LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots over Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on December 25, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo : Getty Images/Jason Miller)
The Cleveland Cavaliers have enjoyed a decent start to their latest NBA campaign, but that does not mean that it did not come with any flaws. The Cavs recently lost to arguably smaller teams in the form of the Sacramento Kings as well as the Dallas Mavericks, while also succumbing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their latest game. However, sports analyst and media personality Colin Cowherd still thinks they can come out on top.
With their latest, the Cavaliers have actually amassed a record of 3 wins and 7 losses on the second night of each time they had to face back to back opposition this year, according to Fox Sports. While this record has not necessarily set the world alight nor is it good by any title contention standard, it still does not spell the end of the world for last season's NBA champions.
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and the rest of the Cleveland team are still sitting at the top of the Eastern conference despite this recent run. Aside from that, both James and Irving were recently selected to be starters for this season's All Star game.
There are those who argue that these performances were actually part of the Cavaliers' plans to save their energy while qualifying for the post season. These claims suggest that they instead plan to make a deep run in the playoffs in order to win consecutive championships. "What's happening right now is just an effort thing [and] it'll be fine in June," said Cowherd in a recent episode of his show "The Herd."
Cowherd also pointed out that the Cavaliers are currently 0-7 on the second night of back-to-back games when they are playing away from home. Therefore, it could also be argued that they are playing better in Cleveland to please their home supporters, but are still saving energy for a deep championship run.
The Cavaliers will face the Denver Nuggets in their next game. The Nuggets are currently sitting in the eighth spot in the West following a closely contested matchup against the New York Knicks last Feb. 10.
Watch the highlights of the game between the Cavaliers and the Thunder below:
