Fansided

NBA Tank Rankings: Cleveland Cavaliers make an appearance

By Matt Rutkowski

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of the podium and stage before the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of the podium and stage before the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Mar 24, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts to a call in the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. The Cavs defeated the Hornets 112-105. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts to a call in the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. The Cavs defeated the Hornets 112-105. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

Reaction traction from the distraction faction – Putrefaction divided by a fraction

What beats a royal flush? Setting the cards and all the other poker players on fire with a blowtorch.

The Cavaliers made one crucial mistake in their quest for a lottery pick. They clinched a playoff spot already.

But if you ignore that, they’re doing a fantastic job. If the 2011 Dallas Mavericks taught us anything it’s that once you win a championship you need to take an intentional step back and change everything around. Running the same team back has never worked with the exceptions of the times that it has, and those don’t count because I don’t want them to.

Cleveland is 2-4 in their last 2+4 games. That’s worse than Brooklyn, and that’s bad. Along with this poor performance has come SportsCenter graphical breakdown after PTI segment after baseless comparison to years and careers of the past. There are even mindless cowards putting them in five-part articles about tanking. How ridiculous is that?

It’s that bad in Cleveland. Or maybe it isn’t, but that doesn’t matter because we’re talking about it like it is. Distraction is, at its core, absolutely insubstantial. It’s flailing arms and signs trying to point you away from the massive conflagration in the other direction.

Next: Palace intrigue and the rebuild of the Los Angeles Lakers

People are talking about this year about whether or not Cleveland can win another NBA championship. It’s for this reason that the Cavaliers will have the #1 pick in the lottery for the fourth time in seven years. Just because it’s impossible doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Don’t let that it does distract you.

Home/NBA