i think that where the disconnect lies is that a lot of people are underestimating exactly how bad they were playing immediately pre-trade. they had the 3rd best record in the conference, sure, but they were legitimately playing like one of the worst teams in the league.

so to me, saying they improved (which they have, on paper, totally agree there) doesn't mean they've jumped from 3rd to 1st and leapfrogged boston and toronto, ie the pundits' consensus take. what it means imo is that they improved from bottom 5ish to... something we can't really assess properly yet. we're only going to know once we see them run for a minute.



>>tnt, fox and espn pundits had all already declared them the
>>east favorites.
>>
>>i was like damn, y'all don't want to maybe watch them play a
>>few games first?
>
>I do think it was clear immediately that this would be a
>better Cavs team - but I don't think anyone imagined them to
>play *this* well so fast. Still, it's way too early to make
>any proclamations other than this: It's a much better team
>than the previous one.
>
>-->