As it turns out, Cleveland does rock.
Last night, the injury-plagued Cavaliers, led by head coach David Blatt and four-time league MVP LeBron James, crushed the injury-plagued Atlanta Hawks 118-88, and booked a ticket to the NBA Finals, which begin June 4. It’s the organization’s second-ever trip to the championship series, and the first since James brought the team to the finals in 2007, when they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
In fact, a professional sports team in Cleveland has not won a championship since 1964, when the Browns won the Super Bowl over the Baltimore Colts. (The Indians last won the World Series in 1948; the Cavs have never won a championship.)
“Nothing is easy [in Cleveland],” Blatt said after the game. “We’re not done.”
Playing without star forward Kevin Love, and (for a two-game stretch) point guard Kyrie Irving, the Cavs relied on its ex-Knicks-heavy supporting cast, including J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, as well as other role players, like the formerly unknown Matthew Dellavedova, to push them over the top. Center Tristan Thompson, who often wears an excellent “get off me, son” scowl, also emerged as a force on the offense glass.
But it was LeBron James (hate on him as I tend to do; Boston homer here), who would not be denied. The Beast of the East averaged nearly a triple-double in the series, a sweep. (LeBron’s 30-11-9 line is just sick.)
“We have everything is takes to win,” said James. “I’ve been there twice. We have grit, we have determination, we have the willingness to be great.”
Now the Cavs await the winner of the Golden State-Houston series. In the meantime, a party:
A video posted by JR Smith (@teamswish) on May 26, 2015 at 8:48pm PDT
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Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.