Hola, all ye faithful! I’m an Optimist – welcoming you to the first day of the rest of your lives.
Here we are, Cleveland.
Back in a position we know all too well; another display of brazen brinksmanship, dancing on the edge.
On Friday night, the Cavaliers cooled off in the second half and the Splash Brothers got hot. The Wine and Gold’s offense sputtered after intermission – sans Kyrie and TheBron – and Golden State drilled 17 triples on the night.
The loss put Cleveland in a 3-1 hole. No team in Finals history has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA title.
There.
I’ve set the table for you.
Now let’s set the table for what comes next …
All the Warriors had to do was win Friday night’s game fair and square and not — I repeat NOT – poke the bear. I remember warning them not to do so at the series’ outset. (You guys can back me up.)
The self-professed “Dubs” could have taken their 108-97 victory to the visitor’s locker room and then back to Oakland and everything would’ve been everything.
But late in Friday night’s affair, Golden State forward Draymond Green specifically poked the bear! And he poked him in a place where the bear specifically does not like to be poked!!
For said infraction – and his history of such shenanigans – the Association’s Uncle Kiki dropped the hammer on Green and gave him Game 5 off.
This changes nothing betwixt the lines for the Cavaliers, who know that while Green’s absence is big, the Warriors will go next-man-up the same way the Cavs would.
Off the court, however, some of Golden State’s guys doubled-down and decided to swing from the podium on Sunday – with Klay Thompson and Andrew Bogut throwing some jabs. The media – as is their wont – passed all this along to the bear.
“It’s so hard to take the high road – I’ve been doing it for 13 years,” quoth TheBron, in response to Thompson’s commentary. “It’s so hard to continue to do it, and I’m going to do it again. At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out and show up and play better (Monday) night; and if we don’t, then they’re going to be back-to-back Champions, and that’s it.”
TheBron sounds awfully calm, doesn’t he?
I can dig it. He’s keeping his powder dry.
Klay Thompson can play on my All-Optimist Second Team any day of the week and twice on Sunday. And I know he just has to back up his teammate. But calling out Numeral 23 is a good way to get oneself trucked on national TV.
And we’ll get to how volcanic the four-time MVP will be for Monday night’s matchup in just a second.
(Believe me, I’d love to get right to the part where TheBron throws down a Delly-oop with all the raw Cavaliers fury of those Richfield rednecks who tore down the stanchions in ’76.)
Instead, easily the most cantankerous member of our Cavaliers’ traveling staff – PR Jedi Jeff “Schaef” Schaefer – demands that he bleed every last educational drop out of this column before I’m able to.
For those of you who somehow haven’t seen him doing his PR thing with Cavs players on TV, Schaef’s the dude that’s thin and pointy, like Freezemeister, but also extremely hairy – like a Sasquatch or Wookie.
For some reason, Schaef’s been one surly cuss ever since the Eastern Conference Finals. Before the bus ride to practice in Oakland the other day, he got aboard the War Rig and mad-dogged the whole team and staff – pointing that little boney finger of his in a threatening manner. Spooked the hell out of Sasha Kaun.
So here’s your historical crap, Schaef! Maybe you’d lighten up if you enjoyed a cold glass of milk one day.
On this Date in History, Charles Lindbergh got a ticker-tape parade in New York, the Beatles released “The Long and Winding Road,” and the U.S. Supreme Court passed the law requiring cops like Lenny Briscoe to give suspects their Miranda rights before questioning.
Benny Goodman, Tim “Big Russ” Russert and legendary Stillers coach Chuck Noll all Died on This Date and currently remain in that state of inertia.
And I can tell you that the Birthday celebrations of Sal Paolantonio, the Olsen Twins, Tim Allen, Hannah Storm, Chris Evans (who co-starred with Cavs radio producer Scott Zurilla in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) and German singer Sarah Connor all put together won’t equal the one former Cavalier, Jamario Moon is having.
After going from the Globetrotters to the NBA Playoffs, Moon enjoyed and appreciated every single day in the NBA. And he’s the last – and only – Cavalier who wore cowboy boots. And do you know what Jamario Moon’s average gameday level – regular season and playoffs – was on the Angry-o-Meter?
Zero. Point. Zero.
That’d be pretty useless to the Cavaliers in their current situation.
No, what the Cavaliers need on Monday night – and on two more nights after that – is pure, unbridled intensity, like a pack of wild dogs. Ty Lue’s squad knows when they play with that urgency and electricity, they’re impossible to beat.
And tonight’s the night – as you can see – that TheBron finally goes “2015 Finals Game 2” nuclear and breaks double-digits on the scale, checking in at a 10.3, just above Jake LaMotta who, at one point in his life, smacked, slapped or punched everyone he knew.
(As you may also notice, Schaef has made his rightful debut on the Angry-o-Meter, clocking in at a solid 4.2.)
We all know the King won’t resort to those ugly tactics. But I think we’re going to see a bear that came into the Finals wanting to play nice but has all he can stand and can’t stands no more.
And I think he unleashes the fury on Monday night in Oakland. He knows there’s 20,562 lunatics looking for just more chance to blow out the pipes one more time this season on Thursday night.
All the Cavaliers have to do is win tonight. Own the offensive boards. Cherish possessions. Defend the arc. Win one game and we’ll go from there.
You didn’t think it was gonna be easy, did you, Cleveland?!
Nothing worth having ever is.
And starting tonight, the Wine and Gold are going to essentially play (and win) the first of three straight Championship games. It’s gonna be the greatest six days of your life!
So here we are again, my friends.
Back on the brink – girded up for the greatest comeback story the NBA’s ever seen.
History awaits, if you can …
Keep the faith, Cleveland.
Your pal, The Optimist
