Cleveland Cavaliers: Did They Fall Into That Spot?
Posted April 19th, 2007 by George Thomas
Everything's all right in Northeast Ohio because fans have a playoff team in the Cleveland Cavaliers to give their hearts to in the second season known as the NBA playoffs.
But I have to wonder if everyone would be giddy had the Chicago Bulls knocked off the New Jersey Nets Wednesday night to take the second seed in playoff bracketing. You see, that seed is the key to the Eastern Conference Finals. With the Cavs' win against Milwaukee last night, the team ensured that they won't have to face the bad boys in the East - the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat.
Instead they get the relative ease of the Washington Wizards and the winner of the Toronto-New Jersey series should they advance past the first round. Owner Dan Gilbert is looking forward to the playoffs as you can hear in this little sit down he had with the media Wednesday night. That was before all of the associated fanfare related to the night's events. I wonder if he'd been as keen if he'd known that the Cavs would be taking on the defending champs.
That brings me to what worries me about this team. Anyone who reads the sports section knows that we have a superb beat writer in Brian Windhorst, but I've had plent of chances to be around the Cavaliers during the course of the season and the one aspect of this team that I always questioned was its carefree attitude. Perhaps it's a reflection of Coach Mike Brown and taking every game "one at a time." No, that's not a bad mantra, but when does that turn to complacency?
It shouldn't have been necessary for the Cavaliers to rely on another team to complete their job last night. There were at least six or seven games this season that they should have won, but bumbled. Charlotte Bobcats anyone? New York Knicks? Boston Celtics?
Fate shined upon them last night. I just hope they realize just how fickle a lady Fate can be.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
The Cavs' are maddeningly lackadaisical and it's Brown's responsibility in the end. At the same time, the local press is very easy on the team, too, constantly praising the Cavs' older players as character guys and leaders when it's obvious to most fans that it is exactly character and leadership the team lacks.
May 20th, 2007 at 10:59 am
I think that saying Northeast Ohio doesn't deserve a championship because Sasha put a hard foul on Mikki Moore is stupid.
Sasha got ball on that foul and in no way should it have been ruled a flagrant foul. Was it hard? Yes. Was he going for the ball and actually make contact with the ball? Yes. Did Mikki Moore make contact with Sasha when he got fouled hard? No. There is a big difference there and until ignorant sportswriters realize this, they will continue to be ignorant.
May 20th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Bryan:
You call someone ignorant and you can't even understand the substance of the argument. I couldn't care less about the hard foul. It was a physical series, it's part of the game.
What I take exception to is that brief moment when it looked as if Moore wasn't going to get up and the crowd cheered at the possibility he may have been injured.
That is IGNORANT, Bryan. Fortunately for you, it's even more ignorant than this post.