The Point Four-ward: Soak It In

Four points I’m thinking about your World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers…

1.) If you needed further evidence of just how big of an upset the Cavaliers pulled when they knocked off the defending champion Golden State Warriors 93-89 on Sunday night, look no further than who Las Vegas oddsmakers predict is the odds-on favorite to win the 2017 NBA title. Nope, it’s not your 2016 champs. Vegas is laying odds that the Warriors will bounce back and reclaim the title next year.

The Cavs are right behind the Warriors, followed by the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It’s not uncommon for the runner-up to be favored over the champion the following year. Back in the summer of 2011, the Heat were heavy favorites (5-2) to win it all in 2012, while the Mavericks were given only 10-1 odds to defend their title. The Heat had more star power and the feeling was that something went wrong (specifically with LeBron James) that allowed the Mavericks to win the title.

Similarly, there is plenty of national head-scratching surrounding the Warriors and Steph Curry who torched the league all year, only to look comparatively mortal in four of the last five games of the Finals. The idea is that somehow the Warriors lost in the Finals, perhaps more so than the Cavs won the Finals.

If this narrative continues, James and company will have no shortage of billboard material to start stoking the fires for next season.

2.) Okay.. okay. Yes, I’ve been getting milk from the BBall Breakdown udder all playoffs long. So, I don’t know why I’d stop now. Here’s an excellent breakdown of the Cavs 18-5 third quarter run that gave the Cavs life after they’d fallen behind at the half.

Simply put, the fact that the Cavs were able to get some scoring from Kevin Love and J.R. Smith during this run was huge. For much of the first half, it felt like Draymond Green was the only player on the floor who was really having a signature game. Love and Smith didn’t exactly scrawl their John Hancock’s across the Game 7 during this third quarter run, but theire buckets — and especially Smith in hitting some three pointers — let the Cavs relax a little bit. They were able to fight back Golden State and keep the Warriors run from snowballing, as it always seems to do.

Once they got the game back, they were able to play aggressively on both ends of the floor knowing that they a.) didn’t have to play perfect, error-free ball to win (you know, only just about perfect) and b.) could answer if the Warriors came down and scored. The Cavs are a different team when they play with confidence and this third quarter run gave them enough of it to make big plays when they mattered in the end.

3.) Ever wonder what to get the people who either already have or can afford to buy everything? That was the dilemma facing Cavaliers guard Mo Williams after he and his teammates hoisted up the Larry O’Brien trophy Sunday night. Williams opted for quality hooch, giving each of his teammates a bottle of Crown Royal XR with custom embroidered velvet bags. Williams shared a picture of the gift on Instagram and wrote “Started with a goal, finished with a crown. Love my brothers!”

Williams also said his gift was to ensure that the reigning NBA Champs all get to “celebrate like kings.”

Where did Williams get the idea? It’s probably no coincidence that the Charlotte Hornets announced a multi-year partnership with Crown Royal in March of 2015, back when Williams served as Kemba Walker‘s back-up for the Hornets. If those ties afforded both Williams and Crown Royal a little extra attention this week, imagine what gifts other Cavaliers players are ready to make public.

Like, Love nervously handing out his gifts, then watching as each of his teammates drop their heads in disappointment.

Kyrie Irving: “Um, Kev? It’s just milk.”

Love: “No, no, no. It’s so much better. It’s chocolate milk.”

(pause)

Irving: “Who wants to pass around Mo’s gift again?”

4.) And then there’s this. Just this…

This is less of a point than it is the point. How sweet it is…

Enjoy your parade, Cleveland!