Cleveland Cavaliers: Truth of the Matter
Posted May 17th, 2007 by George Thomas
As I sat watching the Cleveland Cavaliers look like a CYO basketball team last night, something else struck me - the fans - or more appropriately, their expectations and behavior.
I sometimes wonder what state of reality Cavaliers fans live. Judging by comments from other posts on this blog, it's a state of denial. Let me start off by saying that right now the Cavs are a good - not great - young team. But from the reactions of some fans you'd expect them to be contending for the NBA Championship series this year. Ummm…hold on…it's reality check time.
Former Cavs guard gave a sobering assessment of this year's team when someone asked him how the 1992-93 Cavs that went to the Eastern Conference Finals would do against this one. He said that other than LeBron James, his team would hold an advantage over this incarnation of the Cavaliers. Sounds about right to me.
To anyone who thought LeBron James and his teammates would steamroll the Nets think again. This is a team that features three front line players in Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter all of whom could be all-stars. From the start this was going to be a tough one, but from the grumblings of Cavs fans you'd think the opposite were true.
You could feel and hear it last night at Quicken Loans Arena in the boos directed the team's way, most of which were deserved because the team played dismally. Considering the "quality" of the basketball they played, refunds could have been in order.
But one aspect of fan behavior last night that proved troubling to me was the reaction to a hard foul that Sasha Pavlovic laid on Mikki Moore in the early going of the game. There is this misconception that basketball isn't a physical sport. This black-and-blue series that the Cavs and Nets are currently playing should debunk that myth. However, when Pavlovic laid Moore out, it was completely unnecessary for the the crowd to behave like beer-drenched cretins.
No, Northeast Ohio, right now you don't have a championship caliber basketball team, but, to be quite honest, I'm not sure you deserve one.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:21 am
The fans boo because this team should beat the Nets, a .500 squad despite having three stars. One reason the Cavs can't steamroll the Nets lies in the fact that they're not ready to play some nights; they cheer when one of the players shows some gumption, something's that all-to-rare.
By the way, George, I thought for sure you'd be writing something nice about our boy Braylon this week, considering his recent generosity.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Ahhh Larry, you missed my appearance on All Bets Are Off on STO where I believe that I said something nice about Braylon and his generosity. I still want to see whether he decides to keep his mouth shut and play football.
As for the crowd cheering when Pavlovic fouled Mikki Moore, I was there I know exactly what the reaction was to. It came in the briefest of moments when they thought Moore was down. Tacky. Tacky. Tacky.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:45 am
George, just out of curiosity, how did you expect the crowd to react? Or, let me rephrase my question. How would any other arena have reacted differently? And come on now, don't add the possibilities of a parallel universe into your answer.
Compared to every West series to date, where guys get kneed in their nuggets and elbowed in their melons, is this series really "black-and-blue," as you call it? It's far more like your colleague's bombast describing Ilgauskas' training with kettlebells, don't you think? Sounds impressive, but I really don't think so. But hey, If Lonnie Shelton is wooed out of retirement for the remainder of the Cavaliers', uh, championship run, then your description may be more apt and have more oomph.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Aaahh Alan, it's really so good to be graced with your presence and words of "wisdom" once again.
To answer your question, Alan, I don't expect any crowd to react the way the "fans" did at the Q the other night. I expect them to appreciate a solid foul, sure. But the mental midgets at the Q reacted at the possibility that Moore was hurt. And, personally, I don't give a damned how any other arena would react. It was classless and it wasn't right at the Q and it wouldn't be right at any other arena.
Lastly, Alan, you can take exception to the fact that I called this a black-and-blue series. I won't assume that you haven't been in attendance at any of the games and suggest you don't know what you're talking about. I can only go by my eyes and what the players have said in pre-and-post game interviews.
If it's not so physical, I'd love to see how you do out there for 48 minutes.
May 18th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
George, I wouldn't so so well out there for 48 minutes. Despite your assertion, I don't think you'd love seeing it. It would be like that dodgeball movie, but without the pure entertainment factor. Frankly, at my age, I don't do well being banged while waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant.
How are guys you interview going to answer or what are they going to say regarding a purported" "physical series?" "Well, I gotta tell ya, homes, I nearly ruined my new tattoo when Ilgauskas sneezed on me, and then Mikey Moore used three of his 97 pounds and got my shoelaces dirty."
Sure, it's always going to be more "aggressive" in a playoff series. Even Varejao's girlish playing style seems a little more manly. But black-and-blue? It's hyperbole, but I guess it's all relative. With just a few exceptions, the Nets and the Cavaliers are squads filled to the brim with wimpy guys. I could say "finesse." but why mince words. What's next, comparing that hilarious Ostertag vs. Z fight to Ali vs. Frazier?
And George, I didn't say that the people who reacted at the arena weren't classless and/or mental midgets. I happen to agree with you. But the 29 other arenas would not have reacted any differently.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
By the way, I know Mikey spells his name "Mikki." But come on, be honest, who's really more dangerous, a bruising brother that weighs as much as a carton of milk assaulting some kid, or the kid from Life Cereal spilling his cereal bowl and milk on his brothers? It's gotta be Mikey.
May 19th, 2007 at 11:47 am
You know, I've never thought much of your writing before, and this blog entry just solidifies that position. Mikki Moore was the biggest J-E-R-K and hacker throughout the series, and he and his mob-mates had one game plan: to HURT/INJURE the Cavs to keep them out of the paint. Guess you didn't see those fouls, some of which weren't even called. So if someone, anyone, laid out Moore and his friggin big mouth (didn't you read his comments about giving Sasha "love taps")….I'd have been the first one leading the cheers overtop of his broken bones. He's nothing but a two-bit, ugly thug. And now, thankfully, he's a bigger LOSER, as well.
Yeah, there are a lot of complete imbicile fans in Cleveland who I'd like to slap silly, but certainly not for cheering Mikki's demise.
Based on that behavior, for you to say that Cleveland fans don't "deserve" a championship team simply shows how out of touch you really are with NE Ohio. Maybe there's a weekly grocery-shopper somewhere that needs a 3rd-rate movie critic. Apply soon, because you're out of your league here.
May 19th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Scoop, please. The talentless Danny Ferry, whose sole skill was shooting three-pointers, was the Spurs' designated thug when he took his pasty white behind to San Antonio. Nobody shed any crocodile tears when he checked in for three minutes against a soft team, he and Popovich exchanged winks, and then Ferry gave somebody driving into the lane a cheapshot elbow with his muscleless arm.
If you want to prevent an overgrown piece of asparagus like Mikki Moore to hack somebody on the Cavaliers, then tell Ilgauskas & Co. to pick up a barbell once every blue moon. Shock treatments would seem to be in order, too. Otherwise, it's never going to stop.
May 20th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Ahhhh such nastiness, "Scoop"… Do you need a hug? Prozac? Something else. You see, when you result to insults rather than meaningful dialogue it makes you look fairly…well…unintelligent. And while I understand the nature of sports such as football, basketball and baseball, cheering someone's injury isn't part of the game. Out of my league? Not quite. Just someone who doesn't let common sense vacate him over a freakin' game.
May 20th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
I don't know, George. What about 1989, when Rick Mahorn nearly decapitated Mark Price. If you were in that crowd, and later in that same game Mahorn got taken down by, oh, I don't know…a crazed Chris Dudley, odds are that you would have cheered right along with the rest of them.
May 21st, 2007 at 5:47 am
Ahhhh Alan, you're probably right, but the difference between then and now is about 18 years. People change. And aren't the words "crazed Chris Dudley" somewhat oxymoronic?
May 21st, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I know, George, that's why I put it that way. A crazed Chris Dudley is more silly than a kosher cheeseburger Merely a hypothetical to make a point, with a bit of oxymoronic stuff for flavor.