Things are looking bleak for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’re down 1-0 in the NBA Finals to a Golden State Warriors team that was seen as an overwhelming favorite before the series even started. The Cavaliers lost an opportunity to take home court from the Warriors when they lost Game One in overtime after leading much of the contest. Finally, they lost their second-best player, point guard Kyrie Irving, for the rest of the Finals after he fractured his kneecap on a non-contact play in overtime. It’s understandable if fans of the Cavs all over the world feel defeated right now.
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But should they? The answer to this is quite simply… no. The people of Cleveland and Cavalier fans everywhere shouldn’t feel defeated for the simple reason that the team they are rooting for isn’t letting themselves feel defeated. Sure, there’s no doubt that the visitor’s locker room was an emotional place after the Cavaliers’ loss Thursday night. That’s normal, and in some ways it would be far more upsetting if the Cavaliers had no reaction to the game and Irving’s injury. But the next day, the team began putting Thursday night behind them started preparing for Game Two with the same goal they’ve always had, to win the NBA Championship.
The odds seem impossible right now, but it’s been that way before. They seemed impossible on December 23 when Anderson Varejao was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. they seemed impossible They seemed impossible on January 13 when the Cavaliers fell to the Phoenix Suns for their sixth loss in a row, reducing their record to just 19-20 nearly halfway through the season. They certainly seemed impossible when Kevin Love had his arm ripped out of its socket by Kelly Olynyk in the first round of the playoffs. In fact the odds seemed impossible during the Eastern Conference playoffs when tendinitis severely limited Irving against the Chicago Bulls and caused him to miss two games against the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks. But each time adversity hit, the Cavaliers didn’t back down. They persevered. In fact, they thrived. They fought and fought and fought, and showed the kind of unbelievable heart that any fanbase can and should be proud of.
This isn’t some kind of delusional rant. I watch a lot of basketball, follow the NBA as a whole closely, and know full well what the analytics are saying. The odds are slim, and if the Warriors were considered overwhelming favorites to win the title before, they are considered virtual locks know. But that’s the great thing about sports. You have to play the game.
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Nothing that is said before matters.
Nothing matters until the game is played.
The Cavaliers may have less talent, less manpower, and according to some, way less hope. But they don’t have less heart. They don’t have less toughness. Win or lose, the Cleveland Cavaliers will battle to the very end. They might go down, but they’ll go down fighting. As a Cavaliers fan, I’ll be right there with them. Until the very end.