This team has disgraced CLEVELAND tonight

[CavsGirl]

I so don't want to give up on these guys, but they're making it really hard.

I never expected them to beat Miami, I had hoped deep down that they could muster up everything they had and get a huge upset. What a headline that would have been, but I knew it was not realistic.

What I never expected was for them to just lay down and let LBJ walk all over them. For as much as Dan Gilbert is praised for saying LBJ quit in the playoffs, he needs to take a good look at the rest of his team because they quit on us Thursday night. We deserve better.

 

[Jon]

Agree, but wouldn't that go hand in hand with LeBron basically saying their games weren't good enough to win him a 'ship?

While you wouldn't think so from reading a Cavs board, there actually is a difference between implying something and actually coming out and saying it.

And even if he did come out and say the Cavs as a team just wasn't talented enough ... that may be plenty personal to Dan Gilbert and Danny Ferry and Chris Grant who put together the team, but perhaps not so much to the players who can't control anything beyond what they can do. And heck, I said this before LeBron decided to leave, but Ferry and gang did fail to do the things they needed to do to retain LeBron. They may have tried everything they could have and LeBron's indecision certainly didn't help, but the bottom line is they didn't get a lottery pick, they didn't get a coach with a ring, they didn't get a second all-star, they didn't get an answer for our front-court moving forward, they didn't manage to develop any of our young players to a break-out level, and they sure didn't win a championship.

But the bottom line is free-agency is the player's meal ticket. They're not going to get all upset because one of their millionaire buddies exercised it.

It does sound like being on the other side of LeBron's trash talk irked some of the players. The trash talk not being the problem as they hear it every game, but they may not have expected it from him given their past relationships. Some of them may have lost some respect for LeBron, but I still don't expect it to amount to anything on the court - which is what the irate fans want to see.

I wasn't mad at the players for not taking a swing at LeBron or delivering hard fouls, etc. I didn't expect that. I just thought they had something to prove and would have given an effort more like we saw .vs. the Celtics in the opener - and instead what I saw was a bunch of guys when the going got rough ... making bad decisions, taking bad shots, and not playing D. Doing everything they could to show that LeBron was right to leave. I thought they'd step-up more outside of his shadow.

 

[NarlCavs]

Maybe they should get rid of all the extra security, especially around the Heat bench, next time they come to Cleveland. Like to see what happens if Lebron prances, laughs, and talks junk then. Easy to pull stuff when you're so protected and insulated. Of course it would be nice to see anybody on the Cavs have the balls to stand up for themselves.

I was already realistic about this team and the direction I believe they should take but that performance the other night got me down on them way more and left no doubt a major rebuild is a must. Cavs were already heading in the direction of being irrelevant to many but they sped up that process Thursday as they turned off everybody.

 

[Triumph36]

Maybe they should get rid of all the extra security, especially around the Heat bench, next time they come to Cleveland. Like to see what happens if Lebron prances, laughs, and talks junk then. Easy to pull stuff when you're so protected and insulated. Of course it would be nice to see anybody on the Cavs have the balls to stand up for themselves.

That would be a terrible idea as not only is it flat out immature but it also makes the city come off poorly. Physically standing up to a player being a pompous ass is not the fans job.

 

[We want Mbenga]

Mo gave LeBron the cold shoulder during the game. There is this one video on another Cavs website (fear the sword) where LeBron walks up to Mo, who moves quickly away and mutters something over his shoulder that looks like f*** you. LeBron just shrugs and moves away.

The rest of our team pansied out major time.

 

[NarlCavs]

That would be a terrible idea as not only is it flat out immature but it also makes the city come off poorly. Physically standing up to a player being a pompous ass is not the fans job.

Wasn't meant to be taken seriously. Only want someone on the Cavs to have some balls and pride although maybe putting a little fear into Lebron wouldn't be the worst thing.

 

[riveronfire]

Actually Jon, that is the one thing that became crystal clear to all Cavs fans last night. These guys do not give a flying f*ck about the fans of Cleveland. The NBA is a business and fraternity. To the players, the fans are a necessary evil, nothing more.

Therein lies the problem for one Mr. Dan Gilbert. How do you sell tickets on what looks like a pretty bad basketball team to a fan base when the one game all year the fans needed them to play balls to the wall, they basically laid down all the while kissing the ass of the most reviled man in the history of Cleveland sports.

As little as they care about what the fans care about, I would think they would at least care about the media. They have been ripped to shreds and embarrassed nationally from TNT to ESPN to the print journals. If you listened to Cleveland radio yesterday, every talk show hosts, caller and contributor all said the same thing, they are done with this team from here on out.

Couldn't agree with this post more. The fans and players see things much differently. To Cavs players, Lebron leaving just gives them more of a chance to display thier skillset on an individual level, to get a better contract. Why should Varejao hate Lebron? He wouldnt have gotten that contract without Lebron. Gibson is having his best year as a player without Lebron, why should he be upset? Lebron was an excellent teammate to these guys all these years, just because he left the team should mean they should all of a suddenly hate him? The guy never bad-mouthed his teammates so they have no reason to take anything personal, it was just a business decision. If anything, blame the coach for not getting these guys ready. I mean wtf was that halftime speech by Scott? "If we lose the game, as long as we play together as a team I can live with that". The truth is these guys dont have any kind of sense of pride because they suck balls as a team. If they had an all-star player like Wade+healthy Bynum and had a respectable record, things would be different.

 

[davedugan43]

If only looks could kill . . . check out Wally Szczerbiak in the photo below. Too bad none of our current players could muster up such contempt.

The two announcers on the left appear to be disgusted (Cleveland), while the douches on the right seem to be enjoying it, fuck miami

 

[Kouki]

Why is there not someone right in front just flipping him off, both hands, right in his face? Damn. Someone buy me those tickets to the next game, I'll pay a hundred bucks just to sit there for the chalk toss.