The list of what-if, nearly-but-not-quite NBA teams reads like a wasteland of broken dreams and unfulfilled promise, a depressing nod to ‘wait ’til next year’ and figurative winters of discontent for players and fans alike.
From the mid-1970s Phoenix and Chicago squads, to the ’80s Rockets, Bucks and Spurs; from the late 80s and early ’90s Blazers and Suns, to the 1990s Knicks, Magic and Pacers, and on to the seven-seconds-or-less Suns, and the Pacers again (see a pattern here folks?), there’s a litany of teams that climbed to within touching distance of the NBA summit, only to fall back and – in a lot of cases – never ascend those lofty heights again.
Be it injuries (ugh, Phoenix), bad luck (not again, Phoenix) or suspensions (*deep sigh* dammit Phoenix), if there’s one thing that’s an immutable NBA fact, it’s that you don’t just need elite talent to win one title – let alone multiple championships.
Conversely, for some teams, to be merely in the frame of deep-playoff contention is enough; a combination of good luck (which can mean other teams’ misfortune) and the maximising of the available roster talent allowing for a run that leaves both the organisation and its fans pleasantly satisfied.
So, more than most, there’s a team in the NBA this year fighting to reach that summit properly, carrying a backpack heavy with the weight of expectations as yet unfulfilled.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, returning to the NBA Finals won’t be enough now.
And it’s not just modern-day expectations that is a beast of burden for these Cavs, there’s also the not-inconsiderable pressure of historical futility in a city starved of sporting success for more than half a century.
The Cavs have their own NBA ghosts to deal with as well, the late ’80s and early ’90s squads featuring All-Stars Mark Price, Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance, along with a deeply talented roster that included the likes of Ron Harper, Craig Ehlo, Hot Rod Williams (who recently passed away at the all-too-young age of 53) and a young Steve Kerr, suffered a raft of rotten luck, with injuries cruelling a number of seasons – never mind having to deal with both the Bad Boys of Detroit and the ever-looming spectre of Michael Jordan and the Bulls in their own division.
If it was not quite history repeating for Cleveland, an injury-ravaged playoffs and Finals campaign last season saw a brave effort ultimately fall short against a Golden State Warriors team (in one of those quirkily karmic ironies, coached by Kerr) that largely avoided all of the maladies and calamaties that befell the Cavs.
(Although, winning your conference sans your All-Star power forward might say more about the quality of competition in the East than anything else.)
Indeed, there is a compelling argument that wonders how the Dubs might have fared without two of their three best players – not that the Warriors care. History, after all, is written by the victors.
But come what may and the Cavs, without their starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert have kept a steady, if unspectacular, hand on the tiller this season, staying ahead of the chasing pack and leading the Eastern conference with a 17-7 record.
It’s enough to be two games clear of the surprising Pacers, as well as Toronto, with a further six teams bunched up behind in what is already shaping as a tighter-than-tight race for post-season berths.
As ever, it is a campaign built on the back of their Le Roi, the superlative LeBron Raymone James.
The four-time Most Valuable Player is quietly (for him) assembling another exceptional season, averaging 26.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists – numbers comparable to his career averages, showing the almost-31-year-old hasn’t slipped from his perch as the greatest talent of his generation, and perhaps ever.
Indeed, another potential ‘what if’ team again felt the full fury of James’ quest to end the Cleveland curse this week, as the Oklahoma City Thunder were on the receiving end of a 33-point, 11-assist, nine-rebound barrage that lifted the Cavs to a dramatic 104-100 victory.
That the Cavs have been able to maintain their ascendancy without Irving so far has been in large part to unheralded performances from Cleveland’s bench, with Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova particularly prominent.
The third-year guard from Maryborough via St Mary’s College has stepped up in a major way, playing his usual brand of feisty hustleness but with career-high statistics across the board, an increased efficiency and an outstanding assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.85 that leads the league.
In addition, his on-court chemistry with Tristan Thompson has been a delight to watch, as the duo work their neat two-man game to great effect, giving the Cavs an added offensive boost that meshes well with the all-purpose threats that James and Kevin Love present.
And while Shumpert’s recent low-key return (his dramatic delivery of his fiancee’s baby notwithstanding) will be crucial for the long run, it was perhaps a two-word tweet on the weekend that gave the rest of the league pause for thought:
I’m back.
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) December 19, 2015
People forget just how good Irving is: a twisting, whirling wraith who leaves opponents grasping at thin air as if trying to catch a smoky outline of what had been in front of them less than a second earlier.
Questions still linger, mainly how much ground will Love have to yield to Irving, and how the rotations will have to be re-adjusted for the Duke alum, but there is time enough.
A fully fit Cavs team has yet to play a single minute this season, but the pieces are slowly falling into place, and if James has his way, come June, it will be the rest of the league that is cursing Cleveland.
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