While I was watching the Cavs Game 1 win over Washington on Sunday I couldn’t help but think, “man, this is really boring.” I mean, think about it. The Cavs won by 15 but for most of the game it was closer than that. Even when it was just a two- or four-point game, I was never worried. You knew Cleveland would pull it out. The Cavs are playing Washington without their top two players. It would be like the Pistons playing the Cavs without LeBron and Hughes, or Sasha, or Z, or who ever you think is the Cavs second most valuable. You would never think of the Cavs beating Detroit if they put a team on the floor without LBJ. That’s how it is in Washington with Gilbert Arenas. Everyone knows Washington has no chance so that’s why I thought it was a boring game Sunday.
Remember the feeling around last year’s opening round playoff series with Washington. It was the first time the Cavs had been in the playoffs for what seemed like 54 years (actually just since 1998), it was LeBron verse Gilbert. There was more excitement in Cleveland than there was when the Indians went to the World Series in 1995. I remember watching every game with a buddy and not missing a minute of action. We were watching one game, I believe it was the Damon Jones game-winning three from the corner game, with a few friends who weren’t Cavs fans. During the fourth quarter they decided they wanted to leave and go to a bar. There was no way my buddy or I was going to get up during this game. As we sat in someone’s house who was no longer with us, sipping a cold beverage, we watched the dramatic ending unfold. When Jones hit the game-winner, we both jumped up, hugged, danced around, then realized how awkward the moment should have been. But we didn’t care. It was a huge win, biggest of the season and possibly biggest in Cavs history. As weird it is for two guys, alone, in another guy’s house, hugging and showing that much emotion, it was OK giving the passion around the Cavs in the playoffs.
This excitement just isn’t there yet.
This year is different. That passion isn’t there yet. It might be in the next round and it will be in the Conference Finals (if they get there) but it’s not here yet. Where as last year, I didn’t want to miss a minute of the game, this year, if some friends wanted to leave in the middle of the game and go to a bar, I’d be the first one outside calling “shotgun.” I still am going to watch as much of the games as I can but will I be upset if I miss a few minutes here and there. Nope. The games just can’t be as intense as last year. It’s like we know we are going to beat Wizards and move on to the second round, so let’s just get it over with and move on.
Neither is this, but that’s OK. Just win.
So since the Cavs should beat the Wizards easily (more easily that Game 1, hopefully) I hope the series stays boring. The Cavs don’t need to get in a long series. Make the games short, lop-sided wins, rest your starters, take several days off as you wait for the winner of the Toronto-New Jersey series, watch film, relax, be bored and be ready for the second round match-up. If having a boring first round series it the price to pay for a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, and hopefully the NBA Finals, I’m one fan who will happily be bored. I’d rather be bored rooting for a winning team, than worked up rooting for a losing team.
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