emphasis on *team*. It was the height of the
Stan Van Gundy system, prime Dwight Howard era.

people forget how much Dwight shit on Cleveland in that
series. Dude had like 42/14/4 in the closeout game.
Turk and Rashard were both still playing at a very high-
level...*both* of them averaged around 18 that series.
Cleveland had no defensive answer for both of them, as so
much attention was drawn to Dwight, who was grandiose in the paint.

Pietrus was also an absolute killer in that series...always
hit big shots and averaged like 14/15 coming off the bench.

Alston even played big and more/less neutralized the tepid
Mo' Williams.

Lebron went hero-ball mode to keep them in that series. Had like
three +40 point games in that series just to keep them somewhat
competitive. Finished that series with 38.5/8/8 while getting little
help from an inferior team.

Orlando was the better team by the naked eye test alone, but the
analytics demonstrate that point with real clarity.

Those Cleveland teams just weren't elite at the end of the day.
Everyone can pretty much recognize that.



-->