NBA Playoffs 2018: 5 Reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers will sail through the East
The Cleveland Cavaliers have the made the past 3 NBA Finals. In each of their last 3 postseason runs, they've run through the Eastern Conference Playoffs like a Ferrari racing against Toyotas, and have been way ahead of the pack on both ends of the court.
While their regular season record this season could be a lot more impressive than it currently stands, most experts have predicted the Cavaliers to make the NBA Finals once again. With some good fortune going their way late into this regular season campaign (which we will talk about a little later), the Cavaliers are now prohibitive favorites to make a 4th straight appearance in the NBA Finals.
Here are the top 5 reasons why:
#5 The Boston Celtics are hobbled by injuries
The Boston Celtics' chances of making an NBA Finals were dealt a possibly fatal blow yesterday when it was announced that Kyrie Irving would miss the rest of the season due to a surgery to remove nails from his left knee, which were placed in the summer of 2015 but are now causing him pain and soreness.
It is not a stretch to say that Kyrie is their get-out-of-jail card. Irving was excellent as ever this season for the Celtics, who led the Eastern Conference standings for most of the season with him fit and firing at a 24.6 points per game rate. Kyrie Irving is the best clutch player in the NBA: there is no one even close to matching his repertoire of moves in isolation play, and he is deadly from every range.
With Gordon Hayward also missing the entire regular season as well as the postseason in all probability, the Celtics' best player is now Al Horford, who can only do so much as a scorer to keep the Celtics apace with Cleveland in a possible second-round matchup. If at all the Celtics now make it out of the first round, they will be outmatched on the offensive end even if they keep up their defensive intensity, which has led to them leading the league in defensive efficiency.