As I said on Monday's podcast,the lovely Cherie and I already had plans and I wasn't breaking them for what would have been a guaranteed loss had we stayed home to watch the game.
Since I didn't watch the game,I'm not going to do bullet points for the game,but I'll offer a few thoughts on the series and the future of the team...
I thought Golden State was a deserving winner and I'm not saying that a full strength Cleveland team would have won the series,but it sure would have been fun to watch.
Look back at game one and that type of play and compare to the grind it out,slow it down tempo thereafter.
I don't blame Cleveland for doing that,it was their only chance to win,but this could have been such an entertaining series.
We all missed out on that.
I will differ with Andre Iguodala as MVP though.
Jerry West won the 1969 finals MVP in a losing effort,I thought LeBron James was equally as deserving in this series.
I know that fans/media don't like to give the losing player the MVP,but this was a rare time when it was deserved...
Had to laugh at the post-game press conference when Klay Thompson referred to Stephen Curry as "the best player in the world" in a dig at James.
Consider this-trade places and put Curry on the Cavaliers and James on the Warriors.
How long does this series last? GSW in four blowouts.
LeBron James is easy to dislike and frankly,I'm still not 100% a fan,but denying that he is the best player in the world is myopic and allowing your dislike to get the better of you.
Stephen Curry may be the best shooter in the world,but there is more to this game than shooting.
Much more.
Steve Kerr was very classy in his victory as he credited Cleveland with a great season and mentioned the injuries with how things could have been different had they been healthy.
Wish I could have said the same for Alvin Gentry,Warrior assistant that is now headed for New Orleans as their head coach.
Gentry offered this "We just kicked everyone's ass playing the way everyone complained about".
Not at 100% you didn't, Alvin and good luck installing this in New Orleans-considering your coaching record of 2 winning seasons in 12 years and one year with over 40 wins,unless Anthony Davis turns into Galactus,I don't think we'll be worrying about seeing you again anytime soon.
Now we move to the off-season and what could be some shaking up.
The huge question is does Kevin Love return and if not,who replaces him and how much do I link to this article on the gamble of dealing Andrew Wiggins?
Seriously,this is the number one question,Love took longer to jell than expected,but was playing very well when his season ended.
Kevin Love's status needs to be addressed and quickly,so in the event that he does leave,the Cavaliers need to be in a position to add a quality replacement.
Tristan Thompson's contract will have to be improved and a similar decision will have to be made on Iman Shumpert as both players were on qualifying offers as is Matthew Dellavedova.
You could bring back all three,but with Thompson in line for a huge raise,the Cavaliers could be hindered in making additions for a badly needed outside shooter.
J.R.Smith and Mike Miller each have player options for next season.
I'd expect Miller to take his 2.8 million option to stay,but Smith might decide to test the market.
Do the Cavaliers go after him to keep him in the fold? Or do they look at him as too inconsistent and use his over six million number with the Shawn Marion money from his retirement and combine those with the over ten million that the team gets back from Brendan Haywood's deal to add a elite shooter?
The draft is just eight days away,Cleveland picks 24th in the first and has Portland's second rounder at 53.
Could Cleveland use the Haywood space to move up for higher pick?
Could they trade this for a role player (preferably a shooter)?
One would think the team is looking for shooters,but someone with offensive skills at shooting guard would be a nice add off the bench.
Draft Express does their mock draft by talent,not by matching team to player and they have 6'8 Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell as their 24th rated player.
I doubt Harrell would be a match for the Cleveland needs.
Bleacher Report has the Cavaliers taking Justin Anderson at 24.
Anderson is a 6'6 forward from Virginia that Draft Express has rated at 25 overall.
Both players are juniors and are likely more refined than the average one and done.
Speaking of one and done,I really like the skills of UNLV freshman guard Rashad Vaughn,who would be a nice addition shooting wise,but being just 19 might not be the type of player to step in and make an impact.
The Cavaliers put up a gallant effort and I'm proud of my team.
It's easy to say that after a loss,but I truly am.
Wait til next year is a often used cliche',but for the first time in like forever-I believe in it....
No comments:
Post a Comment