrouded in so much hype that they were must-watch television, even when things were not going as planned. Any team with LeBron James already has a leg up; factor in two other All-Stars and the mystique of a rookie head coach and it was appointment television three or four nights per week.
Fast forward to this season and you have a team with an ailing point guard, and one that appears to be using this season to work out some kinks—like expanding Kevin Love’s game—and simply stay healthy for the playoffs. LeBron is still here, but who knows if he plans on taking another vacation or not. Alas, the Cavs fall from No. 1 to No. 3 in Grantland’s annual review of NBA teams and their respective watchabilitiy.
From Zach Lowe:
We presumed too much in anointing these guys at no. 1 last season. LeBron James took a two-week vacation, David Blatt didn’t implement much of his motion offense, and Kevin Love spent too many possessions chilling in the corner as a glorified James Jones. Kendrick Perkins appeared just to ugly things up.
An offense featuring only LeBron–Timofey Mozgov3 pick-and-rolls, with Love and Kyrie Irving spotting up, is still enough to crack the top five here. LeBron is probably the sharpest pick-and-roll passer ever, slinging comets to the corner, and Irving’s catch-and-drive layups are more acrobatic than most dunk contest slams. The Cavs are talking big about unleashing the diversity of Love’s game, and they showed in flashes after January how dynamic they could be mixing in his canny screening, cutting, and passing from the elbows. These guys were 32-3 in the last 35 games that James, Irving, and Love played together. They destroyed people. I want to see that team again.
LeBron is smart to conserve energy, but he can still rev up from standstill to full sprint faster than anyone else. When he hits top gear, he reaches a higher plane of existence.
He’s like Westbrook, only bigger, stronger, smarter, and more under control.
And I have to admit: Austin Carr has won me over. Five years ago, I thought he was just another loudmouthed homer. He is a homer, but he’s a giddy, smiling homer who doesn’t take the Cavs too seriously or pretend that games are part of some good-versus-evil drama. He would never turn on an ex-Cav the way some announcers suddenly notice all of a player’s flaws once he leaves in free agency. His joy radiates through the TV.
Of course, with the national media loving the fast-paced, guard-led, child-toting Golden State Warriors, they’re at the top. They’re a team that lives for the highlights and, thus, gets rewarded as such. Interestingly, it’s not the San Antonio Spurs or super-long, super-athletic Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2 and 3 spot, but the Los Angeles Clippers (with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin) and the New Orleans Pelicans (thanks to Anthony Davis).
While Davis has reached the pantheon of a must-watch athlete just two years in to his NBA career, this is Cavalier fans pre-season warning that the narrative to make this kid the league’s MVP is already firing up. His game is insane. He’ll be the first player taken in fantasy drafts across the globe. He’s just 22 years old.
If there’s ever a silver lining, however, it’s that while the Clippers and Warriors jaw at each other, and Davis tries to will his team into the postseason, the Cavs appear to be in the Eastern Conference driver’s seat with the Washington Wizards being the only squad within spitting distance of excitement, slotting in at No. 7, and this is largely predicated on Otto freaking Porter.
The Irving-Love-James Cavaliers will easily be the most watchable trio in the NBA this season—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The question will be: How often will these three be suiting up together before April rolls around?
5 Comments
Those rankings are duuumb.
It doesn’t matter if 12 teams from the West are ranked above the Cavs.
We only have to beat ONE of them. 😉
Until/unless the Cavs are even bothering to approach the levels of performance on display during that 32-3 stretch mentioned, I agree 100% that the Warriors are the “most watchable” team. They move the ball so well, and feature numerous shooters who might go supernova on any given night. It’s fun. Meanwhile, the Cavs spent much of the last regular season looking half-interested and working out kinks. We may have the potential to be fun to watch throughout the season, and I hope we are. But as long as we hit the playoffs healthy, I don’t much care how it looks getting there.
https://media.giphy.com/media/LV0m4BLmvL2oM/giphy.gif
So to spite the Cavs for having chosen them #1 last year they ranked them #4…yawn. I don’t bother with Grantland never did.
If the Cavs weren’t starting the year shorthanded, I’d make an argument for them being the best team to watch. However, I think he’s right that it is somewhat diminished, at least to start. Last year’s Cavs of November and December were decidedly unfun. I expect a much better start, but without Irving they aren’t #1 in the fun-to-watch category. At some point in the year they will be, though.
I don’t have the time to go through the whole list, but I think he’s right about the Clippers. They’ve got the combo of good, uptempo, and intrigue due to offseason changes. I don’t know about the Pelicans at 3 though. There’s some anticipation of more fun because of the coaching change, but who knows? They could be more like watching the Grizzlies than the Warriors for all we know. I think I’d probably go something like Warriors, Clippers, Cavs, Thunder, Wizards for my top five. The Kings have that train wreck thing going on, which could be interesting, and there’s some intrigue with the Spurs and Heat with the new lineups, but I don’t think you can be top 5 without actually playing an exciting brand of basketball.
And one more note re: Anthony Davis’ amazingness: I know we’re all kind of jaded about Kyrie at this point, and have already had time to go through the full spectrum of optimism and pessimism with him, but he’s only one year older than AD. At the age of 23, he’s a ROY, Rising Stars MVP, 3x All-Star, All-Star MVP, 3pt shootout champion, FIBA World Cup gold medalist, and FIBA World Cup MVP. Yes I know it’s an apples to crayons comparison, and yes I’d probably trade him for Davis straight up if given that decision to make, but it’s like the “newness” has worn off and people don’t seem to think about Kyrie’s future potential anymore. He’s just getting started too.