The Cleveland Cavaliers are heading to their second NBA Finals in franchise history after obliterating the Atlanta Hawks last night. Knowing this, you can’t help but notice the difference between this current iteration of the Cavs and the one which made it to the final round back in 2007 is night and day.
Eight years ago, Cleveland was dragged to the Finals by a 22-year-old LeBron James. The team upset the favorite Detroit Pistons, thanks in part to James’ historic Game 5 performance, as well as some help from Daniel “Boobie” Gibson in the closeout game. On that night, a young and still impressionable James was ecstatic beyond belief, leaping into the arms of teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas to celebrate his first ever trip to the promised land.
While his lack of experience on the grand stage showed in a positive way during his post-game celebrations then, it was also on display negatively when James and crew took on a juggernaut San Antonio Spurs team. Cleveland was thoroughly outmatched from the get-go, and despite some slight spurts here and there, it was clear the team was unprepared when it came to toppling San Antonio. While clearly on his way to becoming the best player in the NBA, it was also obvious James still had plenty to learn when it came to getting to the top of the mountain.
Flash forward to today, things have very obviously changed. For one, James is now heading to his fifth straight NBA Finals. He’s learned the hard way what can happen when you’re not as focused on winning as truly necessary. And, most importantly, he’s making sure his Cavs teammates are aware of this as well.
There were celebrations last night in the Cleveland locker room, and for good reason. All you needed to do was check out the Instagram feeds of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to see it. While James has become an NBA Finals savant, plenty of Cavs players are experiencing their first ever run through the postseason.
At the same time, based on many reports, the hoopla was quite businesslike. This is because, as exciting as it is for both the Cavs and the city of Cleveland to see this team just four wins away from a championship, the truth is nothing has been won just yet.
The LeBron James of the 2007 Cavs was no doubt just thrilled to make it to the Finals. Somehow, he was able to throw a team featuring the likes of Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavlovic on his back and take them so much farther than they really deserved to go. Cleveland over-exceeded expectations, and because of this, there was reason to celebrate.
Now, James knows for sure a Finals berth is not the ultimate goal. He knows nobody hosts parades for winning a conference, for just getting the opportunity to win a title. An Eastern Conference Champions banner, while a nice decoration on its own, isn’t quite as glamorous as what the team could hoist if they win four more games.
More important than James’ awareness of all of this, though, is the fact you can no doubt believe he’s making sure his teammates know it, too.
It’d be easy for players like Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson to be in the same position as James was eight years ago. After all the two of them have endured in their brief time in Cleveland, you wouldn’t blame them if they were over-the-top excited about going to the NBA Finals for the first time. However, James will surely reign them in.
He’ll ensure that, while celebrations are in order after last night, the real task at hand has yet to be accomplished. This is no longer a team made of players who are just thrilled to have made it this far on the ride. They can enjoy themselves now, but come next week when the Finals begin, you better believe they’ll be locked in.
For this, they can thank James, their fearless leader. Had it not been for everything he’s learned since his first trip back in ’07, he might not have been ready to prepare his team for what’s about to take place.
Casey Drottar is the Cleveland Beat Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter or “Like” him on Facebook