The Cavaliers’ legacy, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell’s future could all change with a backlash as originally reported by The Sporting News. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
Just as the basketball hangs in the air, so does much of the future and legacy.
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RJ Barrett’s overtime shot fell back to the floor and probably missed. It could get James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and the Cleveland Cavaliers off the hook. It could have avoided becoming another “fill in the blanks” in Cleveland sports history.
But then it went in. This is called “bounce”. It might have changed everything.
The difference with this Cavaliers shot is there’s another game. This is the sixth game. That night, the Cavaliers led the series 3-2.
If Cleveland can take care of things at home in Game 7, it won’t matter. But that’s a big assumption right now.
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Harden’s current record in Game 6 of the playoffs is 4-13, the worst record in history. Mitchell’s postseason winning record isn’t much better.
These guys have yet to prove they can play the biggest game on the biggest stage. Now they were backed into a corner where they had to be.
If they don’t, it’s impossible to predict what will happen next. There will be trade rumors, fans calling for the backcourt to be broken up, or the frontcourt to be broken up, or both.
This was supposed to be a big season for the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics were supposed to lose. The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers are both behind.
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Maybe the Cavaliers can still do it. Like we said, they’ll get a chance to do it again, a chance to make sure “The Bounce” doesn’t become infamous in Cleveland sports history.
But what if they can’t? Following “The Shot,” Michael Jordan defeated the Mark Price-led Cavaliers in 1989, eliminating the Cleveland Cavaliers and essentially keeping them out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture until LeBron arrived.
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These Cavaliers can still have a bright future, but there are only so many times a team can lose in the first two rounds. And the number of times a Cleveland seed has lost to a team that doesn’t even have home-field advantage is rare.
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The Cavaliers were on the verge of collapse, all because the back rim was in a high-bouncing position just enough to get the ball through the rim.
Will Cavaliers fans remember the bounce for years to come? It all depends on how Game 7 goes.