The NBA Playoffs have been exciting so far. Look at the first round. Four of the first-round series, went at least six games.
In the West, two of the four played out to six games. When the dust settled, six of the eight series, moved forward with the higher seed winning.
We will soon find out how much better the Western Conference is than the Eastern Conference. The top two seeds, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, both rolled through the first round. The Spurs only lost one game to Portland. The lone upset was sixth-seeded Minnesota knocking off third-seeded Denver.
The East was a much different story. Philadelphia jumped off the pages as Joel Embiid stepped into the limelight and ended the Celtics’ season in seven games in Boston.
The Cleveland Cavaliers came into the second-round series against Detroit after surviving against a scrappy, beat up and physical Toronto Raptors team in the first round. Two days after wrapping up that series, the Cavs fell to the Pistons in Detroit on May 5, 111-101. Game 2 was May 7 in Detroit.
The wine and gold’s lack of chemistry and playing time reared its ugly head in about half of the minutes played.
Turnovers, hero ball, lack of defense, the staggering number of times the teams aren’t moving the basketball and the never-ending quest to shoot three-pointers, and shooting way too early in the shot clock with big leads.
It’s not just a Cavs’ thing, it’s an NBA thing. It’s hard to watch.
The other part that is hard to understand is how the games are called. At times, the NBA looks like the NFL without pads. Dragging a player to the floor while not holding your ground on a run at the basket seems to be encouraged. I’m sure it’s more about playing a team for at least four-straight games that causes players to lose their cool or have a skirmish in almost every series.
I like the fact that players step it up in the playoffs. The refs just seem inconsistent. Since the advent of replay, I’m sure some officials enjoy being on television. Suddenly, they are the stars of the show.
It’s a cue that every league has ripped off from the NFL. But let’s be really honest, Major League Baseball home plate umpires started drawing attention to themselves long before the other leagues.
My dad used to say that refs should be a part of the woodwork. They are a major part of the building, but they should just blend in with the rest of the house. I’m a firm believer that the main objective of any official is to keep the players safe and to keep the game moving forward.
I really don’t want to know their name once the contest has started. I know Scott Foster, Tony Brothers and Marc Davis’ names off the top of my head. It’s good for what I do for a living, but it’s probably bad for the game.
I’m also having trouble thinking that coaches get fired so quickly. In game seven against Toronto, tied at halftime, I kept thinking of head coach Kenny Atkinson getting fired if the Cavs don’t win the half and move on to the next round.
It seems harsh, but it’s the reality when your team spends more money on payroll than every team in the NBA. Like it or not, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is the modern-day former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Every coach who walks the sidelines is a Billy Martin disciple.
The same goes for Cavs General Manager Kobe Altman. His future is also in his players’ hands right now. I like both Atkinson and Altman. But, like you, I see them from the outside. The payroll and success hang over their heads like a doomsday clock, but they knew it when they entered professional sports.
Even moving forward to this series. If the Cavs end up on the short end against the top seed in the East in Detroit, the pressure is boiling. The Cavs walked away from head coach J.B. Bickerstaff because of a 6-11 playoff record. They wanted a coach who could get them to the next level. The level is the Eastern Conference Finals. At least that is what it feels like this year. And by the way, that same Bickerstaff is coaching the team who had the best record in the NBA regular season this season.
It’s a double-edged sword. I will never question Gilbert’s efforts to make the Cavs a better team or invest in the city of Cleveland. He won’t let money stand in the way of trying to put the best team on the floor.
In the end, it’s still just entertainment.
The Cavs are still alive and the franchise’s first real success in the post-LeBron James era is in front of us. The best lesson to be learned here is that the game will change again. The names will change again. It’s why it’s always better to root for the name on the front of the jersey than the back. If you are a fan, you aren’t going anywhere. As we found out in 2016, it’s way more fun when you can win the last game of the playoffs.
Andy Baskin writes about Sports for the Cleveland Jewish News. To read more from him, visit cjn.org/baskin.