I have a recurring dream where I'm frantically racing around my old high school, or sometimes college, trying to find my classroom. When I get there, I realize I didn't study for a test and there's absolutely no way for me to answer the questions. At this point I usually wake up from that dream.. not so lucky in what has become a nightmare of an Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavaliers may have studied for this test, but they studied the wrong material. Not only did they study the wrong material, they're in the wrong grade. The Cavs look like 8th graders taking the SAT. They simply cannot answer these questions. Period.
Think about this for a minute. The Cavs are one miracle shot away from being down 0-3 and on the verge of being swept after a 66 win season. You might look at it from a more positive perspective and say we had a 15 and 23 point lead and are a Rashard Lewis 3 away from being up 2-1. Okay, if that makes you feel better...
What I want to know is where is the confident, composed Cavalier team that I fell in love with this season? The team that didn't play it's opponent... their opponent played them. In other words, the Cavs played their game. They dictated everything. They challenged themselves to play the game the right way and to follow their game plan. The Cavaliers have become a struggling, deperate team as the Magic continue to frustrate them in almost every aspect of the game. Now the Cavs have to win 3 of 4 against this new nemesis. Can it be done? I guess. But nothing I've seen so far in this series leads me to believe it will.
Speaking of frustration, one word: referees
I can't stand when people act like it's blasphemy to call out the officiating. I have a saying... "Money can't buy happiness, but it sure helps." While officiating may not be lone reason a team loses, it sure doesn't help. I bring this up in light of Dwight Howard bulldozing anyone or anything in his path to the basket (not to mention traveling). If the refs are going to let him throw his shoulder into a defender's midsection, how can he possibly be defended? On the flip side, then they're calling ticky-tack fouls left and right. There were 86 free throws in Game 3. 86! And they're inconsistent. Turkoglu hooks and pushes off every time he drives. Even Barkley and the TNT guys called out the officiating.
That being said, the Cavaliers from the 2008-2009 regular season have all but vanished in a puff of smoke due to the guys from the Magic Kingdom. In their place is the Cavs teams from years past. The one-man-gang Cavs are back. I almost prefer those teams because nothing was expected. It was just a fun ride. The only ride we're on now seems to be off a cliff. The result? Crash and Burn.
TNT keeps playing a commercial for a new horror flick. In the movie, a girl is cursed and subsequently tormented as she grasps in desperation to hang on to her life. Sound familiar Cleveland? The name of the movie: "Drag Me to Hell". I'm on board... who's with me?
