The NBA’s defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers are on their way to the 2016-17 Eastern Conference Finals by way of two four-game sweeps (Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors).
The Cavs are now the only team in NBA history to start two consecutive postseason runs with an 8-0 record. After yesterday’s 109-102 closeout win in Toronto, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey admitted that the Cavaliers have indeed “flipped the switch” that everyone has been talking about.
Via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
“Anytime you have No. 23 (LeBron James), you can flip every switch you want to,” coach Casey said after the Cavs’ win in Game 4. “They did flip a switch. They are a totally different team defensively and definitely offensively (since the end of the regular season).”
James posted 35 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and one steal in yesterday’s Game 4 win. The King wasn’t the only player causing problems for the Raptors and coach Casey, however. Kyrie Irving turned in 27 points and nine assists, and Kyle Korver showed everyone why he is considered as one of the greatest shooters of all time with 18 big points (4-6 from downtown) off the bench. In fact, the Cavs converted on 61 three-pointers in their series against the Raptors, who made just 27 of theirs.
“They present so many problems offensively, it’s going to take a Herculean effort to beat them,” coach Casey said. “You are going to have to have very flexible defenders and you are going to have to score 117 or 118 points a night to beat them.”
While coach Casey may be right about Cleveland’s offensive production, the Cavs have also been improving on the defensive end of the floor. Keen-eyed fans of the team may have noticed they have been trapping with more frequency, diving for loose balls, or running different defensive schemes to confuse opposing sides. Head coach Tyronn Lue chimed in on his team’s improved play during his post-game media availability yesterday evening.
“We’re a resilient team,” coach Lue said. “We know at the end of the season, things weren’t like everybody thought they should be, including us. But we knew once we got healthy we can go on runs like this, and get our rotations set, and lock in defensively, and do some things defensively that we knew we’re capable of doing. I just like our team for just staying with it — for having the confidence and belief that we can get on track once we get healthy.”
The champs now have eight to ten days off as they wait to learn who their opponent will be in the next round (Boston Celtics or Washington Wizards).