Regardless of the end, the Cavaliers’ season won’t be for nothing

What do the NBA players compete for? Well, don’t be foolish, assuming it’s just for championships. The NBA is a business first. The dudes want to win their way and get wealthy. And in a capitalist society, there is no reason to shame their game.

When the Playoffs start, 16 teams enter, but maybe five of them have a legitimate shot at winning it all. A reality that often bothers hope traffickers is that the best players get it done. Review the list of NBA champions and the crew members as far back as this goes if you don’t believe me.

In this examination, you might find a few seasons that stick out, but each team still had an all-timer. There’s 1958, when the St. Louis Hawks, led by Bob Pettit, defeated the Boston Celtics in six games to win the team’s only title. Bill Russell sprained his ankle in Game 3 and missed the next two before playing in the last one.

Then in 1975, you’ll come across the Bullets-Warriors Finals round. The Dubs won 48 matches that season with Rick Barry as the frontman, and the Washington Bullets had a 60-22 record. The press heavily favored Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes’ team to sweep the Warriors, but the opposite happened. Steven Spielberg couldn’t have come up with a finer ending.

Lastly, there’s 2004. The Pistons beat the Lakers in five, and then the O’Neal-Bryant era was a memory. It was a team without unity. Kobe was going through his legal issues, and at the same time, he and Shaq were feuding rock stars.

Given the league’s history, too much importance is put behind championships when evaluating a career. It matters, no doubt, but some of the premier athletes the league saw finished without rings. Nobody with a brain would question the skills of Elgin Baylor, Pete Maravich or Patrick Ewing.

What should matter most in basketball discussions are the mental souvenirs left behind by the players. They are responsible for giving the public its fix, which has been labeled entertainment. The personalities of the league’s labor force give the fans something to root for. Without them, it’s just a brand on an overpriced piece of cloth.

The NBA has 30 teams. Obviously, only one gets the annual jewels. And in doing so, a squad cements itself in history forever. As an observer, there’s little like watching the best momentarily sit on Mt. Olympus or listening to the losing side spill its heart out. I still vividly remember the chills I got last Wednesday (March 22) when Clyde Frazier told me that winning a pair (1970 & 1973) was his dream come true.

But some of the best performances I’ve ever seen came from someone who watched the opponents celebrate. I saw Tim Duncan, at 37 years old, drop 26 points in the first half of Game 6 of the 2013 championship round. I was lucky enough to see LeBron James score 51 in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals. I watched on press row as Jimmy Butler nearly shot his way back into an NBA Finals in May 2022.

The fight is what matters to me. But how does this apply to the Cleveland Cavaliers?

Regardless of the end, the Cavaliers’ 2022-23 season won’t be for nothing.

With six games left on the Wine and Gold’s schedule, the outfit has won 48 following Sunday’s win over the Houston Rockets. The organization started in 1970. If the team were to lose the rest of the matches, Cleveland would still have had its 13th-best season in 53 years. Three more victories would put the campaign in the top nine in win percentage, and six additional dubs would put it in the top seven, per Stathead.

This season is arguably one of the Cavs’ most accurate from the field too. While it is fourth in field goal percentage in team history, this year is the highest true shooting and effective field goal percentage.

It’s too early to call if Cleveland ends up as the third or fourth seed, but if the group doesn’t win a round, the year was still a step in the right direction. All of the internal growth will pay off in the future. Evan Mobley has gone from a role player to an ascending third star. He’s still a league baby, but when he puts on at least 15 pounds, he’ll turn into the best player on the team.

I understand the urges of supporters wishing to see their loaded group win immediately. Sometimes it doesn’t happen that way. Shaq and Kobe won their first title in year four together. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen also got it done as a duo first in year four. The same can be said for Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West.

In the NBA, nothing is ever guaranteed, but as Sam Butera and the Witnesses sang best, “Let the good times roll.”