Saturday, May 24, 2014

Better to be good than lucky

Save us, Johnny!
If you haven't heard, Cleveland has the luckiest unlucky fanbase in the entire sports universe.

The Cavaliers just came off winning their third draft lottery in four years, while the Browns became a national story for non-criminal reasons thanks to the whirlwind arrival of Johnny Manziel. The Indians got into the action, too, sweeping the division-leading Tigers in what may have been a season-saving series. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Fix is in--for the Cavs! Now no lottery, ever again. Or else

There's no way there isn't a fix. Come on. Or a hidden camera?


7/100th of 1% chance. Zero point zero zero seven percent. 0.007426%, to be more exact.

That's the chance the Cavs had to win the #1 pick in the lottery in 2011*, 2013, and 2014. But yet, here we are. Another ping pong ball, bouncing toward Wine and Gold. (*2011 with the Clippers pick).

I am not exactly your hair-on-fire, Obama-is-coming-to-take-your-guns-and-religion, Bush-ordered-9/11 conspiracy theorist. But this is just too insane to really think can be legitimate.

"I hope this one pays the debt."
Back after TGiM made his "decision", there was a few days of saber rattling from the Cavs and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert (or his camp) about tampering charges, since it was obvious that the Miami Heat, and their slicked-back president, definitely violated tampering rules in assembling his Big Three. But at some point, Gilbert backed down. And it's not because any guy who uses Comic Sans in his public manifesto isn't afraid of being embarassed in some NBA-rigged courtroom.

So why did the Cavs not follow up on tampering charges? Is it not possible--nay--likely, that David Stern made a deal with Dan Gilbert, to avoid an embarrassing campaign by a loud billionaire owner? I guess maybe the promise of "lottery victories until your team is good" maybe didn't seem like it would still be going on to David Stern, circa 2011. Well, now Adam Silver has to grit his teeth and rub his dome in disbelief. Because the Cavs will be picking (or trading) with the #1 pick yet again.

And hopefully not for a long time. If the Cavaliers are back in the lottery next year--or even in the next four years--trade everyone. That means our hotshot point guard, that means the GM, that means whomever we draft #1 this year, that means whatever coach is still around at the time. That means the owner. Shit, if they're in the lottery again, move the franchise to Seattle.

Last year Cavs fans expected a playoff team with the talent we had. 

Now we demand it.

Here's your painful stat of the day. Only one team has used it's #1 lottery pick to win an NBA Championship. That team, the San Antonio Spurs, used two of them: David Robinson and Tim Duncan. No other #1 lottery pick has ever won a championship with the team that drafted him. Grudging h/t to Bill Simmons.