It was a mere year and a half ago that the Cleveland Cavaliers were the laughingstocks of the NBA -they lacked talent and depth at every position, lost a league-high 65 games and carried a me-first attitude, which was made clearly evident in Ricky Davis' attempt to garner a triple-double by shooting at his own basket and rebounding the miss (needless to say, it was all for naught, as the rebound was not counted). They were a name without a face, a far cry from the teams of the early 1990s that perennially challenged Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls.
Eighteen months later, the Cavaliers are full of fresh new faces. Their coach, Paul Silas, is so tight-lipped and stern that seeing him smile is as rare an occasion as seeing Halley's Comet. Their best rookie, Anderson Varejao, was not even drafted by the team, but has quickly become a fan favorite, as his style of play is just as wild as his Sideshow Bob-esque hairstyle.
Finally, there is no overlooking LeBron James, whose jaw-dropping dunks and mesmerizing talent have made him the toast of the town -and he is not yet of legal drinking age. These faces, combined with a team-first attitude, have changed the Cavaliers from yearly league doormats to legitimate playoff contenders.
As the 2004-05 NBA season reaches its halfway point, the Cavaliers have 24 wins and are on pace to reach the 50-win plateau, a feat not achieved since the 1992-93 season. More importantly, the Cavaliers are clinging to a narrow lead in the Central Division. If they win the division, it will only be the second division title in franchise history. What makes this year's team more impressive is the way they have bounced back after Boozergate.
High expectations were placed on this year's team in the summer after a strong finish the season before. Those expectations were dashed just as quickly as it took forward Carlos Boozer to decide that leaving Cleveland for the Great Salt Lake was worth a cool $68 million. Considering Boozer publicly stated months before that he loved playing in Cleveland and wanted to stay, the move was just another stake to the heart of the Cleveland sports fan. The organization rebounded, however, stealing Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Tony Battie a few weeks after the Boozer debacle.
The Cavaliers have not only met the slightly lessened expectations that came after Boozer's defection, but exceeded them. James outscored the Phoenix Suns by himself in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers' memorable 114-109 overtime comeback victory in November and has become a triple-double machine as of late, notching two and narrowly missing a third in Monday's loss to Washington.
His averages (25 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game) have easily surpassed his rookie averages, when he became the third player to average 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. The others to accomplish this feat were a couple guys named Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden have solidified the frontcourt and have gotten help from Robert Tractor Traylor and the thrillin' Brazilian Varejao, who receives an ovation from the Cleveland faithful every time he steps on the court.
The Cavaliers have notched impressive victories against playoff contenders Washington, Detroit, Chicago, and Memphis while also knocking off Western Conference power Phoenix, so it is not like the Cavaliers have earned all of their victories the easy way.
The pieces are in place for a serious run this season for Cleveland. The emergence of the frontcourt players should allow the Cavs to neutralize Shaquille O'Neal in Miami, the Wallaces in Detroit and Jermaine O'Neal in Indiana. LeBron has shown that when necessary, he can carry the team on his shoulders and lead them to victory. The bench has contributed when called upon to give the starters a break. Barring a monumental collapse, the Cavaliers are bound to be in the playoffs, where uncertainty reigns supreme -just ask last year's Lakers.
The current success of this year's Cavaliers, the possibilities of them playing into May or June, and the 14-28 record of Carlos Boozer's Utah Jazz definitely put smiles on the faces of Cleveland basketball fans these days.
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