The most important win of the year so far?

Could be. The Cavs were faced with the prospect of going 2-5 on this road trip. That single-handedly would have suggested that they've made little progress since two years ago, when they tanked in the second half and didn't make the playoffs at all. It would have put them out of first place in the East, and in the division too. It would have given them a demoralizing 4-game losing streak.

As it is, they went 3-4. Not great. Strongly suggestive of the fact that this team is not yet a true contender due to its lackluster road game. But also not ruinous. Not even bad, really. I said at the start that 3 wins would be satisfactory on this trip, and I still feel that it's true. The Warriors game also continued a trend of winning from behind, a relatively new ability for the Cavs. Not that I like that kind of scare, but it's an important playoff tool to have.

3-4 also kept the Cavs on a 50 win pace, which is crucial. They need to be winning more and more games each season in the regular season to give themselves an easier time in the playoffs, and I don't want to see that upward trend stop. They won 50 last year; I'd like 52 or 53 this year.

Their next three games are against Orlando, Philly ... and then Philly again. That should be three wins, no questions asked. If they go 2-1 I'll grit my teeth a bit and deal with it. Orlando, in spite of their recent struggles, is a good team, and they match up well against the Cavs. But this is sort of a gimme situation, what with the homecoming tomorrow and two straight games against the NBA's worst after that. This is the kind of opportunity good teams eat up. 27-16 would be wonderful. It would put them on pace for 52, and would be important to shore up their record before two tough but winnable games against Phoenix at home and Miami (presumably with Shaq) on the road. I would *love* to see a win against Phoenix, and I don't think it's impossible given the Cavs' generally excellent record at Richfield Colosseum (where they play) and the strength of the NBA's revenge culture that I articulated in an earlier post. It would require nothing short of a career game from Lebron, but that's not unimgainable given the Suns' mediocre D. (I know they played good D in the last game, but it's really not their norm.)

Interested to hear Jake and Phoebe's comments on last night's game, since I didn't see it.