enigmaax;659161 wrote:So, is this all because LeBron left...or did they lose other key pieces that led them to the #1 record in the NBA/East(?) for two consecutive years? Serious question because I'd like to know if Cavs fans feel they truly had the pieces all along or if LeBron made that much of a difference, which might actually legitimize his belief that Cleveland didn't and never would get him the proper support. (Forget "how" he left for a moment.)
i never had a problem with lebron leaving. he was free to go with his contract being up and who wouldn't team up with wade and bosh if they had the choice? obviously, lebron never really helped our cause by being more concerned with the allure of his free agency instead of being committed to the team. so that left us with a mix and match of role players who could only be acquired with expiring contracts (shaq, mo, jamison) because with lebron's decision up in the air no player of value would sign in cleveland. couldn't ever get that second banana under those circumstances.
last season i thought we were in great position to match up with orlando and los angeles but never really considered the problem boston would pose because they looked like they were all collectively about to die during the season - certainly didn't see that run coming from boston (but even their own fans didn't see that coming) and in the end we were no match for them.
now the problem this season is combination of multiple factors. first and obviously most important, the team was built around lebron and he's no longer here. second, injuries have decimated us for most of the season. varejao, williams, gibson, parker and jamison have all missed significant time and we pretty much needed all of them healthy for the entire season to reach preseason win totals that jordo alluded to (i thought between 30-35 was going to be our high water mark). third, the injuries have forced manny harris, alonzo gee, samardo samuels and christian eyenga into heavy minutes. harris is the only one of those four that haven't spent time in the d-league. playing d-leaguers against established stars is formula for 20 straight losses and losses in 31 out of the last 32 games.
in the end, the cavs needed a season like this (and probably a couple more to go with it) to rebuild through the draft because free agency is pretty much out of the question with cleveland being such an undesireable destination.