LeBron's Cakewalk Through the Eastern Conference
The NBA Eastern Conference has been crazy this season to say the least. At the start, the Cleveland Cavaliers were making ridiculous trade attempts to put together a team that could possibly take down everybody’s enemy, the Golden State Warriors. This team that they pieced together showed no promise of even making it to the playoffs, but now they might just have an invitation to the championship finals.
With LeBron still in the league, it is ignorant to exclude him as a playoff candidate. The man has been in his prime ever since he came into the league and is showing no signs of slowing down. But if we are being honest, the Cavaliers were a train wreck this season. They made so many trades that had fans asking, “What in the world were they thinking?” The only move that made sense was signing Dwayne Wade, but the 2011 dynamic duo just wasn’t the same. At first, people were not even counting on LeBron to make it past the first round of the playoffs. However, ever since their insane trade deals just a couple of hours before the deadline the Cavaliers have proven that they shouldn’t be counted out just yet.
When I heard that Kyrie Irving will not be returning this season due to knee problems I felt the pain of the Boston Celtics. On the other hand, this is great news for LeBron. With Boston’s one chance of making it to the finals sidelined, this means that almost no one in East can stop the Cavaliers. Many people believe that the Toronto Raptors have a chance to beat the Cavaliers, but I do not see anyone on that roster that has the defensive skills to stop, or even slow down, LeBron.
The one exception to LeBron’s cakewalk is the Milwaukee Bucks. The reason I put the Bucks above the Toronto Raptors, the number one seed, is because they have this guy formally known as Giannis Antetokounmpo. Basically, if you took everything about LeBron and put it into a longer body then you get Giannis. Averaging a double-double with five assists per game, he has the defense, facilitation, and athleticism to match up with LeBron almost identically. However, the one thing he does not have the championship experience. This is something that LeBron has since he’s been to the last seven championship finals and something that Giannis hasn’t quite grasped yet. This is not really the Greek Freak’s fault because he doesn’t have a team around him to assist him. But all in all, the Bucks match up the best with the Cavaliers since they both have an all-star small forward with little help.
So, I think it’s pretty clear who we’re going to see in the finals from the Eastern Conference. Without Boston’s closer, the NBA is pretty much just inviting LeBron to come to the championship. Truthfully, regardless of Irving’s injury it would have been wise to put your money on LeBron over anyone else because come on, it’s the King.
