Last June, the Golden State Warriors celebrated winning the 2015 Finals on Cleveland’s home court and partied in the visiting locker room.
Many Cavs fans and perhaps even members of the team, vehemently believed that if the Cavs (Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) were healthy they would have won the Finals.
Whether that’s true or not, it’s been the fuel to the fire of the Cavs and their fan base all season long.
The Cavs looked like an elite team in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, cruising through competition for the most part, and showing why they dominated the East.
But when the Thunder were leading the Warriors 3 games to 1, I found it strange how many Cavs fans were pulling for OKC to win the series.
Was it because they hated Golden State so much and just wanted to see them lose? Or was it out of fear that maybe the Cavs aren’t as great of a team as the reigning champions that won 73 games and had the back-to-back MVP on their roster?
Golden State pulled off the comeback and all the same fans who had been 100 percent convinced that the Cavs would have won the Finals last year if both squads were healthy got what they wished for.
ESPN Cavaliers reporter Dave McMenamin even said that this was the matchup many of the players on the team wanted.
If the Cavs really believe they could beat them with both teams at full strength, this was their time to prove it.
If the regular season meant absolutely nothing, this was their time to show it.
Meanwhile, the Warriors heard all the lack of respect for their 2015 championship all season long, too.
The Warriors played like a team with more to prove all season long. They had a chip on their shoulder, being told by some that their championship was not valid; that they did not earn it.
That motivated them throughout their historic season and playoff run.
And from the moment Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals tipped off in Oakland, they have looked like not only the better team, but the hungrier team, who wants it more, hustles more, and is willing to do whatever it takes.
The Cavs look lost. They look like they have laid down.
I’m not going to spend the time in this column bashing the Cavs because their play on the court is way too embarrassing enough to begin with.
But now this is not just about a basketball game. This is about pride, respect, and backing up all the talk of the last year.
Any outcome without a championship in Cleveland will be viewed as a failure by most. When this team was put together, it was a win-now, championship or bust mentality.
For the Cavs to talk about being a championship-caliber team and get flat out embarrassed in the first two games is an indictment on their work ethic, their drive, and even their character.
This is not to say that losing in the Finals would make them “low-character individuals,” but if players talk and talk and talk all season long, then come up empty when it matters, and are questioned for their effort, that speaks to how much the fans who love the team unconditionally can trust them and believe in them going forward.
It would be one thing if this series was a matter of talent alone. But these two games have come down to heart and will.
One team looks like they are starving for a championship, but they just won it last year.
The other team looks like they don’t belong in the same gym as Golden State and their team has not won a championship in franchise history, playing in a city with no titles since 1964.
Last year, LeBron James told the media after Game 6 that he was the greatest player on the planet.
He put up great numbers in that series with little help. Now he has all the help he could ask for and flat out is not getting it done.
He’s not playing like the greatest player on the court, let alone in the league.
Until he brings a title to Cleveland, everything he says up at a podium or into a microphone rings hollow.
If Tyronn Lue really is who he wanted to be head coach, these are the results he’s getting from it.
If LeBron really was the main voice in bringing Love to Cleveland, these are the results he’s getting from it.
If missing Kyrie and Love in the 2015 Finals was the only deciding factor of the series, these are the results the team is living with when they get what they wished for.
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