4. Are you sure the Celtics or Raptors are better?
Can you tell me with 100 percent conviction that you believe in Toronto, Boston or any other team in the East for that matter? Good, you shouldn’t. Take a glance at this handy little graphic:
Overall, Cleveland won 60 percent of its games against the East’s other playoff teams. (Yes, their only sub-.500 opponent is the Pacers, their matchup for the first-round. Now feels like a good time to mention the Cavaliers’ .707 home court winning percentage.)
The Raptors completed their best season in franchise history due in large part by adapting to the spike in outside shooting (Toronto averages the third-most 3 attempts per game, up almost 10 attempts from last year) and deploying the NBA’s best bench.
But by the nature of the postseason, rotations shrink and Toronto’s two best players have the infamous reputation for shrinking as well.
This Wojbomb dashed Boston’s hopes of reasonably contending for the Eastern crown. The Celtics are 9-6 since Kyrie Irving went down, which is fine, impressive even. However, a peek behind the curtain reveals a red flag. Their point differential in those games is +0.5, good for 14th-best in the NBA. In the entirety of the season up to that point, they sported the fourth-highest mark in the league with a differential of +4.3.
With Irving on the mend until training camp, the Celtics don’t have the consistent scoring punch or the go-to bucket-getter needed against the fastened defenses of the postseason.
Philadelphia is the hottest team in the entire association, winning 16 straight. Luckily for Cleveland, they wouldn’t have to play them until the Eastern Conference Finals. For as good as they’ve been, the playoffs are a new venture for their budding stars.
Since neither experienced the NCAA tournament, it’s impossible to know how Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid will fare in the pressure cooker of the playoffs. Sometimes first-timers shine in the bright light of big games, others fray from the heat.
Also, Embiid’s face is currently broken:
Sitting here high and watching the game like pic.twitter.com/aTeHLdDaq9
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) April 1, 2018
LeBron James and the Cavaliers are probably peering out at the Eastern Conference playoff landscape and feeling like this.