LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are under a particularly heavy microscope as we approach the postseason in three weeks. The Cavs, though still atop the Eastern Conference, experienced some rough patches this season, from changing head coaches to the routine Kevin Love trade rumors and more recently reported chemistry issues between Kyrie Irving and LeBron James.
Despite the adversity, and at times an inconsistency that led LeBron to say that the Cavs aren’t ready for the playoffs just a few weeks ago, he now feels that his team is ready to make a run.
From Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
“I feel like we’re ready to make a championship run,” James said Saturday morning, ahead of Cleveland’s shootaround at Madison Square Garden in preparation to play the Knicks. “I’m confident in this team and I know we can make a championship run, and that’s all you can ask for.”
LeBron also says he isn’t thinking about what happened in last season’s Finals:
“I haven’t really thought about last year,” James said. “I think it’s not factual to think about what happened last year. My concern, I don’t like to use the word concern because then everybody think it’s like a problem. My only thought now and my preparation is getting these guys prepared to make a long run in the postseason.
“And obviously we’ve got 10 games left and I’m not going to shortcut that because we still can get better, but my whole mindset is getting these guys ready for the long run. I think we have enough, no I know we have enough and we just got to go out and do it.”
We know that the Cavs are good enough, deep enough, and talented enough to win an NBA title. Their challenge, of course, is being good enough to beat the likes of the Golden State Warriors. The Cavs are the only Eastern Conference powerhouse that can legitimately contend with those that exist in the West. When you have LeBron James, you’ll always have a chance.
If this team has health on their side this time around, they’re certainly ready and equipped to make a run. Assuming they conquer the East for a second straight year, it will come down to who they’ll be matching up with from the West.
