“I used to pray for times like this, to rhyme like this. So I had to grind like that to shine like this.”
After eleven months of twists and turns, one that saw the team trade Kyrie Irving in the off-season just to ship away half of the pieces acquired in the deal at the trade deadline, Cleveland is back in familiar territory. For the fourth-straight time, the Cavs will go to war with the Golden State Warriors for the NBA Championship.
Cleveland didn’t have an ideal route back, as mentioned vaguely above. After the Irving trade, the Cavs held their breath as then-starting point guard Isaiah Thomas rehabbed his way back to playing shape. Thomas made his debut on January 3rd before being dealt just a month later after struggling to mesh with LeBron and company while trying to find his own rhythm. He and Jae Crowder said goodbye to Cleveland after their brief stint with the squad, being dealt to Los Angeles and Utah.
Another headline from this season was the short-lived run of “PB&J”, that being the tandem of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Wade was featured as the team’s sixth man after giving up his starting role early into the campaign. But it became apparent that the veteran wouldn’t have much of a role when the team made moves for younger guys at the NBA Trade Deadline, leaving his role as a mystery. After becoming a frontrunner for Sixth Man Of The Year, Wade was sent back to Miami in a reunion with Pat Riley and the Heat.
Derrick Rose was also on the roster at the beginning of the year, hoping to redeem himself and reignite his career. A strong start as the fill-in starting point guard for Rose was quickly derailed with nagging injuries and an instance in which he left the team for a few weeks. Rose was shipped to Utah, who quickly waived him. He ended up with the Minnesota Timberwolves to finish his season.
So then it turned into LeBron trying to catch everyone up to speed while trying to win games. It became a sort of a mess that had many pundits questioning whether the Eastern Conference still ran through Cleveland. Tough losses to contenders down the stretch of the regular season only amped the outside chatter.
The playoffs began with a dud by the Cavs, who were handed their only playoff loss at home by the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the first round. Many called the Cavs’ season over and were ready to move onto Boston or Philly as the next leader of the conference.
Funny how things work.
Cleveland battled through seven grueling games against Indiana, made a statement with a sweep of the Toronto Raptors, and then finally pushed past a gritty Celtics team to wind up in their familiar setting come June. Everyone was stunned as this team was willed by LeBron and some timely performances by the guys around him. The NBA Finals were once again a reality for this Cavaliers organization.
It’s so fitting the biggest challenge of all stands in front of them, as the Golden State Warriors are an absolute juggernaut. With four All-Stars, one of them a Defensive Player Of The Year and two of them being MVP’s, it is truly going to be an uphill battle for the underdog Cavaliers. They’re being viewed as one of the biggest longshots in NBA Finals history. What better way to end the season than by hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy as 2018 NBA Champions?
Dreams And Nightmares. That’s the only way to describe this Cavaliers season. Which way will it end?
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