The Cavaliers are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 45-23. They're a game and a half ahead of the Celtics and three and a half games ahead of the Wizards. To hold their first place position, the Cavaliers will have to ward off both the Celtics and the Wizards in the last few games of the season. On Saturday, Cleveland took a step backward in a game that was a complete disaster.
Blowout Loss to the Clippers.
Cleveland didn't just lose to the Clippers on Saturday. They were destroyed in a 30 point blowout, 108-78.
Blake Griffin scored 23 points and Los Angeles got balanced scoring from DeAndre Jordan, Austin Rivers, Jordan Crawford, and J.J. Reddick, who all scored double digit point totals. For the Cavaliers, Richard Jefferson led the way, with just 12 points. Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Deron Williams, J.R. Smith, and Kay Felder all scored double digit point totals as well. But those point totals were nowhere close to being good enough to be competitive with a full strength Clippers team. And that should have the Cavaliers worried.
Too Reliant on Their Stars?
LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. The Cavaliers lose 26 points per game and more than eight rebounds and assists when he sits on the bench.
The story is a similar one for both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. In fact, the three stars score 71 points per game for Cleveland, almost three fourths of the 110 points per game the team averages. If one of them is out at any point, they lose a huge portion of scoring. When all three of them are out? The Cavaliers get hammered, as we saw yesterday.
Playoff Impact.
In the playoffs, injuries can easily derail any long run that a team can make. If any one of the Cavaliers top three players go down, it would be hard to believe that they could make a championship run. When a team has a guy like LeBron James, it always has a chance, but even the best players in the world need a solid supporting cast. Their game against the Clippers exposed some flaws, so the Cavaliers will just have to hope that none of their stars get injured in their efforts to win another championship.
