Advice For All Cavs Fans When It Comes To Navigating A Historic NBA Season

As Tate broke down earlier today, the Cavs are just the 8th team in NBA history to start a season 12-0. All signs (barring injury) are pointing to the Cavs having a historic 2024-25 season, which is definitely an exciting time for that fanbase. At this point, there's nothing wrong with dreaming of breaking the all-time record, deep playoff runs, all that shit. That's the beauty of being in a position like this.

Seeing as how I'm coming off the experience of watching my favorite team complete one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history (fact, not opinion), I figured given the Cavs start now is a perfect time to help Cavs fans both adjust to and deal with their new basketball world. After 8+ months of basketball nirvana, I learned a few things that I think every Cavs fan should make sure to embrace. 

Let's begin.

1. Apologize for absolutely nothing

When the Celts were officially starting their run last year (11-2 start), you heard a lot of the same shit I'm sure Cavs fans are hearing today:

"This isn't sustainable"

"Who have they even played?"

"They'll come crashing back down to earth"

"Who cares about November, show it in the playoffs"

"Fakest start of all time"

It's all bullshit. It comes from opposing fanbases who are not only threatened by you, but they're just projecting because chances are their favorite team is dogshit. Here's the reality. The Cavs don't get to pick and choose who to play. They play who is on the schedule and they make sure to handle their business regardless of who it is. Does it matter that 10 of their 12 wins are against teams under .500? Nope. Sure doesn't. All-time historic teams make sure to handle their shit against bad teams. The 2024 Celts went 30-3 against teams under .500. If anything, it shows you that your team is mentally locked in and doesn't overlook any opponent no matter when the games take place, which is a HUGE piece of the historic season puzzle. 

People will try to use this as a way to discredit what the Cavs are doing, but it actually shows strength.

2. Women lie, men lie, facts don't

When you're winning at a historic pace, you will see that there will be some who try and bend over backward to suggest what they are seeing isn't real. This happens because they are unable to get past what they "feel" should be happening and accept what is "actually" happening on the court. Maybe they weren't high on the Cavs heading into the season, which in turn has clouded their judgment and made them unable to accept reality. Maybe after years of coming up short, people might not understand that every season is a new organism and past performance doesn't mean shit for THIS specific group.

This is why the best thing you can do is simply go by the facts, not the feelings. Factually, the Cavs are currently checking off every box. Their point differential of +12.0 is 2nd in the NBA and is at the moment, the highest point differential in NBA history. That is fact, not opinion. 

Offensively, the Cavs own the #1 offense in the NBA. Defensively, they're 9th. In terms of net rating, they're 3rd. If this were to happen with say…the Lakers, what do we think the narrative would be? That they are the best team in basketball right? For the Cavs to have a historic season, this is where they need to live (defense needs to get into the top 5). A top 5 offense, defense, and net rating combined with a historic point differential is the formula, so when people try and discredit the Cavs on the floor, use the facts to your advantage. There's simply no disputing facts, as much as there will be some who try. They can cry about it all they want, but the production is the production.

3. No matter what you do, do not take this level of basketball for granted

This isn't really about combating the haters and losers of which there will be many, this is about you, the Cavs fan. When you start entering the conversations that the Cavs are beginning to enter, you have to take it all in and appreciate every moment. I'm a firm believer that as a NBA fan, you're lucky to get a truly historic season just once in your lifetime unless your favorite team employs Prime MJ (it doesn't). That was the 2023-24 Celts season for me, and even though they look to be just as good this year, chances are they most likely won't achieve all of this again

If you go back to the Warriors Dynasty, there were obviously multiple dominant championship seasons during that run, but nothing was ever quite as dominant as the 2017 season (2nd best point differential ever).

Cavs fans have certainly had their fair share of fairytale seasons, but deep down you know how brutal things initially got post-LeBron. A season like this is why you go through the hardships, and if you show the Basketball Gods proper respect and appreciation for what's happening, they will reward you. I am living proof. 

4. It's not your problem that the Cavs play in the East and not the West

Sort of along the lines of #1, this is something you're going to hear a lot of over the next 8 months if the Cavs continue to play at this level

"Yeah, but they wouldn't be doing this in the West!"

Says who? So far, the Cavs are 3-0 against the West with wins over the Lakers, Warriors, and Pelicans. I remember hearing this all the time last year, that the Celts really only benefitted from being in a shitty conference. Sound familiar? All they did was go 23-7 vs the West (best winning percentage in the NBA).

You'll hear this mostly from fanbases of good teams in the West that have a good record yet are floating around in the Play In. Luckily, this isn't your problem. Your focus is on what you can control. If you're legit, it doesn't matter which team from the West you may face. Last year we were told the Mavs were going to walk to a title because they made it out of the big bad West, and then they ran into a truly historic team and got dogwalked in the Finals.

If you're a historically dominant team, conferences do not matter. Opponents do not matter. Never let anyone make you feel otherwise. 

5. The more you win, nothing will matter without the title. Embrace the pressure.

This is the "hardest" part of your journey. As fun as things will get as you continue to stack Ws and have historic production, deep down the truth is nothing will matter if you don't finish it off with a ring. A deep run into he ECF? Nope. Not good enough. Making the Finals and losing? Sorry, still not good enough.

If you want to have a truly historic season, you need to be the last team standing. Last season, the two options for the Celts were

1. The biggest choke job in NBA history if they blew the title

2. One of the most dominant seasons ever if they won the title

There was no in-between. The more the Cavs win, the more this pressure will build. My advice would be to embrace it. I loved that the Celts had a "can't lose a game" tax last year (and this year too). It means you're for real. Throughout the year once you experience winning at around an .800 level, you'll rightfully be thinking about a title. Once that happens, that has to become the expectation to the point where anything else is a failure. Don't be scared to jump in the pool, trust the facts.

6. The 40/20 rule is your new bible

This is pretty straightforward and what every Cavs fan should be monitoring from here on out. If you want to win the NBA title you HAVE to check the 40/20 box (40 wins before 20 losses). Go back every season for the past 60 years, and about 98% of the teams that won the title hit that mark. To put it simply, you cannot be a true contender without it. NBA history is NBA history and until you get that 40th win before the 20th loss, nothing else about your season matters. 

Now, hitting the 40/20 rule does not guarantee the title (see: 2023 Celtics, 2024 Nuggets/Wolves etc) but it pretty much guarantees you won't win it if you don't do it. The good news is historically dominant teams have no issues securing the 40/20 rule, but just remember nothing else matters if you don't.

Hopefully, after last year's season being filled with brutal injuries to key guys the Cavs we're seeing now will be the Cavs we get to watch all year because objectively, they've been fun as hell. Does that eventually add up to one of the most dominant season in NBA history?

That's what we're eventually going to find out.