2015-16 Playoff Run
The 2015-16 Playoff run was a memorable one. With the Cavaliers going up against Detroit (44-38), Hawks (48-34), and the Raptors (56-26).
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons played fairly well for an 8th seed team. They had 5 guys average more than 14 points with Morris leading the way with 17.8 points per game. The Pistons did a great job swinging the ball to the open man—reminiscent of Stan Van Gundy’s offense in Orlando—connecting on 47.8% of their shots and 37.8 of their 3 point shots.
Sir Charles In Charge
Even though Pistons played a great 4 games, Kyrie and LeBron were too much for them, who lost the series in 6 games.
Eastern Conference Semifinals: Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks also were no match for the Cavaliers, who blitzed them with 77 3’s (19.9 3 point makes per game). The Hawks had no answer for the Cavaliers 3 point shooting, who as a team shot 46% from the field and 50% from 3. Even though the Hawks looked good on paper, Budenholzer had yet to create an effective game plan to run the Cavs off the 3 point line.
Kyrie, LeBron and Kevin Love were all unstoppable against the Hawks and easily handled them in 4 games.
Eastern Conference Finals Toronto Raptors
Coming into the Eastern Conference Finals, it was pretty obvious the
Cavaliers were going to win. The Raptors had a great year, winning 56 games. They were holding their opponents to 98.2 points per game which was 3rd best in the league and had a defensive rating of 105.2—good for 11th in the league. Their offense was also lethal, with an offensive rating of 110—good for 5th in the league.
A lot of people also forget that the Raptors even tied the series at one point, at 2 games apiece, and many actually thought that the series could go 7 games. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan both played extremely well, combining for 43.2 points, 7.7 rebound, and 7.7 assists on 48.7%, but the Cavaliers big 3 plus J.R. were just too much for the Raptors who lost 4-2.
2016-17 Playoff Run
I can’t even lie, the East was pretty awful this year, aside from Boston, there wasn’t one team that could actually put up a fight against the Cavaliers. And with Isiah Thomas going down with a hip injury, it was clear the Cavaliers were going to make it to the NBA Finals.
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Conclusion
It’s easy to just dismiss LeBron’s runs to the NBA Finals as a “cakewalk,” or that he “stacked his team in the weak East.” One thing that’s for certain is the fact that he’s played many great defensive and offensive teams throughout the playoffs and has went toe to toe with multiple legends and “Big 3’s,” even before he formed his very own.
Hopefully, this article will serve as a guide to the haters and naysayers who try to diminish a feat achieved by no one in the modern day NBA.