2 Things That Need To Happen For The Cavs To Win The East
The Cleveland Cavaliers have arguably been the best team in the NBA since LeBron James returned from an 8-game injury absence. The Cavs are 14-2 in that span, with 10 of those 14 wins coming by 10 or more points.
While Cleveland's rise through the standings has been quick, they're still 10 games behind the first-place Atlanta Hawks, and they have a way to go before they're considered bona fide contenders. Here are two things that need to happen before the Cavs can win the East:
Kevin Love needs to find some consistency
Love was meant to be one of the new 'Big 3' with James and Kyrie Irving, but even in Cleveland's recent run, he's failed to produce on a nightly basis. The Cavs need Love to score, haul in rebounds, and be more efficient on offense. Sometimes he does that exceptionally well - he was stellar in recent wins over the Lakers, Kings and Thunder - but he still goes missing or takes too many outside shots far too often. When his outside shot isn't falling, he needs to learn to start taking his game inside - a .429 shooting percentage is just unacceptable for a player with his size and skill around the basket.
The Cavs need to end up with the #2 seed...at the very least
As good as the Cavs have been lately, they can't ignore that just 4 of those 14 wins happened on the road. Cleveland still needs to prove they can win away from home, and they really, really don't want to end up in an Eastern Conference Semifinal series against Toronto (or Chicago, depending on how things shake out) without home-court advantage. By grabbing the #2 seed, they can ensure that they'll have that advantage until at least the Eastern Conference Finals.
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