On Fox Sports, after the Cavs/76ers game, Nick Wright claimed that it was like any other year in the Eastern Conference. It happens every year, “NBA experts” warn LeBron about an Eastern Conference team primed to make a move. Then LeBron swiftly dismantles the teams simply due to him being the most talented basketball player ever. Everyone already claims the East is simply bad. Yet this year is very different and much more reminiscent of the 2011-2012 Heat, a very dark year for LeBron’s career.
Year of Change
This Cavs roster has been completely overhauled, much through trade. Only five players remain on the roster that started out wearing the burgundy and gold jersey on opening night. The last time a roster changed this much was the year LeBron joined the Cavs, a year that saw them lose eight games in the playoffs. That many playoff losses has only happened once for LeBron in 2007, the year he carried the Cavs to the finals only to get swept by the San Antonio Spurs. This massive amount of change in one year is also reflected statistically.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Offensively the Cavs stay potent, sitting at fourth in offensive efficiency rating, but that’s to be expected. LeBron has only been below fourth in offensive efficiency once since 2010 (2011-2012 season). This is a testament to both his facilitating ability and longevity. It’s interesting that they rank on the lower side of rebounding, but that may not hold any weight due to the Lakers being second on the list. What’s worrying is their defensive efficiency, which currently puts them as the second to the worst defensive club. If you average out both offensive and defensive efficiency (4 and 29) the Cavs have an overall average of 16.5. The closest team in the East to that are the Charlotte Hornets (15.5), a team outside of the playoffs.
The Rise of the East
The East is worse than the West. That is consistent statistically, using efficiency ratings, and abstractly. Viewing rosters from both the East and the West, and it becomes easy to tell the better conference. The East has grown much better at the top. Every Eastern Conference team in the playoffs, aside from the Miami Heat, are .500 or above against the Western Conference. The Western Conference has two teams below that mark (Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves). It’s also telling that the East is getting better as the conference accepts the pass-first mentality made popular by teams like the Spurs, Rockets, and Warriors.
Doubting LeBron in the playoffs usually isn’t a smart idea. His continuous domination of the East through his entire career is undeniable and ludicrous. Fourteen franchises have been chasing one man for over a decade and have yet to find an answer. Maybe there’s never a true answer but his own destruction. Through pressuring the front office, LeBron has to figure out the brand new team he was handed halfway through the year. But why worry about winning this year when you can just join the team that beat you next year, right Kevin?