This forum is breaking out in a chronic case of the "Vurbanos", where, as soon as a player or team doesn't perform exactly how you want, when you want, you all jump ship. I'd like to be a general manager trading with any of you.
2010 NBA Playoffs
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I think a lot of you are burying Lebron James a little prematurely. If he has a big game six and Cleveland wins, everyone will jump right back on his bandwagon.
Sandra
Not jumping ship at all. Just coming to the harsh grips of reality and voicing some of my harsh, but well warranted criticisms. I will always root for all things Cleveland to succeed.
It's Championship or bust Sandra. I've accepted "growth" and experience for 7 years now. All I'm asking is for our back-to-back "MVP" to perform the way he's capable. If he and the best team he's ever been surrounded by doesn't, I am not afraid to criticism him. The kid gloves are off. No one is off limits anymore, not even the King.
I fully agree with your stance. A loss to Boston in this series would mean a playoff series regression over the last three years....
Where have you gone, LeBron James... Joltin' James has left and gone away...
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Bill, I must ask. Boston knows as much about adversity as anyone. Do you see any similarities between the 2004 Boston Red Sox and the 2010 Cleveland Cavs?
You guys lived through the "Curse of the Bambino". I can only imagine what the scene was like in Boston on the morning of Sunday, October 17, 2004 when the Yankees had just taken a 3-0 lead in the ALCS over the Red Sox by embarrassing them to a 19-8 tune. I doubt there was any more hope or reason to believe that morning than there is in Cleveland today.
I may be grasping, but I'm trying to find reason to believe.
Cripes, every team can't do "better" every year. Cleveland is contending, to say the least, and its best player is clearly one of the best of all time and will be in his prime for another half a decade, making Cleveland a fairly desirable destination for "mid-level exception" additions.
I don't consider it regression. I consider it normal fluctuation of a contending team. The Celtics had Kevin Garnett in 2008 and won it all, they didn't have him in 2009 and exited early, and they have him now and are back to closer to where they were in 2008, meaning now there is a three team carousel in the East, instead of a two team one. How many of you wanted to break up the Celtics when they went from winning the NBA title in 1981, to losing the East Finals to Philadelphia in 1982, to being swept by Milwaukee in the semis in 1983?
Remember all the grousing on the Lakers when they got swept by Philly in 1983? Remember how Magic Johnson was vilified for showing us what he was "really" like? And that was after he had already won two rings. So they got rid of Norm Nixon and won three more.
Larry Bird did more than his share of poor-sport grousing in his lifetime. He was held down by Reid in the 1981 finals against Houston and got mad at anybody who criticized his play, and he dumped on his teammates so much in 1988 or 1989 that the only way they could make it all blow over was to pretend that some unattributed quotes that everyone knew came from McHale had come from Jim Paxson.
How many ill fated "plans" have been executed in Dallas and Phoenix just because either team didn't advance one more round than it had the previous year?
- John McKay, 1976
Next year, the Celtics may not have Ray Allen or Tony Allen and either no Pierce or an older and slower one, and a Garnett with balky knees, and Rasheed Wallace will continue to be as successful at making threes as the Red Sox catchers are at throwing out baserunners, and they will only have about $10 million or less in cap room if Pierce leaves. Back to a two team race in the East. And of course, LeBron might still become the Game 3 LeBron in Game 6.
I don't consider it regression. I consider it normal fluctuation of a contending team. The Celtics had Kevin Garnett in 2008 and won it all, they didn't have him in 2009 and exited early, and they have him now and are back to closer to where they were in 2008, meaning now there is a three team carousel in the East, instead of a two team one. How many of you wanted to break up the Celtics when they went from winning the NBA title in 1981, to losing the East Finals to Philadelphia in 1982, to being swept by Milwaukee in the semis in 1983?
Remember all the grousing on the Lakers when they got swept by Philly in 1983? Remember how Magic Johnson was vilified for showing us what he was "really" like? And that was after he had already won two rings. So they got rid of Norm Nixon and won three more.
Larry Bird did more than his share of poor-sport grousing in his lifetime. He was held down by Reid in the 1981 finals against Houston and got mad at anybody who criticized his play, and he dumped on his teammates so much in 1988 or 1989 that the only way they could make it all blow over was to pretend that some unattributed quotes that everyone knew came from McHale had come from Jim Paxson.
How many ill fated "plans" have been executed in Dallas and Phoenix just because either team didn't advance one more round than it had the previous year?
- John McKay, 1976
Next year, the Celtics may not have Ray Allen or Tony Allen and either no Pierce or an older and slower one, and a Garnett with balky knees, and Rasheed Wallace will continue to be as successful at making threes as the Red Sox catchers are at throwing out baserunners, and they will only have about $10 million or less in cap room if Pierce leaves. Back to a two team race in the East. And of course, LeBron might still become the Game 3 LeBron in Game 6.
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It has to be regression if a team loses in a round earlier than the previous season over the last three. Those fluctuating examples you gave also included recent titles which is different than the Cavs situation too...
When I villified the Hawks the other day for their "gutless" performance, I almost referenced that '83 Celtics team. That team was a no show for games 3 and 4 at the MECCA in Milwaukee. I remember the fans killing the organization after that embarrassing performance.
And what did Red Auerbach do?
He fired Bill Fitch, replaced him with K.C. Jones and committed armed robbery without the mask by trading Rick Robey (Bob Cousy missed him
) to the Suns for Dennis Johnson!The result?
A Celtics championship in 1984
My point?
SOMETIMES you have to go backwards to go forward............
It got even worse when Roberts broke for second...
In 1986, when the Red Sox trailed the Angels 3-1 in games and by a score of 5-2 in the ninth, Jim Rice actually took off his jersey in the dugout. But baseball is a different game because it is not really a "team" game. In baseball, as long as a batter is in the box, focused on the pitcher, what he does is not affected by team camaraderie or the score or the series history.
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Matt,
that has been my point all along. After "2004" happened, I believe ANYTHING can happen.
I went to bed that Saturday night disgusted...........thinking I (like soooo many Sox fans) would never witness a Red Sox championship.
I watched game 4 that Sunday night, but I have to admit I went to bed when "The Sandman" entered the game.
I mean, WHY would I put myself through the torture of watching the Sox arch-nemesis once again celebrate on our field (ESPECIALLY after what happened one year earlier).I wake up the next morning to find out about "the steal" and Papi's extra innings heroics. And my reaction was, "good, at least they didn't sweep us".
Then the next three nights I (along with the rest of New England) was taken on a magical carpet ride that still sends shivers down my spine!
That's why I say hang in there buddy, it may not feel like it TODAY, but YOUR time WILL come!
Less than two weeks later (so the story goes), Bob Costas was standing in the vistors clubhouse at Shea Stadium ready to hand the World Series trophy to Mrs. Yawkey...........
Less than two weeks later (so the story goes), Bob Costas was standing in the vistors clubhouse at Shea Stadium ready to hand the World Series trophy to Mrs. Yawkey...........
I got to down a lot of free drinks purchased by persons unknown who were buying, "rounds for the house."
