Well, they had a fine season. They went 66-16, better than any Cavaliers team has ever done in the regular season. They were the first Cavs team ever to have the NBA's best record. They set themselves up such that if they won all their home games, they would run the table. LeBron James was the Cavs' first MVP of the NBA. Mike Brown was named Coach of the Year. Mo Williams was an All-Star, and deservedly so. Anderson Varejao developed into a legitimate NBA starter. They swept their first two postseason series, winning each game by double digits. Barring a Finals sweep (which is possible), they will be the only team to have swept any playoff series this year. They seemed invincible. I could go on and on.
And we all know what happened. The obviously inferior Orlando Magic squashed us like a bug.
The Cavaliers certainly could have won that series. They were never in that game six, but they had great chances to win games one and four. But if one were to look at it that way, one would have to admit that the Magic could have swept, because it was a minor miracle that the Cavs took game two. There is no question that the Orlandoans had the better team in this series.
Of course, once we have fully digested this loss, the talk will inevitably turn to whether or not LeBron James is in his last days as a Cavalier. And if he does, whether or not he will become a Knick. And unless he signs an extension, you and I will get very tired of hearing about it.
It's the offseason. Go Tribe. ... What? ... They're in what place?
The Dery Brothers Guardians Cast S6:E8 – Home sweep!
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Matt and Todd are in a great mood coming off the sweep of Oakland. Your
first-place Guardians are on fire. The boys talk rotation worries, Josh […]
8 months ago
2 comments:
Steve, Orlando was the superior team in this series, I'm afraid to admit. Dwight Howard rendered Varejao practically useless, and schooled Z whenever he was guarded by him.
Plus, their two 6'10" shooting guards (Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis) took the Cavs to school.
Other than obviously LeBron, the Magic was better than the Cavs at virtually every phase of the game.
Too bad Ben Wallace wasn't about 5 years younger, because they needed him on the defensive end to slow down Howard.
Jeff is correct, of course. My point was that the Cavaliers had the better team all year, but as Jeff notes, the Magic definitely outplayed us in this series. And he makes a good point about Big Ben. I was thinking he maybe should have played more in this series, even at his advanced age, simply because nobody else could slow down Howard at all. That led to double-teams and rotation problems that left guys like Turkoglu and Lewis open around the arc.
Dwight Howard is a year younger than LeBron, and he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Danny Ferry, if you're reading this (and I'm sure you are), if you want to get past Orlando next year, you'd better get someone who can guard Dwight Howard.
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