Lil Red Machine

Anytime you put together a 66-win season together, and the end result is NOT a championship, there are a multitude of reasons to be disappointed. However, I’m going to attempt to put it all into perspective. To lose Saturday night was a tremendous disappointment. I emotionally invested myself into this team, rode the highs, survived the disappointments of the team being ravaged by injuries, and overall, I enjoyed watching the team come together. Cleveland did a lot of things it has never done before. It had the coach of the year, MVP, and it has home court advantage for the first time ever. Mo Williams seamlessly transitioned to his new team, LeBron’s overall game continued to grow and develop, our defense was stingy, and we had a bench full of guys who had previously been starters that were producing. Those things combined together were the calling card of the Cavaliers, and they dominated. People criticized them for not winning the games against other quality opponents, and that is a fair demerit against them, one in which I won’t try to refute, but on the other end, we consistently BEAT teams that we were supposed to beat. What’s the big deal? Personally, I found it impressive that they were able to go out there night after night against some of these opponents, and not lose their focus. Alot of great teams let those kind of teams hang around because they get bored and complacent. Not the Cavaliers.

Ultimately, though, this team had many flaws, and what happened in Orlando was no fluke. For several years now, the Magic have dominated the Cavs. I picked the Cavs to win the series, but I was seeing through rose-colored lenses. It’s too much to ask a 34-year old Zydrunas Ilgauskas to cover the athletic freak that is Dwight Howard. Also, they didn’t have enough guys who could step up and consistently help LeBron (who also deserves some blame for making several crucial turnovers in the game 4 loss and disappearing in game 5 altogether). Delonte West had a solid series, but the rest of the supporting cast was M.I.A. A bigger guard, and a post presence who can score will be needed if this team wishes to achieve its ultimate goal. Unfortunately, the Cavs don’t have a lot of cap space this offseason.

My biggest issue is with coach Mike Brown. Here is a guy who doesn’t make adjustments. I credit him for keeping the team together during the regular season when they were plagued by injuries, but in this series, he got schooled by Stan Van Gundy. There are numerous things that Mike Brown didn’t do. Where was Joe Smith? Why not more of Sasha Pavlovic? Why was LeBron out of position defensively? Why were guys standing around? Where was the creativity, as a whole? Time after time after time, the Cavs were getting beat in the same manner against Orlando. This top notch defensive unit got abused, and for someone known as a defensive specialist, Mike Brown needs to look in the mirror if he is looking for someone to blame. Again, though, Orlando was so good, that I don’t know what sort of gameplan–if any at all–could’ve prevented this from happening, but I can’t help but think that as long as Brown is coaching in Cleveland, that they are stuck in this position of being a team that will get close, but not go all the way. His rotations are inconsistent, his game-planning on offense doesn’t exist, and he doesn’t make adjustments.

It’s going to be a tough summer for Danny Ferry. Anderson Varejao has already indicated that he will opt out and become an unrestricted free agent. Joe Smith won’t be back, neither will Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace may retire. Also, big Z will be another year older next season. With the aforementioned cap room problems, there isn’t much wiggle room. It’s looking more and more like the Cavs really should’ve traded Wally’s expiriing at the deadline (there apparently was no deal to be had). Also on top of all of this, there are the rumors circulating about LeBron pertaining to 2010. Personally, I think he’s the kind of guy that doesn’t want to leave business unfinished. He is a hometown guy, and has already made a pile of money and recieved a TON of exposure. How much more can New York give him that he hasn’t already gotten? Oh yeah, and who would his teammates there be? Nate Robinson? David Lee? Sorry, but I think he will pass, and I think the Knicks are a joke for placing all of their chips in this basket (another column on this subject will be forthcoming).

In summary, there is a lot to be proud of if you are a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. To lose was excruciatingly disappointing, given how great the regular season was, but I, and others, should’ve seen this coming a mile away. This team, as constructed, wasn’t good enough to win a title. The fact that they won as many games as they did was a miracle, and it was a great pleasure to sit back and watch.