Re: Everybody roots for David, nobody pulls for Goliath.
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 5:47 pm
The Lakers coast to a giant win and shake tremors through the entire league. With Goliath now firmly established, only a handful of David's seem fit for the challenge - but then again, you don't usually know who's going to be the hero until it's already happening, right? This year on Inside a Team we're going to head back East to one of the teams that's really had to force their way into the spotlight to fight for recognition. And while they're not all the way there yet, I've got to admit, they surprised me in a number of ways this past season. So sit down, grab a drink, and join me on a trip up north with this year's "Inside a Team - the Cleveland edition".
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The end of the 6 game series against Detroit was expected, but it wasn't easy none-the-less. Bill Laimbeer, who'd mentioned in a conference leading into the post season how he still had some feelings towards Cleveland for choosing Calvin Natt at 5 instead of himself (he'd gone 6th to Detroit which in retrospect had worked out splendidly, but by his account the team had agreed to take him 5th), exploded for a post-season high 36 points, 2 steals, 3 assists, 4 blocks, and 23 rebounds as the Pistons won 117-101, closing out the series 4-2. Richard Washington, the 1981 6th man of the year, led Cleveland with a game high 16. It was embarassing to every fan at Richfield Coliseum.
Still, they'd done their best. The team had just barely scraped into the post-season over Washington at 29-53, down 10 wins from the season before as Randy Smith grew out of his prime and Joe Meriweather left for Phoenix, and had managed to push #1 Detroit into a 6 game series. By all accounts they'd blown everyone out of the water. "Not everyone, though. Mr. Stepien wants wins. He wants them now, no matter how hard it is and how short-term that success ends up being." I'm sitting in the office of Jesse Owens - yes, 4x gold medalist Jesse Owens - who's been the general manager of this team for the past 6 seasons. This was the 5th time the team had made the post-season in that span, but still, it was hard to argue they were exactly improving. After bringing on Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond as head coach the summer before, they'd hoped to rise up in the comparatively weak Eastern conference, but instead were worse than ever. "He won't fork over the money for big agents, he's insistant we build through the draft. And we're trying, for sure."
Luckily they got some big help in the 82 draft. With the 8th pick, Cleveland was lucky enough to snag Lafeyette - aka Fat - Lever out of Arizona State. They brought on 31 year old Ron Behagen, a power forward (his 8th NBA team) for the second unit, but missed out big on George McGinnis - Stepien wouldn't budge on a contract. So after losing the opening night game against Chicago 117-111 at Chicago Stadium (John Long with 31 points, Calvin Natt with 24 and 11) Jesse Owens did the only thing he could - he went for a trade. Jerry Colangelo agreed to send Truck Robinson and Phoenix's 1983 second round pick for 6th man of the year Richard Washington, Sonny Parker, and Cleveland's 1985 1st round pick (after Phoenix coach Johnny Kerr made the choice to move Truck to the bench in lieu of the young and on the rise Cliff Robinson). Cleveland lost again their next game out, John Drew's 41 carrying Atlanta to an easy 96-81 win, but Truck showed he could fit into this squad with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Maybe this could be their special year.
Now the starting squad was starting to look pretty good. Fat Lever came in as the point guard, ready to show the whole league why he should've gone in the lottery. Randy Smith came in at shooting guard - now 34 years old, this was still a guy who held Cleveland's record for most points scored in a game with 57; he was nothing to trifle with. Calvin Natt, while perhaps not as good as rival Bill Laimbeer, had shown he had the tenacity to rival some of the other great small forwards in the league, while Truck Robinson had managed to stay in the All-Star conversation for the past six years, always just barely getting edged out by someone else or injury. And last but not least - Jeff Ruland. The husky 6'10 center from Iona had been a surprise pick at 7th for the Cavs, one that Owens claims nearly cost him his job, but in his past 2 years he's shown he's more than worth it, finishing the past season averaging 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds on just 28.0 minutes played per game. With guys like Frank Johnson, a sophomore point guard with a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove himself as elite, Ron Behagen, a journeyman sick of making laps around the league, Billy McKinney, who'd been the team's point guard for the past two seasons but was more than willing to be one of the leaders off the bench, and Kelvin Grevey, who was one of the most versatile wings in the league, all ready to give it their all, I started to get behind the idea too. Maybe Cleveland -could- be good.
For their third game it was back to Richfield Coliseum for a match-up with their biggest rival and arguably the East's best team, the Detroit Pistons. Detroit dominated in the first half, outscoring the Cavaliers 43-18 in the first quarter, as Barnes and Maravich obliterated Truck Robinson and Randy Smith at every stretch. Laimbeer and Short double-teamed Calvin Natt at every corner, playing scrappy cheap ball (Natt forced out of the game with a bloody nose early in the 3rd quarter after a bad foul from Laimbeer sent him crashing head first into the hardwood) with a desire to show everyone that 6 game series had been a fluke of luck, closing out that first half 65-50. But luck was definitely in the air that night - and it came from Kevin Grevey. He had 8 points in the second quarter, hitting two threes off the bench in an attempt to rile his team back to life, but it didn't exactly turn heads. But his 3rd quarter did - he helped Cleveland outscore Detroit 39-17, dropping 30 of those points himself with 7 3s for 29 points in the quarter. He had 10 more in the 4th, including two dagger threes in the waning minutes, and miraculously, Cleveland pulled away at the end, ultimately winning the game 122-117. The team swarmed Grevey like he'd just hit 100, absolutely roaring in celebration - this was revenge for last year in the playoffs. And man was it sweet.
October 28th was just as exciting. Philadelphia, now one of the easy favorites for the finals with the combined duo of MVPs Julius Erving and Moses Malone (along side Ray Williams, one of the top 10 point-guards in the league) came poised to wreck Cleveland at the Spectrum. Instead, rookie Fat Lever played some amazing defense, holding Ray Williams to just 11 points while forcing 6 turnovers on the guard for 19 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 4 steals. Truck Robinson had 22 points and 8 rebounds, and Cleveland won 113-106. This team was real.
By the end of November, the team was 9-13, 8th in the East but having played a fairly rough schedule thus far, with 14 of their 22 games being on the road. One of the strangest facts so far: Kevin Grevey. He was averaging 16.7 points per game, showcasing himself as an offensive force to be reckoned with, though Nate Thurmond seemed reluctant to start him. "He's got a lot of respect for Randy Smith. He doesn't want to push him out of the line-up." I'm talking to Dave Wohl, Cleveland's defensive coach who Gail Goodrich had brought on when he joined the team. "Hey man, I totally relate." That was Rick Barry, who'd also came on with Gail (Thurmond and offensive coach Rick Adelman the only two to stay with the team). "I had a going out tour, and it was great. But you've got to reckon at some point if we aren't hurting ourselves a little here."
Billy Robinzine came to the team right around the end of that month. The power forward was in his 8th year, having played for 7 teams in that time (including 24 games in Cleveland in '79 before he was traded for Fred Brown and Joey Hassett, both of whom could be described as wallflowers at best) while winning 6th man of the year in '78, his work in the 77-78 season showing he was committed to good play, regardless of his role. Goodrich gave up Kelvin Ransey in the trade (Ransey had only had 8 starts in his 130 games played throughout his three and a half years with the team since being drafted in 1980), sending him to San Diego for Billy as well as the Clipper's 1983 2nd round pick.
That December is where our trouble started. After a pretty impressive 111-103 win over San Antonio at Hemisfair Arena (Grevey leading the team with 23 off the bench) we went on to lose -9- in a row as Randy Smith went out with a nasty ankle sprain and Jeff Ruland missed a couple of games with the flu. We turned it around at the end of the month, Grevey with 28 off the bench in a 94-89 point win over New York at MSG to end our streak, before boosting it up to 33 our next game back at Richfield Coliseum, Fat Lever's 26 points and 7 assists helping us secure a narrow 120-116 win over the Mighty Bucks. Truck Robinson took control in the next game, with a season high 29 points and 8 rebounds in a 126-99 point win over Denver, and things felt good. While we lost our next game out to Philadelphia 103-129, reigning MVP Julius Erving with 43 points and 13 rebounds, we smashed back to beat 4th placed Detroit 100-91 at the Silverdome January 1st to start off the New Year. Jeff Ruland had 21 points, 3 assists, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks in arguably his best game for the season. Things were going okay... but still, we were 14-23.
So Gail Goodrich traded Glenn McDonald, Marc Iavaroni, and our 1st round 1984 pick for Denver's Bill Hanzlik, Ron Lee, and their 1985 1st round pick. Ron Lee was a veteran point guard who's great play in his time in Milwaukee illustrated clearly how he could help control the team from the second unit while also being an ideal mentor for Lever, while Bill Hanzlik, selected 9th in 1980, had been a decent enough bench player in Denver that had never quite lived up to his expectations, never getting playing time over M.L. Carr or Bobby Jones. Gail also signed on Tate Armstrong, selected 6th in 1977 by the Knicks, who hadn't played in the league since December 1980 (having torn his ACL on the 76ers). He'd averaged 21.5 points per game the previous year playing for the D-League Alburquerque Flames, and looked even better this year, boosting his field goal percentage up to 44% (from 40) with just a loss of 1.2 points per game. Now, he wagered, we could contend.
We had some great games that next stretch. Calvin Natt and Truck Robinson flourished as the offensive leaders of the time, while Fat Lever exceled in his role as distributor. Randy Smith continued to struggle with minor injuries, with Frank Johnson replacing him in the starting line up, and to everyone's surprise he handled it great after a relatively medicore rookie season the year before, averaging 11.2 points and 5.5 assists per game in his 18 starts through January. January 12th saw us beat Golden State at home, Natt dropping 21 points and 11 rebounds; that was the start of an -eight- game winning streak, including another giant win over Detroit (109-91, Grevey with 22) as well as a 120-106 win against Portland that saw Truck Robinson grab 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 blocks for a near triple double.
Fat Lever had been a steal. Always at the top of the list in Rookie of the Year conversations, he'd won Rookie of the Month for January and only seemed to be getting better. While Chicago's Dominique Wilkins (as well as Sleepy Floyd, actually, who'd been a giant steal at 22nd in the draft) seemed to be the pretty obvious winner, averaging 16.4 points per game alongside 6 rebounds and a steal and block, lever's 10.5 points per game and 6 assists were getting him some recognition. The team continued to shine into February, going on a 6 game streak from the 12th through the All Star break up until the 26th, losing the last game of the month to Golden State on the road at Oracle. Calvin Natt won the dunk contest, going head to head with Boston rookie Cole Baldino in the finals, while Lever managed shine in the Rookie - Sophomore game as the starting point-guard for the rookie squad, with 7 points and 8 assists in a game that nearly saw them take the lead in the 4th before Lever and Dominique Wilkins both fouled out, the sophomores ultimately winning 149-138. While no one on the team made the All-Star team, it was a much appreciated break none-the-less; they were 34-29 now, and the next immediate focus was preparing for the post-season.
It wasn't easy. While they had their fair share of good wins, they had some rough losses as well. On March 10th, the Knicks came to town for a well fought battle. Kevin Grevey's 25 points helped push Cleveland into a 6 point lead towards the end of the 4th quarter, much to the joy of fans, but Adrian Dantley quickly shut down the lead with 2 back-to-back 3s to send the game into overtime. He and Buck Williams teamed up for 16 of the Knicks 20 points in OT period, taking advantage of the absence of Truck Robinson who'd fouled out in the 4th, and the Knicks won 123-115. Nate Thurmond was disappointed, but still spoke highly of his guys after the loss. "We're fighting hard and we're crushing expectations. Sometimes you lose games. We're grown men, we can handle that."
The next night, they beat Philadelphia - on the road. Fat Lever had 19 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, while Tate Armstrong had a season high 27 off the bench, helping the Cavaliers escape for a 103-100 win over a crushed Spectrum Arena crowd. Teams didn't just get lucky with Moses Malone and Julius Erving - that took work. They went 6-3 for the rest of March, closing out the month with a narrow 133-139 overtime loss to Detroit (Maurice Cheeks with his best game yet, dropping 38 points, 7 assists, and 10 rebounds) but in a great position looking forward at 42-36. They lost the first two games in April - one to Indiana, 83-101 as Ricky Sobers dropped 33, then the next to rival Detroit as 35 year old Pete Maravich hit a season high 36 - but went into the last game of the season having secured at least the 7th seed in the East, and with a win that night, the 6th. It was crunch time for the Cavaliers, and they were more than ready to step up to the plate.
Atlanta was good. They were 36-46, despite missing both John Drew and Reggie Theus for long stretches during the season to injury, and even worse we were playing in their turf at Omni Coliseum. John Drew had 13 points in the first half, pushing Calvin Natt into foul trouble early on and when Atlanta started the second half with a 57-51 lead, the Hawks fans started getting riled up. But, as was fitting for this year's team, help came from the bench yet again - Tate Armstrong went off, with 16 points in the 3rd quarter of his own, ultimately finishing with 24 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals as the Cavaliers escaped with a 117-97 point win. Irene Cara's "What a Feeling" echoed out into the stadium in the dwaning moments of that game, and the team absolutely embraced it. As Curtis Perry heaved up a shot with nine seconds left, the ball clanked off the rim and Bill Hanzlik caught the board, dribbling out the ball for the finish. The team had won - they were going into the post-season in 6th place. Not too shabby after all.
------ The The Plain Dealer, April 10th, 1983 ------
For Nate Thurmond, this post-season is absolutely essential for his team's success looking forward. "This is the best team we've had in years. These guys are at their absolute best right now - if we can't put up some competition now, how can we expect to moving forward?" He's not wrong; for many Cleveland fans, a history of failure is making it hard to get behind this exciting young team. Going into Monday's game, they face the New York Knicks, bolstered by the star power of Johnny Moore, Adrian Dantley, and Bob McAdoo (as well as a strong supporting cast, including starters Mike D'Antoni and Buck Williams as well as Kurt Rambis, Larry Smith, Tom Abernethy, Lonnie Shelton, and Junior Bridgeman) and are more or less expected to lose in a 4 game sweep. But can these guys show the crowd in the Big Apple what they're made of? Can they demonstrate the resolve to make the series exciting? Tune it to the game tonight, at 7:30, and find out! And stay posted for more future updates - I'm Andrew Williams, your Cleveland correspondant. Toodle loo.
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Game 1 exposed the exact weaknesses in the Cavs that Thurmond had been worried about. Dantley exposed Natt's weaknesses at every angle, holding him to just 6-14 shooting with no free throws drawn, while himself dropping an insane 51 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds in a personal playoff high. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, amidst the blowout loss, Nate Thurmond got so riled up on a missed call on Lever (who, in his defense, finished the game with a fairly impressive 14 points, 6 assists, and 12 rebounds) that he was ejected from the game, resulting in Rick Adelman finishing off the game as coach. Cleveland lost - 96-122 - and it hurt. Randy Smith punched a locker, denting it and hurting a finger, which was a pretty good way of describing the general feel for the team. In Game 2, the lead continued to escape them. Natt had just 9 points, Dantley finishing with 31, as New York ran away to a 113-89 win much to the pleasure of the roaring Madison Square Garden crowd. In an interview after, he had words for Calvin Natt. "You got a 4th year player taken 5th overall - above guys like Laimbeer, like Cartwright, like Moncrief - and sometimes they don't work out. Maybe they looked good in college, had that edge, and they just got shook. Natt? Yeah, he's out there... man, he's shook."
The words stung, but the team resolved to not let them mess with them. Game 3 was different - and like many games in this story, it's hero came from the bench. Tate Armstrong was selected 6th in 1977 and had never quite lived up to the expectations of being a lottery pick - he missed the All-Rookie team, he missed being selected for the Rookie-Sophomore game both years, and before this year, his NBA high for a season in points per game had been just 6.4 coming off the bench for New Jersey. While the ACL tear hadn't helped, simply put, he'd never been particularly good. But it wasn't for a lack of talent - all of his coaches said he had talent. He just never played with drive... except for when he had a chip on his shoulder. And when he exploded for a ridiculous 33 points off the bench that night in front of an ecstatic Richfield Coliseum crowd, there were chips aplenty. It was a god damn salsa massacre. The team rallied back, after beating outscored by New York 33-24 in the first, and ultimately escaped with a 114-102 win. In Game 4 the drive continued, Jeff Ruland stepping up to the plate with 32 points and 12 rebounds, but Tate once again doing his part with 18 off the bench as Cleveland tied the series 2-2 with a 102-83 point win.
Game 5 was essential - this was the make-or-break. Lever started off playing in excellent form, dropping three consecutive lay-ups in the first quarter to team up with Randy Smith for 17 in the first quarter between the two of them - but Dantley continued to humilate Natt. Not only did he hold him to 2-11 shooting (for 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) but he also dropped 36 himself on 12-18, along side 3 assists, 11 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal. New York outscored the Cavaliers 28-15 to pull away with a dominating 37 point lead, and by the end of the 4th quarter their bench was just humilating them. Cleveland lost 87-120 as the MSG crowd roared with enthusiasm - Game 6 would be back at home. Could they force a game 7?
Calvin Natt knew he needed to do something big here. In the days leading up to the game, he was a complete nervous wreck - Dantley had gotten into his head, and the whole team knew it. Nate Thurmond rode alone with him to the game, and while I don't know what they talked about, when Natt came into the room he was a new man. When I asked him how he was feeling, he looked me with absolute focus. "I'm ready to take this to 7."
New York started off strong. Natt was chasing Dantley around the court, holding him to just 2-5 shooting for the quarter, but Buck Williams was all over, posterizing Jeff Ruland late in the first to finish up the quarter with a 36-26 lead. Natt continued his excellent form in the second quarter, dropping 11 points including two threes, but still New York managed to push away as Johnny Moore danced around the court making play after play with his excellent pass-making abilities. In the third quarter, however, Natt got some relief - Kevin Grevey hit 4 pointers in just 7 minutes played, and as Natt continued to score, Cleveland snuck into their first lead of the game with a minute thirty three left in the 3rd, leading 97-95. The lead backed back and forth through-out the 4th as Dantley finally found his stroke, but when Natt made a beautiful play stealing the inbound pass from Moore (just his second turnover of the night) and slammed it home with just under thirty seconds left, Cleveland finally took a breath of relief. They were up 118-116 - this game was set. Natt had finished with 31 points, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists, committing just one foul while shooting 15-24. He looked up towards the crowd and thrust his fist in the air with an enormous roar.
And then Mike D'Antoni caught a beautiful pass from Johnny Moore in the corner and slammed home a three right on the buzzer. And just like that, Cleveland had lost. Dantley took some time during the celebration to walk over and talk to Natt, seemingly commending his performance, and the rest of the team sulked their way back into the locker room. The season was over.
I finished up my last day in Cleveland grabbing a drink with Nate Thurmond. Had the loss been disappointing? Definitely. But did it mean the season had been a failure? "Not at all. These guys need... no, -crave- an identity. And it's starting to come together. Maybe we're not the best in the league today, and maybe we won't be anytime soon - but watch out. Cleveland is coming for ya." I'm Connie Hawkins, and this is "Inside a Team - the Cleveland edition."
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The end of the 6 game series against Detroit was expected, but it wasn't easy none-the-less. Bill Laimbeer, who'd mentioned in a conference leading into the post season how he still had some feelings towards Cleveland for choosing Calvin Natt at 5 instead of himself (he'd gone 6th to Detroit which in retrospect had worked out splendidly, but by his account the team had agreed to take him 5th), exploded for a post-season high 36 points, 2 steals, 3 assists, 4 blocks, and 23 rebounds as the Pistons won 117-101, closing out the series 4-2. Richard Washington, the 1981 6th man of the year, led Cleveland with a game high 16. It was embarassing to every fan at Richfield Coliseum.
Still, they'd done their best. The team had just barely scraped into the post-season over Washington at 29-53, down 10 wins from the season before as Randy Smith grew out of his prime and Joe Meriweather left for Phoenix, and had managed to push #1 Detroit into a 6 game series. By all accounts they'd blown everyone out of the water. "Not everyone, though. Mr. Stepien wants wins. He wants them now, no matter how hard it is and how short-term that success ends up being." I'm sitting in the office of Jesse Owens - yes, 4x gold medalist Jesse Owens - who's been the general manager of this team for the past 6 seasons. This was the 5th time the team had made the post-season in that span, but still, it was hard to argue they were exactly improving. After bringing on Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond as head coach the summer before, they'd hoped to rise up in the comparatively weak Eastern conference, but instead were worse than ever. "He won't fork over the money for big agents, he's insistant we build through the draft. And we're trying, for sure."
Luckily they got some big help in the 82 draft. With the 8th pick, Cleveland was lucky enough to snag Lafeyette - aka Fat - Lever out of Arizona State. They brought on 31 year old Ron Behagen, a power forward (his 8th NBA team) for the second unit, but missed out big on George McGinnis - Stepien wouldn't budge on a contract. So after losing the opening night game against Chicago 117-111 at Chicago Stadium (John Long with 31 points, Calvin Natt with 24 and 11) Jesse Owens did the only thing he could - he went for a trade. Jerry Colangelo agreed to send Truck Robinson and Phoenix's 1983 second round pick for 6th man of the year Richard Washington, Sonny Parker, and Cleveland's 1985 1st round pick (after Phoenix coach Johnny Kerr made the choice to move Truck to the bench in lieu of the young and on the rise Cliff Robinson). Cleveland lost again their next game out, John Drew's 41 carrying Atlanta to an easy 96-81 win, but Truck showed he could fit into this squad with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Maybe this could be their special year.
Now the starting squad was starting to look pretty good. Fat Lever came in as the point guard, ready to show the whole league why he should've gone in the lottery. Randy Smith came in at shooting guard - now 34 years old, this was still a guy who held Cleveland's record for most points scored in a game with 57; he was nothing to trifle with. Calvin Natt, while perhaps not as good as rival Bill Laimbeer, had shown he had the tenacity to rival some of the other great small forwards in the league, while Truck Robinson had managed to stay in the All-Star conversation for the past six years, always just barely getting edged out by someone else or injury. And last but not least - Jeff Ruland. The husky 6'10 center from Iona had been a surprise pick at 7th for the Cavs, one that Owens claims nearly cost him his job, but in his past 2 years he's shown he's more than worth it, finishing the past season averaging 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds on just 28.0 minutes played per game. With guys like Frank Johnson, a sophomore point guard with a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove himself as elite, Ron Behagen, a journeyman sick of making laps around the league, Billy McKinney, who'd been the team's point guard for the past two seasons but was more than willing to be one of the leaders off the bench, and Kelvin Grevey, who was one of the most versatile wings in the league, all ready to give it their all, I started to get behind the idea too. Maybe Cleveland -could- be good.
For their third game it was back to Richfield Coliseum for a match-up with their biggest rival and arguably the East's best team, the Detroit Pistons. Detroit dominated in the first half, outscoring the Cavaliers 43-18 in the first quarter, as Barnes and Maravich obliterated Truck Robinson and Randy Smith at every stretch. Laimbeer and Short double-teamed Calvin Natt at every corner, playing scrappy cheap ball (Natt forced out of the game with a bloody nose early in the 3rd quarter after a bad foul from Laimbeer sent him crashing head first into the hardwood) with a desire to show everyone that 6 game series had been a fluke of luck, closing out that first half 65-50. But luck was definitely in the air that night - and it came from Kevin Grevey. He had 8 points in the second quarter, hitting two threes off the bench in an attempt to rile his team back to life, but it didn't exactly turn heads. But his 3rd quarter did - he helped Cleveland outscore Detroit 39-17, dropping 30 of those points himself with 7 3s for 29 points in the quarter. He had 10 more in the 4th, including two dagger threes in the waning minutes, and miraculously, Cleveland pulled away at the end, ultimately winning the game 122-117. The team swarmed Grevey like he'd just hit 100, absolutely roaring in celebration - this was revenge for last year in the playoffs. And man was it sweet.
October 28th was just as exciting. Philadelphia, now one of the easy favorites for the finals with the combined duo of MVPs Julius Erving and Moses Malone (along side Ray Williams, one of the top 10 point-guards in the league) came poised to wreck Cleveland at the Spectrum. Instead, rookie Fat Lever played some amazing defense, holding Ray Williams to just 11 points while forcing 6 turnovers on the guard for 19 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 4 steals. Truck Robinson had 22 points and 8 rebounds, and Cleveland won 113-106. This team was real.
By the end of November, the team was 9-13, 8th in the East but having played a fairly rough schedule thus far, with 14 of their 22 games being on the road. One of the strangest facts so far: Kevin Grevey. He was averaging 16.7 points per game, showcasing himself as an offensive force to be reckoned with, though Nate Thurmond seemed reluctant to start him. "He's got a lot of respect for Randy Smith. He doesn't want to push him out of the line-up." I'm talking to Dave Wohl, Cleveland's defensive coach who Gail Goodrich had brought on when he joined the team. "Hey man, I totally relate." That was Rick Barry, who'd also came on with Gail (Thurmond and offensive coach Rick Adelman the only two to stay with the team). "I had a going out tour, and it was great. But you've got to reckon at some point if we aren't hurting ourselves a little here."
Billy Robinzine came to the team right around the end of that month. The power forward was in his 8th year, having played for 7 teams in that time (including 24 games in Cleveland in '79 before he was traded for Fred Brown and Joey Hassett, both of whom could be described as wallflowers at best) while winning 6th man of the year in '78, his work in the 77-78 season showing he was committed to good play, regardless of his role. Goodrich gave up Kelvin Ransey in the trade (Ransey had only had 8 starts in his 130 games played throughout his three and a half years with the team since being drafted in 1980), sending him to San Diego for Billy as well as the Clipper's 1983 2nd round pick.
That December is where our trouble started. After a pretty impressive 111-103 win over San Antonio at Hemisfair Arena (Grevey leading the team with 23 off the bench) we went on to lose -9- in a row as Randy Smith went out with a nasty ankle sprain and Jeff Ruland missed a couple of games with the flu. We turned it around at the end of the month, Grevey with 28 off the bench in a 94-89 point win over New York at MSG to end our streak, before boosting it up to 33 our next game back at Richfield Coliseum, Fat Lever's 26 points and 7 assists helping us secure a narrow 120-116 win over the Mighty Bucks. Truck Robinson took control in the next game, with a season high 29 points and 8 rebounds in a 126-99 point win over Denver, and things felt good. While we lost our next game out to Philadelphia 103-129, reigning MVP Julius Erving with 43 points and 13 rebounds, we smashed back to beat 4th placed Detroit 100-91 at the Silverdome January 1st to start off the New Year. Jeff Ruland had 21 points, 3 assists, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks in arguably his best game for the season. Things were going okay... but still, we were 14-23.
So Gail Goodrich traded Glenn McDonald, Marc Iavaroni, and our 1st round 1984 pick for Denver's Bill Hanzlik, Ron Lee, and their 1985 1st round pick. Ron Lee was a veteran point guard who's great play in his time in Milwaukee illustrated clearly how he could help control the team from the second unit while also being an ideal mentor for Lever, while Bill Hanzlik, selected 9th in 1980, had been a decent enough bench player in Denver that had never quite lived up to his expectations, never getting playing time over M.L. Carr or Bobby Jones. Gail also signed on Tate Armstrong, selected 6th in 1977 by the Knicks, who hadn't played in the league since December 1980 (having torn his ACL on the 76ers). He'd averaged 21.5 points per game the previous year playing for the D-League Alburquerque Flames, and looked even better this year, boosting his field goal percentage up to 44% (from 40) with just a loss of 1.2 points per game. Now, he wagered, we could contend.
We had some great games that next stretch. Calvin Natt and Truck Robinson flourished as the offensive leaders of the time, while Fat Lever exceled in his role as distributor. Randy Smith continued to struggle with minor injuries, with Frank Johnson replacing him in the starting line up, and to everyone's surprise he handled it great after a relatively medicore rookie season the year before, averaging 11.2 points and 5.5 assists per game in his 18 starts through January. January 12th saw us beat Golden State at home, Natt dropping 21 points and 11 rebounds; that was the start of an -eight- game winning streak, including another giant win over Detroit (109-91, Grevey with 22) as well as a 120-106 win against Portland that saw Truck Robinson grab 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 blocks for a near triple double.
Fat Lever had been a steal. Always at the top of the list in Rookie of the Year conversations, he'd won Rookie of the Month for January and only seemed to be getting better. While Chicago's Dominique Wilkins (as well as Sleepy Floyd, actually, who'd been a giant steal at 22nd in the draft) seemed to be the pretty obvious winner, averaging 16.4 points per game alongside 6 rebounds and a steal and block, lever's 10.5 points per game and 6 assists were getting him some recognition. The team continued to shine into February, going on a 6 game streak from the 12th through the All Star break up until the 26th, losing the last game of the month to Golden State on the road at Oracle. Calvin Natt won the dunk contest, going head to head with Boston rookie Cole Baldino in the finals, while Lever managed shine in the Rookie - Sophomore game as the starting point-guard for the rookie squad, with 7 points and 8 assists in a game that nearly saw them take the lead in the 4th before Lever and Dominique Wilkins both fouled out, the sophomores ultimately winning 149-138. While no one on the team made the All-Star team, it was a much appreciated break none-the-less; they were 34-29 now, and the next immediate focus was preparing for the post-season.
It wasn't easy. While they had their fair share of good wins, they had some rough losses as well. On March 10th, the Knicks came to town for a well fought battle. Kevin Grevey's 25 points helped push Cleveland into a 6 point lead towards the end of the 4th quarter, much to the joy of fans, but Adrian Dantley quickly shut down the lead with 2 back-to-back 3s to send the game into overtime. He and Buck Williams teamed up for 16 of the Knicks 20 points in OT period, taking advantage of the absence of Truck Robinson who'd fouled out in the 4th, and the Knicks won 123-115. Nate Thurmond was disappointed, but still spoke highly of his guys after the loss. "We're fighting hard and we're crushing expectations. Sometimes you lose games. We're grown men, we can handle that."
The next night, they beat Philadelphia - on the road. Fat Lever had 19 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, while Tate Armstrong had a season high 27 off the bench, helping the Cavaliers escape for a 103-100 win over a crushed Spectrum Arena crowd. Teams didn't just get lucky with Moses Malone and Julius Erving - that took work. They went 6-3 for the rest of March, closing out the month with a narrow 133-139 overtime loss to Detroit (Maurice Cheeks with his best game yet, dropping 38 points, 7 assists, and 10 rebounds) but in a great position looking forward at 42-36. They lost the first two games in April - one to Indiana, 83-101 as Ricky Sobers dropped 33, then the next to rival Detroit as 35 year old Pete Maravich hit a season high 36 - but went into the last game of the season having secured at least the 7th seed in the East, and with a win that night, the 6th. It was crunch time for the Cavaliers, and they were more than ready to step up to the plate.
Atlanta was good. They were 36-46, despite missing both John Drew and Reggie Theus for long stretches during the season to injury, and even worse we were playing in their turf at Omni Coliseum. John Drew had 13 points in the first half, pushing Calvin Natt into foul trouble early on and when Atlanta started the second half with a 57-51 lead, the Hawks fans started getting riled up. But, as was fitting for this year's team, help came from the bench yet again - Tate Armstrong went off, with 16 points in the 3rd quarter of his own, ultimately finishing with 24 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals as the Cavaliers escaped with a 117-97 point win. Irene Cara's "What a Feeling" echoed out into the stadium in the dwaning moments of that game, and the team absolutely embraced it. As Curtis Perry heaved up a shot with nine seconds left, the ball clanked off the rim and Bill Hanzlik caught the board, dribbling out the ball for the finish. The team had won - they were going into the post-season in 6th place. Not too shabby after all.
------ The The Plain Dealer, April 10th, 1983 ------
For Nate Thurmond, this post-season is absolutely essential for his team's success looking forward. "This is the best team we've had in years. These guys are at their absolute best right now - if we can't put up some competition now, how can we expect to moving forward?" He's not wrong; for many Cleveland fans, a history of failure is making it hard to get behind this exciting young team. Going into Monday's game, they face the New York Knicks, bolstered by the star power of Johnny Moore, Adrian Dantley, and Bob McAdoo (as well as a strong supporting cast, including starters Mike D'Antoni and Buck Williams as well as Kurt Rambis, Larry Smith, Tom Abernethy, Lonnie Shelton, and Junior Bridgeman) and are more or less expected to lose in a 4 game sweep. But can these guys show the crowd in the Big Apple what they're made of? Can they demonstrate the resolve to make the series exciting? Tune it to the game tonight, at 7:30, and find out! And stay posted for more future updates - I'm Andrew Williams, your Cleveland correspondant. Toodle loo.
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Game 1 exposed the exact weaknesses in the Cavs that Thurmond had been worried about. Dantley exposed Natt's weaknesses at every angle, holding him to just 6-14 shooting with no free throws drawn, while himself dropping an insane 51 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds in a personal playoff high. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, amidst the blowout loss, Nate Thurmond got so riled up on a missed call on Lever (who, in his defense, finished the game with a fairly impressive 14 points, 6 assists, and 12 rebounds) that he was ejected from the game, resulting in Rick Adelman finishing off the game as coach. Cleveland lost - 96-122 - and it hurt. Randy Smith punched a locker, denting it and hurting a finger, which was a pretty good way of describing the general feel for the team. In Game 2, the lead continued to escape them. Natt had just 9 points, Dantley finishing with 31, as New York ran away to a 113-89 win much to the pleasure of the roaring Madison Square Garden crowd. In an interview after, he had words for Calvin Natt. "You got a 4th year player taken 5th overall - above guys like Laimbeer, like Cartwright, like Moncrief - and sometimes they don't work out. Maybe they looked good in college, had that edge, and they just got shook. Natt? Yeah, he's out there... man, he's shook."
The words stung, but the team resolved to not let them mess with them. Game 3 was different - and like many games in this story, it's hero came from the bench. Tate Armstrong was selected 6th in 1977 and had never quite lived up to the expectations of being a lottery pick - he missed the All-Rookie team, he missed being selected for the Rookie-Sophomore game both years, and before this year, his NBA high for a season in points per game had been just 6.4 coming off the bench for New Jersey. While the ACL tear hadn't helped, simply put, he'd never been particularly good. But it wasn't for a lack of talent - all of his coaches said he had talent. He just never played with drive... except for when he had a chip on his shoulder. And when he exploded for a ridiculous 33 points off the bench that night in front of an ecstatic Richfield Coliseum crowd, there were chips aplenty. It was a god damn salsa massacre. The team rallied back, after beating outscored by New York 33-24 in the first, and ultimately escaped with a 114-102 win. In Game 4 the drive continued, Jeff Ruland stepping up to the plate with 32 points and 12 rebounds, but Tate once again doing his part with 18 off the bench as Cleveland tied the series 2-2 with a 102-83 point win.
Game 5 was essential - this was the make-or-break. Lever started off playing in excellent form, dropping three consecutive lay-ups in the first quarter to team up with Randy Smith for 17 in the first quarter between the two of them - but Dantley continued to humilate Natt. Not only did he hold him to 2-11 shooting (for 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) but he also dropped 36 himself on 12-18, along side 3 assists, 11 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal. New York outscored the Cavaliers 28-15 to pull away with a dominating 37 point lead, and by the end of the 4th quarter their bench was just humilating them. Cleveland lost 87-120 as the MSG crowd roared with enthusiasm - Game 6 would be back at home. Could they force a game 7?
Calvin Natt knew he needed to do something big here. In the days leading up to the game, he was a complete nervous wreck - Dantley had gotten into his head, and the whole team knew it. Nate Thurmond rode alone with him to the game, and while I don't know what they talked about, when Natt came into the room he was a new man. When I asked him how he was feeling, he looked me with absolute focus. "I'm ready to take this to 7."
New York started off strong. Natt was chasing Dantley around the court, holding him to just 2-5 shooting for the quarter, but Buck Williams was all over, posterizing Jeff Ruland late in the first to finish up the quarter with a 36-26 lead. Natt continued his excellent form in the second quarter, dropping 11 points including two threes, but still New York managed to push away as Johnny Moore danced around the court making play after play with his excellent pass-making abilities. In the third quarter, however, Natt got some relief - Kevin Grevey hit 4 pointers in just 7 minutes played, and as Natt continued to score, Cleveland snuck into their first lead of the game with a minute thirty three left in the 3rd, leading 97-95. The lead backed back and forth through-out the 4th as Dantley finally found his stroke, but when Natt made a beautiful play stealing the inbound pass from Moore (just his second turnover of the night) and slammed it home with just under thirty seconds left, Cleveland finally took a breath of relief. They were up 118-116 - this game was set. Natt had finished with 31 points, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists, committing just one foul while shooting 15-24. He looked up towards the crowd and thrust his fist in the air with an enormous roar.
And then Mike D'Antoni caught a beautiful pass from Johnny Moore in the corner and slammed home a three right on the buzzer. And just like that, Cleveland had lost. Dantley took some time during the celebration to walk over and talk to Natt, seemingly commending his performance, and the rest of the team sulked their way back into the locker room. The season was over.
I finished up my last day in Cleveland grabbing a drink with Nate Thurmond. Had the loss been disappointing? Definitely. But did it mean the season had been a failure? "Not at all. These guys need... no, -crave- an identity. And it's starting to come together. Maybe we're not the best in the league today, and maybe we won't be anytime soon - but watch out. Cleveland is coming for ya." I'm Connie Hawkins, and this is "Inside a Team - the Cleveland edition."