Video: Johnny Manziel says “Johnny Football probably took over me”
June 17, 2015Cavs-Warriors most watched Finals since 1998
June 18, 2015
Hey there, Blawg Pound. It’s Thursday, and I’m on vacation. It’s not your typical vacation as I’m not really going anywhere nor doing anything too elaborate. Instead, I requested this week off several months ago with the hopes that the Cavaliers would be in the NBA Finals and the week would be filled with games and then unprecedented celebration.
Well, I got half of that equation right. The Cavaliers came up two games short, and it hurts right now. A lot. Much like the Cavaliers, the whole experience and coming up just short has left me nothing short of exhausted, albeit in a much different way than the best athletes in the world. It’s a mental exhaustion, born out of caring so much about this team and living and dying with every possession in the season. It comes from spending the last two months thinking about hoops every single day and pretty much either watching a game or re-watching and writing about a game. This has been my first extended postseason coverage for WFNY, and it has been amazingly rewarding along with emotionally draining.
I don’t have any profound words on how to get over this one. The truth is we may never get over it. Ask the Indians or Cavaliers teams of the past. There’s never a guarantee of getting back. It is the hardest thing in the sporting world to win a championship. You have to assemble a team, coaching staff, and front office that all pull in the same direction, you have to have immense talent, and you have to get Lady Luck on your side. The Cavaliers failed to complete the objective almost entirely because of the last one of those.
But, I will say this. Think back to Game 4 in Chicago. The Cavaliers had just avoided a David Blatt timeout call that would’ve almost directly led to the end of their season with a technical foul. LeBron James, struggling mightily with his outside shot, takes a left corner fadeaway against one of the best defenders in the league in Jimmy Butler with the game tied and the clock expiring. If that shot doesn’t go in, the Bulls have the momentum in OT after forcing the Cavs to choke away a five-point lead with 41 seconds remaining. Down 2-1 in the series, that could have been it right then and there. The Bulls and Hawks may have been in the Eastern Conference Finals, and one of them would have been swallowed whole by the Warriors.
Now, think about all of the good times and great moments we would have collectively missed had that been the case. Knocking out the Bulls by winning three straight, sweeping the Hawks, and winning two Finals games along with the second Eastern Conference Championship in franchise history would not have happened. Matthew Dellavedova doesn’t become a cult hero. Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov don’t shine as the two best big men in the NBA Finals. LeBron James doesn’t give us a near-40 point triple-double every game of The Finals. I don’t get to attend my first NBA Finals game (Game 4, unfortunately) or get to drink in the city following a win at the Cavalier Watch Party (Game 2, thankfully).
Columbus isn’t Cleveland, but our neighbors to the south faced unbelievable adversity and captured it all in the face of overwhelming odds. The logical side of my brain told me the Cavaliers only had a puncher’s chance, but another part of me felt like something was in the water this year and they might just be able to defy reason with sheer will. They nearly did.
Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we care so much? Why do we allow ourselves to invest the entirety of our emotional coffers into something with such long odds of occurring? Because it is equal parts journey and destination that validates the investment. Twelve months ago, I was sitting on a Barrio barstool with Ben Cox hoping the Cavaliers would jump up into the top three of the NBA Draft Lottery from the ninth-best odds. This year, I was watching the Cavaliers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. There’s an unbelievable story in between those moments, and it isn’t written in invisible ink just because the Cavs didn’t get to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. David Blatt (who I hope gets to coach this team next year) is right. Just because it wasn’t a happy ending doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good story.
So, I and all of you will do the only thing we know how: put one foot in front of the other in the belief that each step brings us closer to ending this drought. The Draft is Thursday. I’ll be mega-cramming for the draft like never before. The Cavaliers will be pouring over options to improve the roster. Scott, Kyle, Will, Andrew, I, and the many others who have contributed to the Cavs coverage this year will be at the ready to do it all again.
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My first objective in this Cavalier offseason is going to be to get reacquainted with the Tribe. I haven’t been to a game yet this season, and while I’m “aware” of the events of each night’s game, my actual inning-watching is at the lowest it has been in years. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, it’s not even from any animosity or apathy for the team. Last night wasn’t a great start with the 17-0 loss that finished with Ryan Raburn and David Murphy on the mound. However, Francisco Lindor and Gio Urshela have strengthened the left-side-of-the-infield defense, and neither looks overmatched at the plate. That’s something.
Craig Gifford at Did The Tribe Win Last Night talks about Lindor and his readiness.
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- I’m a sucker for listening to hip hop to get pumped up before Cavs games, and Kyle sent along this Genius article breaking down hip hop lyrics for LeBron James and Steph Curry.
- Urban Meyer is never short on motivational material, and Eleven Warriors has a clip from one of his speeches at a South Florida satellite camp being put on by the Buckeyes.
- Justin Rowan from our friends at Fear the Sword had his own reflections on the Cavaliers in addition to the many reflections already shared on these pages.
- Look away. The Los Angeles Clippers went into Microsoft Paint and came out with the most horrifying and grotesque logo and uniforms this side of your neighborhood rec league!!!!
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That’s all I have for you guys today. I’m going to take some time on this stay-cation to watch the Sugar Bowl and National Championship Games from January. And, as much as I pulsate scarlet and gray, I’m going to imagine how unbelievably eclipsing a Cleveland celebration is going to be.
19 Comments
17-0?
Did the Browns play yesterday?
That was a very fun NBA season. It’s over now, and soon the cycle will begin anew. The NBA Draft is on June 25 (so, 1 week away!) and even though the Cavs won’t be taking home a high profile name like Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, or D’Angelo Russell, I’m starting to get interested in who would be available at their #24 pick. This looks like a pretty deep draft and there are some interesting guys projected to be available that late:
SF Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – I’ve seen a lot of mock drafts with him going to the Cavs. I ranted at Kirk on Twitter last night about that… I am just not a fan. He has the athleticism and tools to be a great defender in the NBA, but I am really sour on his offensive game. He is an abysmal shooter at this point and I don’t think he would get enough minutes for the Cavs to improve his shooting over several years. I think he’d be a guy who the opposing team could simply ignore on offense.
PF Montrezl Harrell – I think his skill set is pretty similar to Tristan Thompson, although potentially better on the offensive end of the floor. He’s a high-motor, slightly undersized PF who rebounds and plays defense. He doesn’t need to take the time to collect himself before going up that Tristan needs. Supposedly doesn’t have the high level of work ethic that Tristan has though. If Love returns, he’d be stuck behind quite a few dudes for playing time.
SF Justin Anderson – I like Justin Anderson quite a bit. His counting stats are lower than what they could have been if he didn’t play in one of the slowest offenses in college basketball. UVA loves to grind a game to a halt and limit possessions… that’s Tony Bennett’s bread and butter. Anderson has the athleticism and arm length to be a very effective NBA defender, and he’s a solid offensive player with a jump shot that has become lethal.
PGs Jerian Grant and Delon Wright – I like either of these guys a lot too. Great size for PG. Good distributors and defenders. Neither is great at shooting, but they have potential to improve. Cavs desperately need another ball handler since Irving misses 10-20 games per season with injury.
SG R.J. Hunter – Fun story from the NCAA tournament and a solid offensive player. Can get hot in a hurry. I don’t know if he has ability to be a good defender… strikes me more as a career 6th man in the Jamal Crawford mold. Not a bad option if J.R. Smith doesn’t re-sign with the Cavs.
Bevy of Euro Centers – There are a bunch of 7-foot centers who figure to be taken late in the first round or early in the 2nd round. I have no idea about any of them, but the Cavs probably do.
I like Harrell.
LBJ will fix that work ethic.
I’m getting more and more into Delon Wright, myself. I think he’s one of those players who could potentially jump up into the top 10 and shock some people. He played for Utah in an excellent PAC-12 conference last year and got to the free throw line 5 times per game, converting close to 84%. His shooting numbers are a little better than I originally thought and he can be a real asset on defense. I don’t know if he would ever be a great 3-point shooter, but I think he could be someone who opposing defenses have to respect out there.
Kirk don’t listen to Michael Bode’s Shawn Marcum propaganda I knew I shouldn’t have let him try to convince me on Marcum and I was right, again!
Might as well have I think Manziel pitched!
I also like Rozier as a backup PG but I’m curious to see what the Cavs do because the draft is their cheapest avenue to help the team. And there are guys out there who could help.
I’ve heard RH Jefferson mentioned a lot. I didn’t see much of his play. I also heard Anderson and RJ Hunters named mentioned.
The Cavs could use size as well as both offense and defense. Personally I think they need someone who can create their own shot who has a nice intermediate game. Cavs have guys who can play defense with Moz, TT and Shump especially they need guys who can bring offense. That’s what killed this team and put such a load on LBJ IMO.
That’s a really good point. From that perspective, I think R.J. Hunter would be a very interesting option. I forgot about Rozier, but I’m personally pretty low on him. He struck me as more of a high-volume guy in college who wouldn’t be effective for a team like the Cavs who don’t have many minutes to throw his way. He’s scrappy given his small size, but I think ultimately he’s a guy who you would have to hide on defense against the best teams.
I see the Cavs going with a center from Europe. Mozgov is going to command a ton of money after next season, and I don’t see him getting it from the Cavs with all their other big money commitments.
With KI there could be plenty of minutes that’s the problem. Whoever the backup PG is they have to be more then one dimensional unless they can flat out score the ball. I didn’t see a lot of college basketball until the tournament but is Rozier a shooter or does he get to the basket? I would prefer a guy who could do both, obviously. I’d settle for a guy who could create for others have a mid-range game and an occasional three. I don’t want another long range bomber tho.
After the upcoming season teams will have money out the yin-yang but Mozgov is here next season that’s all I care about right now.
Rozier is more of a guy who tries to get to the basket, and at 6’0″ that’s going to be even harder in the NBA. He shot pretty poorly from the outside last year. A guy who I just looked at who I like better is Olivier Hanlan from Boston College. He was stuck on a bad team, so nobody saw him in the NCAA tournament, but he can really score inside and outside. Good size at 6’4″ as well. Dropped 39 points on Pitt, 30 on UNC, 28 on Notre Dame, 24 on NC State, 22 on Duke, etc… seemed to play his best against the best teams.
Definitely a real possibility. I would not be the least bit surprised, particularly since Haywood is now off the roster (and unplayable), and Kendrick Perkins also proved to be unplayable. Varejao will be back, but he can only stay healthy for so long.
I’m starting to do some research, and now I’m also leaning toward Rozier.
Hmmmm ok that’s what I was afraid of well it will be interesting to see what happens. I also have heard that the Cavs might look to package Haywood’s expiring contract with their draft pick for either a current NBA player or to possibly move up in the draft.
Yeah that’s definitely a possibility as well. I think we’re going to be hearing a LOT of rumors specific to the Cavs next week as the draft approaches. The NBA season is over, but this is the busiest time of the year for David Griffin.
I agree this is when the GM makes his impact. I’ve loved everything Griffin has done so far and I have to believe he was thinking forward when he made the moves he did. The great thing is with the Cavs playing until the second week of June we have no time off before the draft and then July 1.
The Cavs’ run has impacted me in one weird way: just not nearly ready to be interested in the Browns. Can’t care about whether a journeyman QB can maybe be competent, whether a DB will get his contract, can’t care about whether they might somehow win – woohoo! – 7 out of 16 games. It’s kind of like walking back into the dark sauerkraut factory after you spent 6 months in the sweet fresh air. You can forget how bad it is there until you’ve been somewhere nice.
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