One and done: For Cavs, it's win or bag their season

CLEVELAND -- "Dire straits" -- it ain't just the name of a '80s rock band.

Those two words describe the disintegrating fortunes of LeBron James and the Cavaliers. To say they resemble what AIG looked like 15 months ago wouldn't exaggerate their present state, and after their 120-88 loss Tuesday night to the Celtics, the Cavs might look more like Enron than they do AIG.

Life on the brink isn't what their fans had envisioned, not for these Cavaliers. Yet that's where they find themselves today. James, Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of their gang are a loss away from witnessing their sugar-coated dreams of an NBA championship turn into the latest edition of nightmare on Elm Street. They have learned the hard way that dreams can be made and unmade like a Murphy bed.

And who do they and coach Mike Brown blame for the unmaking of theirs?

Read More ...