The Cavs Fooled Indiana-And All Of Us (Again)
Flashback to the spring/early summer of 2001. The Los Angeles Lakers were bickering and fighting every step of the way during the season. Shaq and Kobe weren't seeing eye to eye. Phil was heavily criticizing his young shooting guard in Bryant. And the Lakers seemed to be in disarray.
Then the playoffs showed. 3 sweeps over Portland, Sacramento, and San Antonio in a very decisive manner. The Finals came and after a first game hiccup against Allen Iverson and Philadelphia, the Lakers steamrolled through the Sixers for the 2nd straight championship.
And everybody was left to wonder, was it all just "too easy" for the Lakers and they needed something to do to "entertain" themselves? Obviously, after hearing Shaq and Kobe over the years, the tension between them was there. But they swallowed their pride when it mattered against some of the West's best.
Now we come back to present time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It really started last year in the season as we saw Cleveland struggling at home to non-playoff teams WITH LeBron in the lineup. And I remembered a CBS Sports Minute on the radio (can't remember who, Doug Gottlieb perhaps?) where they were saying the Cavs were not even going to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals given how they played, even late. And that the Pistons could push Cleveland on the brink. But what did we see again? Sweep of Detroit (albeit the Pistons gave them fights). Then a sweep of Atlanta (the Hawks didn't). And then Toronto took 2 from them, but the Cavs wins were complete blowouts. We know the story with the Warriors so I won't go there, but the end result was the end of a city's drought for championships.
So what do we get this year? The Cavs scuffling. LeBron going off in the media saying Cleveland needs certain players, alienating some of his teammates and having to deal with other problems. Kevin Love injured. And what do we hear again? "Oh the Cavs are in trouble! They may not make it out of the East! Indiana might bring them down!"
Again, a similar story with a similar playoff start. The Pacers put up a good fight, similar to Detroit last year, but failed to finish it off, including a big comeback win (let's not go with the historic comeback bit, ESPN). But looking at it right now, the Cavaliers will face Toronto in the 2nd round and shouldn't have too much issues with them again. Of course, Boston may be an interesting story if the Cavs face the Celtics, but even then I don't see Cleveland losing to Boston.
The thing is, Cleveland uses the regular season as an exhibition. They may play the big games but really they treat it like anything else. And the media and some of us fall it hook, line and sinker. LeBron's comments at times I think are tongue-in-cheek, just to keep things interesting as quite honestly, it may be too easy for LeBron and Co. And let's face it, the Eastern Conference is nothing like what the Lakers dealt with in the west with Sacramento, San Antonio, and Dallas in the early to mid 2000's.
Are the Cavaliers doing it with a flip of the switch? Feels that way for sure. They will tell you that isn't the case and everything is coming together at the right time. But it is now the second straight year they have done it. And until they actually resemble a team that was mediocre at times in the regular season there isn't any reason to believe they will fall in the Eastern Conference.
But I guess ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, etc. need stories to talk about so we still have to hear of how the Cavs may have their struggles come out once more. But until they are beaten by a team in the East, I am not falling for any of it.
-Fan in the Obstructed Seat
