Does Shelley Fit?
August 12, 2010While We’re Waiting… LRMR and CP3, D’Qwell’s Timetable, and 32 Great Receivers
August 13, 2010In the flash of a moment everything can change forever. With the immortal words “I’m taking my talents to South Beach”, everything changed for the Cavaliers. This isn’t news, we’ve been discussing this for weeks. When I broke down the Cavaliers schedule yesterday, though, there were some questions raised about why we should even care about this season.
So that got me to thinking. Why should we care? Is this team really worth even being excited about? I’m sure those of you familiar with my writing here know my own personal answer to that question, but I wanted to give some reasons why all Cavaliers fans should care about the 2010-11 season.
First and foremost, I still feel Cavs fans should support this franchise. For all of Randy Lerner’s front office blunders (I mean, at this point I’ve lost count of the GMs and Presidents this franchise has had since 1999) and the Dolan family’s refusal/inability to spend money, they have left the Browns and the Indians in a seemingly permanent state of flux and incompetence. Dan Gilbert, on the other hand, has made excellent front office hires (as evidenced by other teams hiring them all away) and has quite literally spared no expense on the franchise.
Furthermore, the players on this team, those are still here, left behind by LeBron James, those players didn’t turn their backs on us. Of course we all wish Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao would have played better in the players and we wish Mo Williams could have been more consistent in the postseason. I never saw a lack of effort from those players, though. I loved watching all of these guys play the last few years, and even though it won’t be the same without LeBron, these are still players that I love to root for and I think most Cavs would agree with me on that point.
Beyond that, there’s the excitement of seeing what the Cavaliers might look like as a running team. With guys like JJ Hickson, Jamario Moon, and Ramon Sessions who can flourish in the open court, this team could very well have it’s moments where the offense will be very exciting to watch. Of course there will be trade-offs and drawbacks, and the offense won’t always be pretty. The defense and rebounding on this team could potentially be atrocious. These will be frustrating problems to watch, but it’s the start of a new journey, and there’s always hope and excitement in that which is new.
Which brings me to the main point. I wouldn’t call this excitement exactly, but there’s something refreshing in having a new challenge and not having to deal with LeBron James anymore. Now, before anyone skips the rest of this and goes straight to the comments, let me be perfectly clear. I am not saying in anyway I’m glad LeBron is gone or that I don’t want LeBron the basketball player back on this team. All of the issues created by LeBron don’t even come close to outweighing all the great things he does on the court.
Having said that, though, at the end of the season I called the relationship between LeBron James and Cavs fans “A facade. An illusion wrapped in misguided reason.” In some ways, it was exhausting writing about LeBron. We were having to deal with some kind of inane little pseudo-controversy almost nonstop. Rumors of LeBron playing in New York, and then in New Jersey/Brooklyn were everywhere and it was always hanging over all our heads. And then there were things like the crab dribble, and dunk gate, and the LBJ MVP shirt, and the Yankees hat, and the pregame dancing and posing. In many ways, LeBron James was so much drama and such a distraction that it often took away from all the greatness we were witnessing on the court.
On a more personal level, I’ll admit too that LeBron James became a crutch to me and my writing. It was easy for me to get lazy and just keep falling back on the fact that we had the best player on the court, and if it was close in the 4th quarter, LeBron would usually take the game over and will the Cavs to a victory. I wasn’t challenging myself as a writer as much, and now I will have plenty of challenges. I get to watch NBA basketball with a renewed vigor and level of attention. I can get back to breaking down Xs and Os and what the team is doing well and what they need to work on.
As fans, we became mere witnesses. We could sit back and not have to think about the game itself too much, but just watch and be amazed at LeBron James. And to an extent, we took the game for granted just like LeBron himself seemed to do at times in the postseason. There’s a new challenge now for all of us, and there’s some enthralling about new challenges.
One final thing I want to mention going back to the returning players. For the past 2 seasons all we heard was how this team was just LeBron and everyone else. Nationally, this team was treated like it was a bunch of nobodies playing with LeBron. We now get to find out how much truth there was to that. Was it really just LeBron James by himself leading the team to back to back 60+ win seasons and the NBA’s best record two years in a row, or was he getting better help than most people realized?
The players aren’t going to have as many wide open looks as they used to have with opposing defenses no longer having to commit 3 or 4 defenders on watching LeBron’s every move, so it will be a new challenge for them as well.
The bottom line is that none of us wanted to be in this position, but this is the hand all of us have been dealt, from the ownership down to the players to the fans. All of us are in the same boat in having to adjust to new realities and new set of challenges. We could look at this with dread and apprehension, or we can suck it up, hold our heads high, and find the more subtle aspects of the game to extract our excitement from.
I’m sure by the time January rolls around and if the team is 15 games under .500 this excitement of new challenges will be wearing off, but right now, 2 months before training camp, there are still plenty of things to look forward to when it comes to the Cavaliers. A great sports owner, a still very nice facility to play in with great fans, and players who are worth rooting for.
38 Comments
I’ve been thinking that the “nobodies” should make that a MENTAL NOTE and at least come out with some fire. I know if I were a Cav that would be #1 on my list. People have been hating on Mo n Andy for years calling them unworthy to play w/ #6, so hopefully they come out and show that they at least had a hand in the wins.
And count me in the group that will still watch. I think it will be even more interesting to see how this team plays than last year. You knew they’d find a way to win, where this year, it’s a wildcard.
Yawn…I vote we stop talking about Basketball and Baseball completely until the end of the NFL regular season. Who’s coming with me?
I’m one of those Cavs fans that knew we had an NBA team before LeBron came along, so I will be here long after the dust of his dis has settled !
It’s just sad knowing yet another one of our Cleveland teams will be rebuilding.
I’m somewhat soured on the NBA as a whole, but I will always support my local teams.
TEAM GILBERT! GO CAVS!
I agree. I’m very curious to see how our Cavs play this year without one person dominating every facet of our game plan. I don’t think that anyone, self-proclaimed experts on ESPN included, has any idea how many games we will win. I am cautiously optimistic, but then again I’m always cautiously optimistic because I’m a Cleveland fan.
Does anyone know if the Cavs ever made an actual offer for Darren Collison? I was surprised that New Orleans gave him up, but I guess Chris Paul forced the issue.
I grew up a Cavs fan and I’ll remain one. I still plan on watching games on FSN as much as possible. Watching LeBron was fun, but I always found most enjoyment when other players would succeed. LeBron’s game 5 vs Detroit several years ago was historic. But I had much more fun watching Boobie knock down 3-pointers to cripple and ultimately disassemble a championship-caliber Detroit Pistons.
I loved how quickly we jumped out against Orlando at the end of this season without Shaq/Z/LeBron in the lineup. I think Byron will give us consistency to hold onto leads like that.
Truly, I’m excited.
Excellent work. This is the kind of spirit that has been missing for a lot of us this summer. We need to look forward (Wait for Next Year, as it were). No more dwelling. I’m sick of reading about LeBron’s tweets in my timeline and his other shenanigans copied from TMZ. As you said, this is the hand we’ve been dealt. And if we keep looking backwards as Cleveland fans tend to do, we’re going to have a looooong road to recovery.
No more looking back to December 27, 1964. Keep October 27, 2010 circled instead.
I agree that there is excitement around this team, and it will still be better to watch than the days of Lamond Murray, Milt Palacio, Smush Parker, and all those other great players of the early 2000s. Plus, the starting backcourt won’t be comprised of Ira Newble and Eric Snow. So there’s that.
WFNY is having a good day of posts today. Another solid article that covers most of the bases.
I have mixed feelings about this season.
First, I think that we really should have blown the thing up, just kept the young players and stockpiled on more young players to get back to being truly competitive in 3-5years.
Hiring Byron and Gilbert’s letter showed that will not be the gameplan for this FO. So, we have a team that probably won’t be bad enough to get a high draft pick, but won’t be good enough to ever think we’ll do better than surprise someone to get to the 2nd round.
But, if we are going to be a mediocre team that isn’t a true contender, at least we are going to have an exciting fast paced offense with a lot of athletic players. I would much rather watch Byron’s style than 90’s Fratello Cavs.
@2 – the way the Brown’s seasons have gone that means we’ll be talking baseball and basketball by the middle of September.
No one expects us going back to pre-2003 with horrible, inexplicable trades, a revolving door of coaches, and no general direction. A team with direction is one I can support, win or lose.
@ Amin/6
“No more looking back to December 27, 1964. Keep October 27, 2010 circled instead.”
October 27, 2010 is Game 1 of the World Series. I like where you’re going with this: the Indians enjoy your optimism…
Ha, sugar coat much?
“I get to watch NBA basketball with a renewed vigor and level of attention. I can get back to breaking down Xs and Os and what the team is doing well and what they need to work on.”
Yeah, can’t wait.
Lets not get carried away with Gilbert yet. The guy spent money because we wanted to keep Lebron, who was directly responsible for the worth of his franchise. What he paid in luxury tax was minor compared to the hit the value of the franchise would take if LBJ left. He also had the casino measure on the table so spending on the Cavs made him more likable in that regard as well. As we saw, at the end of the day it didn’t really matter since LBJ left anyways.
Now is the true test for Gilbert. Will be continue to be agressive and build the franchise now that the sellouts stop and he has his casinos? Or does he go down the Dolanesque-rabbit hole of perpetual rebuilds and empty promises to “spend when the time is right”.
I don’t think Gilbert’s actions post-LBJ give much hope, the team obviously didn’t have a Plan B if LBJ left and were left scrambling. The offseason had been a failure of epic proportions with no major moves made (Collison would have been a nice pick-up and evidently could have been had at a decent price). Its still too early to call Gilbert a top owner in my opinion..
While I would still take LeBron in a second … I for one will not miss the offense of “Lebron at the key, dribble for 18 seconds, steps back, takes off balance shot” at all. Even when he was on fire with them, I found myself yelling at the television.
I don’t get why anyone who is a fan of the team would stop supporting them one way or another. I think this would only apply to bandwagoners who only liked them because of lebron. Maybe I’m wrong…
@Jackson – I think planB is what we are seeing. Good HC, grab some better athletes to fill out the roster (Sessions, Hollins) and hope to make a trade or two.
I like Collison as well, but I don’t see what role we could have played in that trade. We do not have a large expiring contract this year like Murphy. We do not have a younger player on a decent contract we could afford to give up like Ariza.
The only way we could have made that trade was maybe to give up Andy (and only if NO liked Andy better than Ariza). And, we cannot afford to give up Andy as we are thin at C (and Collison/Posey would not help that situation)
I think the “X’s and O’s” were the missing piece for this team even WITH LeBron. Byron Scott is a much smarter coach and I’m looking forward to seeing a more quality brand of team basketball. It will be entertaining and refreshing for the true basketball fans who understand the game. It won’t be as flashy and amazing as what we saw for the past 7 years, but it will be more intelligent. No, we will not win a championship. The ceiling for this team is 50 win sleeper / second round exit. However, that would be more impressive to me than anything LeBron ever accomplished.
Historically, supreme talent wins championships in the NBA, but solid talent and good coaching can win games. Effective game management, use of timeouts, use of players/rotations, variety of play-calling, motivation, and LEADERSHIP are what I want from the coach of the Cavs. Scott has those qualities, and I’m excited for that this year.
I’m looking forward to talking some quality “X’s and O’s” with you this year, Andrew!
Thanks for this. I’ve been having a hard time with the idea of going to games next season and “remembering when”. You made me realize that I’ll still be happy in the nosebleeds, drinking overpriced beer, having fun, and cheering for the guys who actually want to play here. Great post.
I watched a Cavs/Bulls game at Gund Arena in 2000. Something tells me I won’t have a problem following the Cavs this year =p
I’m actually looking forward to seeing this team perform, though I won’t be able to often as I no longer live in the area and we have, what, 3 nationally televised games this year?
I’m going to just be glad when I can watch the Cavs in person play in LA and not have to pay double face value for the ticket. My only problem is I have to watch most the games online this year.
I’m just glad “Z” is gone. He was one bad rebound away from a career-ending toe injury anyway. I’m sorry, but he was…
I was in my rickety old Coliseum seat cheering on Price, Ehlo, Nance, Hot Rod and Daugherty.
I was in my blue seat cheering on a bloated Shawn Kemp in his black and blue nightmare jersey.
I was in my plush red velvet seat going ballistic for a once great but now degraded to meglomaniac #6.
You can bet your sweet ace I’ll be in my seat next year and for years to come cheering the next players on as well.
Simply put… Go Cavs, Go Tribe, Go Browns and bring on the 2010/2011 National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes!
I was thinking about canceling my NBA League Pass after last season (I don’t live in OH), and 6 leaving has clinched it, unfortunately. I’ll probably re-up my NBA Audio subscription so I can hear Joe Tait’s farewell season, however.
@ Jackson – Gilbert is one of the best owners in sports, and that’s not a subject of debate. 5 years into his tenure, he’s shown the willingness and drive to spend in order to win … having lost $100mm of asset value w/ 6’s departure, his only choice to regain that value is to continue to try to win. The casinos are an entirely different matter, but if they impact Gilbert’s thoughts on the Cavs at all they only serve to deepen his pockets even more and allow him to spend (smartly) on those efforts to win post-6.
Blaming the Dolans for the Indians predicament is tired and uncreative. The issue for the Indians is Major League Baseball, not the Dolans. And if anyone in the Indians organization deserves to be called out for lack of performance it’s Mark Shapiro, not the Dolans.
What I look forward to:
Its going to be a whole lot easier to get tickets to the Cavs-Lakers game in L.A.
And its going to be REAL EASY to get tickets to the Cavs-Clippers game.
Three things…
One, I’m really looking forward to my first season as a “real” basketball fan. I’ve always been a supporter of all the local teams, but didn’t really get into basketball at all, admittedly, until we got LeBron.
Two, props to #23 for your comments about Dolan. Too many people (including this site, too often) spout off about Dolan being cheap and unwilling to spend. This is a moron’s argument that’s grounded in a complete lack of understanding of the way MLB’s spending structure works.
Three, several of you guys mentioned watching games in LA. Where do you all live? I just moved here.
off topic:
thank you wfny (and lewis center tricksters) for bringing the black keys to the attention of this 48 year old. they’re quite awesome.
(prior to this. the most current bands i liked were nirvana and sublime… and i was still hipper than my friends.)
I don’t see how anyone can say Gilbert is one of the best owner’s in sports. Being among the best takes not only spending, but spending in the right places. I doubt anyone would call James Dolan a great owner but he has spared no expense on the Knicks. Like I said, lets see if the wallet is still open now #6 is gone. He spent to protect his investment and lost, now we will see his true colors. Not saying he is horrible, but lets hold off building his bronze statue.
Regarding Dolan, no doubt the MLB structure hurts us. But resolving him of all blame is silly. The guy dumped Victor/Lee for crap just to get some $ relief. Forbes has shown the Indians are a profitable team, yet our payroll is garbage and outside of the Wood signing we’ve never gone after a legit FA even when we were contenders..
*applause*
Gilbert’s the best owner in Cleveland not sports. Now we will see just how “great” Gilbert is especially after his fiasco of a letter the night of “the debacle.”. That being said I hope there is a lockout next year in the NBA, it’s overdue.
How can you not care about the season. No…the Cavs arent winning a NBA Championship this year. Does that mean I don’t care about this year….um, last time I checked I am still a fan of the Cavs. Of course we true fans care! Come on…lets get it together now
Real late and no one will probably read this. But I’m rooting for the Cavs to make the playoffs. We don’t wanna lose as much as possible because we aren’t sure how the potential lockout will affect the upcoming rookie class. Harrison Barnes and Perry Jones could stay in school 2-3 more years and then we’d be stuck drafting Kwame Brown type players. Make the playoffs. Make it interesting. Then build from there.
hey s-dub, i’m still here. and ditto.
i am bummed that we missed on collison. call me naive but i think having a potential top-5 PG might have altered the decision. (say what you want, whatever.)
but there is talent on this team and it was often hidden in deference to lebron. i’m looking forward to see how byron scott coaches them. we’re one big year too late in getting him. but it’ll be nice to see a coach who knows what he’s doing and it’ll be hoosiers if mo/antawn deliver and hickson blossoms.
expectations couldn’t be any lower. cavs winning it all sets up as the best story in the history of the nba.
hey, why not us?
it’s early for the internet.
what if that means getting a top pick for 2 straight years for tanking one year?
sure, you don’t get a great player in 2011, but 2012 you should. and the guy you get in the top5 is still better odds of succeeding than #15.
anyways, that’s not the route we are taking (despite ESPN only picking the Nets and Wiz below us this year)
bode… thing is: with the worst record you’re definitely not assured the top pick. since 1985 the worst team has gotten the 1st pick FOUR TIMES. it’s an amazing stat worth of this cut/paste.
1985 New York Knicks 24–58 (3rd-worst) — 14.29%[B]
1986 Philadelphia 76ers[A] 32–50 (7th-worst)[A] — 14.29%[B]
1987 San Antonio Spurs 28–54 (4th-worst) — 14.29%[B]
1988 Los Angeles Clippers 17–65 (Worst) — 14.29%[B]
1989 Sacramento Kings 27–55 (6th-worst) — 11.11%[C]
1990 New Jersey Nets 17–65 (Worst) 11 (out of 66) 16.67%
1991 Charlotte Hornets 26–56 (5th-worst) 7 (out of 66) 10.61%
1992 Orlando Magic 21–61 (2nd-worst) 10 (out of 66) 15.15%
1993 Orlando Magic 41–41 (11th-worst) 1 (out of 66) 1.52%
1994 Milwaukee Bucks 20–62 (2nd-worst) 163 (out of 1000) 16.30%
1995 Golden State Warriors 26–56 (5th-worst) 94 (out of 1000) 9.40%
1996 Philadelphia 76ers 18–64 (2nd-worst) 200 (out of 593)[D] 33.73%
1997 San Antonio Spurs 20–62 (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 727)[D] 21.60%
1998 Los Angeles Clippers 17–65 (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 696)[D] 22.56%
1999 Chicago Bulls 13–37[E] (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 1000) 15.70%
2000 New Jersey Nets 31–52 (7th-worst) 44 (out of 1000) 4.40%
2001 Washington Wizards 19–63 (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 1000) 15.70%
2002 Houston Rockets 28–54 (5th-worst) 89 (out of 1000) 8.90%
2003 Cleveland Cavaliers 17–65 (Worst) 225 (out of 1000) 22.50%
2004 Orlando Magic 21–61 (Worst) 250 (out of 1000) 25.00%
2005 Milwaukee Bucks 30–52 (6th-worst) 63 (out of 1000) 6.30%
2006 Toronto Raptors 27–55 (5th-worst) 88 (out of 1000) 8.80%
2007 Portland Trail Blazers 32–50 (6th-worst) 53 (out of 1000) 5.30%
2008 Chicago Bulls 33–49 (9th-worst) 17 (out of 1000) 1.70%
2009 Los Angeles Clippers 19–63 (2nd-worst) 177 (out of 1000) 17.70%
2010 Washington Wizards 26–56 (5th-worst) 103 (out of 1000) 10.30%
but even if you do get the top pick…you might get team changer like durant… or you might get oden. (ok olawakandi/brand, if one still thinks oden can get there.)
likewise, you can barely miss the playoffs and score (tim duncan, derrick rose).
it’s all luck. arnie said the more he practiced, the luckier he got. so let’s just go for it and let the chips fall.
random. watching the reggie miller 30-for-30. he’s talking about nyc was so arrogant toward indiana and he was driven to represent on behalf of indy.
sheesh. miller is from cali. one would think our home grown hero would want to represent for us. geez. and i’ll tell you what. if wade had been drafted back home to chicago or bosh to dallas… they’d be staying with their hometowns. guessing here but i bet larry, magic, michael would’ve hung in with indi, detroit, charlotte.
what the hell lebron?
not guaranteed #1, but you are guaranteed (at worst) #4. 2 years of 25% chances at #1 with worst possible falling ot #4.
On Gilbert, if his wallet isn’t open anymore (and there’s no reason to believe it isn’t), then he’s essentially flushing his investment w/ the loss of 6. I just can’t see that happening.
And he’s one of the best owners in sports b/c his spending is shrewdly targeted and he’s taken the time to invest in an organizational culture. Dolan may have spent, but his version of spending was to hand a bunch of imbeciles a blank checkbook. Very different. From the Clinic Courts to the re-do of the “VIP” area at the Q, through to the sponsorship of the building (which has ulterior motives, no doubt), the guy has created a first-class institution, down to the management level. Plus, to suggest what he’s done to date isn’t “real” is just shouting at the moon. I’ll take the fact pattern that he’s already laid out.
Also, the Dolans didn’t trade anyone. They sure as hell didn’t demand Carlos Carrasco come back for Cliff Lee … that was Shapiro. The simple fact of the matter is the Dolans won’t (can’t?) deficit spend. Period. That’s their primary shortcoming as an ownership. And every other mid-to-small market team in the MLB suffers the same.
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