rabman_gold
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Okay, so that was a little cheesy, and dynasty isn't necessarily going to happen, but you get the suspicion that we will pick up our parts and once again move through the valleys of NBA Contention. Here's your history piece. As the New Team picks up the pieces this off-season, I will look to update with new articles to keep you entertained.
First off: The Team's First Attempted Basket Came At the Opponent's Hoop
The idea of a basketball team in Cleveland wasn't anything new in the late 60s. After all, the Cleveland Rebels were a defunct team from the forgotten age of the NBA, when they only lasted a season in the Basketball Association of America. But in a blue collar town that was just finishing it's last championship era with the Browns of the NFL, there wasn't anything good to speak of about Cleveland sports. Nick Mileti, the founder of the team, gave the town a poll to decide on names of the franchise, created for the fans, by the fans. Jerry Tomko, the father of the former Major League Baseball pitcher, Brett Tomko, came up with the idea the "Cavaliers".
The team itself didn't become official until the 1970 expansion draft, when they selected their future icons and one-and-dones alike. Bingo Smith found the team his home for 723 regular season games. Walt Wesley, the first and almost last player to score 50 points as a Cav (and against the Cincinnati Royals to boot), John Johnson, and the like were some of the better players that made up the team. A rag sack of players who played at the Cleveland Arena, a run down wasteland of a court that makes even the worst of the third country's courts look good, they could not sustain any movement for several seasons. Bill Fitch, famous for his lines: "The name's Fitch, not Houdini.", taught the team to play hard and not give up in time, but they lost their first 15 games until finally defeating the fellow expansion team, the Portland Trailblazers, 105-103 on Thursday, November 12th in 1970.
Who the hell are these guys?!
Of course, after such a long year of difficulties, things also started to look better as they drafted a college star who set the NCAA Tournament record for points scored in a game: Austin Carr. He looked like a sure-fire all-star in the league, along with the acquisition of Butch Beard, until a knee injury stopped him in practice in the summer of his rookie year. Still, they were 8 games better even with Carr playing 43 games and averaging a team-best 21.2 points. He was from a different era of basketball, but he is known as a shooter. His style would play an important role in the future of the decade, just like Kyrie's role will play a role in his future with the team.
Hey, future mama! "Who is that man?!"
The Beginning of the (short-lived) Cleveland Basketball Era: THE MIRACLE OF RICHFIELD!
It began when the team moved to the Richfield Coliseum in 1974, in a rural setting south of Cleveland, and the team started to look just like that: a team. They got significantly better with movement. Gone were the days of bad basketball with selfish ball-hogs from our earlier years and in came team basketball and hard, physical defense that looked nothing like this era of basketball, when the rules were defined differently. Austin Carr, who repeatedly became the first significant player in our history to be bitten by the injury bug continuously, needed help. He received that in quality players like Jim Chones, Campy Russell, and the like. He became the solid sixth man scoring punch off the bench to reduce injury. They weren't great alone, but together, became the team that would eventually hold the local iconic phrase: "The Miracle of Richfield", a series of playoff games decided by 1 or 2 points in the last seconds of games. Even though they fell short in 1975, they began their first playoff year when they acquired the legend from Akron: Nate Thurmond, several months into the 1975-1976 season. They were said to have been losing terribly to the Suns when at halftime, Nate urged them on by saying (paraphrased): You guys are better than this! Show them who you really are! It struck a note for the first time in team history and started the first winning era when they made a comeback that same game with a crushing victory. This team was for real.
After winning their first Division title in 1976 and Bill Fitch gaining the Coach of the Year status, along with 49 regular season wins, they took the battle the previous year's Finalists: The Washington Bullets. Bingo Smith managed to get a good buzzer beater and attempted to duplicate his efforts in another game, where someone else did it instead. Finally, in game 7, Dick Snyder flashed by and took a banker with a few seconds left. Washington failed to counter and the fans rushed the court.
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KIX5pUk2T9w" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>
Need I say anymore?
Yet, all good things must come to an end. The first of many heartbreaks came. Jim Chones broke his foot in practice. As the starting center, there was no way to combat Dave Cowens without exhausting Nate to a level he could no longer sustain. The Cavs were finished in 6 games. 3 halfway decent seasons came, but when Campy and the core was moved, the era of the first of great basketball finally came to a close. It was no only an end, but a dreadful beginning to the dark ages of a new kind of entertainment...
Who is that evil man???
TO BE CONTINUED (COME BACK IN JUNE FOR THE NEXT ARTICLE: I TRADED AWAY JAMES WORTHY BUT AT LEAST DIDN'T PULL AN ART MODELL)
First off: The Team's First Attempted Basket Came At the Opponent's Hoop
The idea of a basketball team in Cleveland wasn't anything new in the late 60s. After all, the Cleveland Rebels were a defunct team from the forgotten age of the NBA, when they only lasted a season in the Basketball Association of America. But in a blue collar town that was just finishing it's last championship era with the Browns of the NFL, there wasn't anything good to speak of about Cleveland sports. Nick Mileti, the founder of the team, gave the town a poll to decide on names of the franchise, created for the fans, by the fans. Jerry Tomko, the father of the former Major League Baseball pitcher, Brett Tomko, came up with the idea the "Cavaliers".
The team itself didn't become official until the 1970 expansion draft, when they selected their future icons and one-and-dones alike. Bingo Smith found the team his home for 723 regular season games. Walt Wesley, the first and almost last player to score 50 points as a Cav (and against the Cincinnati Royals to boot), John Johnson, and the like were some of the better players that made up the team. A rag sack of players who played at the Cleveland Arena, a run down wasteland of a court that makes even the worst of the third country's courts look good, they could not sustain any movement for several seasons. Bill Fitch, famous for his lines: "The name's Fitch, not Houdini.", taught the team to play hard and not give up in time, but they lost their first 15 games until finally defeating the fellow expansion team, the Portland Trailblazers, 105-103 on Thursday, November 12th in 1970.
Who the hell are these guys?!
Of course, after such a long year of difficulties, things also started to look better as they drafted a college star who set the NCAA Tournament record for points scored in a game: Austin Carr. He looked like a sure-fire all-star in the league, along with the acquisition of Butch Beard, until a knee injury stopped him in practice in the summer of his rookie year. Still, they were 8 games better even with Carr playing 43 games and averaging a team-best 21.2 points. He was from a different era of basketball, but he is known as a shooter. His style would play an important role in the future of the decade, just like Kyrie's role will play a role in his future with the team.
Hey, future mama! "Who is that man?!"
The Beginning of the (short-lived) Cleveland Basketball Era: THE MIRACLE OF RICHFIELD!
catfish said:I was a big fan of the miracle of richfield team. I remember a great article in the Cleveland Press on Jim Chones and Campy Russell experimenting with the new shots [like the] finger rolls. Campy remains to this day my favorite Cav. AC not so much. He blew a number of layups in the first round series against the Bullets in the 76-77 the year after the miracle. Cavs got very hurt by the ABA[/]NBA merger as they were good the year before and [didn't] get talent in the expansion draft. Jim Brewer was just brutal. John Lambert what a stiff. How can you retire the jersey of Nate Thurmond when he really [didn't] play a full season. Cleamons was a good point guard. The footman footsie walker was a nice change of pace. Dick Snyder was sort of a stiff like anthony parker. Bingo Smith was pretty one dimensional. Campy could do it all. We got rid of him though.
It began when the team moved to the Richfield Coliseum in 1974, in a rural setting south of Cleveland, and the team started to look just like that: a team. They got significantly better with movement. Gone were the days of bad basketball with selfish ball-hogs from our earlier years and in came team basketball and hard, physical defense that looked nothing like this era of basketball, when the rules were defined differently. Austin Carr, who repeatedly became the first significant player in our history to be bitten by the injury bug continuously, needed help. He received that in quality players like Jim Chones, Campy Russell, and the like. He became the solid sixth man scoring punch off the bench to reduce injury. They weren't great alone, but together, became the team that would eventually hold the local iconic phrase: "The Miracle of Richfield", a series of playoff games decided by 1 or 2 points in the last seconds of games. Even though they fell short in 1975, they began their first playoff year when they acquired the legend from Akron: Nate Thurmond, several months into the 1975-1976 season. They were said to have been losing terribly to the Suns when at halftime, Nate urged them on by saying (paraphrased): You guys are better than this! Show them who you really are! It struck a note for the first time in team history and started the first winning era when they made a comeback that same game with a crushing victory. This team was for real.
After winning their first Division title in 1976 and Bill Fitch gaining the Coach of the Year status, along with 49 regular season wins, they took the battle the previous year's Finalists: The Washington Bullets. Bingo Smith managed to get a good buzzer beater and attempted to duplicate his efforts in another game, where someone else did it instead. Finally, in game 7, Dick Snyder flashed by and took a banker with a few seconds left. Washington failed to counter and the fans rushed the court.
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KIX5pUk2T9w" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>
Need I say anymore?
Yet, all good things must come to an end. The first of many heartbreaks came. Jim Chones broke his foot in practice. As the starting center, there was no way to combat Dave Cowens without exhausting Nate to a level he could no longer sustain. The Cavs were finished in 6 games. 3 halfway decent seasons came, but when Campy and the core was moved, the era of the first of great basketball finally came to a close. It was no only an end, but a dreadful beginning to the dark ages of a new kind of entertainment...
Who is that evil man???
TO BE CONTINUED (COME BACK IN JUNE FOR THE NEXT ARTICLE: I TRADED AWAY JAMES WORTHY BUT AT LEAST DIDN'T PULL AN ART MODELL)
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