Even though the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to Charlotte Sunday night, they still sit at 27-9 as we near the midpoint of the NBA season. That record gives them a tie for the best record in the Eastern Conference (with Boston who is 24-8), something that is probably startling for the national media, which focuses on the Celtics.
Early in the season, there was much hand wringing about Shaquille O’Neal fitting in, Delonte West’s absence, and Mike Brown’s coaching. That’s all water under the bridge now.
The Cavs are winning, winning a lot, and winning despite arguably the most brutal schedule in the NBA to date.
Wednesday night will mark the first back-to-back home games for the team since November 28th through December 4th when the Cavs played Dallas, Phoenix, and Chicago at The Q. That means the wine and gold has played 17 consecutive games in different cities spanning 28 days.
After that game, the Cavaliers go on their longest road trip of the season, five games in eight days with games against Denver, Portland, Golden State, Utah, and the Los Angeles Clippers. After this stretch, the wine and gold will have played 17 home games and 26 road contests.
Which means of the remaining 39 games on the slate, 24 will be played in the friendly confines of Quicken Loans Arena. It also means that Boston and Orlando better have better records than the Cavs when Cleveland finishes its last west coast swing, because barring injuries, they will have no chance to overtake the Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, the Celtics are starting to get dinged up. Paul Pierce is out for about two weeks with a knee injury and now Kevin Garnett looks like he’s going to miss the same amount of time with a hyper extended knee. When you are over 30 years old, you don’t bounce back as quickly from injuries, and also they occur more frequently.
All three of the Celtics stars are over 30 years old.
As for the Magic, has anyone else noticed that Dwight Howard’s numbers are down? The big man is averaging over three points per game less than a year ago. However, the Magic is spreading the scoring around more with their acquisitions of Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, and the return of Jameer Nelson.
However, in the playoffs, will Carter prove to be more effective than Hedo Turkoglu, who was their primary playmaker down the stretch in the playoffs last season?
The other team in the East that has played well is the Atlanta Hawks, but they have lost five in a row, and have been in free fall since the Cavs beat them in back-to-back games a week ago.
The point is this, despite all of the changes; the Cleveland Cavaliers are set up to once again be the top seed in the East. The schedule will be very favorable in the second half of the season. The playoffs are the real season for a team like the Cavs, but even though they have had some ups and downs, the road to the NBA Finals will likely go through Cleveland if you are in the East.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 