The Cleveland Cavaliers have ripped through the Eastern Conference playoffs thus far, going 10-0 and looking like a sure thing to sweep the Toronto Raptors.
That hasn’t impressed many of the national pundits, though, who have pointed to the fact that the east isn’t as strong as the west. Cleveland radio host Ken Carman of 92.3 The Fan took offense to this narrative on air Friday morning after the team’s convincing 108-89 win at home Thursday night.
Among other things, Carman said he’s “so damn sick and tired of some of the stuff being said about LeBron and the Cavs” around the nation.
“It’s the b– East, I’m sick and tired of it,” he ranted. “I’m done with this crap. … Appreciate the greatness. Stop being so angry because you made these big proclamations during the season and you ended up being wrong.”
To a certain extent, Carman is spot on here.
We’ve made the point that, while the east is surely not as strong as the west, what Cleveland is doing right now makes it a dangerous opponent to the best in the west.
The best the east has to offer this year cannot compare with what LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Cavs are doing right now as a unit. They’re simply mowing teams down right now, and the Raptors are at least a year or two away from sniffing this level of play.
That said, national pundits pointing out that Cleveland’s current sweep through the east doesn’t prove anything aren’t wrong either. Most objective analysts would say that both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors have rosters that could give the Cavs plenty of trouble in a seven-game series.
Still, when the Cavaliers are sitting at home after a four-game sweep, just waiting for the west to finish its inevitable six- or seven-game series, it’s going to be awfully hard to not favor them heading into the NBA Finals.