On Determination

De·ter·mi·na·tion

(dəˌtərməˈnāSH(ə)n)
noun
1. Firmness of purpose; resoluteness.
“He advanced with an unflinching determination.”
Synonyms: resolution, resolve, willpower, strength of character, single-mindedness, purposefulness, intentness; staunchness, perseverance, persistence, tenacity, staying power; strong-mindedness, backbone; stubbornness, doggedness, obstinacy; spirit, courage, pluck, grit, stout-heartedness; Informal: guts, spunk, balls, moxie; Formal: pertinacity. “It took great determination to win.”

In the wake of yet another season-ending injury to a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ “Big Three” (and the third major injury to an original starting five that now features only the “Chosen One”), the easiest path to take is the least painful one… the one of least resistance. The world expects Cleveland (the team and the town) to quit, to tap out, to “Cry Uncle!” after the loss of Uncle Drew. They’d like us to believe there’s no shame in surrender. After all, our team is thin. We’ve lost two of our best three players. Two All-Stars. Even LeBron, as great as he is, can’t possibly carry the weight of this team, this franchise and this city on his muscular shoulders by himself… Can he?

The platitudes and excuses are within our grasp. “Be proud you made it this far!” “The Warriors were the better team even before the injuries…” “Just wait until next year… you guys are going to be even better!” It’s understandable to want to embrace them. It might even seem like the rational thing to do. Nobody would blame us for attempting to cocoon our collective psyche from failure with such an obvious array of mitigating circumstances to cite in the overwhelming odds against our favorite basketball team. After all… isn’t this Cleveland? Don’t things like this always happen here? And isn’t that just the mother of all excuses anyway?

There is, however, another path. A harder path. A path of greater resistance. One of determination, guts and resilience that requires merely the courage to risk exposure to the pain of potential failure, defeat and heartache, by doubling down on the belief we’ve had in this team and its fearless leader throughout this season, and often improbable playoff run.

“[I] understand that we were the underdog coming into the series, and with Kyrie being out, people are writing us off. So, I mean, that’s fine. That’s fine. I’m motivated to get our guys ready to go tomorrow [for Game 2], and we will be ready.”

— LeBron James

Yes, despite the litany of nagging lower leg injuries that afflicted Kyrie since even before the regular season ended (I had nearly forgotten about his cranky hip), it was a shock to see him crumple to a heap in overtime, then limp off the floor and exit the arena on crutches. It seemed even more jarring when contrasted to just how dynamically he competed in Game 1. He resembled the closest thing to his old self that he had since the early days of the Bulls series, and in fact seemed to raise his defensive game to an entirely new level against Steph Curry. His performance brought more than hope, it inspired confidence that he would be the wild card edge to tilt the series firmly in the Cavs’ favor. And then it was gone in an instant.

Minor setback for a major come back💖 get well Kyrie🏀 @KyrieIrving pic.twitter.com/GqqZUB7jUr

— Cleveland Baker🧁 (@fredashaee_) June 6, 2015

Much has been, and will continue to be made about the amount of minutes he played. However, that now seems like a hollow debate, best saved for the off-season retrospective. Kyrie is gone. He will not be back. He underwent successful surgery on his broken kneecap. The hope will be that he can heal both physically and emotionally from the scars of this post-season, determined to return stronger than ever to help this team win next season. But he gave all he could, and for that we should all be incredibly grateful.

The focus now is, and must be, on the next game. “Next man up” is not just a cliche when it comes to this team. They believe it in the fibre of their being. It’s at the very core of what drives them to compete for the ultimate goal of a championship. They are not done. They are not defeated. They recognize that one game does not define a series of seven. They care not for odds… they crave only to get even, and return to Cleveland with all guns blazing.

When Kevin Love went down at the end of the Celtics series, LeBron took the challenge as if to say to the Bulls and Hawks “I can beat you with one arm tied behind my back!” Now that Kyrie is gone, you can imagine him saying “I can beat you standing on one leg!” to the Warriors. The simple fact is, this isn’t the LeBron who left in 2010. This isn’t even the LeBron who had Chris Bosh and a mostly healthy DWade to help him get to four straight NBA Finals and prevail in two of them. This is the LeBron who survived and thrived through it all. This LeBron has no quit in him. This LeBron is determined to bring a title to the Land he calls his own, no matter what.

Yet, the media is practically giving him a pass on this one. The pundits of analytics and oddsmakers are only forecasting miniscule percentages of success. Not that Bron would know, nor care, however. Aside from his obligations to interact with the press at the podium after and between games, he has continued to enforce his “Zero Dark Thirty” approach to the outside world. He knows the only voices that matter come from within… both himself and his locker room. The noise is irrelevant. The focus is on stopping the Warriors in the next game, and scoring more points than them at the end of 48 minutes (or 53, or 58 or 63… or however long it might take).

But the greatest player on the planet is not alone in this daunting endeavor…

He has Canadian Dynamite to blow up the glass. He knows Tristan will find a way to convert many more of those second chance opportunities in Game 2.

"Myself and Timo, we have to control the glass." – @RealTristan13

[VIDEO]: http://t.co/qohl4QMIpd #ALLinCLE pic.twitter.com/5cS6N2ZhGA

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 5, 2015

He has a Flying Russian who is able to break the sound barrier with his blurring dunks. He knows that Moz can build on the confidence of the fourth quarter minutes he played in Game 1.

He has the most Shumptastic on-ball defender in the series. He knows Iman can raise his scoring game to another level, as he did against both the Bulls and Hawks.

JR Smith: "We look at [the Finals] as something we're supposed to win." pic.twitter.com/juiGLvCh34

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 6, 2015

He has the Conscious-less Gunner who is due for an unconscious NBA Jam streak in Game 2. He knows that JR Swish can catch fire at any moment.

He has the Australian Assassin who has shown he can step up and go SuperDova in Kyrie’s stead. He knows Delly will give everything he has, and then some, leaving it all out on the floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBaMp7cSuf0

He has a bench full of veterans who will fill in and plug the holes with timely threes (JFJ), help defense (Matrix), hard fouls (Perk) and words of wisdom (Miller). He knows they will be there when he needs them the most.

"The one thing that will have to be consistent is the effort." -James Jones#CavsTV [VIDEO]: http://t.co/rLl1PLJSvG pic.twitter.com/nmFc6mKJA4

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 6, 2015

He has a tough “rookie” coach who game-planned his counterpart to a draw in Game 1. He knows that David Blatt understands how to slow down the Warriors, and will pull out all of the stops to gain any advantage.

“The situation as it is is what it is, and we’re going to come out and play and play to win. Request no quarter and no sympathy. We’ve got to come out and play and play to win. That’s it.”

— David Blatt

He has a team so committed to defense, that it completely transformed itself in the post-season. He knows that they held the Warriors under 100 points in regulation, and that there’s room for improvement on that.

The question is… does he have a fanbase that still believes this team can win?

Many outside of the Cavalier faithful gave this team little to no shot… and that was before Kyrie was lost. However, that same majority also believed that the Cavs would have extreme difficulty with the “best team in the East” Atlanta Hawks. Show me the people who genuinely believed they would so easily sweep the Hawks, and I’ll show you a group of (mostly) liars.

And what has really changed from that series, aside from the level of competition? Yes, Kyrie is gone, but Kyrie played a grand total of 49 minutes in the Eastern Conference Finals. He played 44 minutes in The Finals. His absence in the Hawks series forced others to step up to score and defend. They were up to the challenge. Golden State presents a larger challenge, but until these remaining Cavaliers fail to rise to meet it, the benefit of the doubt must belong to them.

However, if you feel your heart’s just not in it, or you can’t bring yourself to see beyond the imagined curse that seems to plague Cleveland sports, it’s understandable. The rest of the world won’t blame you. They’ve already provided a defensible out on this one. “It just wasn’t in the cards…” “LeBron just can’t do it all by himself” “It’s Cleveland, man…” 

But, ask yourself, “What if?” What if they do pull it off? What if LeBron does exactly what he did for much of the last two series, and put this team on his back and will them to a championship? What if he delivers on everything he said he would, even earlier than many (including himself) expected? What if this rag-tag group of glorified role-players and past-their-prime vets once again answers the call to step up and go further “All In” than ever imaginable? What if they still manage to get a split on their way back to a rocking and rollicking Q in Cleveland?

What if they shock the world?

What if we just choose to believe?

In a future yet to be determined… Determination can still rule the day.

LET’S… GO… CAVS!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SIWl41oIz8