Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving believes his team has a great shot at an NBA title this season.
There has been a lot of talk surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers and whether the team can compete for an NBA title this season.
Talk of LeBron James possibly leaving again has begun to surface, although the validity of that claim is still up for debate.
But when one takes a step back and looks at the team’s record, this extra noise does not seem to hold as much weight. The Cavaliers are currently the top team in the Eastern Conference with a record of 53-22. This amounts to a 2.5-game lead over the Toronto Raptors with seven games left for the Cavaliers, and eight for the Raptors, with both teams playing Friday night.
Kyrie Irving is still confident in his team’s chances at a title, and made it clear in an article posted on ESPN.com Friday. In the piece, Irving says he believes the Cavaliers are “the team to beat” when it comes time for the playoffs.
From the article:
"“Everything surrounding our team is just crazy to think that we’re still in first place and we’re still the team to beat, honestly,” Irving said. “Regardless of what anybody else says of what we need and what we don’t need and what we need to get better at — us, internally, we know that we have to improve on a lot of things, but we’ve just got to handle business as professionals and continue to get better.”"
Even with all the off-the-court distractions, the Cavaliers have managed to hold down the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and should be able to until the end of the season.
NBA fans know that the playoffs are the league’s second season, so Irving’s claims show his confidence that the Cavaliers are ready to make a run. Whether the team can beat the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs remains to be seen.
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