After entering the season as title favorites, the Cleveland Cavaliers have underwhelmed. They currently hold the East’s top spot, and figures to remain there after game number 82, but there seems to be a lot more questions that the Cavs need to answer themselves before posing serious trouble to other teams in the playoffs.
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Does this team have what it takes, mentally, to go all the way through June and accomplish some unfinished business? The answer is unclear at this point, but Kyrie Irving’s confidence shows otherwise. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, quoted after the Cavs beat the Nets at home, Irving believes that the Cavaliers are still the team to beat.
The two-question exchange with Kyrie Irving saying #Cavs are team to beat: pic.twitter.com/zKZdKVnA8r
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) April 1, 2016
When looking at this team’s lineup on paper, it’s hard to argue that statement. But in reality, Cleveland has not performed like the runaway conference champions that most people projected them to become.
Inconsistency has been a major headache for the Cavs. They have displayed, at times, the inability to finish games even against lowly opponents. They tend to play at the level of their opposition, and that is not a mark of a championship caliber team.
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While it’s true that LeBron James turns up his play a few notches higher in the postseason, it is very risky to rely on that instead of starting to build momentum even in meaningless games, record wise. But despite all that, Kyrie Irving still has a decent shot at staying true to his statement, but a shift in mindset needs to occur.
