You’d have to go back to the 1997-98 season of the National Basketball Association to find the Cavaliers sporting a winning record without LeBron James on the roster. Apart from what the development says about the singular impact of the all-time great, it underscores the relative inability of the wine and gold to sustain any semblance of competitiveness. Never mind that they latched on to three Number One draft picks in four years over the last decade. You’d think that 26 first-round forays dating back to the turn of the millennium would at least set them up for relevance. Instead, they wound up absorbing losing season after losing season — that is, until the King’s arrival and, yes, return set them up for an unprecedented Finals comeback en route to the 2016 championship.
When James left in 2018, the stage was set for yet another long stint at the bottom. The Cavaliers’ roster was relatively devoid of talent, and five-time All-Star Kevin Love, the only player of note left, wound up being beset by foot ailments that eventually required surgery. His advancing age and increasing susceptibility to injury effectively made his newly minted $120-million contract extension an albatross that further dragged them down. And, certainly, the coaching carousel didn’t help.
Which, for all intents, is what makes the Cavaliers’ current run more of a shocker than a surprise. They weren’t supposed to be within striking distance of the top of the East, and not simply because such notables as the Nets, Bucks, and Sixers figured to rule the conference. Rather, they were pegged to have difficulty treading water, what with erstwhile top scorer Collin Sexton out for the foreseeable future and their youth invasion seen to provide little to none of the experience supposedly required of contenders. And yet they’re not just hanging on or hanging around; they’re producing wins with consistency. With the All-Star Weekend in sight, they’re a mere one game behind the pace-setting Heat.
It bears noting that the Cavaliers have doubled down on their desire to rub elbows with the best, pulling the trigger on a deal that nets them shooting guard Caris LeVert from the Pacers vice the sidelined Ricky Rubio, one first-round pick, and two second-round picks. Their new acquisition isn’t exactly a model of efficiency, but nonetheless plugs a hole in an offense practically devoid of drives to the hoop.
Considering the giant strides the Cavaliers have made with junior Darius Garland at the point, it’s fair to argue that there will be no letdowns in the second half of their 2021-22 campaign. Whether they manage to go deep in the playoffs remains to be seen, but there can be no discounting how much better they’ve become, and how bright their future is under head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. They may not be able to totally escape James’ shadow in light of the gravity of his accomplishments, but they’re at least justified in telling themselves that the good old days are in the process of being replaced by great new ones.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
