The Cleveland Cavaliers made easy work of the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs, only taking four games to eliminate them in a series sweep. Game four happened April 23, which resulted in the Cavs benefitting from a week's worth of rest from NBA action.
This is well needed for the Cavs, LeBron James in particular, as he has logged a plethora of minutes the entire season. The Cavs are beginning their second round series Monday night against the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are a team who shouldn't be taken lightly, as they have stars in DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
Will the weeks worth of rest lead to rust on the court for the Cavs?
The King Needs Rest
James has played a huge amount of minutes in his 14th NBA season. James has led the NBA season in minutes for the regular season, playing 2795 minutes in only 74 games. Many have been critical of the Cavs resting James, but he needs all the rest he can get at this point in the season.
In their series against the Pacers, LeBron averaged 44 minutes a game, which means he only sits four a total of four game minutes. He can only grab a sip of water before being called back into the game. LeBron will say to reporters he is perfectly fine, but all players run out of gas, just ask Russell Westbrook. LeBron is a player in need of rest, but we all know to much rest can lead to a rusty start, but LeBron isn't your ordinary human being, so he'll be fine.
When it comes to rest in the playoffs, LeBron has an unfair advantage compared to his opponents. LeBron James in the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs he averages twice as many days of rest before game one compared to his opponents. James makes sure he handles his business in the playoffs, and he won't have to worry about rust but the rest of the Cavs will.
LeBron is 6-0 in the conference semis when coming in off of 5+ days of rest.
Too Much Rest
The Cavs team needs to worry about coming out slow against the Raptors. This Raptors team is feeling a groove after winning their last two games to clinch the series against the Milwaukie Bucks. The star backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry has found their groove and are ready to redeem themselves for their series loss against the Cavs last year in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cavs have been working out and practicing since their series win, but nothing replaces game like intensity and atmosphere. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love need to make sure they are ready to go as they are the second and third scoring options for the Cavs.
The Cavs haven't played the Raptors at full strength since the Raptors made their trades near the trade deadline. The Cavs might have more to worry about than people are letting on, and coming off a week's worth of rest might not be too helpful.
The Cavs are coming in as the favorites against the Raptors, as they have had their number over the years. LeBron and the Cavs are concerned about getting the rust off in the first six minutes of the game, as "nothing compares to a game" as LeBron James put it. Look to see if the Cavs start off slow in game one at 7 p.m. on TNT.
