Cavaliers to Punt on One Seed
On Sunday, LeBron James and company had one of the most devastating losses of the NBA season. In a game in which they saw their lead balloon to 26 in the fourth quarter, they collapsed, squandering their lead and eventually falling to the Hawks in overtime. Now, with two games remaining, the Cavaliers are tied atop the Eastern Conference with the Celtics. The Celtics remaining schedule: vs. Nets, vs. Bucks. The Cavaliers remaining schedule: at Miami, vs. Toronto. Certainly, given their schedules, it appears that the Celtics have the upper-hand at the moment, but by no means is it a guarantee that the Celtics finish above the Cavaliers in the standings.
With this being said, it appears Tyronn Lue has finally decided that his players, primarily his stars, need their rest. Do I agree with Lue that the number one seed isn't all that important for a Cavaliers teams that has run through the East the past two seasons on their way to back-to-back Finals appearances? And that K-Love, Kyrie, and LeBron need rest? Yes, I do. But context, here, is key.
After gorging LeBron and forcing him to play nearly 38 minutes per game in attempt to secure the East's top seed, it makes no sense to pump the brakes now. Pushing him for eighty games, only to pull-back with two remaining seems like a fool's errand. If Ty Lue and the Cavalier's truly felt that the number one seed was not that important, they shouldn't have had LeBron expending the amount of energy that he has the past few weeks. They could have instead had him playing 25 minutes a night, staying in shape, but keeping his legs fresh.
Yes, the Cavaliers demonstrated their ability to go on the road and beat the Celtics, as they did thoroughly last week, but this sudden change of heart is befuddling and quite frankly, it makes no sense.
