The Cleveland Cavaliers' outlook took a major hit this summer with LeBron James' departure from the franchise. That didn't stop Tristan Thompson from making some incredibly bold claims about his team's current place among the Eastern Conference contenders:
Tristan Thompson: “We’re still 4-time Eastern Conference champions, so until you take us down from that, teams ain’t got much to say. Boston, Philly, they ain’t got much to say. Boston had homecourt Game 7 and lost. Philly, you guys almost got swept. Toronto - we know that story” pic.twitter.com/gnGqd4mGeM
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) September 27, 2018
Naturally, players from the disparaged parties, including the Philadelphia 76ers' young star frontcourt duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, took umbrage with Thompson's claim, registering their amusement in the comment section of a House of Highlights Instagram post:
Boston Celtics forward Marcus Morris also chimed in on Twitter:
😂😂😂😂😂 @RealTristan13 Cut it out. Get that vacation ready early this year fam! Ain’t shit going through the Cavs this year! #facts
— Marcus Morris (@MookMorris2) September 27, 2018
The Sixers will have their chance to knock the Cavaliers down a peg in their first regular-season meeting in Philadelphia on Nov. 23. A week later, Thompson and Co. will head to Boston for the first meeting between the Cavaliers and Celtics since the Eastern Conference finals, which Cleveland won in seven games.
