The best Cleveland Cavaliers writing of the summer in one place

On Monday, the NBA is back. Sort of. It’s media day, which is the back to school day for players and coaches around the league. It’s likely been the best summer of your Cavs fandom’s life. Yeah, LeBron James coming back two years ago was great, but this was the payoff. A championship run in which Kyrie Irving, LeBron, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson each proved indispensable. A parade in Cleveland. The arrogant Warriors humbled. Hard to imagine it better than that.

It was a quiet offseason for the Cavs. Their top free agent, J.R. Smith, is still on the market. Matthew Dellavedova was allowed to walk on a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. There was no first round pick. Mike Dunleavy was the flashy addition. Despite this, we tried to keep quality content coming on a daily basis. We had 1.1 million views in August, generally the quietest time of year. It’s a great time for the Cavs and a great time for Fear the Sword.

Before we jump into a season in which the Cavs try and defend their title, let’s take a look back at some of the best writing we put together over the summer.

On how the Cavs came back down 3-1 to beat the Warriors

Trevor examined the Cavs’ ridiculously good rim protection numbers in the Finals. Can they do it again this year?

Carter wrote that the Warriors begged the Cavs to play hero-ball, and lost.

And you know, hero ball has a place in the NBA and can be effective and necessary.

Carter facilitated a post-title shootaround reflecting on what happened in the immediate glow of victory.

Daniel writes that as it turns out, Tristan Thompson is really good.

On LeBron James

After delivering a title for Cleveland, LeBron James is a legend. All that’s left is a run at Michael Jordan.

Trevor broke down just what the super-human LeBron might have left in the tank. How will he age?

Trevor argued that LeBron can lead second units with Iman Shumpert as the nominal point guard to success.

Justin reflected on the championship in the context of growing up with LeBron James. The promise has been fulfilled.

On Kyrie Irving

It wasn’t just LeBron James that had a historic NBA playoffs. Kyrie was incredible, and it wasn’t just the Finals.

Hey what’s going on with J.R. Smith?

Alex broke down the arguments on what kind of dollars make sense for J.R. Smith.

He also found a rather unique way that J.R. provides value to the Cavs.

On the Cavs new reality

William wrote that all of the consternation and pain associated with being a Cleveland fan can melt away with the glow of an NBA title.

Chris isolated 10 games this year that you won’t want to miss.

I joined Chris to podcast about the Cavs training camp, and what the Cavs point guard situation looks like.

Mike Dunleavy can help the Cavs this year.

We ranked every single player on the Cavs, breaking down their games and what to expect this year. Click here for all 14.

Brett wrote that the Kevin Love trade worked out. Life is good for Kevin.

Loose ends

I wrote about gratitude and the Fear the Sword community in the wake of a title.

You can still get our Fear the Sword championship t-shirts. We have sold over 500 so far.

And I’ll never forget getting to click “Publish” on a post titled “Cavs win Game 7 of NBA Finals, and Cleveland title wait is over”.