CLEVELAND: Twenty-nine thoughts for 29 points from Kyrie Irving in the Cavs’ 117-88 win against the New York Knicks on Tuesday’s ring night celebration…
1. This night, this championship night, began with a deadman and ended with a king. And in between were tears. Lots of tears. From LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith, among others. Tears, kings and an undertaker. Sounds about right.
2. The night Cleveland had anticipated for four months – or 52 years, depending on your perspective – exceeded the anticipation. James wiped away tears after addressing the crowd, Irving cried when he hugged his father and J.R. cried because J.R. cries. He’s emotional. It’s cool.
3. “Our fans deserve everything they got tonight and everything that’s going to come in the future,” James said. “They’ve been supportive of all the sports here and especially us, so it’s great to have a moment like that tonight.”
4. Irving ran off the floor after he received his ring and broke down as he hugged his father, who raised him as a single father from the time Kyrie was 4. Irving is giving his championship ring to his father, Drederick.
5. “We just have a very, very unique relationship which goes deeper than almost life itself,” Irving said. “Just a culmination of a lot of emotions as a kid kind of watching him sacrifice as much as possible to allow me to have the freedom to play basketball every single day, but also understanding how basketball correlates to life and vice versa. How he always related it back to me being an even better man every single day. It was a total 180 thinking how far we both have come. It’s just very, very, very fulfilling in terms of giving it to him and I’m glad he got it.”
6. Then there is Smith, who broke down on the podium sobbing the night the Cavs won the championship. A lot of those same thoughts and emotions welled up inside him again Tuesday.
7. “I thought about my wife, thought about my kids. I want them to be able to be proud of the man I am,” Smith said. “I thought about my parents and the person they raised. Them taking me to practice every, single day. Going outside in the backyard beating my brother up playing one-on-one and so many memories that took me to get to this point and I just tried to cherish it as much as I can.”
8. The evening got off to a fascinating start when the Undertaker showed up with his wife, Michelle McCool, along with the Ultimate Warrior’s widow, Dana, and their daughter. The Undertaker, whose real name is Mark Calaway, told me he was there to meet James because LeBron wore his t-shirt to practice prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Calaway had never met James. Dana Warrior also made the trip because James stepped off the plane following the Cavs’ championship victory wearing a blue “Ultimate Warrior” t-shirt.
9. Much was made about James’ “Ultimate Warrior” fashion choice over the summer, considering that just hours earlier, the Cavs rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take down the Warriors, but James has insisted it was a coincidence. Believe what you will. Anyway, the scenario outside the Cavs locker room seemed disjointed because no one from the wrestling family ever met James.
10. Calaway waited outside the Cavs’ locker room. And waited. And waited. Cavs center Chris Andersen walked by a couple of times and gave Calaway a big hug. So did Tristan Thompson. Kevin Love, a big wrestling fan who wore an “Austin 3:16” shirt during the playoffs, apparently stepped in for LeBron and posed for pictures with the wrestlers. Dana Warrior also presented him with the WWE championship belt and thanked him for carrying on her late husband’s legacy (even though James was the one who wore the shirt).
11. Undertaker posed for more pictures with some of the Cavs’ staff, including General Manager David Griffin, and then he filmed a promo for the team’s future use. Calaway told me he was changing out of wardrobe and sticking around to watch the game, but he wasn’t a postgame guest in the locker room and it didn’t seem as if he and James ever connected. When I asked LeBron in the locker room before the game if he had met Undertaker, James said he arrived at the arena earlier than usual and didn’t know what I was talking about. The whole thing was … strange.
12. As for the game itself, James finished with 19 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his 43rd career (regular season) triple-double. It’s also his second triple-double in as many games since he also had one in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
13. James was fantastic, effortlessly gliding across the floor for six dunks, according to ESPN Stats & Info. James insisted all last season he felt great and he maintained in this camp his body feels good. He certainly showed it. Tyronn Lue said James was tested over the summer and he has the body and bones of a 19-year-old.
14. “Maybe he’s getting younger. Benjamin Button,” Lue joked. “Maybe he’s going backwards.”
15. Lue wasn’t sure of the details regarding the test and neither did anyone else, including James. One theory that was floated was that it happened on Nike’s campus. Regardless, this mysterious test medically indicated what the eyes could plainly see: James is still in terrific shape – the prime of his career.
16. One cause for concern was how Iman Shumpert had to be helped to the locker room by James Jones and trainer Steve Spiro during the second half. Shumpert was weak in the knees after taking a blow to the head and is likely headed for the NBA’s concussion protocol – giving the Cavs two guards in the program. They are quickly running out of point guards.
17. Lue remains hopeful that rookie Kay Felder could be cleared from the protocol in time to play Friday at Toronto. Felder was put through some drills following the team’s morning shootaround Tuesday, but Lue didn’t have any definitive answers yet. Shumpert was expected to be the primary backup, even though he hasn’t played the position consistently since college. If Shumpert and Felder are both out for an extended period of time, combo guard DeAndre Liggins is next up.
18. Each player had an enormous 3-liter bottle of Moet and Chandon champagne in their locker, including a wooden box to transport it. It was the same champagne the players sprayed all over each other in the locker room at Oracle Arena, only these bottles were about three times the size. The players had their names embroidered on the bottles as well.
19. It was the exact same setup that owner Dan Gilbert and his business partners, Jeff Cohen and Nate Forbes, had during last year’s championship celebration. Cohen told me the night of the victory that the champagne company sent each owner a massive bottle when James returned to Cleveland. They decided to wait until the franchise won a championship before opening them. Cohen told me they were opening the 3-liter bottles on the plane. Now each player has a bottle of his own.
20. Of all the stories Lue heard during his summer celebration tour, the one that stood out to him occurred in Las Vegas when a man and his son approached. The man’s father had been a big Cleveland sports fan before he died.
21. “You don’t understand how much this means to the city of Cleveland,” the man told Lue. “My dad is not alive, but he’s supported all three sports every year. It’s so sad he’s not here to see this. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done for the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio.”
22. Then the man broke down crying. “That was one of the best moments I experienced this summer,” Lue said.
23. One down, 81 to go. The fact the Cavs kept their poise and emotions in check on such an electric night was a credit to them. The fact the Knicks looked like a disjointed mess certainly helped, too.
24. “We just got our asses kicked,” Knicks center Joakim Noah said and he’s right. Noah and Courtney Lee, two of the Knicks’ new additions, combined to go scoreless in 39 minutes on the floor.
25. Noah has long been a villain in Cleveland after he ripped the city during the 2010 playoffs. He still isn’t backing down, although he gave Cleveland fans a back-handed compliment before Tuesday’s opener.
26. “Congratulations to Cleveland,” Noah said. “Even though it’s not a vacation spot, you guys got a championship. It’s well deserved.”
27. Special shoutout to my former colleague Chris Haynes, who is now at ESPN covering the Warriors. Haynes missed out on ring night to watch the mighty Warriors get trounced by the Spurs, 129-100 in their opener.
28. Haynes will be missed, and not just because he made us pose for those ridiculous pictures that mimicked Cavs players.
29. Good to be back. Talk to you Friday from Air Canada Centre.