I have September 18th marked off on my calendar as National Hyperbole Day. Also, since this is my first post on Fear the Sword, I figure I need to make my pie in the sky optimism completely obvious.
This is the best Cavs team since 1992 - and the best Cavs backcourt for just as long. The Mo Williams signing, the Delonte signing and the best draft since Lebron pretty much guarantee an easy path to a 2nd round match against an aging Celtics team or a Pistons team with no identity.
Think about it. Just the backcourt for now.
Mo Williams, Delonte West, Boobie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, and Wally Sczcerbiak.
When did the Cavs last have that depth? In 97-98, the 5th guard was Scott Brooks. And we made the playoffs.
In Lebron's rookie campaign, the 5th man was JR Bremer. I think. I might rate him ahead of Dajuan Wagner or Kevin Ollie. No wonder we drafted Lebron to run the point.
Even 3 deep, knowing these young horses can each go 30+ minutes, when have the Cavs been as good as Mo, Delonte and Boobie? When we won 50 for the first time in the Lebron era, and topped the Wizards for the first of many times, Eric Snow played the 3rd most minutes behind Flip Murray (late season acquisition) and Larry Hughes (made of glass). Really, Damon Jones was in his heyday, and he still couldn't get more than 14 (clutch) seconds against the Wiz.
In '96-'97 we missed the playoffs for the first time in a while behind Terrell Brandon, Bobby Phills, and slam dunk contest hero Bob Sura. Gordon Gund should've started up some tanning salons on the side to lure Dan Majerle into staying. As it is, that threesome might stand up to the current one. Brandon was in his prime, putting up a Mo Williams-like 20 and 6. Phills was a solid contributor in his last Cleveland campaign, acting as the glue guy, alternating between scoring, passing and rebounding as needed. And Bob Sura could dunk, sometimes. More than Boobie can say.
And then there's Mo Williams alone. When have the Cavs had a guard as good? Andre Miller. Terrell Brandon. Mark Price. Price groomed Brandon. There were 2 painful years of Brevin Knight before Miller stepped in as a rookie. Now we're heading into our 7th season since Andre Miller left town for Darius "The SAT is racist" Miles.
The Cavs simply haven't had this strong of a backcourt since those days of Price, Ehlo, a young Terrell Brandon, Steve Kerr, John Battle and a green Bobby Phills.
Once we figure out if the front court is just as stacked, we'll know if this team has championship written all over it. And here's a hint: it is.
Go Cavs!