|
By Sara Normand
On February 28, 2005, an Associated Press story on ESPN's website said the following: “Barring a complete collapse, Cleveland is on track to qualify for the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1998.” How ironic, yet tragic. Nearly two months later, a complete collapse is just what the Cavaliers have experienced…
Let’s go back to Feb. 28. The Cavs lost to the Spurs by only two, but they were still seven games over .500, at 31-24. Twenty-five games later, they’re struggling for one win with a humble 40-40 record, they’re in fourth place in the Central, and they’re rubbing their rabbit’s feet for good luck. They better rub really hard if they want to make it.
But what in the world happened to this team within that short period of time? Well, a lot of things went wrong.
March 1, 2005—Gordon Gund passed ownership of the Cavs over to 42-year-old Dan Gilbert. Grammy-winning recording artist Usher also acquired a minority share of the team. Some say that you shouldn’t mess with a good thing. Others say that Gilbert just doesn’t know what he’s doing.
For example, Gilbert’s first executive move was to fire head coach Paul Silas after he spent only a year and a half with Cleveland. In his place came Brendan Malone, who was in his first year as an assistant coach with the Cavs. These moves seemed premature to not only Cleveland fans, but also for their own star LeBron James. Soon after, rumors started to fly about James being unhappy with the new coach and wanting out of Cleveland before his contract expired. That kind of off the court distraction is never helpful for a team’s psyche.
And it apparently wasn’t, as the Cavs dropped their last seven of ten games, including three straight. They’re in danger of finishing 9th in the Eastern Conference behind Philadelphia and New Jersey. Hey, Dan Gilbert, in case you didn’t know, only eight teams make it to the playoffs.
Thursday, April 14—Cleveland was hosting one of the worst road teams in the league—the New York Knicks. However, despite a career-high 18 rebounds for James, the Knicks came out on top 95-89. New York didn’t even have guard Stephon Marbury the entire fourth quarter, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to the lineup this game after missing time with a dislocated right finger. The Cavs seemed to have the advantage, but they didn’t make good use of it.
Friday, April 15—Cleveland traveled to Washington to take on the hot Wizards. James scored 38 points and played the entire game! But the rest of the Cavs starters scored a combined 36 points, and they lost (again), 119-111.
Where would this team be without the King? In the last six games including this one, James had been on the court for all but nine minutes. This 20-year-old has carried his team the entire season, and he’s one of the league leaders in minutes played! While it’s possible for this scenario to work for a while, there’s no reason to expect James to carry the weight the entire season and the Cavs still be consistent. There is no flaw in his game, however. It’s his teammates that are not stepping it up and doing their job. James is the reason this team still has a chance, but right now, James is performing a monologue on the court that was written for five actors.
Sunday, April 17—What an opportunity for Cleveland to state its case, facing last year’s champion Pistons in Motown. What a disappointment it was to blow a 12-point halftime lead and end up losing 90-87. Congratulations, however, to the Cavs for getting beat in the paint. Congratulations to Drew Gooden for playing only 14 minutes because of a sore hip and not making a basket. Congratulations to Jeff McInnis for fouling out with only five points. And Congratulations to the Cavs for losing again after a valiant effort by James, who put up 37 points, 11 boards, and six assists before ripping off his jersey in frustration after the game. Such is life for the Cavaliers this season, but not for the King, who is set to join Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, and John Havlicek as the fifth player in NBA history to average 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. At least James has that to look forward to because his team is running out of time to prove itself. With two games left in the regular season, even if the Cavs win both, they still need the Nets to lose one of their last two games because the Nets hold the tiebreaker over the Cavs. Philadelphia did its job and clinched its playoff spot on Monday, which leaves the Cavs and Nets scrapping for that one, last, final spot. Let the scrapping begin on Tuesday, when Cleveland hosts the Atlantic Division champion Celtics, and New Jersey takes on Washington. Then in their final regular season game, Cleveland will take to the road against Toronto, and the Nets head to Boston.
So what do the Cavs have to do to get in? Well they better solve their defensive problems and learn to defend the pick and roll. They better start making shots in the clutch too, holding leads and playing to win. And frankly, they better just win. If this isn’t the time to play with a sense of urgency, I don’t know what is. Yet it would be good for the NBA if James and his team reach the playoffs. For the guy that is supposed to be the next Michael Jordan, he would certainly increase TV ratings if the Cavs could pull it off. They’re definitely underdogs like the 2004 Boston Red Sox, but this isn’t baseball. Well hey, enough of the bashing. Think about this, Cleveland fans. Although the Cavaliers won only 12 times on the road, the Atlanta Hawks won only 13 times the entire season! They’re 44 games back in the Southeast Division! Doesn’t that make you feel better? No? It doesn’t? Too bad then. To qualify as a Cleveland sports fan, one has to always look on the bright side of things. The clock might be ticking for the Cavs, but at least there is a clock, right?
|
|
|
1 comment - join this discussion...
|
|
|
|
|
|
