Watch out, HRB's head is already severely bruised!Cavs defense hasn't gotten any better since the trade. George Hill looks the same as he did in Sacramento.
In all seriousness, HRB and others are correct in that any rotation that doesn't include IT is going to be an upgrade vs a team with IT on the floor. So in that sense, Cleveland clearly upgraded their defense. Furthermore, though its a miniscule sample size, the Cavs D-rating has, in fact, improved since the trade deadline. And as Ed notes, Philly is no slouch team. Finally, integrating their new pieces into working rotations will take more than a handful of games.
That said, yes, it was premature to call the Cavs fixed and to anoint them the top team in the East again. LeBron has to work harder on each end, and with ever increasing milage, than he has in years past because Cleveland has no clear second option. Hill can still stroke it but he isn't consistent enough to depend on night in and night out. And the rest of the guys are equally streaky. As such, I will say it - the Cavs may not make it out of the second round, let alone the ECF, depending on who they draw. They really are beatable and a team like Toronto, Milwaukee or Philly are going to put them to the test.
Unfortunately I don't see the Celtics beating them in a seven game series but that is more a function of them not having another dependable scorer as well.