Six on Five: Game 7 Finals Edition

[Editor’s Note: We all got together and pitched in our last group post of the season. Can’t wait to see you all tonight, and wherever you and your crew end up watching the game, savor it. Enjoy it. Have a blast. Thank you all for an amazing season. GO CAVS!]
Do you believe the curse is real? 
Cory: I don’t believe in voodoo in any shape or form, it’s just not my style. I’m not judging believers for their superstitions either. If anything, I’m jealous of them in a way. I wish that I could chalk all of this misery to a higher power. For me, we’re just on a long losing streak at a roulette table, and we’re due to hit.

Elijah: I don’t believe there is a “curse.” The Cavs are a franchise that has had bad luck and made poor decisions. They were once run by Ted Stephen, and now there is even a Stepien rule. Gordon Gund wasn’t the greatest owner either, infamously allowing Boozer to leave via a wink-wink transaction. Gilbert and his new group have seemed to be the “most successful” by definition, but mostly due to one man, LeBron James.

While I don’t necessarily believe the Cavs are “cursed”, they are the epitome of extreme poor choices by management that crippled the franchise for years to come. The Cavs have never been favored in a Finals series, so is it truly a “curse” to lose when you are expected to? However, the Cavs are knocking on the door and have an opportunity to break this string of bad luck and poor choices.

Nate: No. This is just sport. NE Ohio has rebounded in a giant way from the great recession and some of the greatest financial, industrial, and government challenges in its history. Cleveland has gone from being considered a backwater rust-belt dinosaur to a destination for food, music, theater, education, research, art, and so much more. Many of us who grew up here and have lived here for a long time, know that those things were here even when times were tougher, but as the region rises above people’s provincial prejudices and shines, it gives us a sense of pride. That people are doing better than they were 6-7 years ago, means so much more than a silly championship. There is no curse. There is only basketball.

Ben: I don’t believe the curse is real, but I know people do. That is already enough for a curse to work at times. In some respects, it is better that this game is on the road. Whatever advantage homecourt could give you, the stress and anxiety of that Cleveland crowd could be counterproductive.

EG: I probably should believe in the Curse. I mean, I was a 10 year old witness to Red Right 88, was there to see The Drive unfold, watched The Shot in person… okay, I’m glad I’m not actually going to be at Oracle for this one, not that I’m superstitious or anything… All that said, I don’t believe in curses. I believe in misfortune. I believe in bad luck. I believe in horrible timing. However, I also believe in the resiliency of the human spirit, the will and determination of those that represent this town, and the concept of hope springing eternal. One of these days… maybe tomorrow… the word “Curse” will cease to be a part of the collective vernacular in Cleveland.

Tom: Oh absolutely.  The question is: who or what is causing the curse?  Does “God Hates Cleveland” cover it?  I don’t think it’s that simple.  At this point, I think the anxieties of the city add so much pressure to the sports teams that it reinforces whatever cosmic forces we unearthed after dealing away Rocky Colavito.  The players, management, and especially owners can feel it, and they react to it.  Are the Browns bad because they’re cursed or because they hit the reset button every 2.5 years?  All three professional sports teams have had a miserable run of terrible luck, mismanagement at times, and the pressure just continues to mount as the years tick by.
If the Cavs win Sunday, who will be the X-Factor? 
Cory: Kevin Love. Not the retired Nascar driver, but Uncle Drew’s bud Wes. I’m not going to pile on him for his series. We knew it was going to be a rough one for him matchup-wise before his concussion. To get a win on the road in game seven, they are going to need him to be the back wheel on the tricycle.

Elijah: For the Cavs to win Sunday, the X Factor will have to be Kevin Love or JR Smith. Since Love has been injured, he really hasn’t had a chance to be impactful. In game 4, he came off the bench and played minimum minutes. In game 5, Love struggled to score. In game 6, Love made a couple of good plays but had extremely early foul trouble, limiting his minutes. Love hasn’t had a signature performance in this series and now he is down to his last opportunity.

Regarding JR Smith, he has been a different player in the two arenas. Regardless of his scoring, I’m more concerned about his defense on Klay Thompson. JR has had his moments in guarding Klay. While Klay is a good player and still can fill up the box score in a hurry, JR must be locked into limit him as much as possible and contribute with a couple of big shots here and there. In terms of an Ex Factor, JR can be that factor by making key shots and contributing on both ends of the floor.

Nate: Richard Jefferson has been the X-Factor this whole series. No one saw this impact coming: the leadership, the defense, the finishing, and finally the shooting, have been enormous (in that order). I thought the order would be the opposite. He always seemed like a me-first detractor, but he’s become one of those great players who’s learned to sublimate his game for the betterment of his team as he’s aged, and this playoffs he’s been just superb. If he can give the Cavs his best, he’ll be an huuuuge complement.

Ben: Tyronn Lue. What will his lineups be in this game? The Cavs have won the last two games almost in spite of the strange lineups. Will he start Love? Will Shump still have an opportunity to completely undermine the defensive gameplan? He has been fine as a leader and the plays out of timeouts have been fantastic. He and the players have done great job picking on Curry. But he needs to pull the right strings in order to win this game. If they win, it will be because Lue nailed it. What “nailing it” is remains to be seen.

EG: After the last two games, it’s hard to pick anyone but LeBron James to be the X factor. He has, with an assist from Kyrie, been nothing short of a modern day Atlas for this franchise and city. It’s hard to imagine him being any better than he has been this week, but he may have to be for the Cavs to finally grab the brass ring. However, how storybook would it be if, of all people, Kevin Love wound up having the game of his career in Game 7 of The Finals? It’s been a roller-coaster ride that is almost so unbelievable you couldn’t make this stuff up. Why not have the guy who has taken the most abuse be the guy who transcends and makes the ultimate difference?

Tom: If we are assuming that LeBron, Kyrie, and Tristan need to play well in order for the Cavs to have a chance, I’m going to go with J.R. Smith.  When the Cavs are playing well, J.R. gets open looks and when J.R. is hitting contested 3s, the Cavs start playing well.  It’s been a fun symbiosis this season, and I think the Cavs are going to need him to knock down four or more 3s tonight.
Where are you going to watch the game, and why?

Cory: And this is the $10,000 question for me. I get out of work at 5 today. I could go to Cleveland for the game. The question is should I? I’m a passionate dude, and I can’t predict how I’ll react to any outcome. Will I cry? Will I just start throwing up? I dunno. I’ve never seen a team I’m married to win a championship. Back in LA, I was with my bud Jimmy after his Bruins won the Stanley Cup, and he had three costume changes throughout the night, and he took a victory lap all down Fairfax. I should probably just watch at home with Mojo.

Elijah: I’ll be hosting a watch party in the Columbus area. Just about every time I’ve hosted, the team that the majority of the guests rooted for have won. I’m going to live up to my basketball nickname of “Korean Channing Frye” with a diverse spread, infused with Korean spices. I’ll be on point on the grill and cooking like Kyrie.

Nate: I thought hard about going up to the Q for the watch party, but I think I’ll just hang in my living room. I mean I’ve watched 98% of Cavs games for the last 13 years in my home, surrounded by my family.  It’s where I should be when they win it all – and, of course, live threading it with you guys.

Ben: I will probably end up watching at home like I always do. Hopefully the Internet connection is good enough to Skype with my sister at the same time as streaming the game. I love living in Germany, but it is not the best viewing experience for my Cavs. Being in Cleveland and/or watching with the guys from this awesome site would be ideal. Ah well. I will wake everyone up with my shouts of joy if the Cavs pull it off.

EG: After being relegated to watching highlights and snippets of Games 5 & 6 from the road on my laptop, I’ll be taking in this historic Game 7 on my couch with my family… and of course the C:tB community. Outside of being at the game in person, being at the Q watch party, or watching it on a barstool between Nate and Cols, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend this occasion.

Tom: I’ll be at home watching on TV, celebrating or despairing in the Live Thread, on Twitter, and through text messages with family and friends.
If the Cavs win, how will you celebrate? If they lose, how will you cope? 
Cory: I’ll burn a couple hundred on Cavs gear for sure if they win. I assume that have some just got lucky pep in my step too. At some point, I think that my life will just go back to what it was. I’ve convinced myself that them winning a title won’t have a macro effect on anything, but that’s probably just a defense mechanism.

If they lose…I’ll just be sacrificed to the sports gods again. I’ll just avoid all social media, and sports for a month. I’ll except that I just wasn’t meant to have nice things and go back to resetting Baby Boomers passwords for 50 hours a week.

Elijah: If the Cavs win, I’ll celebrate by yelling extremely loudly and immediately ordering hundreds of dollars of championship gear. I’ll email my boss immediately to cancel work on Wednesday for the parade.

If they lose, I’ll smile and chuckle to reflect on the great season the Cavs have given me as an outlet for my personal struggles. In addition, I’ll fire up the trade machine to see what we can get for every player but the Big Three and pray and hope Griffin can pull off the same moves.

Ben: It will be about 5 in the morning here when the game ends. No matter what happens, I will probably talk to friends and family, kick it on the blog for awhile and then fall asleep. I will then spend all Monday trying to figure out the cheapest way to ship championship merchandise to Europe. I guess if they lose, I will start thinking about how they could improve for next year. I’m from Cleveland after all.

Nate: As an adult I’ve only ever loved three teams: the 2003 Kansas City Chiefs, the 2005-2010 Cavs, and this squad. None of them have ever won an thing, and it’s taught me that winning in sports is less important than loving your team and appreciating each moment of greatness rather than just being obsessed with a trophy. The journey and the process are much more meaningful than the end result. So when they when, I’ll smile, fist bump my buddy Eric, go up and hug my wife (who’ll be sleeping cause she works at 5 AM), hug my daughter (whose 2003 birth coincided with the start of my Cavs’ fandom), and then hop on Skype with some of these chuckleheads to celebrate. So much of “celebration” in this day and age is self promotion: “I was there! I was a part of it!” But not me. I’ll just hold it in my heart for years to come.

EG: I’m not sure if I can quantify my joyous response if they win it all. I mean, last year, after LBJ hit that shot to beat the buzzer against the Bulls in round two… I ran outside yelling and did a lap around the block, causing the neighbors to look at me funny for months. I’d probably have to do a full lap around the neighborhood this time holding my Cavs jersey over my head like a flag and shouting like a madman. If they lose, it will be hard, but not nearly as hard as if they had gone out 4-1. Either way there will likely be copious tears and beers.

Tom: I’ve been thinking about this seriously for about 48 hours.  I honestly have no idea.  I told my wife: be ready for anything.  I don’t know how I’ll handle it.  If they win, I imagine I will stay up until some ungodly hour with the rest of you.  If they lose – I’ll have to come up with some InstaCap and then get ready for work in the morning I guess.  There could be some cartwheels in the backyard or some screaming into pillows.
What will the final score be? 

Cory: Lawd. Some people don’t understand the appeal of gambling. All addictions are dopamine based, and there is nothing, and I mean nothing like hitting on a sports parlay. Everything about my sports following life has led me to believe that I should throw a grand on the Warriors and be happy either way, but I really am a romantic at heart. 98-90 Cavs. If this is the outcome, I’ll be at Ontario Street Cafe before the parade. Join me.

Elijah: 110-97 Cavs.

Ben: I am going to go with 112-103. I just don’t know which team will win. If I were completely objective about this, I would actually take the Cavs. They seemed to have “solved” the Warriors defense. And yet, just writing that makes me incredibly nervous. I will abstain from a prediction that isn’t heavily qualified. Refs and health will be huge. And even then, there is no way to really predict this one. I love basketball.

Nate: Cleveland 108-92. I want so badly to watch the Warriors get far enough out that they quit mid fourth, and sit sulking on the bench while the Cavs are extending the lead.

EG: I don’t know… and I hate to even speculate. In my dream scenario, the Cavs win 123-122 in triple-overtime with LeBron knocking down his 51st point on the winning and-one FT following Draymond’s sixth foul… cementing not only the greatest Game 7 of all time, but the greatest comeback in Finals history…

Tom: 105-103 Cavs.