Cavs’ Success Has National Media Confused

We must have forgotten all of the crazy stuff that goes on when LeBron James is on your basketball team.

Early in the season, when the Cavaliers were struggling, it was easy for the media, both local and national, to find things to write about this basketball team.

The stories ranged from David Blatt being on the precipice of being fired, to James and/or Kevin Love opting out of their contracts after the 2014-15 season and heading to the free agent market.

When LeBron was in Miami, those stories simply didn’t exist about the Cavs, because no one cared about him.

There were even times when stories were dug up several weeks after the fact, such as Tristan Thompson turning down a huge contract extension.

Actually, Thompson turned it down before the second game of the season, right before the deadline to do such extensions, but it became a big story when the wine and gold was struggling.

Then, GM David Griffin made the deals which re-shaped the roster, and the basketball team starting winning. And winning a lot.

Last night’s demolition of Memphis gave Cleveland there 28th win in their last 34 games, a torrid pace to say the least.

Now, there wasn’t much controversial to concoct about this team.

Except for writing about the two scapegoats of the franchise, Blatt and Love.

We’ve been saying this for several weeks now, when the Cavaliers lose, you can bet the fans and media are blaming two people, the coach and the team’s starting power forward.

Local media people are always asking national types for the perception of Blatt, despite the fact that the last two times the wine and gold have had two days off and a solid practice, they posted impressive wins against Dallas and Memphis.

Why that doesn’t speak to Blatt’s ability and add how quickly the three new players fit in right away is a mystery.

However, he will no doubt be questioned until he wins the NBA title.

As for Love, without question he made the most sacrifices in his own game to come to Cleveland, and he will be rewarded with his first playoff appearance. He has consistently said he will be back with the Cavs next year, but that hasn’t stopped people (even Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning has weighed in) from saying the former Timberwolf player can’t wait to get out.

And in the past few days, they have blown out of proportion his comments that he and James aren’t “best friends”, and he thought his former UCLA teammate, Russell Westbrook deserved consideration as MVP.

For all of the talk Love did about wanting to be on a winning team, he would look hypocritical if he left the Cavs left one season to go to the Lakers or Knicks, the two most talked about places he will wind up.

Really? That’s all they can come up with?

The point is things are running so smooth right now, that the national writers, who can’t fathom anyone would want to be in Cleveland, have to invent stories to try to disrupt the momentum of this basketball team.

To this point, it hasn’t bothered anyone.

To be sure, they thought J.R. Smith would do something crazy or wouldn’t fit in either, but he’s been a perfect fit here, and Blatt has called him a joy to coach.

It sounds like the players know right now that they have something special going on. They know the playoffs start very, very soon.

Another Week of Overreaction for Browns’ Fans

The one thing the Cleveland Browns are very good at is staying relevant, at least around the city of Cleveland.

The Cavaliers can be red-hot and the Indians are starting spring training, but all sports fans can talk about is the Browns.

(By the way, we guess we are guilty of the same thing).

This past week, the Browns had two minor tidbits of news in the grand scheme of things, and as usual, kicked off a tremendous media reaction.

The first was created by themselves, the introduction of a new team logo.

The organization took down the old logo at the team’s headquarters, and hyped last Tuesday’s announcement of the new logo throughout the normal media and social media.

This got fans excited as to what the Browns would come up with.

Would the brownie elf be part of it? Would it incorporate the bulldog which has become a symbol of the “Dawg Pound”. Would it provide a glimpse as to what the new uniform would look like?

Instead, it was a change in font, a different shade of orange, and a brown facemask on the helmets.

It created a negative reaction among fans and nationally as well. Quite a bit of comedy was written talking about the new logo.

The Browns front office should take the hit on this debacle. They overhyped themselves.

If they were going to make minor changes, why bring a lot of attention to it. That’s what got fans upset. They thought it would be an exciting new look for the team, and instead, they simply tweaked the representation of the team.

As a graphic designer told us, it was a big deal to him that they changed the font and the color slightly, but he understood that to someone not in his business, it was a minor occurrence.

Then yesterday, the Browns signed QB Josh McCown to a three-year contract, which made social media explode once again.

McCown has been a below average quarterback through his career in the NFL, with a lifetime passer rating of 76.1. The critics of this move point out that the Browns should have just kept Brian Hoyer, the local hero.

His career passer rating? Try 76.8.

Basically, the Browns simply traded out back up quarterback types.

The reason? McCown will be fine if he’s a reserve to either Johnny Manziel or another QB the Browns get in the off-season. Hoyer wanted to be the starter, and Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer didn’t want to make that guarantee.

Our guess is that Farmer will still try to get a player like Jake Locker or Mark Sanchez or Matt Moore in free agency as well, so people critical of the move are being a little premature.

Also, the fans who have been critical of Kyle Shanahan and Hoyer being gone never consider that the onus may have been on them to leave? Neither wanted to commit to Pettine and they are now gone.

It’s just easier to say the organization is “dysfunctional”.

Look, we have no idea what will happen with the Browns in 2015. We do know they are bringing in talent, although they haven’t been able to get the quarterback.

They have a solid offensive line, some good, young running backs, and a very good secondary.

They also have a lot of draft picks and room under the salary cap.

Let’s wait until the off-season plays out before panic sets in.

Until then, we are sure of one thing…the Browns will stay in the news somehow.

The Reshaping of Cavs Should Be Complete

The one thing you can say about Cavs GM David Griffin is that he isn’t afraid of change.

After watching his basketball team struggle more than expected, Griffin didn’t sit back and hope things would get better, he did something about it.

It has been painfully obvious if you know the game of basketball that the main problem for the wine and gold has been on the defensive end. They have ranked among the best teams in the NBA in offensive efficiency. The two trades made in the last few days have addressed the problem when the opponent has the ball.

The Cavaliers have had problems stopping perimeter jump shots and also have had breakdowns when opponents have gone to the basket. Picking up Iman Shumpert helps with the first issue and is a solid enough defender to stop penetration as well.

And if they do get to the hole, Griffin’s latest acquisition, Timofey Mozgov will be there to provide resistance.

Quite simply, Mozgov is a large man at 7’1″ and 250 pounds. He averaged 8.5 points and almost 8 rebounds (7.8) per game and is a career 51.3% shooter from the floor. Those numbers were compiled playing a little over half the game at 25.6 minutes per night. And he’s not horrible from the line either at a little over 73%.

But the biggest thing is he provides a presence and size inside that the Cavs haven’t had all year. Let’s face it, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao are really power forwards masquerading as centers, and while they are solid defenders, they don’t provide the bulk or height needed to make opponents think twice about going to the hoop.

And Brendan Haywood hasn’t been dazzling when he has received minutes either.

Many people have questioned the deal because of the cost, as Griffin gave up two first round draft picks, a steep price for a player who averages less than 10 point and 10 rebounds per night.

However, if Mozgov has the desired effect, then the cost shouldn’t be an issue.

Not to compare the big man to Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond, but what if the same thing happens now as when Thurmond arrived in November of 1975.

When Thurmond was dealt to Cleveland on November 27th of that year, the Cavaliers were 6-11 after losing to the then Kansas City Kings 95-91. Bill Fitch’s squad went 43-22 the rest of the season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

Nate only averaged 17 minutes per game for that team, but he was the right fit at the right time.

If Mozgov proves to be a good fit and the Cavaliers get healthy and make a good playoff run, then giving up two first round picks, neither of which will probably be in the top half of the round, is inconsequential.

And it’s not as though Mozgov is an aging player, he’s 28-years-old, and should be a solid NBA player for many years.

That’s another good thing about the moves Griffin made. Shumpert will not turn 25 until after the end of the current season, so his future is in front of him as well.

When LeBron James and Shumpert get back from their injuries, you have a starting five of those two, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and probably Mozgov. That will enable David Blatt to bring these players off the bench: J.R. Smith, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, Thompson, and his favorite, Matthew Dellavedova.

If Blatt doesn’t give the subs minutes then, maybe he doesn’t have an NBA future.

And in making the deals now, it gives the Cavaliers more time to learn each other prior to the playoffs. If he had waited until the deadline, it would have put that process behind another five weeks.

Regardless, kudos to Griffin for seeing the current roster wasn’t working and going out and trying to fix it. He gave it plenty of time, more than 25% of the season.

Now, let’s see how this version of the Cavs works out.

Lottery Win Gives Griffin Another Asset

At least the Cleveland Cavaliers have one arena where they are victorious, unfortunately, it is not on the court.

Instead, it happens in the NBA Draft Lottery, where the wine and gold came up with the first overall pick for the third time in the last four seasons.

To this point, those first overall picks haven’t translated into success in the regular season, which is why the Cavs continue to be in the lottery. They haven’t been able to make the playoffs.

The first overall selection does give Cleveland GM David Griffin a valuable commodity, it remains to be seen though, who will make the first pick next month.

Why? Because the Cavs have already been through this before. Is it really best for the team to take another player who will take two, three, or maybe even four years to be able to make a difference in the NBA?

Next year will be the fifth season since LeBron James left for Miami, causing the Cavs to start a rebuilding process. The time for developing players is over, it’s time to start winning games. Will the first overall pick help them get over the hump in 2014-15?

We are all aware of last year’s draft in which the Cavs selected Anthony Bennett with the first choice. The rookie of the year turned out to be Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, who was the 11th pick. Out of the top ten, only Victor Oladipo (Orlando), Cody Zeller (Charlotte), and Trey Burke (Utah) could be said to be big contributors to their teams as rookies.

The year before, the Cavs selected Dion Waiters with the 4th overall choice. That draft looks to be pretty solid with only Thomas Robinson and Austin Rivers not getting big minutes with their respective teams. Still, only four players, Damian Lillard (Portland), Terence Ross (Toronto), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte), and Bradley Beal (Washington) are playing a significant role of playoff teams.

In 2011, Cleveland selected Kyrie Irving first and Tristan Thompson fourth. Only two players taken in the top ten of that draft, Jonas Valenciunas (Toronto) and Kemba Walker (Charlotte) are getting significant minutes on teams that made the playoffs.

The point is there haven’t been more than a handful of rookies who have made a significant difference in their first couple of years in the league. It is almost like the major league baseball draft, where you are picking players who can help you down the road.

The Cavaliers can’t wait any longer to start winning.

We have said this before, players who can make an immediate impact in the NBA generally play well in the NCAA tournament. They don’t disappear.

Many have Cleveland selecting Anthony Wiggins of Kansas as their choice. His last college game was dreadful, scoring less than 10 points. He also weighs under 200 pounds. Can you see him playing against guys like Paul George, Paul Pierce, and other small forwards who are 6’7″ and weigh 220 pounds?

This isn’t to say Wiggins won’t ever be good, in fact, he may turn into an all-star player. Irving did, but his success hasn’t translated into wins on the floor.

The point is there isn’t a player in this draft who can turn a franchise next season, so if Griffin can turn this pick into a young veteran who is already a quality player, that would be better for the wine and gold.

As for young, we mean mid 20’s, not a player who only has a few years remaining in their career.

To be sure, it was great for the Cavaliers to get the first overall pick. However, they need to look at it as another asset they’ve accumulated to get back to winning. There isn’t a franchise turning player in this draft.

Griffin’s First Move is the Right Move

You can’t accuse Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert of acting rashly this time.

The season has been over for about a month, and today the wine and gold announced that interim GM David Griffin now has the job permanently, and his first act in that position was to fire Mike Brown as head coach.

If you’ve read this blog over the past few months, you know that we are celebrating that move because Brown was the wrong fit for the job here.

When we heard the Cavs were considering giving Griffin the job full-time, we thought a first and only question he should be asked would be should Brown continue to be the head coach. If he answered no, he would be hired.

Here’s hoping that Gilbert talked to several basketball people since the regular season ended and came to the conclusion that Griffin was the most capable person to run this franchise.

We still would love Gilbert to hire another experienced basketball person (we would still favor George Karl) as a consultant for the new GM to bounce ideas off of.

If former GM Chris Grant was the guy who wanted Brown back and sold Dan Gilbert on the idea, how can anyone blame Griffin for bringing in his own man?

The once and again former Cavs’ coach didn’t pick up any new ideas on offense since he left the first time and has never had a history of developing young players, of which there are plenty on the Cleveland roster.

Just because Brown signed a five-year deal last summer was no reason to keep him. Keeping him would have been a hindrance to what Griffin’s vision of what this basketball team will be. To be succinct, Griffin was just correcting Grant’s mistake.

However, let’s hope Griffin does his due diligence in regards to hiring the next head coach of the Cavaliers.

There are plenty of people making the connection that since Griffin used to work in the Phoenix Suns’ organization, he may look at bringing in recently fired Laker head coach Mike D’Antoni to replace Brown.

That would be a mistake in our opinion.

Just as Brown and his defensive philosophy proved to be a one trick pony, so would D’Antoni’s total offensive approach.

The Cavaliers owe it to themselves and to the fans of this basketball team to find a coach who understands and can teach the entire game, not just one side of the floor. There are coaches who can do just that.

Griffin also needs to find someone who the players will listen to and respect. That appeared to be a problem with Brown. It didn’t appear the players respected him and they didn’t play hard for him.

The new boss needs to find someone who the young Cavalier players can relate to and they will listen to.

The former Golden State coach, Mark Jackson, would seem to be appealing in that regard. He turned around the Warriors, who had won less than 30 games two years ago into a playoff squad.

Plus, he’s a former color analyst for ABC/ESPN, which like it or not, gives him credibility with a young roster like the Cavaliers have.

Forget what happened over the last year with the Cavs. It was the wrong move to bring Brown back and they simply corrected it.

Now, it’s time to move forward for the Cavaliers’ organization. Today’s hiring of Griffin and dismissal of Brown is the first step towards getting back to the playoffs.

If Karl Is Interested, Get Him

Over the weekend, there were reports that the Cavaliers are looking at George Karl for a newly created position of President of Basketball Operations, and even an interview in the morning newspaper in which Karl said he would be interested.

Immediately, there was reaction, and some of it was negative, comparing it to the Knicks move hiring Phil Jackson to the same position, a move for which they received some criticism.

Columnist Terry Pluto said if the Cavs were to hire Karl, it should be to coach the team, that’s his area of expertise.

The problem is the former Cavs coach has had some health issues over the past decade and may not want to deal with the travel and time commitment a coach has to do.

So, should owner Dan Gilbert hire Karl?

The answer here is a resounding yes!

The reason is we feel Karl, along with Larry Brown, has one of the best basketball minds in the country. He and Brown learned the game at North Carolina from Frank McGuire and Dean Smith, and in his last six seasons at Denver, the Nuggets had winning percentages of over .550 each season.

The other thing with Karl that is appealing is he is flexible. He’s won with different types of teams, from his Western Conference champion Seattle teams that featured Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton to his team oriented Nuggets squad that won 57 games last season.

We can understand folks being critical of the Jackson hire in New York because he’s only had success with one type of team, that being dominated by the best player in the sport, whether it be Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, or Kobe Bryant.

Perhaps his philosophy will work with the Knicks, because they have a premier talent in Carmelo Anthony, but Jackson has never worked with a different type of team in all his years in the NBA.

Karl came into his first job, coincidentally with the Cavaliers, with certain concepts on how the game should be played. They started out 2-19, before the coach adapted, letting World B. Free play like the scorer he was in exchange for effort on the defensive end.

Those Cavaliers rebounded to make the playoffs.

Today’s Cavs need help and why not pursue someone who has a ton of experience and success around the NBA game. He would be an asset to the organization.

Let Karl write his own ticket, if he wants to coach, fine. If he wants to work with acting GM David Griffin, that works as well. If he can shed some light on the psyche of today’s NBA players, then utilize that ability. After all, he’s been around the league for 40 years.

He may not be a traditional executive, but based on the Cavs’ success over the history of the franchise, why go the tried and true route. There is no harm in being a little innovative.

And bringing in a basketball mind like the one George Karl has is something this organization should hardly refuse. It shouldn’t be about egos, it should be about results, and if Karl can help the Cavaliers win games as early as next year, then why not hire him?

He would provide an alternative to the corporate speak we heard in last week’s press conference with Griffin.

Are Cleveland Fans Not Demanding Enough?

The city of Cleveland has three professional sports teams and in the past four seasons (at least), only one of them, the Indians, have had any success, and that was last year.

However, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of outrage about this lack of success. The Browns have pretty much been lousy since returning to the NFL in 1999, and since LeBron James left for Miami, the Cavaliers have been in the draft lottery every season.

The Tribe’s attendance has suffered since the sellout string ended in 2001, and the Browns no longer fill their stadium week after week on Sunday, despite selling all the tickets. The Cavs actually have drawn better than expected despite some dreadful seasons.

Yet, the sports talk stations in town talk nothing but football, so you would have to assume the populace isn’t fed up with the poor record of the Browns, and year after year, when another mediocre season has ended, there is actually optimism regarding the draft.

The Cavs have another season where they lose, or almost lose 50 games and there is a significant amount of supporters who think it is good because they will be able to secure another lottery pick.

If the baseball draft was followed as closely as the other two sports, perhaps the Indians would get more of a pass from people because it would mean another high first round draft choice.

There is no question that the fan base here is ingrained to look toward the future. Sure, we are disappointed with the losing, but if it happens, then it’s okay, we get to choose high in that respective sports’ draft.

When it comes to the Browns, perhaps there is a nagging feeling that if we are too critical of their foibles, the team will leave town again because the owner is angry. After all, Art Modell was just starting to get heat from the fans and media alike when he picked up and moved to Baltimore.

That’s not going to happen again. The NFL isn’t going to allow it as long as the tickets are sold out every week.

Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert has done a lot for the city, including bringing casino gambling to the area, and a lot of jobs from that business and Quicken Loans.

Because of this, fans feel guilty about holding him responsible for the state of the basketball team. While more criticism has been put on him recently, he still gets off pretty lightly considering the record of the wine and gold since James left town.

The team the fans are toughest on is the only one with any recent success, the Indians, but because of the way the sport’s draft is set up and the fact there is no salary cap, it’s also the hardest for a smaller market to compete.

That’s why the Browns and the Cavaliers can sell hope. With the right draft pick or free agent signing, they can be good again. And the fans obviously just lap it up.

But the ticket buyers should be more demanding of success. The Browns continue to be terrible and last year, didn’t even try to improve when injuries hit or trades were made.

That obviously even infuriated the owner, because Jimmy Haslam was fed up enough to sweep out the old front office and hire new people. At least he got angry.

Gilbert is said to be upset with the Cavs showing this season, but will he fly off the handle and make an impetuous decision, or will he take steps to make sure his team wins more games?

As for the Indians, fans were upset that the franchise didn’t build on the success enjoyed last season. After 92 wins last season, supporters wanted to see the front office “go for it”. There is much pressure on them to at least make the post-season again in 2014.

Cleveland fans have become too soft on demanding success from its teams. That needs to end right away.

Brown Not Right Guy to Lead Cavs in Future

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ slim playoff chances seem to be dwindling everyday, meaning soon it will be time to look forward to the 2014-15 season, and another appearance in the draft lottery.

It also means the organization has to look within, examining whether or not they have the correct people in place.

Has acting GM David Griffin done enough to keep the job going forward? His deal for Spencer Hawes looks good, and here’s hoping the wine and gold can keep the big man for the future because he can do one thing desperately needed on this squad, he can shoot.

Whether or not Griffin stays, one thing is clear: The Cavaliers need to find a new head coach next season because Mike Brown isn’t the guy to change things around here.

Brown is a great guy, but he came here with a reputation as a defensive coach, but so far the results aren’t there. Cleveland ranks in the middle of the pack (16th) in field goal percentage against, and 17th in the league in scoring defense.

That hardly speaks to a great defensive mind.

While some will say that this is his first year with this group of players, why have other new coaches have success around the league?

Memphis hired Dave Joerger to replace Lionel Hollins after a successful season last year, and Joerger still has the Grizzlies third in the league in points allowed and 10th in defensive field goal percentage.

Charlotte hired Steve Clifford, an obscure NBA assistant, and he has turned the Bobcats into one of the league’s better defensive squads, ranking 5th in points allowed and 7th in shooting percentage against.

The Cavaliers have played 64 games already this season and they are still trying to figure out how to play effective defense? That doesn’t reflect well on the relationship Mike Brown has with his players, who obviously haven’t bought in to what he is teaching.

The Cavs still give up too many easy shots, allow players to get to the basket with ease, and have lapses at inopportune times on the defensive end.

And as the old saying goes, you can’t fire 15 players, so it’s the coach who has to go.

Besides the lack of progress on the defensive end, Brown’s offensive game plan is highly simplistic and is based pretty much solely on having players takes their man off the dribble. When the defense takes that away, there is no alternative.

And Brown has no history of developing young players either, and the Cleveland roster is full of them.

First overall pick Anthony Bennett hasn’t contributed much this season, but in the team’s recent six game winning streak, he was getting some minutes and averaged eight points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Since, he played more than 15 minutes in a game just twice.

In last night’s loss to the Knicks at home, second leading scorer Dion Waiters played a grand total of 14 minutes. How does that happen?

Tristan Thompson hasn’t improved, Luol Deng, a two-time all-star in the NBA looks lost on the court, and even the Cavs’ franchise player, Kyrie Irving’s numbers are down across the board from last season.

One of last year’s first round draft picks, Tyler Zeller, has his minutes fluctuate on a nightly basis.

Mike Brown has had success in the NBA as a head coach, but in every year but this one, he has coached one of the sport’s best players, be it either LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. Without one of them on the team, he looks like just another guy.

The 2014-15 version of the Cavaliers needs a head coach who will demand and command the respect of the young players on this roster. If Dan Gilbert wants this team to move forward, he needs to find that man.

It won’t happen with Mike Brown.

Cavs Ignore Shooting as Part of Game

While we are always critical of Cavaliers’ coach Mike Brown’s offense strategy, he does work under the handicap of not having an excellent shooter on his roster.

The Cavaliers rank last in the NBA in field goal percentage, making just 42.3% of their shots from the floor. And from beyond the three-point line, they are slightly better, ranking 21st among the 30 teams at 35.0%.

To illustrate the importance of shooting, here are the top five teams in the league in making shots: Miami, San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma City, and Dallas. All five of those teams would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

Now, this percentage can be raised by fast break opportunities which lead to high percentage layups and dunks.

So, a more accurate gauge of pure shooting would be the three-point field goal percentage, and again, out of the top five in this category (Spurs, Pelicans, Wizards, Trailblazers, and Warriors), four of them would also reach the post-season.

Why is having shooters important? Well, the obvious answer is the score is kept by putting the ball through the basket.

Still, the real reason you need them is to spread the floor, especially when you have put together a number of guards who excel at driving to the basket like Cleveland has with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters.

And when the shot clock is running down, you can get the ball to a shooter who has a decent chance of making a long shot.

The closest thing Mike Brown has to a threat from outside is swingman C.J. Miles, who hits 39% from outside the arc. Acting GM David Griffin did take a good stride in this direction in obtaining Spencer Hawes, who is making 40.5% from distance this year.

There is no one else on the roster that opponents need to respect when they are standing beyond the arc.

To be fair, former GM Chris Grant did covet Bradley Beal in last year’s draft, but Washington snapped him up before the Cavs turn with the fourth pick which turned out to be Waiters.

Beal is currently 13th in the NBA in 3 point field goal percentage, making 41.9% of his shots.

Brown’s mentor, Gregg Popovich has embraced the three pointer, with two players among the top 20 in accuracy, and to be fair, when Brown was here before, he had snipers like Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, and Boobie Gibson on the roster, all guys who could knock down the open three.

Irving is the Cavs’ most frequent shooter from outside and makes 36% of his attempts, but he is one of the guys who make their living driving to the hoop, and opponents want him to take that shot because he is so lethal going to the basket.

Waiters is the same type of player, but when you watch a game, don’t you wish we would go to the hoop more instead of shooting long jumpers? Opponents do too.

The Cavs need a player like Kyle Korver or Jamal Crawford or Marco Bellinelli, a pure shooter that defenses respect and are forced to account for when they are on the floor. Players like that also provide useful targets for Irving and Waiters when they penetrate.

Grant may have started to address the situation by drafting Sergey Karasev last year, but right now Brown considers him too green and too much of a defensive liability to get off the bench.

That’s not helping the current team, and it put too much of a burden on guards to get to the basket to create any kind of scoring.

Just another reason this Cavalier team has struggled to meet expectations.

Tribe’s Success Doesn’t Help Dolan’s Image With Fans

There is no question that in the past few months, both the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers’ organizations have shown to be less than stable.

Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam has replaced his head coach, his CEO, and his general manager in a six-week span since the end of the season. In addition, his football has lost ten games or more (the baseball equivalent of losing 100 games) six years in a row, and ten out of the last 11 seasons.

The Cavaliers have been a mediocre franchise ever since LeBron James departed, qualifying for a lottery pick each and every year, and not a low pick either, the wine and gold have had one of the NBA’s worst five records each season.

And recently Dan Gilbert fired his GM and replaced his head coach following last season.

Yet, the least popular owner in the city happens to own the franchise that has had the most success. That would be Indians’ owners Larry and Paul Dolan.

There are several reasons for the lack of popularity, the first being Gilbert and Haslam come off pretty well in press conferences, showing people, whether or not it can occur, that they are determined to bring a championship to Cleveland in their respective sports.

The Dolans probably shouldn’t talk to the media because when they do, they say things like the best fans can hope for is contending every once in a while due to the economic restraints in baseball.

That really doesn’t give fans a great deal of confidence.

To be fair, the Indians have the most stable front office in team president Mark Shapiro, who has been here for 23 years, and GM Chris Antonetti has been with the Tribe since 1998. And they lured Terry Francona, a two-time World Series champion as manager to the same post with the Indians.

So again, why the lack of love for the Tribe ownership, particularly in comparison to the other woebegone franchise on the North Coast?

There is a lack of trust for the Dolan family, even though they are from here, while Haslam and Gilbert aren’t.

Part of that comes from the article in Forbes showing the Tribe was making large amounts of profit. While the number may not have been accurate, the magazine should be regarded as a reliable source. After all, the figure didn’t appear in the National Enquirer.

Fans should understand that owners need to make a profit, but they would still like to see more money poured into the product on the field too.

The fans don’t feel like it’s a priority for the ownership to win a World Series for the city. The other owners talk about it, they may not really mean it, but they have enough sense to communicate the desire to the fan base.

This off-season is a perfect example of what we are saying.

Interest in the Tribe, dormant for a while, picked up in September as the ballclub was making a push for the post-season. The wild card home game sold out very quickly.

Yet, some of that momentum has been subdued due to a relatively quiet off-season in which the Indians have lost more (starting pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir) than they added.

That’s the problem in a nutshell.

Had ownership opened up the purse strings even a little and allowed the front office to make a good acquisition, and there were some decent values out there, some trust would have been gained.

Instead, Tribe fans are muttering “same old Dolans”, and counting on Francona’s expertise to return to the post-season.

If they accomplish a playoff spot again, it will help the ownership’s cause. If they don’t, the anger toward them will like get more intense.