Well, let me tell you ’bout them 2002 Cavs, bless their hearts. They weren’t exactly the cream of the crop, you know? Seventeen wins and sixty-five losses. Lord have mercy, that’s a whole lotta losin’. Heard tell they finished dead last, or near ’bout, in their division. Someone said somethin’ ’bout Central Division, whatever that means. Sounded important, though.
Now, I ain’t no basketball expert, mind you. But even I could see they was havin’ a rough time. They had this fella, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, big ol’ fella, played center, I think. He was always out there, tryin’ his best. Bless his heart, he played in all 81 games. Folks said he was good, but one fella can’t carry a whole team, can he?
- There was this other young’un, Carlos Boozer. He played power forward, or somethin’ like that. He was alright, played in 81 games too. But he was just a youngster then, still learnin’ the ropes.
- And then there’s Ricky Davis, played guard, I think. He was in most of the games too, 79 of ’em. Always runnin’ around, tryin’ to score. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn’t. That’s basketball for ya, I guess.
They had a bunch of other fellas, too. Jumaine Jones, he was a forward, played in 80 games. Seemed like a nice boy. But like I said, winnin’ wasn’t their strong suit that year. They had two coaches, can you believe it? First, it was this John Lucas fella, then they got Keith Smart. Didn’t seem to make much difference, though. Still lost a whole heap of games.
Folks kept talkin’ ’bout the draft, somethin’ ’bout pickin’ new players. Said they picked this Trajan Langdon fella back in ’99, but I don’t rightly know what happened to him. Maybe he wasn’t good enough, maybe he got hurt, who knows? These young fellas, they come and go so fast, it’s hard to keep track.
I remember hearin’ folks sayin’ they needed more help, needed better players. But gettin’ good players ain’t easy, you know? Takes money, takes luck, takes a whole lotta things. And them Cavs, well, they didn’t have much of any of that in 2002, it seemed.
They played hard, though, I’ll give ’em that. Always runnin’ up and down the court, sweatin’ and grunting. Sometimes they’d get close, almost win, get your hopes up. Then they’d lose, and you’d just sigh and shake your head. But that’s life, ain’t it? You win some, you lose a whole lot more, especially if you’re them 2002 Cavs.
Now, I don’t know what happened to all them fellas after that season. Some probably went on to other teams, some probably quit playin’ altogether. But I reckon they learned somethin’ from that rough year. Learned about losin’, learned about tryin’, learned about stickin’ together even when things get tough. And that’s worth somethin’, even if it don’t get you many wins.
So, there you have it. My take on them 2002 Cavs. Not much to brag about, winnin’-wise, but they were a team, and they tried their best. And sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.
Tags：[Cleveland Cavaliers, 2002-2003, NBA, Roster, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Carlos Boozer, Ricky Davis, Jumaine Jones, John Lucas, Keith Smart, Trajan Langdon, Basketball, Central Division]
