Surrender to History

Did you know that the 2008 Cleveland Cavaliers outscored the Boston Celtics over the 7-game series that culminated in the Paul Pierce vs LeBron James duel of the ages?  You actually may, because you’re a Cavs fan and I bring it up every now and then.  The Celtics went on to destroy the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 (132-89) to win the NBA Championship.  The Championship Celtics outscored the Lakers by 50 points over the 6-game series.  They outscored the Pistons by 10 over the 6-game Eastern Conference Finals.  Despite needing seven games, the Celtics outscored the Hawks by 84 in Round 1.  But against the Cavs, they were outscored: 596-588.  Who will remember the 2008 Cleveland Cavaliers as being on equal footing with the 66-16 NBA Champion Celtics?  Who will remember that in the waning moments of Game 7, the Cavs defense was lock tight.  Up just a point with 2 minutes remaining, the Celtics could find no rhythm and no space.  Paul Pierce gave up the ball to P.J. Brown, who was strategically left open.  Brown stepped into a line drive 20 footer and found nylon.  “The Unlikely Hero…” “Was out of the league…”  “Most points he’s scored all season…”  “P.J. Brown bailed them out…”  These superlatives came mere moments after Rajon Rondo had airballed an out-of-rhythm floater right into the waiting arms of P.J. Brown.  The only reason the Cavs elite rebounders came up empty was because the ball missed everything.  For shame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFVxLxSEdnA#t=1h56m40s

Here’s the opening salvo of John Hollinger’s 2009-2010 Cavaliers Forecast:

Despite the championship banner hanging in Los Angeles, I’ll always believe the Cavaliers were the best team in basketball last season. They won 66 games, amassed the best scoring margin in the league and featured the league’s best player and MVP in LeBron James. They lost three home games the entire season, including the playoffs, and one of them didn’t matter.

Unfortunately, playoff basketball is a game of matchups, and the Eastern Conference finals offered about the worst one available. Cleveland drew the one team it was unequipped to beat, losing to Orlando 4-2.

“The best team in basketball”

One year after the decision, when I was writing the “Why I want LeBron to Fail Forever” series, I recalled these details to combat a malicious revisionist history that said LeBron never had a chance to win in Cleveland.  That he was ill equipped.  In my memories, the Cavs were good enough – they just didn’t get it done.  And had they kept trying, backed by the full faith and credit of Dan Gilbert’s fat wallet, they’d break through, and the failings would be seen as stepping stones, and not a death spiral.  But after LeBron won that first championship in Miami, the point was moot.  History had been cemented.  The Cavs didn’t give LeBron enough “help”, and the Miami model won the whole thing, albeit, in a strike shortened season against a very green opponent in OKC.  But then, the frankenstein team got bailed out the following year against a bonafide dynasty, and LeBron’s decision was forever vindicated.  My memories (and those of a handful of stubborn Cavs fans) were buried under the avalanche of history.

Today, faced with the surprisingly easy task of basking in the warmth of a championship, I too have decided to let the record show what it shows.  I’m standing down.  Maybe LeBron really did need his “college years” to get to this point.   Maybe he didn’t, but without the struggle, the pain, the heartbreak…would yesterday, today, and tomorrow feel this euphoric?

With a blasé front that is shockingly comfortable to embody, I have been entertained by today’s articles, radio segments, tweets, and water cooler conversations.

From Ethan Sherwood Strauss:

“There will be at least a summer of recriminations, of fans decrying the NBA for influencing this series with a one-game suspension. That’s understandable, but it’s probably less understandable than tempting fate when you’re up 3-1.”

From Stephen A.:

“Something was missing.  He wasn’t the Steph Curry that we’ve come to know, and love, and grow accustomed to.”

From Zach Lowe:

“And Green helped that cause; his ill-timed groin shot might have cost Golden State a repeat title. Andrew Bogut‘s injury forced the Warriors to overplay Festus Ezeli and Anderson Varejao. Harrison Barnes slumped at the worst time, contributing to Golden State’s team-wide falloff on open 3s.”

From my Co-Worker at the Water Cooler:

“Good thing Green was gone for game 5 – that’s all I’m saying.”

Everything these and other pundits are saying is true.  I would contend that Steph Curry wasn’t Steph Freaking Curry because the Cavaliers were stubbornly hell-bent on impeding his movements off the ball, trapping when he had the ball, and making him work on the defensive end.  A lot of teams try to trap Curry, and then give up after the 5th straight uncontested Ezeli alley-oop from a 4-3 Draymond Green-led half-court set.  The Cavs didn’t really change their Curry coverage even after losing by 33 in Game 2.

For now, the memories of many, especially from the Bay Area, will be of conspiracy, illegal picks from Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith (long live J.R.’s double screen in Game 3!), LeBron baiting Draymond Green into a suspension, and injuries.  Klay Thompson was defiant today,  proclaiming that the Warriors were still, in fact, the best team.

Next season, Kevin Pelton, or some John Hollinger type, will start off the Warriors 2016-2017 Forecast by proclaiming:

Despite the championship banner hanging in Cleveland, Ohio I’ll always believe the Warriors were the best team in basketball last season. They won a record 73 games, amassed the best scoring margin in the league and featured the league’s best player and MVP in Stephen Curry. They lost three home games the entire season, including the first three rounds of the playoffs.  They hadn’t lost three straight games since 2013.  They dominated Cleveland for seven straight games.

Unfortunately, playoff basketball is a game of attrition, and up 3-1, the Warriors nipped at LeBron’s tail one time too many.  He awoke, regained peak form, and tore the shit out of everything.  Golden State drew the one legend it was unequipped to beat.

One minute and nine seconds decided the outcome of Game 7.  One minute and nine seconds is such an insignificant amount of time.  It takes three minutes and 30 seconds to microwave a DiGiorno Pizza (Love you, Joe Tait.)  Had the Warriors prevailed over the final one minute and nine seconds, history would mark a dynasty.  Featuring the greatest team ever.  Led by the first unanimous MVP.

And that’s how some will remember the Warriors: a dynastic juggernaut featuring the greatest single season ever for an NBA player and the most regular season wins in history.

Those memories will fade.

Nuance bows to Father Time.

Our Children and Grandchildren will hear great tales about LeBron Raymone James and his skeletal squad going the distance against the eventual Champion Warriors.  It was too much to overcome, missing two all-stars.  But they got healthy, they got angry, and they became the first team in NBA History to overcome a 3-1 deficit.  And they did it against the so-called greatest team ever – ending a 52-year title drought in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.

David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.

Maybe Goliath wasn’t 100%.  Maybe his lateral movement was a bit sluggish.  Maybe David was actually 6’8 260 lb of chiseled shepherd steel but they underestimated him because he wore baggy sheepskin and didn’t own shiny armor or a badass sword.  Details.  All we remember is the guy that wasn’t supposed to win cut off the head of the preening Goliath, killed everybody else, and then plundered the whole damn camp.

We write this history.