What Do NBA Championships Mean In The Warriors Era?
June 14, 2017The five stages of NBA Finals grief: While We’re Waiting
June 15, 2017The King is dead. Long live The King.
On Monday night the Cleveland Cavaliers’ dream of a repeat died at the hands of the nearly perfect basketball machine that is the Golden State Warriors. Despite 41 Herculean points from LeBron James, Kevin Durant and the rest of the Dubs would not be denied the club’s second championship in three seasons. The road to Larry O’Brien’s trophy figures to run through the Golden Gate Bridge for the foreseeable future so what does this new world order mean for the Cavaliers and their fans?
First, there should be no head hanging for the Wine and Gold faithful. The Cavs were severe underdogs coming into this series and in each individual game therein. Cleveland did not blow a series lead, and despite a regrettable Game 3, there are few opportunities ripe for incessant dissection or “what ifs.” This Warriors team entered the series with a combined three MVP awards, 20 total All-Star Game nods, and 15 cumulative All-NBA awards. When Durant joined them last summer the smart folks in Las Vegas actually allowed people to bet on Golden State versus the field. That means if any of the other 29 NBA teams had won those betters would have gotten paid. Vegas wins again. The Cavaliers simply faced off with arguably one of the best teams in the 70-year history of the NBA. It burns, but we must tip our hats and move on.
Second, don’t give this loss a “The.” Somewhere along the line Cleveland media and fans began fetishizing the city’s sports pain. Various “The’s” prefixed certain drives, shots, and fumbles. Some deserved the shorthand because of the violent way victory transformed to defeat before our eyes, like a quiet knife between the ribs. This series was more like hypothermia – a slow, quiet demise in which after a while we all knew what was going to happen. Sometimes a loss is just a loss even if the stage doesn’t get any bigger.
Despite a disappointing ending in The Finals’, the 2016-17 Cavaliers may go down as one of the most talented clubs in not only franchise history but also the city. James, Love, Irving, Thompson, Smith, and Frye are all under contract for 2017-18. Even without a draft pick, Cleveland remains a desirable free agent destination (who wouldn’t want to play with LeBron?) and the possible arrival of Turkish forward Cedi Osman could be worth tracking. There is every reason to believe that the Cavs can win both the Central Division and Eastern Conference again next season. Odds Shark already gives Cleveland 3-1 odds to win the title in ’18. As we close the book on the 2016-17 Cavaliers season I’ll share with you the thought that has been bouncing around my head the past twelve hours: Thank God we won it all in 2016.
6 Comments
Blow it up!
It’s time for Team Banana Boat!
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This probably sounds weird, but this one doesn’t hurt. We will always have the 2016 title and coming back from a 3-1 lead. It’s funny when people say the jokes are old. Well that will go down in the record books. The Cavs also prevented them from going undefeated which is a small victory at least.
Agreed on all points!
The Hypothermia, then?
To your last point about complaining, I think I’ve been doing the opposite (at least I like to believe I have) on social media. There was a post shared on my timeline about how sad us Cleveland fans are because we lost this year, and I think the sporting world wants us to continue to be the sad sacks we were before June of last year (or before LBJ came back – debatable). Their snark thrives on what was our sorrow. But, as you mentioned, the reality is, we have a championship! I said at the time that I didn’t care if we won another one because I got to see one in my lifetime.
The Indians “blew” a 3-1 lead, but baseball is different, and last year’s circumstances don’t play to that story line. We were one run away from a World Series and an NBA Championship in the same year. That’s not only unprecedented for us, but it is for nearly every city in the US!
I won’t even try defending the Browns.
I’m not complaining about this season at all, nor will I about the next three years the Warriors dominate the Finals.
All on vet minimum deals!