The Optimist
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You’ll probably get this column in the morning, but I’m writing it in the middle of the Midwestern night from aboard the Team Bus. We’re rumbling through the rural roads of Ohio, just south of Defiance – a perfect check-in point, because defiance is exactly what the Cavaliers will be bringing to five gymnasiums in the next eight days.
Despite my call for a certain victory on Sunday night, Cleveland dropped a tough 105-93 decision to Denver at The Q. ‘Melo had 27 and the Nuggets shot a grotesque 60 percent from the floor. You guys were enjoying a solid weekend of March Madness and the Cavaliers and I came along and harshed your buzz.
But we’ll make it up to you – I swear!
You’d never guess that this Indy-bound motorcoach is jam-packed with some of the world’s finest athletes based on the rows of sleeping beauties – all bundled-up and zonked-out like little papooses. From the rear of the vehicle, I can see Z’s un-blanketed bare feet propped on the back of the seat in front of him. Three rows up, Joe Tait is purring like a big, baritone kitten.
But don’t let this somnolent squad – or three of the last four games – fool you. In the next eight days, the Wine and Gold will resurrect their run, and roar across this great land, unearthing everything in their wake. Foes from Milwaukee to Minnesota should know that from this point forward, when the Cavaliers Team Bus rolls into town, it will be ALL BUSINESS – and we haven’t even welded on the postseason cowcatcher.
The first foe in the Cavaliers five-game junket of destruction is the slumping Pacemakers, who Cleveland beat handily two Sundays ago at The Q. But this time, the matchup is in Indiana – where Rick Carlisle’s club has already clipped the Cavs.
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And if there’s one thing that my old coach – the venerable Norman Dale – taught the fellas and me, it was to never overlook your next opponent. Several years later, I find myself back in Indiana, heeding his very words.
I see the Cavaliers getting off to a slow start at Conseco Fieldhouse. Slightly hungover from Sunday, Mike Brown’s Men shoot 32 percent in the first half, with the sole hot hand being Drew Gooden, who heads into halftime with 13.
But in the second half, Cleveland discovers the mojo that they’ll carry with them for the rest of the roadie.
Splasha Pavlovic starts it off, hitting a pair of three-pointers to bring the Cavaliers to within a point. The X-Factor, Donyell Marshall, has a monster third period and his two-handed dunk closes the third quarter with the Wine and Gold ahead four.
Danny Granger scores 12 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana briefly re-takes the lead, but it’s all TheBron in the final four minutes – netting 10 of his game-high 29 points down the stretch.
The Cavaliers start the sojourn in style, topping the Pacemakers in convincing fashion, 99-91, on Tuesday night.
And the moral of today’s story is simple: Remain calm; All is well.
The Wine and Gold are going to have rough patches – every team does. But they will turn it around and you’ll be there to see it, because the three of us -- you, me and the Cavaliers -- are conjoined from this point forward. What are you going to do, jump ship for the Grizzlies?
Well you can’t. First, because the trade deadline has past. And secondly, because being a Cavalier fan is in your blood. It's in my blood. And it’s too late to turn back now.
A dozen games of girding are all that stand between us and the 2007 NBA Playoffs, people. I’d say it’s about time you started preparing to …
Keep the faith, Cleveland
Your pal,
The Optimist
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