Team Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Ghost of Seasons Past (2010 Free Agency Now Included)

“’Tis just a flesh wound!” Black Knight from Monty Python, and the Holy Grail
 
The Cavs had an offseason worthy of the Black Knight. Coming off a combined 127 wins over the past two seasons, Cleveland lost their best rebounder/right arm (LeBron), best playmaker/left arm (LeBron), go-to scorer/right leg (LeBron), best defender/left leg (LeBron) and a gigantic rear end/gigantic rear end (Shaq). Unfazed by the swift crippling of the Cavalier brand and franchise, Dan Gilbert proclaimed that Cleveland would win an NBA championship before LeBron and his Legion of Doom in a comical letter to the public. To be fair to Gilbert, the Cavaliers have good role players and are perhaps one superstar away from contention. Now that I think about it, I know the perfect player for Cleveland’s system. LeBron James! Ouch. Sorry, Cleveland. Especially unfortunate for the Cavaliers is the fact that they often looked to have the best team over the past two seasons. An unfavorable matchup with Orlando in 2009 derailed a potential (and more favorable) matchup with the Lakers in the Finals. And Cleveland looked dominant through game three of the 2010 series against Boston. Then LeBron became something other than a one-man wrecking crew and the best player in the league. Was his elbow that big of an issue? Did he find out that Delonte West was sleeping with his mom? Was he already thinking ahead to the summer and possible ways of turning millions against him? I don’t know. But it’s very possible that Cleveland did not win a title because of simple bad luck or an unfortunate injury to their most important player. Despite a natural inclination to point to a single result as a definitive statement on a team or player and come to the conclusion that LeBron could never win a ring without Dwyane Wade or that the recent Cleveland teams were fundamentally flawed, perhaps it just came down to random chance. I feel confident in saying that had he stayed, LeBron would have eventually won multiple rings in Cleveland. But that doesn’t make for a good story. And barring a miraculous turnaround, this year’s Cavs team won’t make for many good stories, either. Things are quite different now. With LeBron gone, it’s J.J. Hickson’s world and we’re just living in it.