Cleveland Cavaliers: Remember, Kevin Love is injury prone

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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 8: Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during the game against the Golden State Warriors during Game Four of the 2018 NBA Finals on June 8, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Reliving the past

Just like the current iteration, the 2011 team also wanted to remain competitive after losing LeBron James. They brought back the second- and third-options from that team in Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison.

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The reasoning was these players had won with LeBron, so why couldn’t they win without LeBron?

As Tony Pluto from the Plain Dealer reported: “If that group proved it could stay around .500 and compete for a playoff spot by the end of 2010, then the Cavs would make a dramatic trade to win now.”

Central to the many reasons this never materialized were injuries. Jamison and Williams were sidelined throughout the season due to nagging pains.

Williams played only 36 games for the Cavs that season before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He finished the season appearing in only 58 games total. Jamison played only 56 games before being dealt a season-ending finger fracture that March.

As the story goes, these 2010-11 Cavs were a disaster—once believing they could still be contenders, they finished with only 19 wins.