Call It Believeland, MiraCLE, or Whatever Cliché You Want; The Cavs Are In this Thing

I’ll be the first person to admit that throughout the regular season, the Golden State Warriors looked like the more impressive team from start to finish. There was never a time I thought the Cavs were on the same level.

Throughout the playoffs, the Cavs looked like the dominant team we envisioned them to be against the Eastern Conference, but keep in mind, they were supposed to do that to the east anyway.

When the Thunder led Golden State 3 games to 1 in the Western Conference Finals, it appeared the Cavs would get the preferable matchup and have a great shot to win a title.

Many had written off the Warriors, but they showed why they’re a great team, overcoming the 3-1 deficit.

After the Cavs lost the first two games on the road, losing Game 1 by 15 and Game 2 by 33, it seemed inevitable that the Cavs were going to lose the series.

Game 3 was awesome. LeBron, Kyrie, and J.R. had big games, along with great contributions from RJ and Tristan.

Game 4, all hope was lost again for me personally.

The Cavs were down 3-1 going up against a fully healthy Warriors squad in Oakland.

But the league’s decision to suspend Draymond Green gave the Cavs a good opportunity to take advantage of, and that they did, thanks to 82 combined points from Kyrie and LeBron.

Even before Game 5, once it was announced that Draymond would not be playing, it seemed like a winnable game for the Cavs, but they only needed two players to have basically the best games of their NBA Finals careers to pull it off.

Having Game 6 back at home, fans were well within reason to feel confident; but the WAY the Cavs dominated turned it into a statement win.

LeBron had another remarkable performance. The Cavs had balanced contributions and were in control all night long.

Now we head into Game 7 on Sunday. On the road. At Oracle.

It’s not going to be easy for either team. LeBron is playing at a superhero level.

The Warriors are better at home and will have a full roster, other than Andrew Bogut (who may make more of an impact than people estimated prior to Game 5) and the threat of Golden State’s three-point shooting arsenal, especially Steph and Klay does not go away just because some think the team is rattled.

When the series started, I felt that if the Cavs had to go on the road and play a Game 7, their chances of winning that game would be slim.

But given the momentum the Cavs have stolen in these last two games, going from facing the brink of elimination to looking like the aggressors, Cavs fans have every right to be confident in their team-not just from a “fan” standpoint- but the world has seen that Cleveland is on the same level as Golden State.

They have proven it now. It’s not just blind optimism.

By no means does this make the Cavs the favorite in Game 7. The Las Vegas Westgate Superbook has the Warriors as 5-point favorites.

They also had the Warriors as 6-point favorites heading into Game 5.

It’s impossible to predict how this game is going to go. It will be a battle of wills. Two juggernaut teams going at each other as hard as they can, each leaving everything on the line in the final game of the season.

Hollywood could not have written this script any better.

Don’t take that to come across like “That’s why it’s rigged. That’s why it’s fixed.” Anyone thinking that way can go join Ayesha Curry and the conspiracy theorists and stop watching the game of basketball if there’s no reason to watch since the outcome is fixed.

Newsflash: if you think it’s fixed and you’re still emotionally invested in the outcome, the joke’s on you.

For the rest of us, we’re just going to enjoy the game of basketball at its best, which these last six games have been.

But back to the point. This series is unfolding like an epic novel and has the chance to be concluded with a fairytale ending for Cleveland.

When the Cavs were down 2-0, I saw memes and pictures that said, “You can’t spell miracle without CLE.”

Throughout the Playoffs, the nickname Believeland has echoed throughout Northeast Ohio.

As corny as that stuff sounds, even when I try to look at it from as unbiased a mindstate as I possibly can, I have to say that what we are witnessing has defied logic and is bordering on the sports equivalency of miraculous.

No team has ever come back down 3-1 in the NBA Finals.

Two teammates had never scored 40 or more in the same game in NBA Finals history prior to Game 5.

LeBron just became the first player to score 40 in two straight Finals games since Shaq in 2000.

The Cavs have a chance to win the first title in franchise history and end Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought.

It’s only fitting that it would be a historical comeback if they pull it off. It’s only right that Cleveland would have to work harder than any NBA team to come back and get the title.

To fans who stuck it out through the good and bad, never wavering this season and remained confident that the Cavs would pull it off, I give you a lot of credit.

There were so many points this season and a few in this series that looked like the Cavs’ hopes were dim.

Perhaps many writers, myself included, underestimated the power of LeBron. Probably not a smart move.

Were the Warriors overrated? It’s possible, but it’s also possible that the Cavs are just that great of team when LeBron and Kyrie are playing at a high level.

The bottom line is now it comes down to which team is better for one game, for four quarters, in Oakland.

Believeland, if you’re hoping for a “MiraCLE” use whatever clichés you want, this is our chance to have a champion in Cleveland.