Consistent

On the day the Cavaliers won the NBA lottery four years ago, the Cavaliers future was sealed. LeBron James was going to become a Cav. I had friends and co-workers telling me that Cleveland was an immediate contender for the championship.

Hell no, I thought. Our team had just come off a 17-65 season. No single player, not even the laboratory-created DNA-built offspring of Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, could ever take a 17-win team and win the Finals.

But what I hoped for, even demanded from my team, was consistent and steady improvement from the new Cavaliers. My team has provided that improvement to this date.

In 02/03, the Cavaliers were 17-65. Then they drafted LeBron.
In 03/04, the Cavaliers were 35-47. An 18-game improvement.
In 04/05, the Cavaliers were 42-40. 7 games better, but still no playoffs.
In 05/06, the Cavaliers were 50-32. 8 games better, and they won in the first round of the playoffs. They lost in the second round 4-3.
In 06/07, the Cavaliers were 50-32.

The Cavaliers won the same amount of games this year as they did last year, so there was no improvement. However, tonight they can fix all that. A victory over New Jersey will send them to the Conference Finals, something that we failed to achieve last year.

I can’t say that I’ll be satisfied with that achievement. I want more this year. But they will have given me that consistent improvement for the fourth straight year, and they will be well on their way to that championship that we all so richly deserve in Cleveland.

By the way, the Cavs now have the best record in the NBA Playoffs.

Cleveland – 7-1
Detroit – 7-2
Utah – 8-4
Chicago – 6-3
San Antonio – 6-3
Phoenix – 6-3
New Jersey – 5-5
Golden State – 5-6
Houston – 3-4
Dallas – 2-4
Toronto – 2-4
Denver – 1-4
L.A. Lakers – 1-4
Miami – 0-4
Washington – 0-4
Orlando – 0-4

Considering both our playoff opponents are below .500, take it with a grain of salt.