Can’t Make Much of Browns Win Today

We aren’t going to make too much out of today’s 24-10 win by the Cleveland Browns over the San Francisco 49ers.

Let’s face it, the 49ers are a terrible team, just like the Browns and since Cleveland was at home, we aren’t surprised by the victory and it doesn’t prove anything about Mike Pettine, his coaching staff, and even Johnny Manziel.

The Browns gained 481 yards against the Niners, even running for over 200 yards on the game, with Isaiah Crowell rushing for 145 yards on 20 carries, the first Browns’ RB to get over the century mark this season.

The defense showed a pulse too, recording nine sacks, meaning over half of their sacks on the season (26 total) have come against Tennessee (7) and today.

Armonty Bryant and rookie Nate Orchard each had two sacks and Desmond Bryant had 1-1/2 on the day.

They still didn’t turn the ball over so that trend continued this afternoon.

After five straight games of allowing 30 points or more, Jim O’Neil beleaguered unit held a terrible 49er offense to just 10 points, including a meaningless score in the final minutes.

As for the thing everybody focuses on in this city, the quarterback play, Johnny Manziel had one throw we are sure he would like back (the pass over the middle right before halftime), but otherwise played well.

He completed 21 of 31 throws for 270 yards and a touchdown in winning his second game of the season.

But you can’t make much of this because the other win was also against one of the NFL’s lesser lights in Tennessee.

He’s proven he can play well against bad teams.

He does have an opportunity now to play against the defending NFC champions next week against Seattle, and two playoff contenders in Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

That will tell us and the front office more about the former Heisman Trophy winner than today’s win.

Two things that cause us to scratch our heads…first, another field goal block, with the pressure coming over the two rookie first round draft picks, Danny Shelton and Cam Erving.

Why wouldn’t Chris Tabor make some adjustments in the protection scheme after the last two games? This is exactly what bothers us about this staff. The inability to make changes when something isn’t working.

The other thing was not using Terrelle Pryor in the passing game. Look, Brian Hartline had 100 yards receiving in his last game of the season (he suffered a broken collarbone in the victory), and Gary Barnidge continues to impress, but why not use Pryor a little.

Yes, he did play, but there didn’t seem to be a play call which intended for the ball to go to him. Why not use him since you are sitting at 2-10 coming in?

In our mind, this win changes nothing. The Browns beat a bad San Francisco team, which they should have done.

Yes, it’s better than losing to the Niners, but you can’t get excited about it.

As for falling back into a tie with Tennessee and San Diego for the worst record in the league? Who cares. That’s for losers and you have to understand the players aren’t out there worried about next year’s draft pick.

Next week will be a huge challenge. We believe the Browns will be the biggest underdog of the NFL season against the Seahawks, with our guess being Cleveland will be at least a 17 point dog.

Is it better than losing to a bad team? Of course. However, you can’t get excited by today’s performance.

The Browns simply did what they should have done.

Some Browns Myth Busting

It has been well documented the train wreck the 2015 football has become for the Cleveland Browns. After a 7-4 start to Mike Pettine’s head coaching career, the brown and orange have lost 15 of their last 17 games.

They are 2-10 this season, and over the last six contests have been blown out (losing by 14 or more points) in five of those games.

However, there have been some myths that have developed about the total collapse that has occurred over the past 12 months.

The Brian Hoyer saga. Contrary to what some people think, the Browns were not 7-4 when Pettine decided to bench Hoyer and play Johnny Manziel.

The reality is Cleveland was 7-6 when Manziel made his first start, after two horrible performances by Hoyer.

In a 26-10 road loss to Buffalo, Hoyer was 18 of 30 for 192 yards and two interceptions. He was NOT on the field for Cleveland’s only touchdown, which came on a drive orchestrated by Manziel in a backup role.

The following week was a 25-24 loss to the Colts in which the Browns outplayed Indianapolis except on the scoreboard. Hoyer was 13 for 30 for 136 yards and two more picks.

And the Browns’ defense was responsible for two touchdowns, a fumble recovery by Craig Robertson in the end zone, and a pick six by (ready for it!) Justin Gilbert.

So, the offense scored just 10 points.

Had the Browns won that game, they would have been 8-5 and very much in the playoff hunt.

Drafting. Ray Farmer gets a lot of criticism for his drafts, and in some cases, it is merited.

But, it is not as though he has been reaching for players and made horrible mistakes.

First, he did not draft Barkevious Mingo, who we think might be able to play if he was put in the spot he was drafted for.

According to Walterfootball.com (site picked at random), Gilbert was projected to be the 15^th pick in the draft. Cleveland traded down from #4, getting a 2015 first round pick in return, and took Gilbert at 8^th. Not exactly a reach.

On the same site, Manziel was projected as the 7^th overall pick, and dropped to #22. Several draft pundits had him as the best QB in that year’s selection process.

In 2015, they had the Browns taking Danny Shelton with the 12^th overall pick, which, of course, they did, and had Cameron Erving going 18^th overall to Kansas City, one pick ahead of Cleveland.

Most mock drafts had all four players with first round grades.

So, what happened?

Pettine is blameless. Many fans think the head coach has been dealt a bad hand because of Farmer’s ineptness, but is that true?

Name one position group that has improved since last season? Right, not a one.

He came here as a defensive coach and that unit, not the quarterback play, is the reason for being 2-10.

If the Browns had allowed 20 points a game in every game this season, there record would be 5-5-2. Assuming they split the overtime games, they would be 6-6 right now and in the thick of the playoff hunt.

And really, outside of Joe Haden, what solid player has missed a lot of time this season?

No, the head coach should get a lot of the blame, and probably will after the last game of the season, when he is given the pink slip.

Just think, only four more games until this nightmare is over.

Cavs Need To Relax, Have Fun.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit their first bump of the season, having lost three straight, heading into tonight’s game at Quicken Loans Arena against the Portland Trailblazers.

Two of the losses were by wide margins.

The Wizards came into Cleveland a week ago and never trailed in handing the Cavs their first home loss of the season, and Saturday night, the Miami Heat dominated the wine and gold, who held LeBron James out to get some rest.

The other loss was in overtime to New Orleans, a game the Cavs should have won in regulation, and then ran out of gas in the extra session.

The bigger concern for basketball fans in Cleveland should be that right now, the team seems very tight, they aren’t playing the free flowing game we saw early in the season.

What are the reasons for this? Here are some theories we have.

First, the Cavs seem to have Warrior envy. Everyone is well aware that the defending champions are 22-0 and are the talk of the NBA.

Their start is an NBA record. That means it has never happened before.

Besides the Warriors, do you know how many other teams have better records than David Blatt’s team? One. The Spurs are 17-4.

That means the Cavs have the third best record in the league.

Should they attention to what Golden State is doing? We guess, but outside of the two regular season games between the two teams, the Cavaliers won’t have to face the Warriors until the NBA Finals.

And that will be in June.

The Cavs need to relax and have fun and play their brand of basketball.

The second theory is perhaps some of the players are a little tight because of the impending returns of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, which will mean some alterations in how playing time is doled out.

Obviously, James and Kevin Love won’t be affected by this, and neither will the other big men like Timofey Mozgov, Tristan Thompson, and Anderson Varejao.

But the playing time for the backcourt will definitely be altered.

J.R. Smith will probably get some minutes at small forward, but no doubt Shumpert will cut into his minutes.

And both Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova’s time will decline, more likely Williams because the latter can be counted on to be on the floor in the fourth quarter because of his defensive ability.

Perhaps the uncertainty is weighing on these players and they haven’t played as loose as they did earlier in the campaign.

The last theory is the leader’s determination to win a title. LeBron James is very focused and has passed this on to the rest of the team.

No individual pre-game introductions and various team meetings.

It’s okay to have a single mindedness in this regard, but it’s a long season and the players need to have some fun as well.

Perhaps Blatt can take them bowling again on the next road trip.

Look, there will be plenty of time for the Cavaliers to put their nose to the grindstone, but during a six month season, you have to have some fun as well.

This is a very talented basketball team. They just need to relax and play and the victories will start to come again.

Are We Still Getting Close, Mike?

The best thing you can say about today’s utter beatdown by the Cincinnati Bengals over the Cleveland Browns is that nobody died.

The road to 2-14 started today as the Browns looked like a team whose spirit was broken in the blocked field goal return for a touchdown Monday night against the Ravens, in a 37-3 loss.

While we have been questioning Mike Pettine’s coaching and decision making for the past two months, it is ridiculous to fire him after today, something many are clamoring for on social media.

Pettine should be made and watch and suffer like the rest of the fan base, that is punishment enough for the coach and the staff.

The lopsided loss had many of the same contributing factors we have come to love all season long.

Cincinnati ran for 141 yards, the eighth time an opponent has exceeded 140 yards in the 12 games Cleveland has played this season.

The defense allowed 30 or more points for the eighth time this season.

The Browns had more penalties on the afternoon and lost the turnover battle too.

It was the fourth time on the season that the defense did not force a turnover and the 7th time in 12 games they turned their opponent over once or less.

It was the largest margin of defeat for Cleveland this year and the fifth time in the last six games the Browns have lost by 14 or more points.

And when questioned about the distance right now between the division leading Bengals (10-2) and the Browns (2-10), Pettine talked about injuries, an excuse if we ever heard one.

Excuses are for losers. Pittsburgh has had several injuries to key players this season, and they are sitting at 6-5.

Let the media make the excuses for your team, Mike.

Yet, we will hear about “being close” and “progress being made” by Pettine in press conferences.

They are regressing as the season goes on.

About the only life shown by the Browns today was by LB Chris Kirksey, who drew a personal foul for stopping Jeremy Hill from jumping into the stands after a Cincinnati touchdown.

When asked about it after the game, Pettine said he was hoping it was going to be offsetting penalties, instead of commending the young linebacker for showing some caring.

This is what kills us about the coach. He talks about accountability concerning Johnny Manziel, but the defense has been a sieve from week one on, and yet Jim O’Neil continues to be the defensive coordinator.

This may the worst situation for this football team since the expansion days. The Browns are the worst team in the NFL and they don’t seem to be playing hard either.

There doesn’t seem to be veteran leadership either. Offensively, Joe Thomas and Alex Mack aren’t rah rah types.

Defensively, out of the vets, only Karlos Dansby is performing at a decent enough level that he can give out advice and be taken seriously.

CB Tramon Williams was abused by A.J. Green today, and was beaten deep once again, continuing a streak of that occurring.

One other comment. Why wasn’t Terrelle Pryor active for the game? It is typical of the Browns to bring in a player and find all kinds of reasons not to use him.

Unfortunately for all of us, there are still four games remaining. Is this as bad as it can get?

Pettine’s Decision on Manziel Looks Worse by the Day

The Cleveland Browns are 2-9 for a reason, and that reason is they can’t do anything right.

Just like the New England Patriots, who seem to make all the right moves as they have a chance to win a Super Bowl every year, the Browns are the bizarro Patriots, making horrible decision after horrible decision.

The latest is Poppa Mike Pettine’s decision to go with Austin Davis as the starting quarterback this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

We have had issues with Pettine’s moves over the last six weeks or so, and now more and more people in the media are seeing the same things we did.

Both local and national media feel the same way, despite second year QB Johnny Manziel’s issues off the field, the right football decision is to let name the former Heisman Trophy winner the starter for the remainder of the season.

We understand that if Manziel were a middle round pick, he likely would have a shorter leash, and may even be released (although we wouldn’t cut let’s say Pierre Desir because he showed up on a video partying), but he wasn’t.

He was chosen in the first round, and therefore, he must be given every opportunity to succeed.

Is that fair? No, but that’s reality, like it or not.

And the fans and media who don’t understand that are living in a fantasy world.

You simply cannot release a first round draft choice after two years because you don’t like the way he acts off the field. Besides, it’s not like it was a secret that Manziel had a wild streak when he was in college.

That’s even more incredible, he is being “punished” for being himself.

There are reports that several NFL teams are interested in getting Manziel if indeed there is no future for him in Cleveland. That should be reason enough not to cut him.

And even with Manziel’s serial nightlife escapades, put him out on the field.

If he can’t play or isn’t prepared to play, then you have a very good idea that you need to draft a passer early in next spring’s draft.

As several people pointed out during and after Monday’s loss to Baltimore, ultimately the organization is being punished most by sitting Manziel down. The player himself probably knows he will get another shot elsewhere.

We are sure that Johnny Football knows the head coach would prefer not to play him, which probably doesn’t help the player respect his boss.

Davis did a nice job coming in for Josh McCown against Baltimore, but he is under contract for next year, and will be a fine back up signal caller, so why the rush to get him more playing time.

Besides, in the playing time Davis had with the Rams last year, he played more than Manziel, meaning there is more tape on Davis for the coaches to peruse in judging what he can do.

Without a doubt, the best thing for the Cleveland Browns is to play Johnny Manziel on Sunday and for the rest of the season.

Either Pettine knows he’s getting fired and figures he is going to do what he wants regardless, but if he thinks he has a shot at returning, why wouldn’t he play the guy the owner wanted as part of the organization on draft day in 2014.

Pettine’s stubbornness, not a good trait for a losing coach, is getting in the way of making the right decision.

Two Weeks Off, But Not Many Adjustments For Browns

Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.

The Cleveland Browns lined up for a 51 yard field goal by Travis Coons to win last night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens on the last play of the competition.

Instead, the kick was blocked and the Ravens’ Will Hill scooped up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone to give Baltimore a 33-27 victory and drop the Browns’ record to 2-9 for the year.

And that makes it 14 losses in the last 16 games for Mike Pettine and his team.

It was special teams that cost the Browns tonight as they allowed a punt return and a blocked field goal for touchdowns. You can’t give up 13 points on special teams.

Those numbers, and that Karlos Dansby returned an interception for a score, will masquerade another poor performance by the defense, who allowed four and a half yards per carry on the ground, and made former Cleveland running back, Terrence West, dealt for a seventh round pick, look good.

West had 37 yards in seven attempts.

Cleveland did have another interception, as Tramon Williams picked off Matt Schaub late to set up the possible game winning field goal, but the Browns’ defense did not record a sack during the game.

So, with all of the time off the players and the coaching staff have had recently, what adjustments did the team make?

It’s hard to tell.

Offensively, it seemed like there was a more concerted effort to get the football to the team’s playmakers as Travis Benjamin caught six passes for 90 yards and a TD, and ran the ball on a reverse once.

Duke Johnson touched the ball 12 times, and actually saw action in the second half.

And TE Gary Barnidge continued his fine season, grabbing seven throws for 91 yards.

The entire time off was filled with discussion on Johnny Manziel’s off-field activities, so Josh McCown got the start, but was injured again during the game, forcing Austin Davis into the contest.

Davis acquitted himself well, hitting 7 of 10 for 77 yards and the TD throw to Benjamin.

So, get ready for more quarterback talk this week.

That discussion will overshadow the terrible time management Pettine used at the end of the game.

After Williams’ pick, the Browns had the ball on the Ravens’ 48 with 55 seconds remaining in the game, with two timeouts in their possession. Remarkably, they ran three plays in that amount of time.

Davis failed to get out-of-bounds on a run that ended at the 30 yard line on the second last offensive play for Cleveland. With Coons’ longest field goal of the year being 44 yards, it did not occur to the head coach to try to get the ball closer for his kicker, who hadn’t missed a field goal all season.

Instead, he tried a running play that lost yardage, pushing Coons back even further.

And while the joke around town is the guy who blocked the kick wedged his way between the two 2015 first round draft picks, Cam Erving and Danny Shelton, the truth is the longer kick made Coons kick the ball lower. Had the Browns gained five more yards after Davis’ run and it would be a 42 yard kick, it likely wouldn’t have been blocked.

Pettine has something to learn about using timeouts. Apparently, he thinks they can be turned in at the end of the season for coupons.

This was the seventh game out of 11 that the Browns have allowed 30+ points in a game. Although the defense was only on the field for 20 of those, it is very difficult for this team to win when the offense has to score more than 30 to win.

All the quarterback talk, both on and off the field, deflect criticism from this unit, which is the real problem with this team.

And it’s not going to be easier with the Bengals visiting on Sunday.

It’s doubtful they will lose on another blocked field goal, but we can’t say it is impossible.

Tribe Needs To Be Bold

While the baseball hot stove league has just barely started, it is sure to heat up soon.

The winter meetings take place next week and that is usually the place where the major moving and shaking takes place.

Going into the off-season, the Cleveland Indians were thought to be a team that could be very active this winter.

They have a solid pitching staff, and some depth as well, so the thought is out there that president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and new GM Mike Chernoff could swing some deals to bring a ballclub that finished 11th in the American League in runs scored a much needed jolt for the offense.

They did swing a minor deal getting Kirby Yates from Tampa, a right-handed reliever who has swing and miss stuff.

However, he did give up a whopping 10 home runs in a little over 20 innings pitched in 2015, so obviously the front office is looking for Mickey Callaway to work his magic with him.

But what about the offense?

The only rumors involving hitters involve older players on the downside of their careers, guys like the Yankees’ Brett Gardner and free agent outfielder Shane Victorino.

We hope these are just reporters using old information to dredge up some stories, because if the Tribe is looking at guys like these, they are on the usual Dusty Springfield approach, Wishin’ and Hopin’ (look it up, it’s a good oldie)

We have said it before, but if the Tribe is going to dramatically improve the offense, they can’t do it by adding only spare parts. They have to get a middle of the order bat, and that means moving a starting pitcher.

We have advocated that guy should be Danny Salazar for a variety of reasons.

That’s why the Indians have to go against their normal operating procedure and be bold, without giving up the farm.

We saw a piece on Marlins’ OF Marcell Ozuna, who would be a good get for the Indians, and the article said giving up Salazar for him was too much.

That’s what Antonetti and Chernoff have to guard against.

We may find out this winter, if the conservatism that has ruled the franchise over the past 10+ years was Mark Shapiro or the way the ownership wanted things.

If the Indians come home from the meetings with a guy like Victorino or Gardner, then we have our answer.

We still believe the new regime will do more. The time for boldness is this winter.

Browns Need To Learn Toughness

Over the past few weeks, we have accused Browns’ coach Mike Pettine of being a fake tough guy.

He certainly looks tough, the bald head, the goatee, and the scowl, but in reality, he’s a player’s coach just like Rob Chudzinski and Pat Shurmur before him.

That might work if the Browns were a veteran team, but the players they are supposedly building around are young guys, and they need someone demanding.

This is why we scoff at the whole situation with Johnny Manziel.

It’s the first time Pettine has been a tough guy, and quite frankly, it’s the toughness that would be displayed by a high school coach.

Regardless of what problems Manziel has with alcohol, and we don’t know for absolute certainty that he has one, his obligation to this football team is to be prepared for the next game.

No matter what happened over the bye week, if the former Heisman winner was prepared in practice and had the game plan down for Monday night’s game against the Ravens, he shouldn’t have lost his job.

That he didn’t know what the coaches asked, and then lied about it is secondary. It’s professional football, who cares.

It’s laughable that Pettine talked about accountability, because the Cleveland Browns haven’t held anyone accountable for a long time.

Look at our rivals to the east in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers have had injuries to several key players, including QB Ben Roethlisberger, and they sit at 6-4 and very much in the playoff race.

Why? Because they demand success and winning from the ownership on down to the front office and down to coach Mike Tomlin.

The Browns make excuses regarding their injuries, and keep telling their fans (more likely themselves) that they are close and they have a lot of talent on the roster.

This is where the Browns need to change the “culture”.

It will start with hiring a real tough guy as head coach when Pettine undoubtedly will lose his job at the end of this season.

Longtime radio personality floated the name of Mike Singletary recently, and quite frankly that would be a solid choice.

From what we have heard about former Patriots LB Mike Vrabel, now a Texans’ assistant, he would be a solid option too.

Those guys would demand performance and accountability for each and every player and each and every coach in this organization.

And until the Browns operate on this basis, nothing will change.

It doesn’t have to be one of those guys, it just has to be someone who will not accept mediocrity and excuses.

Instead of Pettine treating Manziel like his son, he should be demanding excellence ON THE FIELD from him.

He should not accept the poor performance of the defense from his friend, Jim O’Neil, and should tell his secondary coach to get Justin Gilbert ready to play on Sunday, and not be worried about techniques.

That why the accountability comment was a joke. He hasn’t demanded it all year from the players, his staff, or himself.

That’s why he hasn’t changed anything about the running game or the defense despite both being a problem from the FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON!

You would think a good football coach would have identified the problem and corrected it.

Real toughness is what is needed for the Cleveland Browns. They aren’t going to get it from “Papa” Mike Pettine.

Manziel’s Performance All That Matters

We cannot remember the Cleveland sports media having to cover an athlete like Johnny Manziel.

Sure, LeBron James is a national figure, a worldwide personality really, but James is someone who keeps to himself during the off-season. He is really only seen at charity functions and family vacations.

It seems the more veteran members of the sports media here have more of a problem with Manziel being at nightclubs during his free time than the younger writers do.

Personally, it doesn’t matter to us what the player does during his free time.

Here are a few things we do know–

Manziel was in rehab earlier this year. However, we do not know what he was getting treatment for.

Manziel did have an incident with his girlfriend in Avon in October. The NFL investigated the situation and determined no suspension was in order.

Unfortunately, this leads to wild speculation as to what the former Heisman Trophy winner is doing with his life and his commitment to the NFL and the Browns.

Manziel said he wouldn’t do anything to embarrass the franchise during the bye week, and quite frankly, being seen in a nightclub doesn’t seem like he did that.

He wasn’t riding an inflatable swan, he wasn’t talking on a “money phone”, he was just in a nightclub, probably the same as many of his teammates.

Those guys don’t have TMZ following them though.

Manziel should not have to live his life differently because of his past, his “Johnny Football” persona. That doesn’t matter to those who think he should be studying film 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

The QB could be spending his afternoons studying tape and working at his craft, and wants to take a few hours to unwind.

He hasn’t been spotted publicly drunk, or starting fights. He’s just out on the town.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

Let’s face it, if Manziel throws for 300 yards and leads the Browns to a victory over the Ravens on Monday night, no one will care what he did on his bye week.

And if he plays well for the rest of the season, he should be the starting QB going into training camp next summer.

If he doesn’t play well, the Browns will look for another guy to play the position probably in the 2016 draft.

What the media doesn’t understand is that Johnny Manziel doesn’t care what people think about what he does.

And if the front office and coaching staff judge him by anything other than how he performs in the locker room and on the field, then that says more about them than it says about Manziel.

If he wins and plays well, no one will care. Except the old farts in the media who will continue to bring it up.

Some Warriors Envy Grips Cavs’ Fans

We believe there is a divide among older professional basketball fans and those under the age of 30 years old, and it concerns the Golden State Warriors.

Older fans think the wide open, shoot the three point shot at all costs way is a fad, and teams that do this on a regular basis won’t be able to win consistently.

Younger fans love Stephan Curry and his style of play, which included pulling up on fast breaks to shoot threes instead of taking the ball to the basket.

The latter’s opinion has been buoyed by the Warriors triumph over a depleted Cavaliers’ team in last year’s Finals, and by Golden State’s 14-0 start this season.

First of all, there isn’t as much difference between the two teams as you think. While the Warriors rank 2nd in the NBA in three point shots attempted (actually Houston is first proving that it is the players, not the system), the Cavs are 5th in the league.

The difference is Golden State is making 41% of those shots thus far. And they made 40% a year ago.

The more experienced fans (of which group we belong to), would love to see opposing teams get physical with Curry, Klay Thompson, and the other Warriors.

But Golden State is a very good defensive team too, holding their opponents to an NBA low .458 field goal percentage against.

We believe this is because other teams try to play the Warriors’ game against them, and they simply aren’t as good. This results in bad shots for opponents.

In last year’s championship series, the wine and gold did not fall into that trap. They pounded the ball inside, and while the Warriors are long, they don’t have a lot of bulk, so you can attack them at the rim.

And let’s not forget that Steve Kerr’s crew did have some luck in the playoffs, getting wins over New Orleans (without Jrue Holliday), Memphis (Mike Conley was hurt), Houston (no Patrick Beverley to harass Curry), and of course, Cleveland without Kevin Love for the entire series, and Kyrie Irving for the last five games.

That’s not to minimize the title, but it is pointing out the facts.

Our point is the NBA season is about a month in and already we are hearing how the Cavaliers should do things like the Warriors.

Especially, when it comes down to handling minutes.

LeBron James is averaging 36.2 minutes per game, but some of that is because of the double overtime game vs. Milwaukee where James logged a season high 45 minutes.

In reality, of the 13 games Cleveland has played, James has totaled 36 or more minutes just six times.

In the Warriors’ 14 games, Curry has been on the floor 36 or more minutes nine times.

Curry is averaging 35.6 minutes per night, and has taken the most shots in the NBA this season. Will that take its toll as the season goes on?

Look, the Warriors are very good. They are the defending champions. And they are about to tie an NBA record for the best start ever if they win their next game to go 15-0.

Meanwhile, the Cavs have gotten off to a great start too at 10-3, and last night they easily defeated their opponent in the Eastern Conference finals a year ago, without Irving, Iman Shumpert, Mo Williams, and Timofey Mozgov.

Three of those players were starters in the conference finals a year ago.

So, don’t envy the Warriors, but instead, respect what the Cavs are doing despite playing all season without two of their top ten players, and now they won’t have four of those guys for the next couple of games.

Being the best team in November and December doesn’t get you anything.

David Blatt, LeBron James, and the Cavaliers are using the San Antonio model. It is better to be playing well in March and April.

That doesn’t mean Golden State can’t sustain it, but we will say if they can, they may be the greatest team of all time.