<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Starting this week, the Cavaliers' honeymoon is over. That doesn't refer to the end of the preseason. It means the end of their underdog status. No more will the expectations be reasonable for the Cavs and LeBron James; the bar set in the mediocrity of just making the playoffs. Not even the silver elite status of reaching the conference semifinals will be deemed appropriate. Those tickets have been punched and the pats on the backs awarded. Since James' arrival in 2003, the Cavs have constantly dealt with increasing expectations. But the target was always much bigger. Now they are expected to make the NBA's final four or it will be considered somewhat of a letdown, a spinning of the wheels. ``There's 16 teams that make the playoffs, there's only two that make the Finals,'' Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said this week. ``It's the hardest jump to make. The Cavs are on their way, but it isn't easy.'' Cuban's Mavs have won 50 games or more six consecutive seasons. But it wasn't until last season that they broke through to the NBA Finals. They've poured hundreds of millions into contracts, made numerous major trades and undergone more than one philosophical shift to get there. Some say the Cavs are being built in the Mavs' image. Though they've tried to use the San Antonio Spurs model to construct the roster and playing scheme, owner Dan Gilbert's big spending on free agents and player amenities mirrors fellow entrepreneur Cuban's tactics. The gregarious Cuban knows all too well the path the Cavs are on and smiles at his team's long ago lost innocence of being a little playoff team that could. It's the same club the Cavs are now in. ``We were always a team that didn't have this or that to become champions,'' Cuban said. ``Making the second round, as the Cavs did, is something to learn from. A lot of learning is what it takes.''</div> Source
It's true, prior to this season, the expectation was playoffs, and hopefully through to the second round. Thanks to their showing in the Eastern semi-finals, more is expected of them, and they can do it if they stay healthy and stay on-form. It will be an interesting season in Cleveland.
