Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the first team to reach 40 victories. After Monday night’s loss to LeBron James and the Miami Heat, Cleveland became the first team to reach 40 losses this season. Obviously, everyone knew the Cavaliers were going to struggle this season after losing the game’s best player. However, the Cavaliers are now on the brink of being a historically bad team.
Monday’s loss to the Heat was the Cavaliers’ 21st consecutive loss, and their 31st in their last 32 games. They are currently 8-40, the worst record in the league. The current losing streak is the third longest in league history. With four more losses, they will break the record for longest losing streak in league history.
I was not a fan of the Cavaliers when LeBron James was playing for the team, nor am I a Cavs fan now. However, it is hard not to feel a little depressed when thinking about the current state of the organization. Even more frustrating, is the team actually started the season with some promise. In their first 17 games of the season, the team started a very respectable 7-10 given their situation. Unfortunately, December rolled round and the Cavaliers hosted their former King James and the Heat. In that game with Miami, LeBron picked apart his old team. It seems as though that game was the real tipping point (not to mention losing Anderson Varejao for the season) of the current free fall the team is on. The team has only won one game since the December 2nd match-up with Miami.
Looking at the current state of the Cavaliers makes me worry about some other franchises who are held together by one superstar player. As much as I hate to think about it, Denver, New Orleans and Orlando could potentially be headed for similar fates. Everyone knows about the current situation in Denver. That goes without saying. In addition, let me remind you of what happened this past summer when Chris Paul raised some eyebrows by demanding a trade unless the Hornets could get him better complimentary players. Paul eventually backed off the trade talks, but don’t think Paul’s statements are not on the minds of Hornets fans. In 2012, Dwight Howard will be eligible for free agency. If the Magic don’t get back to the Finals in the next couple of seasons, it is hard to imagine Howard wanting to stay in Orlando.
If Anthony, Paul and Howard were to leave their respective franchises, the Magic, Hornets and Nuggets could be headed for futures similar to what the Cavs are currently experiencing. LeBron may have started a dangerous trend of star players leaving their teams to head for bigger markets and forming their own super teams. Unfortunately, small market teams and their loyal fan bases are left to suffer. When the new CBA is put into place, there should be serious discussions on how to slow down this potentially hazardous trend.
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
