Till the death! The Cavs Best Rivalries

After playing nice with blogger for bit this evening, I won’t write much or keep you here long, but I do insist you leave your opinion of this 3 column look in the comments.

I caught this from washingtontimes.com while perusing Truehoop:

In an attempt to get fans to boo loudly when Boston’s Leon Powe was at the foul line, the scoreboard put up images of LeBron James, Kwame Brown, J.J. Redick in a Duke uniform and a Yankees logo

My first thought, obviously was pride and smirk at Lebron being vilified – more on that later. Then I wondered if the Cavs were the first with this gimmick a few years ago, or if not, who was.

Then I realized I was a bit confused. The Wizards play in Washington, right? That’s the Verizon Center?

I can understand Lebron. We trounce the Wizards when it counts, so he must be their arch-nemesis. And Kwame makes sense, too, though it’s a bit too malicious for my blood to hate a guy just because Michael Jordan thought he would be good.

But JJ Redick? And the Yankees?

First, Redick. Maybe I missed a few geography lessons, but is DC that close to tobacco road? Does any DC area team have a rivalry that approaches Duke-UNC? Georgetown? Is there another notable DC hoops squad? A quick Google search has the Hoyas beating Duke despite 41 from Redick not long ago. No reason for hate. So this just generic, then? The area is so lacking for rivals they can stick to cliche Duke hatred.

The Yankees make a little more sense. Not much more than 10 years ago the Orioles could muster 80 wins in a season, even make the playoffs, but the Yankees (and Indians!) were the ones moving on to the World Series. Some rivalry is inevitably perpetuated by 18 games each year, and the Yankees are the Yankees, but it’s sad that that is the best Washington can offer up.

How about going outside of sports instead? Throw up George W. Bush on half the Jumbotrons and Michael Moore or Hillary Clinton on the other. Or, as long as we’re getting political, put up a portrait of an old King of England and see if anybody catches on. Isn’t Cowboys/Redskins much more heated? Are there any local villains, like the old crack smoking mayor?

But back to Lebron vs. the Wizards…

Three years in a row seeing somebody get sent home definitely makes a rivalry, and we’re headed that way now. If we make it past Round 1, we move on to the Pistons, for another playoff series threepeat.

So for the first team, the Cavs are building a resume of rivalries. In the Mark Price era, there was always Michael Jordan, but that seemed quite one-sided. The Pistons peak came a few years early and despite a few epic playoff series’s with the Celtics, it always seemed like they have bigger fish to fry, like MJ or the Lakers.

How do the Cavs top 5 rivalries rank?

1. Detroit – This one is indisputable in my mind. Each of the past 2 years, the Cavs and Pistons provided the most intense playoff series’s in the East, peppered with historic showings like “Game 5″. Now, for the Cavs to repeat or improve on last year, they will likely need to go through the Pistons again. Similar the 20 years ago, the Pistons’s star has started to fade prematurely, but they’re done such a great job infusing youth, this rivalry, always Ohio and Michigan, should continue atop this list for a long time to come.

2. Washington – Playoff showdowns beget rivalries. So far this matchup has been one-sided, with the Wizards unable to get past the Cavs, but there’s still little doubt the gap is small. Honestly, I’ll confess I’m a bit scared of the Wizards in round 1. Nothing motivates like a chipped shoulder and DeShawn Stevenson seems to have something to prove against Lebron at every turn. Especially as we get closer and closer to the playoffs, this rivalry is solidified in the 2nd spot.

3. Chicago – It’s tough to have a rivalry when one team is awful (see: Orioles/Yankees). But remember, everybody was picking the Bulls to start the year and their rise from mediocrity has paralleled the Cavs. Besides, bad blood lasts a lifetime and I still wince every time I see The Shot. Even this year, with our schedule conveniently backloaded, each Bulls game was must watch, as Larry Hughes came out with something to prove and most every Cavs fan wanted to watch him fail.

4. Lakers – The Lakers don’t fit in here. Hell, we only play them twice each year. But this one is more personal. Until they’re both long retired, and even beyond, the debate will rage as to who is the better player/better scorer/MVP/funniest/smartest/best dressed/rapiest. Not only is each matchup with the Lakers a showdown, where all eyes fall to Lebron and Kobe for the entire 4th quarter as they go head to head, but even in the media, Kobe and Lebron compete with dueling 50 point games. Each time one explodes with an incredible outing, look to the highlights the following day for a riposte. Nothing short of the Finals will cement this rivalry, but with so much ink spilled about it, it can’t be disregarded.

5. Boston – This one is something of a wild card. Each game this season has been rather intense, but it’s still more a rivalry in the making. If these teams do meet finally meet in the playoffs for the first time in more than 15 years, it will be the matchup of best team versus best player. Besides, I hate Boston – and I know I’m not alone.

Honorable mention – Milwaukee, but it’s just not competitive enough.

With the ebb and flow of teams like the Celtics and Dwyane Wade’s Heat over the next few seasons, this list is likely to change. The best rivalries cause wounds that are not quick to heal, but they cut that deep because the emotion wrapped up in them can’t be spared for just any opposition.

Go Cavs!