Commentary: Injuries, disappointment ... just another year for the Cavs

You may or may not have seen this, but either way, it's worth pondering now, on the eve of the NBA Playoffs: The Athletic has voted the Cavs as the runner-up to the Orlando Magic as the NBA's Most Frustrating team. Congratulations, gentlemen! There will be no dissent in these parts on the validity of that observation, which so many Cavs fans have had to endure throughout this Cavs season which, at various times, ranged from "Oh, no! Not again!" to "another injury?" Yawn! Are you kidding me? As it turns out, nobody is kidding anybody on, or near, the Good Ship Kenny Atkinson, which has had more than its share of injuries, double dribbles, turnovers and air balls in this, the season that was supposed to be better, but only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This was the season, especially after the mighty haymaker that Cavs officials dropped on the rest of the league with the acquisition of James Harden, when the Cavs were supposed to become one of the leaders of the pack. Instead, they were just the Cavs. That was the day that should have been the day that made us all forget all the other days that seemed destined for bigger things than were actually delivered. Indeed, as we sit here today on the eve of the start of another Cavs expedition into the ominous "play-in-or-play-out" journey that this frustrating team so frequently brokered in this season, we are left with countless questions that Cavs fans everywhere wrestled with, both good and bad. What seemed like, at the start of the season, a team destined for hoops destiny, a mere trampoline away, or an experienced mid-season point guard acquisition acquired to specifically lead the way to the promised land, in concert with the other all-pro point guard, who seemed a sure thing to be able to play with the big dogs in this season's hoop-a-palooza. All the ingredients were there for a potential magical run to a magical place that few, if any, Cavs fans had ever visited. There still may be some room at the inn, but only time will tell. Personnel-wise, all-pro-wise from playing with the big dogs in the big tournament, this was a potential Cleveland sports parade to top all previous Cleveland sports parades. But then, before the parade even started, there emerged questions without answers. You know, the kind of questions Cleveland sports teams too frequently fail to answer. Questions like this: What's with all the injuries? When is enough enough? Aren't the Cavs there yet? If not, why not? Are they all injured? That's the way it seemed during the regular season. The fans at home would turn on their TVs but couldn't recognize half the players on the court, or on the bench. The game started, and all the Cavs' injured players sprinted for their seats on the sidelines. This is a team that has spent most of this season waiting to become as good a basketball team as any in the NBA. Then the season started, and so did the injuries. If nothing else, on paper — and even the paper looked like it was in a bad mood — who could blame them? Even coach Kenny Atkinson, who seemingly won more coaches challenges than you could shake a stick at, seemed to lose his spunk as the season wore on. At no time this season did it look like the Cavs were hitting on all cylinders. It almost looked like nobody knew where the cylinders were. Injuries? Are you kidding? The Cavs not only had injuries, their injuries had injuries. Whenever it seemed like they were in a good place physically, nobody could find them. When they did, nobody was sure where they were. This season's Cavs team was a party waiting to happen, but nobody told them where, or when. There were days when the entire team seemed injured, and games when the entire team seemed lost. How can one team look so consistently good on paper, and so consistently injured everywhere else? With the Cavs this year, it was always something on the injury front. When it seemed like they were in a good place, nobody could find them. Or, at least, nobody could find where their victories had gone. They hung tough in the standings, but not so much when it came to injuries. The injuries were everywhere, always. Thus, the season that started with such impressive grandeur, only to be re-routed through the injury jungle that has seemingly hampered this team, this city, forever, marches on. They do so not yet as an NBA champion, but rather as, in the eyes of some, The NBA's Most Frustrating Team. Cheer up! Everybody is good at something. Contact Jim Ingraham at (440) 329-7135 or jingraham4@gmail.com.