The Cleveland Cavaliers: Two Scores to Settle

As a die-hard Buffalo Braves fan who still hasn't gotten over the abduction of the team to Southern California where they now pose as the Clippers, I would first like to point out that the team has not come close to matching the success they enjoyed in their short life in Buffalo. I guess they just can't play in warm weather.

But, the question that the loyal few of us are asking is, "Do we have a dog in the NBA fight?"

Some would argue the Clippers are still our team, especially because they occasionally wear throwback Buffalo jerseys. Others would argue that the Raptors are our new home team. If you believe that the Bills are Toronto's team, then the Raptors can be Buffalo's. 

Or not.

As I watch the systematic demolition of the Braves' old home, Memorial Auditorium, I've come down firmly in the Quicken Loans Arena. The Buffalo Braves played their first NBA game in the old Aud against the Cavs.

Unlike the Trailblazers, the third team in the expansion class of 1970, the Cavs come from the Rust Belt, hail from the shores of Lake Dreary (as Buffalo radio personality Stan Roberts used to lovingly call it), and represent a town that has had more than its share of pro sports frustration.

If the three expansion teams of 1970 are considered a multiple birth (triplets), I'd say that the Braves and the Cavs were maternal triplets, while the Blazers are paternal. The Blazers had to have come from a separate egg. The fact that Braves' coach, Jack Ramsey, won a Championship in Portland not long after leaving Buffalo doesn't add to the connection, but, rather, fuels the flames of sibling rivalry.

But the Cavs—the Cavs are flesh of our flesh. They are Buffalo's team. They will end their 39 years of frustration this season and win it all.  And, when they do, they will win it not only for the residents of Erie County, Ohio, but also for Erie County, New York.

It could be said that the Buffalo Braves died when they pulled out of town. It isn't that they live on in the Clippers, nostalgia jersey night not withstanding. They cease to exist, except in the hearts of we loyal few.

But something special happens to identical twins when one of them dies. A part of the deceased lives on in the living twin.

Perhaps we can convince the Cavs to start wearing Braves jerseys once or twice a year, or schedule a Cavs game at HSBC Arena.

Cleveland, what do you say? Is there room for two towns in this team?