LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the 2015-16 NBA season with a 97-95 loss to hated Eastern Conference rival Chicago Bulls. Despite this, there is no reason to panic as the game was more of a tune up to the Cavs’ quest for their first ever NBA championship.
A first game loss isn’t anything to be worried about as Cleveland needs to keep its eyes on the process of growing and becoming a championship team. Focus is the key word for the Cavs if they want to win the Larry O’Brien trophy this year.
Since the league’s inception during the 1946-47 season, only 23 teams have lost in the NBA Finals and made it back the following year.
Yes, the Cavs made it to the NBA Finals last season but this season promises to be a gut check for the team about how much they want to win.
Not too many NBA Finals losers make it back to the championship round the following year. Since the league’s inception during the 1946-47 season, only 23 teams have lost in the NBA Finals and made it back the following year. Of those 23, only 12 have gone on to be crowned as NBA champs.
The latest to do so, and consequently win the championship, was the 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs who defeated LeBron’s Miami Heat team en route to a 4-1 spanking on the NBA’s biggest stage.
Sep 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23), Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) during Cleveland Cavaliers media day at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Needless to say, the Cavs have “unfinished business,” the team’s mantra for this season as they try to maintain the team chemistry that was developed last year and dominate the NBA like they did from January to April this year.
There are two stories that LeBron and his Cavs can perhaps relate to heading into the coming games of the season. One of them involves the King himself.
There are two stories that LeBron and his Cavs can perhaps relate to heading into the coming games of the season. One of them involves the King himself.
The first is from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr who is a three-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls.
When the 1994-95 season ended for the Bulls with a 4-2 loss in the semifinal round of the playoffs, people thought that the Michael Jordan we knew wasn’t the same player he once was. Jordan had something to prove again.
And so did Kerr.
As Kerr told his story, during one of their practices at training camp, he was involved in a fistfight with Jordan which set the tone for their season.
"“I took exception to something he said. So I was talking back and I don’t think Michael appreciated that … and we got in the lane and he gave me a forearm shiver to the chest and I pushed him back. And next thing you know, our teammates were pulling him off of me.”"
Instead of breaking the team apart, the incident galvanized the team as Kerr earned Jordan’s respect on the way to an unprecedented NBA 72-10 regular season record and their first of three championships together.
LeBron and the Cavs don’t need to fight one another to be focused. But they do need to remember the pain of losing to the Warriors last season, and coming two wins shy of a championship to anger them. Not just at the start of the season but for the rest of the year.
During the Cavs first media day at the start of training camp, James recounted how angry he and his Miami Heat teammates were in losing the 2011 NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks.
They were angry the whole year leading to James’ first NBA championship and the first of back-to-backs for the Heat.
Anger isn’t always bad. It’s an emotion and it’s neutral. It’s what you do with your anger that determines whether it’s good or bad. In fact, as with the 1995-96 Bulls and the 2011-12 Heat, it can be channeled to achieve a goal—the hoisting of the NBA Finals trophy.
Based on the first game of the season, it appears that the Cavs found their focus when they were down by double-digits. It showed how resilient the team is despite playing on the road, nearly completing the comeback before that block by Pau Gasol on James at the end.
More from King James Gospel
- 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
- The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
- 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
- 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
- This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead
My only concern from this game is that the Cavs had to face the potential of a blowout game at the hands of the Bulls in order to get their act together. Cleveland’s newly acquired veterans, Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson, did their part to keep the Bulls from pulling away early.
If the Cavs want to be focused the entire season, they need to bottle up that anger and release it every game against every opponent.
Here’s hoping that the Cavs can keep that anger burning that leads to a more focused squad from start to finish. When this happens, the rest of the NBA better watch out.
The Cavs are coming after them.