But I can’t help but feel bad for the Cavaliers, who have lost 25 and counting, and now own the dubious record of longest losing streak in NBA history

SCOTT JACOBS

Back on January 12th, LeBron James tweeted his now infamous anti-Cavs rant:  “Crazy. Karma is a b—-.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!” The tweet ironically followed Cleveland getting blasted by 55 against the defending champion Lakers.  LeBron claimed that the tweet wasn’t about his former team or anyone for that matter, but just something he felt at the time.

Well, if karma is a bitch, the Cavs are feeling the wrath of owner Dan Gilbert’s idiotic letter.  And what started out as a respectable opening to the season for the Cavs– including an emotional win over the Celtics (the team that knocked the Cavs out of the playoffs last year) — has snowballed into the worst blizzard of bad basketball the NBA has ever witnessed (and yeah, that pun was intended).

After falling to the Mavericks last night, the Cavs extended their horrific losing streak to 25 games, a mark that the NBA  (which was founded way back in 1946) has never seen.  This is futility at it’s finest.  A fall from grace more spectacular than anyone could have fathomed.

Cleveland, now 8-44 is not just bad, they’re awful.  Atrocious.  Insert cruel adjective here.  Their average point differential is -11.3 points a game.  No one else is close, with the Wizards differential second worst at -6.5.  Of course, Washington is trying to avoid a dubious mark themselves, having failed to win a road game this year.  While the Heatles relish taking their show across the country, the NBA representative from the Nation’s capitol doesn’t.  The Cavs may have lost 25 games in a row, but at least they haven’t lost 25 straight games away from Quick ‘N Loans Arena.

Then again, when you’re this bad, being equally pathetic on the road and at home isn’t exactly something to be proud of.

Not even the Nets who were bloody awful last year in challenging the league’s all time worst record for much of the season, were this bad.  While -9.1 is still anemic, it’s a cool 2.2 better than what Cleveland is doing, err… not doing.

What Cleveland’s doing is historic.  They’re 18-0 New England Patriots (flip it in reverse) bad.  For as dominant as the Pats were that year, that’s Cleveland going the other way.

So the question becomes this: Does this somehow get LeBron off the hook?  Yeah, Cleveland has guys like Anderson Varejao and Mo Williams sidelined with injuries, but the way this Cleveland team is playing, they should just sideline the team and quit while they’re behind.  But seriously, was LeBron’s supporting cast really that bad?  Does this mean LeBron is really that good?  Cause if he’s the difference between title contender and worst losing streak ever, than he was even more valuable to that team than anyone could have even imagined.

Or, perhaps the Cavs were molded around LeBron and weren’t built to withstand the loss of him.  That seems more probable.  So when LeBron bolted for South Beach, leaving a bareboned roster that was further decimated by numerous veteran departures it left the Cavs scrambling to put together a team that could compete.

Clearly they’ve failed.

That’s not an opinion.  That’s embedded in facts.

What’s most shocking is how this has made coach Byron Scott look, who had done a pretty damn good job with his previous other coaching stops.  With New Jersey he turned around the sorry Nets into back to back Eastern conference champions in 2002 and 2003.  Then again, he did have a guy named Jason Kidd running his team.  Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin didn’t hurt either.

Scott’s next stop landed him in the Crescent City, where he guided the Hornets to the most wins in franchise history, claiming the 2007-2008 NBA Coach of the Year award in the process.  Of course he had Chris Paul and David West on those teams.

But we’re talking about a man that’s won conference championships, coach of the year awards, and now his team can’t find their way out of a paper bag (literally, have you seen their fans)?

It’s a reflection of a few things:

Namely, that no matter how good of a coach you are, you’re nothing without talented players.  While Cleveland has some assets, the reality is as individual parts, they’re mostly bit players and second tier-guys.  Let’s face it, even Phil Jackson couldn’t get this team into the playoffs, and along with Red, is considered arguably the greatest coach ever.

Scratch that, if Phil couldn’t get teams that had Kobe Bryant on them into the post-season there’s no way in the world that he could get this scrappy Cavs bunch anywhere but the basement.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert probably wrote his scathing letter out of hurt, and fear that “o no! my franchise just left with one player.”  If there’s any team sport where individuals can make or break an entire franchise it has to be the NBA.  Is it a team game? Yes.  Do you need role players and second-tier guys, absolutely.  But without talent, you have no chance, I don’t care how hard you try.

The Cavs appear to be stuck with the team they have for the rest of this season, which fortunately started off decently enough to the point that they’re in no apparent danger of matching the 72-73 Sixers for worst record ever.  They’d have to win 1 game the rest of the year to match, and if they do, well, I vote they contract themselves, cause that would be well, you know.

With the collective bargaining agreement still unsettled, and a potential lockout looming, no NBA teams really know with any level of certainty what the future holds.  And unfortunately for the Cavs, guys like Carmelo Anthony don’t seem to have any interest in a blue collar town like Cleveland, a city starving for a championship.  Green Bay is Titletown and Clevand has been TitleLess since 1964.

I actually find myself feeling sorry for the Cavaliers. Not their owner, but their fans.  Their players.  Antawn Jamison was traded to Cleveland last year and came in to be the final piece of a championship puzzle, and now he’s nothing more than the best player on a team totally wrecked by The King’s departure.  Last year he was on the best team in the league.  This year, he’s the star of the worst losing streak in NBA annals.

And through it all, the Cavs, who have lived this nightmare in front of our own eyes, can do nothing but continue to fight.  Their once proud coach now fighting off questions about job security.  Their best veteran trying to stay positive and keep this unit together.

It’s a sad, swift fall from the heavens for a team and a fan-base that got used to winning.  Now they’re as blah as their uniforms, a team fluttering in a hurricane they can’t get out of.

Their next three games come at home, all against sub .500 teams, including the aforementioned Wizards who’ve been lost ever since Gilbert Arenas brought guns into the locker and screwed over an entire franchise.  So if they’re going to snap out of this historic funk, one of their next three would be a good time to do it.

In the meantime the Cavs just need one more point than their opponent. But as a 25 game losing streak will attest to, sometimes that’s a little easier said than done.  Or in the case of the Post-LeBron Cavs, a lot easier said than done.

Photo: Reuters

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