It's not just the matchup, it's the minutes. It wasn't just the Delly cramps - Cavs were totally gone in game 4 (which I had been predicting since game 2). They couldn't run 7 guys that hard when several of them were going on pure effort and the other team could run 10 guys without a real drop-off. With Kyrie/Love/Varejao out, the Cavs just didn't have enough manpower to play as hard as they were playing.
I think the Spurs and Warriors are still the teams to beat even with Kyrie coming back. They're both beasting while playing their starters very low minutes, especially the Spurs. Meanwhile Lebron is out there playing 40+ minutes most games after he said he wanted to go on the Spurs minutes plan. That shyt will catch up to him big time come playoffs, unless he actually starts playing sub 30 minutes consistently now that Kyrie's back.
It's not just Kyrie - Shump is going to help Lebron reduce his minutes some too. They're stupid if they keep playing him this much.
If the Cavs lose to GS on Christmas with a full, healthy roster, LeBron might commit that.
I'm sure you care more about that game than he does. Some players (including Lebron) definitely get up for certain regular-season games, but at the same time they know how meaningless it is. Especially with several guys just rejoining the team, Lebron isn't going to think anything about the game except, "shyt, sucks to lose" and then go onto the next one. Getting reading for May and June is what counts.
