AllforOne
... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2014
- Messages
- 1,851
- Reaction score
- 7,594
- Points
- 113
Is it weird that I am actually looking more forward to this Cavs season than I was to 2017-18? Is is strange that I'm more excited about a team without LeBron James than one with him?
It probably is. But let me explain.
The past couple of seasons, we pretty much knew what was going to happen. We knew that from October to mid-April, we would have a team that, in any given month, would give a total effort maybe once, completely mail it in two or three times, and then play at half-speed the remaining games. We knew that any hope of running sets, or providing effort on defense, would be completely at the whim of one LeBron Raymone James. Once they got to the playoffs (a foregone conclusion, of course), they would flip an imaginary switch, give a greater effort, burn down whatever Eastern Conference teams were in their path, and then get pasted by Golden State in June (2016 notwithstanding).
More than that, it wasn't fun basketball to watch. We knew that LeBron didn't care about the regular season, beyond the minimal baseline effort needed to get into the postseason (the NBA's official motto: "we play 82 games to see which four teams don't make the playoffs!"). The Cavs won 50 games last season, and probably should have won 42-45, based on their numbers. Potentially exciting young players like Cedi Osman had to ride the pine because of the win-right-now mentality.
And it goes without saying that every season was a never-ending soap opera. LeBron, for better or worse, thrives on attention; he's always going to be at the center of controversy. It's exhausting to be around that day after day. After eleven total years of that sideshow, and the attendant "when will he leave Cleveland?" speculation, it's kind of nice to not have it around.
It's also great to have more young talent on hand than we've seen in a while. Unlike 2010, when LeBron first let the door hit him in the ass on the way out, the Cavs' cupboard isn't bare. Collin Sexton is a player. Osman has shown flashes of promise. Larry Nance Jr. is not only a feel-good story; he's a talented big man who will hopefully take the next step forward with bigger minutes. Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, Sam Dekker, Ante Zizic, David Nwaba, Billy Preston ... they all bring some level of "let's see some more" curiosity about them, and they're all still on the upside of their careers.
Fortunately, this is not 2010 all over again, when the franchise had no choice but to start from square one. There are a lot of veterans on this team, guys who are used to winning, and will (hopefully) keep those youngsters from getting into bad habits. It starts with Kevin Love. Ideally, he'd be the second- or third-best player on the team; but now, he's the guy. He's well capable of averaging 20 and 10 a night, and he's better equipped to be the unquestioned leader than he was in Minnesota five years ago. Kyle Korver and Channing Frye are valuable guys to have around. They aren't going to win you a ton of games by themselves (besides, I would expect Korver to be dealt to a contender at midseason), but again, they are the kind of players that all of the youngsters need to be around and learn from. George Hill, too, to a lesser degree. I'm not forgetting about Tristan or Swish; but they are both overpaid relics of the Bron 2.0 era, and it remains to be seen if they can step up as veteran leaders.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not delusional. I know that this team has zero chance of making a fifth straight Finals appearance. I know that this team's ceiling is probably a .500ish record and a first-round playoff exit; that the more likely ending is 30-some wins; and that there's a decent chance the bottom could fall out. All of us Cleveland sports fans will be paying a lot more attention to the Indians next April and May than we have the past few years.
That said, the important lesson here is that the journey is far more important than the destination. While this season's Cavs journey will almost surely end well before the past four years, it should also be quite a bit more fun day to day. I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure there will be times the next six months when I think back to these words and wonder "what the hell was I thinking?" But overall, it promises to be a worthwhile trip.
Now let's throw that rock in the air and play some ball.
It probably is. But let me explain.
The past couple of seasons, we pretty much knew what was going to happen. We knew that from October to mid-April, we would have a team that, in any given month, would give a total effort maybe once, completely mail it in two or three times, and then play at half-speed the remaining games. We knew that any hope of running sets, or providing effort on defense, would be completely at the whim of one LeBron Raymone James. Once they got to the playoffs (a foregone conclusion, of course), they would flip an imaginary switch, give a greater effort, burn down whatever Eastern Conference teams were in their path, and then get pasted by Golden State in June (2016 notwithstanding).
More than that, it wasn't fun basketball to watch. We knew that LeBron didn't care about the regular season, beyond the minimal baseline effort needed to get into the postseason (the NBA's official motto: "we play 82 games to see which four teams don't make the playoffs!"). The Cavs won 50 games last season, and probably should have won 42-45, based on their numbers. Potentially exciting young players like Cedi Osman had to ride the pine because of the win-right-now mentality.
And it goes without saying that every season was a never-ending soap opera. LeBron, for better or worse, thrives on attention; he's always going to be at the center of controversy. It's exhausting to be around that day after day. After eleven total years of that sideshow, and the attendant "when will he leave Cleveland?" speculation, it's kind of nice to not have it around.
It's also great to have more young talent on hand than we've seen in a while. Unlike 2010, when LeBron first let the door hit him in the ass on the way out, the Cavs' cupboard isn't bare. Collin Sexton is a player. Osman has shown flashes of promise. Larry Nance Jr. is not only a feel-good story; he's a talented big man who will hopefully take the next step forward with bigger minutes. Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, Sam Dekker, Ante Zizic, David Nwaba, Billy Preston ... they all bring some level of "let's see some more" curiosity about them, and they're all still on the upside of their careers.
Fortunately, this is not 2010 all over again, when the franchise had no choice but to start from square one. There are a lot of veterans on this team, guys who are used to winning, and will (hopefully) keep those youngsters from getting into bad habits. It starts with Kevin Love. Ideally, he'd be the second- or third-best player on the team; but now, he's the guy. He's well capable of averaging 20 and 10 a night, and he's better equipped to be the unquestioned leader than he was in Minnesota five years ago. Kyle Korver and Channing Frye are valuable guys to have around. They aren't going to win you a ton of games by themselves (besides, I would expect Korver to be dealt to a contender at midseason), but again, they are the kind of players that all of the youngsters need to be around and learn from. George Hill, too, to a lesser degree. I'm not forgetting about Tristan or Swish; but they are both overpaid relics of the Bron 2.0 era, and it remains to be seen if they can step up as veteran leaders.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not delusional. I know that this team has zero chance of making a fifth straight Finals appearance. I know that this team's ceiling is probably a .500ish record and a first-round playoff exit; that the more likely ending is 30-some wins; and that there's a decent chance the bottom could fall out. All of us Cleveland sports fans will be paying a lot more attention to the Indians next April and May than we have the past few years.
That said, the important lesson here is that the journey is far more important than the destination. While this season's Cavs journey will almost surely end well before the past four years, it should also be quite a bit more fun day to day. I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure there will be times the next six months when I think back to these words and wonder "what the hell was I thinking?" But overall, it promises to be a worthwhile trip.
Now let's throw that rock in the air and play some ball.
