In case you have been living in a cave or something, FYI, the Cavs beat the Lakers last night in Cleveland 93-87. The Cavs also beat the Lakers on Christmas in L.A. So now the Cavs are a half game behind the Lakers for the best record in the NBA, which begs the question: are the Cavs now the favorites to win the NBA Championship? Well, not necessarily. I think the Cavs just match up well with the Lakers. The Lakers have proven in the past that they can get pushed around by more physical teams, like the Celtics in the 2008 Finals. The Lakers were beaten in the more physical aspects of the game last night, getting out rebounded by 5 in a game with a combined 43 fouls. That’s how the Cavs play because they are built that way: Lebron is a drive right past you and draw the foul kind of player, and this team is designed to exploit those talents. The Lakers have a lot of talent on the roster, but when you get pushed around a lot its hard to be precise and consistently make the big shot.
It’s hard to discount the Lakers as the favorite given that this same team (plus Artest minus Ariza) won the championship last year. But if the Cavs make it to the Finals, the Lakers might be in trouble. The Cavs just haven’t proven they can get it done and bring an NBA title home yet. We’ll see how the season evolves, but I’m not calling anyone but the Lakers the favorite yet.
