Who Is The Biggest Threat to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference?
To answer the question that I've given myself, the Cavs' biggest threat is themselves. There's a lack of effort on defense, they've gone 12-14 (!!!) since the All-Star break, and seem to have a talent for blowing leads (hello Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat). Oh yeah, and LeBron has gotten almost zero rest. The Cavaliers are their own worst enemy.
But that doesn't make for a very fun piece and honestly, it's not very fun to write. So I'll entertain the question and see what other teams should LeBron be the most worried about.
The Boston Celtics
The Celtics are faceplanting almost as much as the Cavs are right now. They're 4-3 over their past seven games and Isaiah Thomas hasn't been as exciting since the break, averaging 27.4 and 4.9 with 3.1 TOVs. Still very good, but not King of the Fourth Isaiah. Not Kinda, Sorta, as Good as Iverson Isaiah. Breaks my heart to say that because I love IT, but it's the truth. The Celtics have also never won a playoff series, so I feel like that has to count for something.
However, the Celtics (as of 10:12 CST, April 12th) do have sole possession of the first seed in the East. They have a better coach than the Cavs do with Brad Stevens, who I feel like could make even Rasheed Wallace and DeMarcus Cousins listen to him. Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder (even a little bit of Jaylen Brown) are pretty good wing defenders that, at the very least, can bother Kyrie and LeBron (maybe not so much LeBron). So I also feel like that has to count for something.
I don't know though. The Celtics can't rebound and they got slapped by LeBron in their recent matchup. If I were to give them a grade, I'd give them a B on the threat level. They're good and might make FBLA, but they'll almost never catch up to Trong Nguyen. (Totally not speaking from experience)
The Toronto Raptors
Last year in the Eastern Conference Finals the Raptors and Cavs faced off and for a little bit there between Game 3 and Game 4, we thought that the Raptors actually might be a threat to LeBron and co. We were wrong and Bron said, "I've been a part of some really adverse situations and I just didn't believe this was one of them" after he dismembered the Raptors limb from limb in Game 5. Do you remember at the end of Jurassic World when that big whale, shark thing jumped out of it's habitat and ate the Indominus Rex in one bite? That was what Game 5 was like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkmM_NVmpzg
Now though, the Raps might have something to throw at LeBron. Lowry and DeMar have gotten better from the career years they had last season and PJ Tucker doesn't take anything from anybody. (Especially not Blake Griffin). I really like the addition of Serge Ibaka and like Bill Simmons said on his podcast, I think the Raptors are the most versatile team in the East.
But Lebron is LeBron, so I grade the Raptors as a B+ threat.
The Washington Wizards
LOL. No.
Okay, but my reasoning is that the Wizards have a very, very, thin rotation. Plus, they don't have anybody who can guard LeBron. They have John Wall and Bradley Beal, which is cute, but they're not going past the second round. (Maybe even the first depending on how Polish Marcin Gortat decides to be.)
I'm not convinced any other team is as big as a threat to the Cavs are to themselves. My first answer is my final.