Playoff Picture: Cleveland Cavaliers
By Luke Duffy
Why They’ll Fall Short
The obvious answer here is inexperience. Both Irving and Love, two of the team’s top three guys, have never played a second of playoff basketball between them. It’s easy to say that it doesn’t matter, that basketball is basketball. But watch Cleveland play the Utah Jazz in November and the Indiana Pacers in April and you’ll see the difference. The only reason this may not make a ton of difference is because the Cavs play at one of the slowest paces in the league (94.8 possessions per game, good for 25th).
In Smith, they have a guy who still has a reputation as a bit of a loose cannon. Remember all those New York Knicks games where the team was letting the lead slip, and it made sense to get the ball to Carmelo Anthony to get a bucket to calm everybody down, only Smith had other ideas and jacked it up himself? Sometimes it worked, sometimes it killed his team. Don’t be surprised if that Smith rears his head again.
Iman Shumpert may be a big deal here. His defensive abilities can at least slow down opponents if Irving and Love get stage fright or are struggling on any given night. Really though there’s no reason for this team not to make a deep run. It’s unfair to compare this team all the time to the Miami Heat, but it’s hard not to. Year one in Miami for James ended in Finals disappointment. The league is even tougher now than it was then, so in year one of this Cavaliers incarnation, don’t be surprised if they also fall just short.
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