A brief defensive lapse and an on-target triple from Kawhi Leonard lifted the visiting Spurs over the Cavaliers by a whisker tonight at the Q, 96-95. Leonard’s shot—which came with just 2.9 seconds remaining-- sent the Wine & Gold into the All-Star break on yet another of those pesky three-game losing streaks. But as a far more dire consequence, it also led to the inevitable 180-degree turn in tonality on the post-game radio shows, as local hosts decried Byron Scott’s failures to will his 16-37 team over a 42-12 team in the final minutes. Yes, if Kawhi Leonard had just been kind enough to short-arm that wide open three-pointer, your upstart Cavaliers would have had themselves a touchstone victory over a league elite (with Tim Duncan back on the floor, no less), leading to a week of good feelings and boundless optimism. But Kawhi Leonard—selfish prick that he is—made the shot.
And so we carry on with the mope show.
Despite having their big three of Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli together on the court for the first time since January 13, San Antonio had problems all night creating any distance between themselves and the Cavs. This was especially surprising considering that the guy objectively agreed upon as the best Cav—Mr. Kyrie Irving— was shooting the rock like a cross-eyed Cedric Henderson. Kyrie himself went as far as to call his 6 point, 2-for-15 shooting performance “probably one of the worst shooting nights I’ve ever had.” And yet there were his teammates picking up the slack, rallying Cleveland to a 54-46 halftime lead.
Some arguments put us in good favor with our peers, provided we take the right side, but we might upset the status quo with a minority opinion. And hey, that's life. At the end of the day, you should be able to discuss anything and everything with your friends, then still walk away as friends, no matter how heated the debate might be.
When the final buzzer rang on Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves facing a 100-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. On the surface, this was not one of the worst losses that Cleveland has suffered. Afterall, there are 36 available to choose from and far fewer wins. The Cavs have lost to the Chicago Bulls by 29 points. They gave up a 26 point lead to the Phoenix Suns. Both of those losses happened within the first six games of the season.
This year’s All-Star Game will mark the first time that LeBron James and Kyrie Irving—past and present faces of the Cavalier franchise—will take the floor as teammates in an NBA game. Irving, like James back in 2005, is a 20 year-old making his All-Star debut one year after being the #1 overall selection in the draft and Rookie of the Year. Compared to the year-long coronation that was King James’ incredible sophomore season, however, the frustratingly nickname-less Irving remains just a hair under the national radar—still fighting for his recognition as one of the game’s elite point guards, let alone overall players.
Somehow, while we were not looking, the Cleveland Cavaliers hit the 50-game mark and, since the calendar turned to 2013, have been playing respectable and, at times, entertaining basketball.