INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- At Cleveland Cavaliers media day on Monday, head coach Tyronn Lue was asked if his team is still the one to beat in the Eastern Conference.
"We haven't lost yet, have we?" Lue responded rhetorically. "We'll see. There's a lot of expectations."
On Thursday, Cavs center Tristan Thompson took his assessment of Cleveland's standing in the East a step further.
“We’re still 4-time Eastern Conference champions, so until you take us down from that, teams ain’t got much to say," Thompson said following practice. "Boston, [Philadelphia], they ain’t got much to say. Boston had homecourt [against the Cavs in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals] Game 7 and lost. Philly, you guys almost got swept. Toronto -- we know that story."
Technically, Thompson is telling the truth.
Over the course of the past four years, the Cavs have in fact been the only team to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. En route to doing so, Cleveland beat Boston three times -- including each the past two Eastern Conference Finals -- and Toronto three times, including two sweeps.
The Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, lost to the Celtics in five games during this past season's Eastern Conference Semifinals.
There is, however, small caveat that accompanied the Cavs' recent success. In each of the past four seasons, Cleveland has been led by LeBron James, who is still widely considered the best player on the planet. James, of course, left the Cavs this past summer to sign a four-year free agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
As a result, Cleveland has largely become an afterthought entering the 2018-19 NBA season. According to VegasInsider.com, the Cavs have 100/1 odds of winning the Eastern Conference -- the second-lowest in the league -- while the Celtics (10/11), 76ers (7/2) and Raptors (4/1) currently lay claim to the top three spots on the betting chart.
Only don't tell that to Thompson, who insisted the Cavs developed more than enough "winning muscle memory" over the last four seasons."
"Enough winning muscle memory? Right there," Thompson said, pointing to the four straight Eastern Conference championship banners hanging in the Cavs' practice facility." One, two, three four."
Oddsmakers -- not to mention members of the Celtics and Sixers, as well as all of social media -- disagree.
Thompson, it's clear, doesn't care.
