Once again, though, he entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. Similarly, it was a non-issue again. The Cavaliers swept the Celtics in the first round, easily elimiminated the Bulls (4-2) and brought out the brooms again against the Atlanta Ha

Developing younger players like the newcomer Payne, along with some rookies and second-year players, has cut into the playing time of veterans like Wade and Rondo. And you can make the clear argument that the focus on giving the youngsters playing time has resulted in on-court struggles and los

"He's a big part to what they do," Butler explained . "We all know that. I think they know that. But you can't take him out the game and think that you can win. Because they got a lot of other really good players, role players that make shots, create for others. They guard, they rebound, pass the ball. They got a really good team; they're really good at what they

Listed at 6’7", Butler is a full 10 inches taller than Thomas, but has the physical gifts that it takes to stick with him for a long period of the game. Despite the major height difference, Butler respects Thomas’ versatile g

In the four contests against the Bulls this year, Thomas put up 24.8 points and 5.8 assists per game. However, he shot the ball very well against Chicago, going 53.8 percent from the field along with 48.4 percent from three-point ra

The 5’9" Thomas is in the midst of a spectacular, career-best campaign, averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists. If you’ve watched the Celtics play this year, you know that their entire offense runs through him and he’s what makes them tick. Further, he's been the best fourth quarter scorer in the league, providing important points down the stretch of most ga

Oden’s story is a sad one as the hyped number one overall pick from Ohio State was looking to prove the doubters wrong in Miami. Pat Riley took him on as a project and things looked like they might work

It didn't take long for LeBron to make his first Nba Beginner Guide|Https://Nbaactioninsight.Com/ Finals appearance, accomplishing the feat in just his fourth season since jumping to the league straight out of high school. The Cavaliers did it as the No. 2 s

Coached by Erik Spoelstra, who is still in charge of the Heat, the 2011-12 squad delivered the first of the back-to-back titles of the Big Three era. Here's where the starting five and key contributors from that year's team are

Of Sunday’s loss, he explained , "We're still experimenting. Like I said the other day, we're going to take some lumps; some of them are going to be big lumps. Some of them are going to be small lumps. Tonight was a big o

While taking Thomas out of the game with his swarming defense would be wonderful for the Bulls, Butler knows that the Celtics still would have other pieces on their roster that his teammates would need to be ready

After spending last season with the Shandong Golden Stars in China, Cole signed a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder in March. He is now averaging 2.3 points and 1.1 assists in limited action as the team's third-string point gu

Enter Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers fell victim to the Splash Bros, the amazing breakout season from Draymond Green, and the veteran Swiss army knife that is Andre Iguodala in a 4-2 NBA Final ser

Now back with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James is back to his title-winning ways. He led the Cavs to their first-ever title last year and is gearing up to make a run at his seventh-straight NBA Finals this y

"A lot of people have a lot of things they can say about Fred as a coach, but I will defend him on this: This is a tough situation he's put in right now," Wade noted . "That's why sometimes I'm glad I'm on this side of the coin. I'm glad I got a jersey on; I don't have to make certain decisions, because it is tough. But no one is really going to care too much. Fred gets a nice paycheck, I get a nice paycheck, Jimmy gets a nice paycheck, blah, blah, blah -- so people don't care when you get paid good. So we all have to figure it out together. We're all in this togeth

Despite a 12-70 season for the New Jersey Nets, there was reason to believe good things were on the way. Prokhorov wanted stars to help facilitate a move to Brooklyn that was still two years away, and despite the lottery balls not falling in their favor to land John Wall, the Nets still had the third pick in the dr

While he was never that in Cleveland, he was serviceable but his efficiency never reached those heights again. Hughes also struggled with injuries and his absence is a large part of why the Cavs got swept in the 2007 Fin

He went on , "And try to find a way that me and Jimmy can be better to help these guys. We got to go look at the film, sit down with coach ... we got to figure out a way for us to be better so we can help everybody else be bett

They went on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals and absolutely thrashed them in a 4-1 beat down. LeBron captured his first of three NBA titles, and on top of eliminating the Thunder, they effectively ended the James Harden era in Oklahoma C