Stark
The Winds of Winter
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Before I get started here, just let it be known that I know the Cavaliers aren't good, or really even average. They're in the midst of a rebuilding project and currently sit at 7-25, which is good enough for fourteenth in the conference. However, this team is not as bad as the record indicates. First of all, you have to remember that this team has played chunks without arguably their three best players in Kyrie, Andy, and Waiters.
We've seen occasional flashes of what is yet to come with this ballclub, with that early win in Los Angeles against the Clippers when Dion dropped 28 points, or the more recent game when we beat the Lakers at home when Kyrie returned to the club.
We're not far off. We've really only been blown out in a select few games. As I watched the game tonight, Fred McLoud said that the Cavaliers have either held the lead or been within six points in the fourth quarter of all but four of their games. For this young of a team, I find this to be a very impressive statistic.
I'm going to go through now and list all of the games that we've lost by five or less points thus far this season, and I will keep it updated as we go throughout the year.
November 3rd, 2012 @ Milwaukee: 105-102 - Who couldn't remember our first heartbreak of the season? The controversial game winning three point shot hit by Brandon Jennings sealed our fate in what was a very hard fought game early in the season. Kyrie had twenty-seven points and seven assists that night and Andy chipped in fifteen boards. I would of loved to see what would of happened if that game would of went to overtime.
November 9th, 2012 @ Phoenix: 107-105 - I don't really remember too much about this game. Looking back, I think this was a game I couldn't catch, but we only lost by two away at Phoenix. Dion Waiters had twenty-three points in our close loss.
November 23rd, 2012 @ Orlando: 108-104 - Note that we didn't have Kyrie Irving in this game. This was another game I couldn't catch, but Orlando is currently going after a playoff spot, and we kept it competitive without our best player. Waiters had twenty-five points and Varejao had seventeen boards.
November 24th, 2012 @ Miami: 110-108 - The second night of a back-to-back, against the defending champions, in their own building, without our best player? I'm normally optimistic, and I had written us off for about a thirty-five point loss that night. What a game it was. It makes you wonder what would of happened if we had Kyrie.
December 1st, 2012 vs. Portland: 118-117 - I'm pretty sure this is the game where Batum hit that three in the corner to seal our fate and send us to another heart-breaking loss. This was another game without Kyrie against a team with a .500 record in the hunt out West. Once again, I would of loved overtime to see how it would of turned out, but, not everything goes our way.
December 14th, 2012 vs. Milwaukee: 110-106 - I personally do not remember one thing that happened in this game, so I'll just let you know that Kyrie had twenty-six points and Andy threw in eighteen boards. Just remember that Milwaukee is the fourth seed in the East right now and that this is the second time they've been on this list.
December 15th, 2012 @ New York: 103-102 - Ah... the masked game. If you can't remember, Kyrie dropped forty-one points in this game on the road against the now 21-9 New York Knicks. They've been near perfect at home so far this year at 12-2, and we gave them a run till the final seconds of the game. Not too shabby for a rebuilding team.
December 29th, 2012 @ Brooklyn: 103-100 - I hate to fully place the blame on one player, but Tyler Zeller is pretty much the main reason we lost this game. His inability to shut down Brook Lopez was a killer, and with Andy out, and Kyrie and Dion both having off-nights, the fact we stayed in this game was remarkable. It probably was that Elk Shyt guy that hit eight three pointers. Oh, and we were away as well, as with most of these games.
What I'm trying to prove is that there is no need to panic. We are young and unexperienced. We've contended with some of the best teams in the league so far this year in Miami, New York, and Brooklyn, and we've beaten both squads from Los Angeles. We're not going anywhere this year, and that may be for the best, but please, step away from the ledge.
Brighter things are on the horizon for Cavaliers basketball.
We've seen occasional flashes of what is yet to come with this ballclub, with that early win in Los Angeles against the Clippers when Dion dropped 28 points, or the more recent game when we beat the Lakers at home when Kyrie returned to the club.
We're not far off. We've really only been blown out in a select few games. As I watched the game tonight, Fred McLoud said that the Cavaliers have either held the lead or been within six points in the fourth quarter of all but four of their games. For this young of a team, I find this to be a very impressive statistic.
I'm going to go through now and list all of the games that we've lost by five or less points thus far this season, and I will keep it updated as we go throughout the year.
November 3rd, 2012 @ Milwaukee: 105-102 - Who couldn't remember our first heartbreak of the season? The controversial game winning three point shot hit by Brandon Jennings sealed our fate in what was a very hard fought game early in the season. Kyrie had twenty-seven points and seven assists that night and Andy chipped in fifteen boards. I would of loved to see what would of happened if that game would of went to overtime.
November 9th, 2012 @ Phoenix: 107-105 - I don't really remember too much about this game. Looking back, I think this was a game I couldn't catch, but we only lost by two away at Phoenix. Dion Waiters had twenty-three points in our close loss.
November 23rd, 2012 @ Orlando: 108-104 - Note that we didn't have Kyrie Irving in this game. This was another game I couldn't catch, but Orlando is currently going after a playoff spot, and we kept it competitive without our best player. Waiters had twenty-five points and Varejao had seventeen boards.
November 24th, 2012 @ Miami: 110-108 - The second night of a back-to-back, against the defending champions, in their own building, without our best player? I'm normally optimistic, and I had written us off for about a thirty-five point loss that night. What a game it was. It makes you wonder what would of happened if we had Kyrie.
December 1st, 2012 vs. Portland: 118-117 - I'm pretty sure this is the game where Batum hit that three in the corner to seal our fate and send us to another heart-breaking loss. This was another game without Kyrie against a team with a .500 record in the hunt out West. Once again, I would of loved overtime to see how it would of turned out, but, not everything goes our way.
December 14th, 2012 vs. Milwaukee: 110-106 - I personally do not remember one thing that happened in this game, so I'll just let you know that Kyrie had twenty-six points and Andy threw in eighteen boards. Just remember that Milwaukee is the fourth seed in the East right now and that this is the second time they've been on this list.
December 15th, 2012 @ New York: 103-102 - Ah... the masked game. If you can't remember, Kyrie dropped forty-one points in this game on the road against the now 21-9 New York Knicks. They've been near perfect at home so far this year at 12-2, and we gave them a run till the final seconds of the game. Not too shabby for a rebuilding team.
December 29th, 2012 @ Brooklyn: 103-100 - I hate to fully place the blame on one player, but Tyler Zeller is pretty much the main reason we lost this game. His inability to shut down Brook Lopez was a killer, and with Andy out, and Kyrie and Dion both having off-nights, the fact we stayed in this game was remarkable. It probably was that Elk Shyt guy that hit eight three pointers. Oh, and we were away as well, as with most of these games.
What I'm trying to prove is that there is no need to panic. We are young and unexperienced. We've contended with some of the best teams in the league so far this year in Miami, New York, and Brooklyn, and we've beaten both squads from Los Angeles. We're not going anywhere this year, and that may be for the best, but please, step away from the ledge.
Brighter things are on the horizon for Cavaliers basketball.