No Day But Today For LeBron, Cavaliers

“I don’t know how you can say that.”

Recently a co-worker disagreed with my assertion the Cavaliers entire season will be a waste should it not culminate in a championship.

He’s not the only one in town who feels that way.

The word “unbelievable” gets thrown around a lot in sports. Most things aren’t actually unable to be believed.

To watch this team in this city, however, is quite a surreal experience.  The Cavs began playing basketball in 1970; six years after the Browns won what was called the NFL Championship and 45 years later, Cleveland fans are still waiting for another title of any form.

The history has been rehashed ad nauseam: 

“The Drive”

“The Fumble”

“The Shot”

“Game 7”

Just a dizzying array of heartbreak, each more scarring than the last. But this year’s Cavaliers are winning, and winning at an astonishing rate.

First it was a hot start. Then 10 games over .500, then 20 and 30.

As it stands, they are poised to finish with one of the top 10 regular season win totals in NBA history.

They are on pace to surpass the 65-win plateau. In the history of the NBA, only 13 teams have accomplished that feat.

These things don’t happen in Cleveland. At least not very often.

The last team to dominate in such a fashion was the 1995 Indians, who finished 100-44 in the strike-shortened season.

The harsh reality Cleveland sports fans should know is a championship is never, I mean NEVER a guarantee. Those Indians, seemingly unbeatable, with a lineup that included Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton could not get it done.

Fans like my co-worker were upbeat at the time. They claimed we would have plenty more chances, after all, they said, “This team will be around for a while.”

Fourteen years later the Indians still haven’t won a title since 1948.

Nobody can say what the future holds for the Cavaliers after this season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been playing on borrowed time for a few years. LeBron may only have one more season in Cleveland. Anderson Varejao may become too pricey to fit into the Cavaliers budget.

It wasn’t too long ago the Orlando Magic had two young cornerstones named Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. It was only a matter of time before they started collecting championship banners. We all know how that turned out.

If the Cavs are going to win an NBA title it has to be now.

Remember those 13 teams in NBA history that have won 65 or more games in a season? Only two of them (2006-07 Mavericks and 1972-72 Celtics) failed to win a championship.

When I was a kid I never imagined I could live my entire life without witnessing one of my home teams winning the big one. It’s amazing how a couple decades of futility, heartbreak and near-misses can alter your perspective.  

My father made an ominous statement the other day, “If I knew when the Browns won the last championship at 14 years old that it would be the last of my lifetime, I would have paid more attention.”

The Cavaliers have an opportunity to prove him wrong this summer.

Either that or add another painful chapter to the misery archives.