Charles Oakley Says Cavaliers Are 'Playing JV Teams Right Now' in Playoffs
The Cleveland Cavaliers' dominant 10-0 start this postseason is not impressing former NBA enforcer Charles Oakley.
Oakley said on SiriusXM NBA Radio the Cavaliers are cruising against soft competition:
The Cleveland native, who was drafted by the team in 1985 before his draft rights were traded to the Chicago Bulls, knows something about tough roads to the Finals.
Oakley played with Michael Jordan for the first three years of his career and then with Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks from 1988 to 1998. He had to deal with Larry Bird's Boston Celtics and later Jordan's Bulls to make it out of the Eastern Conference.
Calling Atlanta, Detroit and Toronto "JV teams" is a little harsh. Each has at least one All-Star on its roster, but Oakley is right to acknowledge that Cleveland's path to the NBA Finals is rather easy.
The Western Conference features the Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. No Cavs opponent in the East comes close to the talent on any of those three teams.
That is evident when looking at the head-to-head records of the top three seeds from each conference. The Spurs, Thunder and Warriors were a combined 69-21 against the East. Cleveland, Miami and Toronto finished 56-34 against the West.
Cleveland is proving its worth with strong play. However, we won't know how good the Cavaliers are until—assuming they finish off the Raptors—they take on the Warriors or Thunder for the NBA title.
