Cavaliers lose regular season finale 98-83
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
As has been the case the last three years, the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to have the most drama surrounding them this season. Whether it be public comments from players, continuous roster changes or losing more games than expected, the defending champions surely don’t lack interest.
The Cavs finished the 2016-17 regular season with a 98-83 loss to the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night, cementing their record at 51-31. Few expected the Cavs to lose 30-plus games this season, let alone finish with the second-best record in their own conference. Yet in still, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t seem worried about how his team will play when the playoffs arrive this weekend.
“My confidence is that we can win,” Lue said. “I know we can win the series (NBA Finals), we just gotta play Cavaliers basketball, which we’re capable of doing, which we’ve shown we can do. I hear all the talk or whatever. I don’t listen to it, but I know our team.
“I know we have confidence to win, and we are gonna win. As far as the outside rumblings, that’s part of it. It always surrounds this team and I’m used to it.”
The Cavs are also used to winning, which didn’t happen Wednesday. Cleveland was without their ‘Big Three’ against Toronto, missing LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. With the trio watching the game from the bench, the result was expected.
The Cavs trailed 26-21 after the first quarter, but matters only got worse from there. By the time Raptors guard Norman Powell converted a layup just before the half, Cleveland trailed 53-34. The Cavs never cut Toronto’s lead below double-digits in the second half.
Iman Shumpert led Cleveland with 11 points, while Tristan Thompson and Deron Williams chipped-in 10 points each.
Without playing a minute Wednesday night, James became the first player in NBA history to average at least 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists while shooting 54 percent or better from the field in a single season. After sitting the final two games of the season, James should be rested and ready for the postseason.
“As long as we’re healthy, I think we can win,” Lue said. “Health is the most important thing…It’s gonna be a tough road whether your first seed, second seed or third seed. The Eastern Conference has gotten better, and we understand that.
“And we have to play better; we understand that. The challenge is here, and we’re up for the challenge.”
Cavs general manager David Griffin was a little more revealing than Lue Wednesday about how his team has played this season and what he expects from them in the postseason.
“I think we’ve treated the regular season as something where we’re going to flip a switch to some degree, most of that brought on by injuries and the changing lineups and all of the things that come with that,” Griffin said. “Some of it by the fact that we tend to think we’re better than we are at times. I think you’ve seen we have the capability in the regular season to be very very good when we’re all connected and dedicated to the same thing.
“I think we’re all hopeful that the common goal of the playoffs is going to help us, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say there’s reason for concern. We had a very rocky, adverse regular season. In many ways that’s a real blessing for us because it’s how we like it. This team is much more comfortable with its back against the wall and when everybody says we can’t. I’ve said it now for three years, we’re really bad from the front. I’m really optimistic that we have the right people in the room that are going to react the way they always have to adversity, but sure, you’d love to go through the regular season 82-0 and have everybody sing your praises, and that’s certainly not what we did.”
The Cavs will meet the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, a team they’ve defeated three out of four times this season.
“I know we’re capable of winning and it’s enough talking,” Lue said. “The playoffs are here, so now we either gotta put up or shut up, and I think we’ll put up.”
POSTED 04/14/2017 23:32
Lake County Sentinel
