Tough Now, Tougher Later
Are we tough enough?
LeBron is amazing. Mo Williams is better than Larry Hughes can ever dream of. We have depth with Z, Varejao, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Wally, Darnell Jackson, and JJ Hickson down low and Delonte, Gibson, Sasha, and Kinsey as guards.
But are we tough enough?
“Anything less than a championship will be a disappointment.” - Z
“I’m with Z. That’s the only reason we’re playing this season. It’s the only reason we come to the gym every day. That’s the only reason we work as hard as we do and try to win ballgames is to get better everyday and to win a championship.” - LeBron
The playoffs start in two weeks - April 18th - and the Cavs better be ready.
Everybody talks about Boston and the Lakers, and if we face either one of them it is going to be a true test and a challenge to our strength and confidence. Orlando might come face us in the Eastern Conference Finals if Dwight Howard proves his worth against Boston for a series win.
In the next 5-10 years, we will have much bigger worries than Boston. Orlando is going to keep growing around Dwight Howard (#1 in the league in both rebounding and blocks, shooting 58%). Miami, if Dwayne Wade stays, is going to keep on improving (do they sign Carlos Boozer this offseason or does Detroit? He is right there 2nd tier behind Dwight). Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, and Charlotte are learning to play together and developing chemistry around their young stars.
We’ve got the leg up on all these teams right now with LeBron’s leadership and the chemistry on our team, but we’ll fall behind if we don’t improve in future years because the rest of the teams are all improving.
Boobie needs to have a better year next year unless we add someone like Jason Kidd as a backup. Varejao might be a starter if he resigns and will need to keep up his strong impovement. We need another power forward or center that can score and also play BIG on defense in the paint. Ben Wallace and Z will start playing less and less, Hickson and Darnell can develop, but we need a solid big man that can contribute nightly with 15-20 points.
So we will have to be TOUGHER in the years to come.
But this year, we have an edge. If we can show TOUGHNESS, we can win our first championship right NOW.
We’re having fun, we believe in our teammates, and we understand the importance of defense. But Orlando, Boston, and the Lakers have OUT-TOUGHED us so far this year.
LeBron has to be tough every night in the Playoffs. Mo has to be tough almost every night. And everybody else will have to step up. There are potential unsung heroes everywhere on this team. Varejao can win a few games for us. Delonte can shoot lights out and lock down defend for a few wins. Z will need to hit his outside shot to move the other team’s center out of the way for the rest of the team to drive. Hopefully Wally and Joe Smith can have some big-time playoff games for us. Hopefully we can avoid serious injuries.
If we continue to improve this team around LeBron and Mo, we can compete for multiple championships. Now is an opportunity to get our first.