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Buddy Ball: The end of the regular season is dumb

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

By Ryan Mourton
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

I hate the regular season. Hate it. I hate it.

Ok that's a lie. I don't hate the whole thing, but boy do I hate games like the Cavs played against the 76ers yesterday.

- It's the tail end of an 82 game season, against a team that is in the bottom of the conference. It wasn't very surprising to see the Cavs pack it in every time they got any kind of a lead.

- What kills me is that every year we see that early and late games don't tell you much, and every year we're right back in the same place, attaching meaning to things we should know better than to read into. The Cavs are playing out the string, and nobody is getting up to play the Sixers. I feel like this is one of the biggest problems that we as Cavs fans had the last few years. We would see them beat a sleeping team like OKC, or LAC, or whoever, and be like "Yeah see if they play the right way they can beat anybody!", but it's false, because the first thing you need to go your way is the better team checking out. Tough to do.

- The last point I thought was pretty self evident, but nah. I don't think it takes anything away from Sixers to say that the Cavs were pretty lazy and sloppy. The Sixers played good defense in the second half, and the Cavs made no effort to do anything other than look for an iso shot.

- The Cavs haven't lost a single game when they have 2 days off and get in a practice. That seems important. This past Memphis game was one such occasion. The Cavs put together a plan and killed the Grizzlies on both ends. Teams don't practice a whole lot in season. I'm kind of excited for Playoff Blatt. PLAYOFF BLATT. I dunno.

- I raise that point because PLEASE STOP SENDING ME YOUR "BLATT IS A BAD COACH" thoughts. Please. I'm literally begging. Like, I don't know if he is a good coach, but he probably isn't a bad coach. Timofey Mozgov isn't Wilt.

- That brings me to the genius of the Cavs losing to the Nets the other night. A true gaddamn moment of higher intelligence. Not only does that satisfy the "Keep the Pacers out" movement, but it puts the Nets in the playoffs for now. Putting the Nets in the playoffs cuts at the Hawks, who own their unprotected draft pick. A true genius move. If it goes through, the Cavs haven't fallen ass backwards their way to something that awesome since they won the lottery, cutting the Pistons at the knees by pushing their pick outside of their protections.

- The Cavs are currently on pace to play the Heat. It would be cool if they played the Nets or Celtics, but oh well, Cavs/Heat will be fun.

- The Raptors and Wizards being the 4/5 matchup is amazing. Both teams have questionable coaching and poor construction. One of them will probably see beating the other as a sign of progress or continued success and maintain the status quo. Personally, I kind of hope it's the Wizards, because some men just like to see the world burn, and another year of Ruh-Roh Randy Wittman is too funny to pass up.

- I could probably write a book about my experiences around the draft and LeBronathon, and a lot of people wouldn't believe half of what I encountered, but here is a good bit of nostalgia:

- The last bit for today is to remember that this is probably the worst Cavs team you'll see for the next five years. Everyone can be retained, the only major rotation player that you can classify as "Trending down" is LeBron, and Kyrie Irving just turned 23. Kevin Love is entering his prime. Life is good. Let the last 4 years wash over you, and take some time to appreciate that it only took 4 months to turn that poop sandwich into one of the best teams in basketball.

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