CLEVELAND WINS !

Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have reestablished themselves as serious contenders in the Eastern Conference playoff race, I think fans need to take a realistic view going forward. The next six games will be another test of the Cavs resolve to improve. Those six games are over 17 days so the All Star break will help give the team some needed rest. But I see the possibility of them taking their foot off the pedal for a short stretch and that could prove challenging. If one thing is clear about the Cavs, they do not play well when their foot lifts off the pedal.

I am obviously referring to defensive intensity and effort. The Cavaliers have proven when they play well that it is fueled on the defensive end. Many games during this 11 game win streak have been riddled with shooting and scoring difficulties. When the team defends, they can weather these offensive lapses and still win games. So I will be watching carefully for evidence of any decreases in intensity.

I think the first game in this stretch will be the biggest challenge to their streak and the momentum they are building. I know the LA Clippers will be pretty surly after we knocked them off in LA. They will be looking for the same payback that we have shelled out to teams recently. This will be a huge test of the Cavs resolve to be great. I will be there. I will be hoping for a maximum performance because that is what it will take to win the game.

After two potential trap games against the Pacers and the Lakers, it will be three straight games against probable playoff teams in the East. Miami, Chicago and the Washington Wizards each present their own unique set of difficulties for the Cavs. And right now, the Bulls and the Wizards are in front of the Cavs in the race for playoff positioning.

In addition to the main ingredient of defensive intensity, the Cavs need to continue to grow as a team with their new and improved roster. I am convinced that they can become substantially better as the entire team plays together and the rotation is a bit more structured. That is why, as I have said several times, they need to stay healthy for a stretch of games. It will also give David Blatt more time to get comfortable with those rotations.

Kevin Love will be just fine in time. But that doesn’t mean his offensive slump might not affect the Cavs in the short term. It is critical that he get his full confidence back and produce on the offensive end. Again, I am not concerned at all long term, but I am a bit concerned short term during these next 6 games. His defensive effort and rebounding have been improving and I expect that will continue to improve.

I will be curious to see how Iman Shumpert responds to increased playing time. He looks like a great fit with the Cavs and I am hoping to see his athleticism stand out as he gets more comfortable. I still see him as the eventual starter with JR Smith moving to the sixth man position. Time will tell on that.

I am just throwing out a little caution now that the Cavs and Blatt have proven they will be OK, allowing the fans to back off the ledge. It would not shock me if Cleveland went 3-3 over those 6 games. I don’t think that would be the worst thing to happen and it would not make me any less optimistic regarding the playoffs.

If that prediction comes true, I sure hope the fans do not climb back on the ledge and the media does not do cartwheels because they can be negative again. This is the natural ebb and flow of a long NBA season. I will be rooting for the Cavs to have a 17 game winning streak at the end of this stretch, but I will not panic if they don’t.

The formula to team unity and success is simple. The theme was set from the first day when LeBron and Nike recited the obvious battle cry: 1-2-3 Hard Work 4-5-6 Together !! Yes, it was meant to pull on the heartstrings of the country and of Cleveland. The “King” had returned to his home and was beginning another journey of conquest (in Nike’s world). But despite it’s “feel good” and kind of nerdy tone, it actually captured reality as well as the fantasy of the commercial.

The Cleveland Cavs now have a winning streak to build on. Today’s challenge against the Thunder might be a big one that weakens our resolve again or it might be another step forward. I don’t pretend to know the answer. But I do and have known the answer to the Cavs failures and successes. And it was NEVER David Blatt as so many were screaming. The key was intense effort (rarely exerted during the struggles), the player’s belief and trust in their teammates, an improved composition of the roster, and LeBron James being LeBron James instead of a facsimile of himself.

So, as I clearly pointed out to all who would listen near the end of the losing streak, I was more comfortable about the team’s prospects and eventual success than I had ever been. And that was before they were starting to win. My belief in the Cavs came from several areas:

1. I never doubted David Blatt and his ability to coach or reach players. He had an extensive track record in the past and any NBA players that had ever played under him had nothing but great things to say. Yes, he was responsible as they all were for severe underachievement. But he was not the root of the problem.
2. I knew that having LeBron back with reasonable health was critical to the eventual success of the Cavs. He makes an enormous difference at all times. I cited Miami’s lackluster record this year without LeBron (even with Deng to replace) as the perfect evidence that LeBron really makes a difference.
3. I knew that the roster composition was much better after the trades. We now had a team, as I made very clear at the time, that could compete with any team and go big or small as needed to maximize our advantage. Blatt could now be Blatt and become creative. This is despite the fact that I LOVED Dion Waiters and felt it would be risky to trade him. But when I saw the final result, I had no doubt Griffin had pulled the right strings. (I really wanted Mozgov BTW over any other options out there.)
4. I knew that winning breeds winning, camaraderie, trust, and energy. And I felt, with the changes they had made and the immediate schedule ahead, that winning would start soon. Once winning started, I knew that the public and media tone would immediately shift from players hating Blatt and players planning to leave to a focus on the team and what they could accomplish. That is slowly happening. All it takes is a look on Cleveland.com and see how now they admit that the players frustration with their own roster and success was the issue and not David Blatt.

As Cleveland begins to provide the effort necessary and demonstrates belief in each other, they are a force that can challenge any NBA team and certainly any team in the Eastern Conference. That is why I said that they could even finish as the eighth seed in the East and still win the East if healthy.

That brings me to a critical point about the Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs need to stay healthy for a reasonable period of time !!! I mentioned in a previous blog post that, once Shumpert comes back, the Cavs need about 2-3 weeks to play together to really get the team rolling and comfortable. Then they could sustain some hits to the roster and still be fully ready if healthy by the playoffs. So I will be holding my breath every time a player goes down hoping he can get up and play. In my mind, the only thing that really could hold the Cavs back now is key injuries.

The roster is still not perfect. I think we need a better back up point guard and should use Delly as a defensive “specialist” in certain games. I would love to see another big on the roster. Haywood did not look good in the game against Charlotte in some extended minutes. I am concerned about him, but really don’t want to trade him before the off season. With Miller struggling the Cavs could always use another shooter. But these are things that might not be addressed this year and I think the Cavs need to proceed like this is the roster they will have come playoff time.

Today will be a good test of the “New” Cavs with Shumpert, Smith, and Mozgov all able to contribute in this game. I will be interested to see if the energy I observed at the Q on Friday will be there today. And, if you want to read commentary about the Cavs without all the hyperbole and drama, I’ll be here for you!! Go Cavs!

Winning isn’t the most important thing in professional sports. Winning is the only thing in professional sports. The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t been doing much of that lately and the natives have been more than restless. I am sure that uneasiness has filtered all the way to the top of the organization, but management has remained steadfast to stay the course. As written in a recent Wojnarowski article about Blatt,  “‘There is not even a thought of replacing him,’ one high-ranking Cavaliers official told Yahoo Sports”

That is what I would expect of a high class organization that wants to not only win but become a perennial winner. The San Antonio Spurs were not built in a day. It took patience and perseverance and, at times, putting up with a pretty surly coach. Many, including the talking heads of ESPN, are calling for Blatt’s job. They say it can’t work. Well it can work as long as one ingredient is present, a fully engaged and healthy LeBron James. And as long as the key result is obtained, winning. Some say that this combination of factors are impossible to reach because LeBron won’t allow it. Well, just like with Miami, if the organization remains steadfast and makes it clear that it must work, LeBron will jump on board. As Wojnarowski said “Blatt told Yahoo Sports. ‘It really has to come first from the professional side. Man to man, we’re OK. We don’t go out drinking together, but we’re fine man to man. But professionally, LeBron wants to win. And he wants from me, from any coach, a vehicle to help him win.'” As long as they start winning and working together, those things will move forward.

The same can be said for the “fit” of Kevin Love on the Cavaliers. I find it amusing how rabid Cleveland fans were to go out and get Love at any price, including for Andrew Wiggins and much more. Now, I’ll bet even some of those same fans, are calling for us to trade Love at almost any cost. From a strategic point of view, I think to trade FOR Love at his peak of value and then to trade AWAY Love at his lowest value in years makes about as much sense as drinking battery acid (as a colleague from WFNY recently tweeted). So I am not in favor of that brilliant strategy.

Kevin Love will fit when he does whatever it takes to win. If you listen to him carefully, he made it clear that he was embarrassed by his performance against Phoenix. In contrast to others who freaked at the thought of Blatt not playing him again in a fourth quarter, he was determined to prove his metal and his worth to the team against LA. He put on one of the toughest performances of his career while in constant pain highlighted by a defensive play. In that game, he proved something to LeBron, his coach, and his teammates. As LeBron correctly has pointed out on several occasions now, that is the kind of effort that builds a team and a winner.

Kevin Love can play adequate defense. He has never needed to commit to that side of the floor but that is about to change. I think he knows that. I think the light is going on. Plus, better defensive players are about to be placed around him when Marion, Shumpert and LeBron are on the floor. This will all lead to a better brand of defense both with and without Love on the floor. It takes time. He will get that time and so will Blatt. So we had better simply get used to it and look for the bright spots as they come instead of looking for the obvious deficiencies.

My point is that when a team is losing everything looks awful. Coaches and players alike can and should be questioned about their effectiveness. So all of that is understandable. However, the old saying of “You are never as bad as you look when you are losing and never as good as you look when you are winning” probably applies here. The Cavs are not nearly as bad a team as they looked for the past several weeks. But, with the sweep of LA, we can see some glimpses of better times. It seems evident that more good times are ahead. There will be bumps along the way and terrible sickening games, but logic dictates that if LeBron is healthy those games will be few and bumps small.

More change is not an answer to the problems. No matter how much you hate Blatt or how much you despise Love’s defense replacing them will not fix the main problem that faces the Cavs. The Cavs need to dig in and follow the damn commercial. 1-2-3 HARD WORK. 4-5-6 TOGETHER. They can’t expect an easy answer and they damn sure can’t point the finger at their coaches or teammates. They need to look in the mirror and take on the challenge to be great. The fans need to quit crying all over social media about who they want fired or traded. Change in a business is death to that business. When someone needs to be fired, fine. But continuity and consistency is a better formula to success. With the recent signs from Love, LeBron and Irving, some of that individual accountability seems to be taking hold.

The real problem with the Cleveland Cavaliers is inconsistent effort and lack of trust in their coaches and teammates. Instead of pointing fingers they need to be joining hands and doing whatever they can do individually to make it work. Fight through adversity. Fight for each other. Fight to win. Some opponents need to find themselves lying on the court after drives and grabbing their heads and faces after inadvertent active hands strike or scrape.

If each player and coach took responsibility for their own actions and saw that the vision of winning is found in the mirror, there would be no need for scapegoats. The Cavaliers are supremely talented but have been supremely soft. That needed to change. I hope it started in LA.

No one can deny that this has been a painful stretch for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have been losing with regularity. They have lacked determination and resolve to fight through adversity. Many are speculating that this is, at least partially, because of the failings of their coach and lack of respect for the coach by the players. Some believe it is a master plot by LeBron to undermine his coach and force a change. Others think the front office is to blame for making an ill-fated trade for a star power forward who is a liability on defense. Writers claim inside information that the coaching staff is at odds and Lu is undermining Blatt openly. The list of “reasons” for the lackluster start and double digit losses goes on and on.

It would be presumptuous in my view to believe that anyone, including myself, would be able to sort all of this out and separate fact from fiction. It seems certain that the media who follows the team with the detail of a CSI unit can’t see the forest through the trees. All I keep reading about is a bunch of small trees that are supposed to add up to some sinister story explaining the demise of the Cavs. So far I have learned nothing more than soap box scenarios featuring undermining, power struggles, immaturity, and social media video creations of controversy. There are likely elements of truth in all of these fun and creative stories.  It is equally likely that they don’t amount to a hill of beans in the big picture.

Let’s spend a brief moment putting all of this gibberish in context. It would seem almost self-evident that the coaches might have some differing views about why the Cavs are losing with such regularity. When you have a ton of talent and the talent is losing, there must be some things that are being done from coaching that are ineffective.

So for those who attest after a 19-20 start that coach Blatt is not exactly setting the world on fire with his rotations and schemes, I would respond to them with “Duh”! And if you told me that some of the coaches and players might be questioning whether Blatt is pushing the right buttons, I would respond with an equal “Duh”. That does not mean that Blatt is a bad coach or that there is undermining or scheming to replace him. It means they are losing!

The coach is always going to be questioned when the results are poor. But to give an experienced championship coach, who is new to the NBA, only a half a season to get it figured out is ludicrous beyond belief. Especially considering the injuries and that this is an entirely new team in Cleveland. Except for a few clusters of players that have played together on other teams, this is a group of players with no continuity or chemistry. So for those who bemoan a lack of consistency in player rotations, look at the players available for each game this season and give me your thoughts on how you would have remained consistent.

My point is that when a team is losing everything looks awful and coaches and players alike can and should be questioned about their effectiveness. So all of that is understandable. However, the old saying of “You are never as bad as you look when you are losing and never as good as you look when you are winning” probably applies here. The Cavs are not nearly as bad a team as they look now. And this will turn around at some point. We all hope it is soon.

This brings me to one of the aspects of this dark stretch by the Cavs that is the most disturbing to me. I am not worried about the “investigative” reporting that is generating the soap box. Those things will all work out if the team starts winning again. I AM worried about the resolve of the fans, team management, coaches and players to see this through.

In a brighter day (less than 3 months ago), the Cavs were to set out on a journey that most believed would be a continuous season of coronation. Wins would fall from the sky like raindrops in the spring. The fans would cheer. LeBron would smile. Love would stay. Cleveland would be the center of the sports universe during the NBA season. Nike captured our spirit and our heart in a commercial that, if you were even remotely a Cleveland sports fan, brought tears to your eyes.

Now, half way through this “magical” season, the spirit demonstrated in that commercial has as much credibility as a mirage in the desert. What did we really expect here?? This is Cleveland !!! Not LA. Not NYC. Not Chicago. Thinking it would be easy seems rather foolish now. I guess we really didn’t believe that in Ohio everything is earned, nothing is given. And, in Cleveland professional sports, that is especially true.

So what we have that disturbs me the most is a team and fans that actually do reflect each other, but not in the positive way we all believed 3 months ago. When things have gotten tough, the team and fans have hung their heads and looked at the guy next to them. In the players case it might be the coach or the teammate that isn’t completing his assignment properly. In the fans case it is the coach or a player that they think is “causing the problem”. The response seems to be from both fans and team that “this isn’t working so change it to make it easier”.

Now some changes had to be made. We needed another big who could defend the rim. We needed another wing defender. We needed to replace Dion’s firepower if we used him to get a rim protector. All those things have been accomplished now (even though all the players are not ready to play yet).

More change is not an answer to this problem. No matter how much you hate Blatt or how much you despise Love’s defense replacing them will not fix the main problem that faces the Cavs. The Cavs need to dig in and follow the damn commercial. 1-2-3 HARD WORK. 4-5-6 TOGETHER. They can’t expect an easy answer and they damn sure can’t point the finger at their coaches or teammates. They need to look in the mirror and take on the challenge to be great. The fans need to quit crying all over social media about who they want fired or traded. Change in a business is death to that business. When someone needs to be fired, fine. But continuity and consistency is a better formula to success.

And the fans need to finally realize that if they are always trying to find scapegoats and “reasons” why this team is not winning , they are reflecting the same losing attitude that the team has been expressing the past 2-3 weeks. The fans aren’t willing to stay tough, keep their heads high and support the team during adversity. That is what we want the players to do but we can’t do it ourselves. Maybe the fans can show them the way to fight together through adversity without looking for an easy fix by dumping players or coaches.

The real problem with the Cleveland Cavaliers is inconsistent effort and lack of trust in their coaches and teammates. Instead of pointing fingers they need to be joining hands and doing whatever they can do individually to make it work. Fight through adversity. Fight for each other. Fight to win. Some opponents need to find themselves lying on the court after drives and grabbing their heads and faces after inadvertent active hands strike or scrape.

If each player and coach took responsibility for their own actions and saw that the vision of winning is found in the mirror, there would be no need for scapegoats. The Cavaliers are supremely talented but supremely soft. That simply needs to change.