Why the Cavs still 'have to prove it' in the playoffs

Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor is joined by John Fanta of NBC Sports to discuss if Cleveland are true contenders in the Eastern Conference behind James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Check out the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

Cleveland’s gotta prove it to me in the, in the playoffs.

They, they have to show, and the, the thing with Cleveland is, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, Allen more so.

Allen, who’s been on a tear!

I mean, over the last, like, two and a half, three weeks, there has not been a more productive big man in the NBA, if you look at the numbers.

Jarrett Allen has been in a, on a mammoth, mammoth tear for the Cavs.

you see, I’ve got them at four, and I’ve got them at, at Which is self-explanatory to, to see Boston at three, and, revisiting this, this argument, Boston’s no lower than two for me now.

But I’ll keep them three for the sake of argument here, ’cause it’s a more fun discussion for you and I. Cleveland is four because defensively, I don’t know if I can trust their combination of players quite yet.

because, because Harden, like, they’re doing so many different things on the offensive end of the floor, but the Cavs Like, Mobley is a, an elite defender.

We’re gonna get to, back to him in a second.

He’s an elite defender.

but this is a team that has not been able to prove that they can consistently string it together on the defensive end of the floor.

I mean, they’re currently sitting at 12th in the, in the NBA in defensive rating, and that’s lower than the other three teams that we’re considering here, and it’s lower than, you know, Miami, Toronto.

Toronto, who I think is feisty and a very interesting team.

And it’s hovering right around the Magic, who frankly have been underwhelming.

Now, they’re fifth in offensive rating, and New York are ahead of them in that column.

So the, the I know why you’ve got them three, and I think you’ve got them three because at the end of the day, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden with, with Mobley, Allen, and the core, there’s more different ways to beat a defense, and there’s, there’s more star power there, superstar power, and buckility on the perimeter than there is in Detroit on paper.

But the, these games aren’t decided on paper, and the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell is dealing with the pressure of not making a conference finals, and so are the Cavs.

I think they’re all real questions, and, I mean, I’m sure there’s a lot of people shouting a- at their, their, the podcast right now saying, “James Harden’s also a choker!”

That’s what they’re saying.

Like, “Harden’s, Harden’s a choker.”

Like, that’s part of it out there.

I think with Harden, you know, fair complaint in, in some of the game sevens and whatnot, but as I’ve said many, many times over the years of the podcast, like, you can’t just ignore some of the highs he’s experienced in the playoffs either.

And I think with the You mentioned the pressure of this team, and that’s part of it.

Like, you can look at that as a negative, but you can also look at it as a positive.

This is a team that hasn’t gotten over a hump with players who haven’t gotten over the hump.

Mitchell, of course, still younger, but James Harden as well.

Who’s to say he’s not gonna be like Jason Kidd winning his first finals at 38, right?

Or, or Kevin Garnett at 32 with Boston, or Dirk at 32.

Like, there, there’s these star players who have won their first finals later in their careers a- and so with James Harden, that’s very possible.

Why the Cavs still ‘have to prove it’ in the playoffs

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