Davies: For Cavs, being tested can act as plus
It’s stunning how quickly the outlook of a team and a series can change after a few days.
After a trip to Toronto and a couple of losses to the second-seeded Raptors, the Cleveland Cavaliers went from a title favorite to a team that might not even make it to the NBA Finals.
At least that’s what Twitter tells me.
And it’s not just social media that feels this way -- it’s almost every fan. Following the Cavs’ 105-99 loss at the Air Canada Centre, I received a barrage of text messages from family, friends and co-workers.
One read, “Think we’ll be fine, Spence?”
“I’m sick,” said another. “Just disgusted.”
Maybe having the privilege of covering the Cavs and NBA in general over the past year and a half has changed my outlook, but aren’t the playoffs -- especially the conference finals -- supposed to be competitive?
Admittedly, yes, Cleveland didn’t look so hot north of the border. They were a step slow and will need to address some of the adjustments Dwane Casey made in Games 3 and 4.
But let’s not kid ourselves -- the Raptors are a talented basketball team. They’ve just lived and died by the play of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.
This is a team that won ONE less game than the Cavs in the regular season.
Spencer, this is the postseason. That didn’t matter anyways.
That may be true about the playoffs, but to discount the accomplishments a team makes on the way there is sheer stupidity. I’d say a 32-9 record at home is somewhat telling, right?
How about a dynamic backcourt that earned All-Star honors?
The fact that Cleveland was projected to beat Toronto and make their second straight championship appearance is understandable.
But the notion that they would just steamroll over a team with just as much hunger and motivation to prove their naysayers wrong is absurd.
It isn’t exclusive to this situation, either.
Why don’t we take a look at the Western Conference Finals, where a national darling and once-seemingly unstoppable force has been left dumbfounded by a group that most -- including myself -- didn’t give a chance to get past the second round.
The very same team that won 73 games and made NBA history as the clear-cut favorite to repeat as league champion is now staring elimination in the face.
The league’s first-ever unanimous MVP and his friends by the bay were supposed to breeze through the first two rounds and take on the San Antonio Spurs instead, but that didn’t happen.
So the potential scenario has now shifted from a Cavs-Warriors title rematch, to a battle of what were afterthoughts -- the Raptors and the Thunder.
Contrary to popular opinion, I think this is good for the league. Their most notorious and talented two teams are being tested and pushed to the limit, which will bring out the best in the both Golden State and Cleveland.
Yes, the Warriors are trailing 3-1. And the Cavs have also lost two in a row and find themselves in a tied series. It’s legitimately realistic to say that neither team might advance to the championship round.
But this kind of adversity should be expected when it gets this late into the playoffs. It’s the final four teams of the year for goodness sakes.
If either of those two are what they are hyped up to be, they’ll get back to where they were a year ago -- no matter what the odds look like, no matter what the deficit is.
Unpredictability is one of the best elements in sports. So rather than act like a team is on top of the world when things are going right, or the sky is falling when they aren’t, just enjoy the games and keep things in perspective looking at the big picture.
Trust me, you’ll be happier -- and you’ll even gain a greater appreciation and respect for the game.
