Lack of Go-To Option Sinks Cavs Again, Streak Extends to 25
February 8, 2011Jason Whitlock Nails the NFL Labor Dispute
February 8, 2011The Cleveland Cavaliers now stand alone at the bottom. Twenty-five straight losses. An all-time NBA record that they can claim as their own. We knew when LeBron James spit in the face of this franchise that things were going to be rough, but nobody anticipated this. An astounding trajectory of going from true Championship contender, if not favorite, to the most futile team to ever play basketball in the history of the NBA. All this in the span of one season.
Now that the record is theirs, where does this team go from here? For the Cavaliers and for their fans, I feel there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s to embrace it. It’s time to own up to this record, accept this losing streak for what it is, and try to move on.
This season has been one of overwhelming pressure and scrutiny for this franchise. First it was a question of how this team would play in the wake of LeBron’s defection. Then, it was how would this team play against LeBron and his new Miami Heat when they came into town on December 2nd. Most of us had hoped that once LeBron left, that would be the end of it, but things only got worse from there. The public humiliation of that game has carried over to the rest of this season and has resulted in the current 25 game losing streak. So the Cavaliers have been dealing with the pressures of extended losing streaks ever since LeBron’s return.
And make no mistake, there is real pressure when the losses begin piling up. This is a team short on talent to begin with, but when you add the overwhelming weight of trying to avoid being the team with the longest losing streak in NBA history, it’s not surprising that this team of undrafted free agents and journeymen would begin to tense up in the 4th quarters of games. The scrutiny of trying to live up to some kind of fake ideal of what LeBron left behind combined with the pressure of mounting losses has just been too much for this team to bear. And quite frankly, it’s more than any of these players deserve.
This is why it’s best for everyone to just accept this streak and move on. It’s not fun losing all these games, but it’s also not that big of a deal. I may sound like a broken record here, but this was inevitable. The Cavaliers had to get awfully bad before they could ever get better again. What difference does it make if the Cavaliers win 10 games or win 25 games? What difference does it make if they lose 25 straight games or 15? Worst is worst. There’s no varying degrees of this kind of failure. NBA record or no record, this team was going to be the worst team in the NBA this year. Why? Once Anderson Varejao and Mo Williams were lost for the toughest part of the schedule, the talent just wasn’t there to win.
Let’s look at the players who have been playing the majority of the minutes over this streak and where they came from:
- Antawn Jamison: 1st round pick, 4th overall
- Daniel Gibson: 2nd round pick, 42nd overall
- Anthony Parker: 1st round pick, 21st overall
- Christian Eyenga: 1st round pick, 30th overall
- JJ Hickson: 1st round pick, 19th overall
- Ramon Sessions: 2nd round pick, 56th overall
- Alonzo Gee: Undrafted free agent
- Manny Harris: Undrafted free agent
- Joey Graham: 1st round pick, 16th overall
- Jamario Moon: Undrafted free agent who played for 15 professional clubs (including the Harlem Globetrotters) from the time he graduated from Meridian Community College to signing in the NBA
- Samardo Samuels: Undrafted free agent
- Ryan Hollins: 2nd round pick, 50th overall
There you have it. Five first-round picks (although it’s a stretch considering Eyenga first round talent, as he was drafted there for reasons other than talent). Only one player drafted in the top 15 of the NBA Draft. Four undrafted free agents and three second-round picks.
People will rewrite history and I have no doubt that many will use this losing streak as some kind of vindication for LeBron leaving. As though this somehow proves all along that the Cavaliers were just LeBron and a bunch of horrible role players surrounding him. But this is not the same team LeBron played with. Of the players currently playing, Daniel Gibson is the only player out there who actually played more than one season with LeBron. Furthermore, this was a roster designed to compliment LeBron and his talents. So of course when you remove LeBron from the roster, the whole foundation is going to come apart.
I know that many fans had high hopes for this season yet. Many of us wanted to see the players rally around the heartbreak and disappointment of the offseason and prove a point to the world. Yet if we look at the retroactive inevitability of this losing season, we can easily see how that hope was just a mirage to help us ease the sting of LeBron leaving. The reality is that once Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Shaquille O’Neal, and Delonte West left, the core was disrupted and what was left was a run of the mill, under-manned, bad basketball team.
The Cavaliers aren’t really this bad. Does anyone believe that if Anderson Varejao and Mo Williams had both been healthy this entire time that the Cavaliers wouldn’t have found a way to win two or three games in this stretch? But again, what difference does it make? Even with three more wins the Cavaliers would still have a league low 11 wins. The Cavaliers are exactly where they need to be in order to facilitate the quickest rebuild possible.
So let the national media take their shots and let them have pity on the fans. Let the history books show that this team lost more consecutive games than anyone else. None of it matters. The Cavaliers are now in position to start making top 15 picks in consecutive drafts. They still have a quality coach who knows how to build winners. They still have stockpiled draft picks and a massive trade exception.
This losing streak isn’t the lowest of the lows. Not for me, anyway. The lowest would be if the Cavaliers miss on the next few draft picks. Anything that extends the length of this rebuilding process is far worse than any ultimately meaningless losing streak. In fact, the losing streak actually serves to speed up the rebuilding process in this case.
Nobody is saying that this losing is fun. It’s been incredibly difficult watching these young kids play their hearts out trying to snap this streak and find a role in the NBA at the same time, only to come up just short in the 4th quarter time and time again. The only point here is that the franchise need not let this streak define them. It’s a means to an end, and nothing more. With a couple successful drafts, the memories of this winter will quickly fade and the bright lights of NBA relevance will shine on the franchise once again.
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Photo Credit: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
21 Comments
Holy smokes! Anthony Parker and Joey Graham were first round draft picks?
No wonder so many NBA teams are stuck in a cycle of perpetual suck.
“to the most futile team to ever play basketball in the history of the NBA.”
That’s a little tough, Andrew. After all, they did start 7-9 before they got hit with the injury nuke. Are they bad? Absolutely. The worst ever? Not by a long shot.
I kind of made that point, Chris:
“The Cavaliers aren’t really this bad. Does anyone believe that if Anderson Varejao and Mo Williams had both been healthy this entire time that the Cavaliers wouldn’t have found a way to win two or three games in this stretch?”
But the injuries are a reality and this team owns the record for the longest losing streak in history. I just don’t think it matters whether they are worst ever or not. I just want the top draft picks.
I understand your point, completely. At times they look like the worst team I’ve ever seen with my eyes.
Anyhow, I’ll be lucky enough to be in attendance Sunday when Cleveland gets to humiliate Washington yet again by ending this losing streak.
“he was drafted there for reasons other than talent”
Hey, thanks again for that LeDanny Ferry.
Embrace lo
Embrace losing? That about says it all. If you accept the garbage you are getting then you deserve it. I leave you to wallow and self-loathe, unreal.
“I leave you to wallow and self-loathe, unreal.”
Translation: “I’ll be back tomorrow to call Dan Gilbert “Little Napolean” and point out the ways this team sucks, and tell you other “fans” how you should feel about it.”
@ #7 – Since you’ve obviously missed the point here, I’ll explain it. By embracing it and moving on, you’re actually doing the opposite of self-loathing.
If you want to be mad about it, then be mad. But this season had to happen for the Cavaliers to have a chance to build a team the right way; through drafting very high, drafting well, and developing a young nucleus on this team. Unfortunately, The only way to accomplish that is by losing.
This whole situation would be way worse right now if they were sitting 8th or 9th in the conference.
Would it be better if they lose 5, win 1, lose 5, win 1… ?
What difference does it make if the losses are consecutive?
The Cavs will win a certain number of games and lose a certain number of games. The fact that the losses are consecutive is just a fluke of probability, like flipping a coin 25 times and getting tails every time.
There – now that it’s been rationalized you can feel better.
If we’re the worst team of all time, shouldn’t we be awarded with the number one pick of all time?
I have no problem with this season, and I never even had to rationalize it. Looking at the national coverage, it seems pretty universally understood that this is expected and even a little intentional.
I am happy because out of this mess, Eyenga will emerge as a legitimate NBA player, we’ll get a few good picks, and hopefully we can even trade Mo/Tawn or even Andy for some future benefit.
This was a great article. It actually made me feel a lot better about the Cavs! I especially like the first two paragraphs after going over the roster.
every dark cloud has a silver lining……
oh balls, they suck sooo bad!!!
I cant believe anyonewould have sympathy for the players!!If they each would have played like they where there own superstar instead of feeding that ego of LeBrons all them years we would have 2 championships already!But instead when the going got tough in all those playoff games you gave it to him & WATCHED!!!Its the players faults they are this bad because they are mentally screwed up with the fact that THEY have no 1 to rely on anymore except themselves!I guess until we sign a BIG NAME & our players have a NEW leader we are going to continue to suck!!Step up to the plate MO,ANDY,GIBSON,JAMISON,MOON!!@ least Z will get his ring!!!!
Please come back LeBron.
Although I think that the Cavs brought in people to compliment Lebron’s skills, there is still no excuse for not seeing the flaws in the teams that were no. 1 in wins in the regular season for the last two years. Every team brings in players in to compliment a star or simply just to compliment the players they currently have. Teams don’t bring in players to defer to the star player. The idea is to bring in the best players to fit the system and to play well together – a la the LA Lakers. We know that the Lakers are in trouble when the “complimentary” players are deferring to Kobe. Lebron’s problem in Cleveland was that he was almost always the go to guy. Although I don’t think you can use this losing streak as vindication of Lebron’s reasons (he never said it is vindication, although he said he did not like the heavy load he had to carry in Cleveland) for leaving, it certainly shines some light on the missteps in acquiring the right players to surround him.
That’s what C-Town deserves for placing a multiple story poster
with the Airhead’s outstretched arms depicting a ‘savior.’
His act became old to all except the ‘clueless witnesses’ who
couuldn’t/or refused to acknowledge that the king is a
narcissistic cash cow with no respect for the avg fan.
No sympathy here!
UH OH….i sure hope Gilbert doesnt catch that fatal illness Dolan caught years ago……Not enough money to get, or keep good players! Especially with Gilbert haveing to spend so much on his Casinos!
Excellent points, this is what I’ve been telling people exactly. I’d like to see Ramon Sessions blossom into a legitimate every-day guard, we are seeing Hickson come into his own as a 20-10 guy, and we are getting some minutes to guys like Eyenga and Harris, who both have potential. Soon we will have a player like Kemba Walker, plus Gilbert will be in a great position to sign a quality star, and you will have some great role players to build with.
And we have Byron Scott.
It’s painful, but at this point, I’m focusing on the development of individuals. The Cavs are my team through thick and thin.
Time to move on now. This is not the lowest of the low. The lowest will be when the Cavs move from Cleveland. 5 cities that I know of want an NBA franchise. This would be a good one. Maybe Cincinnati, Nashville, Pittsburgh (my guess), San Fran or Norfolk…mmm
LISTEN, TO SAY THIS LOSING STREAK IS MEANINGLESS IS INCREDIBLE!! ask any of the players on this roster if losing doesn’t perpetuate losing. Their self confidence is gone and this may continue .. I’m a rerooted New Yorker who has tried to get behind pro teams in Cleveland it’s hard