The defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers have swept their way through the first two rounds of the 2016-17 NBA Playoffs, dispatching the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors in convincing fashion.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal thinks his team could give the Cavs a run for their money. There is just one problem: Beal and the Wizards were eliminated from the playoffs in the semifinal round by the Boston Celtics. If Washington had managed to advance to the conference finals, they would have faced the Cavaliers. For whatever reason, Beal claims that the Cavs “didn’t want to play” the Wizards in the second round.
Via Chase Hughes of CSN Mid_atlantic:
“I always said that,” Beal said in his one-on-one interview with CSN. “I felt like that’s a reason they didn’t play us in the second round. They didn’t want to see us in the second round. … If they were going to go down, they were going to go down in the conference finals. They didn’t want to go down in the second round. They knew we would give them that competitiveness and that challenge. We were going to bring it every night and go out there and try to win. We weren’t going to be fazed by who’s on the floor. Dang, it sucks. It sucks. It sucks.”
Beal’s confidence is admirable, but the fact that his Wizards went 1-2 against the Cavs in the regular season doesn’t help his case. The Wizards could have earned the right to play Cleveland had Beal been a bit more consistent against Boston. He scored 27 or more points in four games, but 16 or less in the other three. Beal also missed a game-winner at the end of Game 2 against the Celtics.
To be frank, the Cavaliers aren’t afraid to face anyone, and for good reason. Currently, LeBron James is averaging 34.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Confidence withstanding, there just isn’t much anyone can do to stop the relentless pounding of The Akron Hammer.