NBA / Aug 24, 2010 / 12:00 pm
Who’s Worse: Toronto Raptors or Cleveland Cavaliers?
By Austin Burton
One of the more feeble darts thrown from Cleveland Cavaliers fans to LeBron James this summer is something along the lines of, “We made you.”
Right. Except now that LeBron is gone, the team that won 60-plus games in each of the past two seasons, that went to the ‘07 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, that during the LeBron era put together its first five-year string of consecutive postseason appearances since its ‘92-96 run, went from a legit title contender to arguably the worst team in the League the moment LeBron said he was moving to Miami. So who made who again?
Or maybe the Cavs won’t be the worst. The Toronto Raptors were also decimated by one player’s decision to join the powerhouse in Miami, as Chris Bosh’s departure turned the Raptors — already a Lottery team in 2010 — into a certain cellar-dweller for next season.
So out of Cleveland and Toronto, which team is better as they approach respective rebuilding phases? Or more appropriately, which team is worse?
Who’s Worse: Toronto Raptors or Cleveland Cavaliers?
By Austin Burton
One of the more feeble darts thrown from Cleveland Cavaliers fans to LeBron James this summer is something along the lines of, “We made you.”
Right. Except now that LeBron is gone, the team that won 60-plus games in each of the past two seasons, that went to the ‘07 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, that during the LeBron era put together its first five-year string of consecutive postseason appearances since its ‘92-96 run, went from a legit title contender to arguably the worst team in the League the moment LeBron said he was moving to Miami. So who made who again?
Or maybe the Cavs won’t be the worst. The Toronto Raptors were also decimated by one player’s decision to join the powerhouse in Miami, as Chris Bosh’s departure turned the Raptors — already a Lottery team in 2010 — into a certain cellar-dweller for next season.
So out of Cleveland and Toronto, which team is better as they approach respective rebuilding phases? Or more appropriately, which team is worse?
So who will be worse this season? While the Cavs have more experience and battle-tested vets, the Raptors have a more youthful We-don’t-know-any-better mentality and fresh legs. And although the Cavs have farther to fall from their perch as the top seed in the East, the Raptors have at least some experience playing without Bosh due to his more common injuries. The Raps have shown to be OK sometimes without Bosh; when the Cavs didn’t have LeBron, they were always bad. Toronto added some decent talent this summer to compensate for losing their superstar; Cleveland’s top addition was Ramon Sessions. I also get the feeling that this is a throwaway season in Cleveland, and they’re mainly hoping to land another superstar in the 2011 Lottery.
So I’d go with Cleveland as the worse of the two for now. Fire up League Pass…
So I’d go with Cleveland as the worse of the two for now. Fire up League Pass…
http://dimemag.com/2010/08/whos-wors...and-cavaliers/
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