Hanging from the Rafters - Cleveland Cavaliers

One thing that I might not have made clear in my intro to this series of posts is that the point of running these is to establish a consistent, uniform basis of requirements for all teams by which a jersey should be retired. Right now, it's all a hodgepodge of what each team wants to do, and consequently, a guy who did great for one team might not get his jersey retired even though 25 other teams would gladly put it up there. For example, the Lakers and Knicks only retire Hall of Famers, the Celtics will retire just about anyone who's won a title or two, the Cavs will retire anyone they feel like. So, the point of this is, "if every team had the same rules, who would we see hanging from the rafters." I may adjust the requirements when all is said and done and we can look at who we have and haven't retired, but for right now, it's just an exercise in making sure equal accomplishments result in equal honors.


Anyway, I bring this up now because the Cavs have retired a lot of jerseys. Way more than you'd expect. But I imagine they won't be retiring LeBron's any time soon. Even though he's far and away the best player that's ever played for the franchise. He will be on this list. And the above paragraph explains why.

(#9) Cavaliers - (#8) Bucks Series

Well, after watching that Miami-Cleveland game, I have a feeling I know how Cavs fans are going to feel about this (and it won't be fondly nostalgic), but LeBron is on the Cavs roster. Best player on it, actually. By quite a bit. And he will be until he accumulates more career accomplishments with the Heat. Which could take a while. But maybe you'll all get lucky and see the Bucks knock them off in this round and won't have to watch any more games with LeBron associated with your team. (Side note: If there actually are any Cleveland fans reading this, do you want to see your team do well and advance as far as possible in this? Or would you just rather see LeBron lose? Please leave a comment. I'm curious. I have a feeling it's mixed feelings either way.) Also, a really interesting note to see how this plays out: the Bucks have neither a true point guard nor a true center. (They have 7 shooting guards, 3 small forwards, and 2 power forwards.) I have no idea how that's going to work. On to the games!

Cleveland Cavaliers Ultimate Roster

Cleveland Cavaliers, 818.8 rating, 18th overall (9th seed in East)


1. LeBron James (320.6 rating)
2. Mark Price (107.3)
3. Brad Daugherty (97.7)
4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (65.7)
5. Larry Nance (53.3)
6. Terrell Brandon (35.2)
7. Hot Rod Williams (32.0)
8. Austin Carr (26.5)
9. Campy Russell (23.5)
10. Tyrone Hill (20.5)
11. Anderson Varejao (20.2)
12. Mo Williams (16.3)