Throughout last night’s Eastern Conference Semifinal game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, a pretty noticeable trend was taking place on Twitter. The Cavs, coming off a long period of rest, looked sluggish and sloppy, allowing Chicago to run off a 21-8 lead almost immediately. A team which many were labeling as title contenders looked out of sorts in every imaginable way, and suddenly Cleveland appeared to be in serious trouble.
During all of this, littered among my Twitter timeline were various messages to Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk, none of them repeatable. As we know, Olynyk is notorious in Cleveland these days after yanking on Kevin Love’s shoulder during Game 4 of the opening round, dislocating it and effectively ending his year. Naturally, seeing the Cavs go down in their first game against the Bulls, some fans feel Olynyk is to blame since a crucial piece to the roster is missing because of him.
My advice to these fans who are still hate-tweeting the Boston big man is simple: get over it.
Is it incredibly unfortunate Love’s season – and potentially Cleveland’s title hopes – came to an end thanks to Olynyk committing what could hardly be deemed a “basketball play?” Absolutely. But, what’s done is done. Cursing out players from last round isn’t bringing Love back. The Cavs have moved on, and so should you.
One of the biggest reasons why nobody should be focusing on Olynyk, though, is the fact Cleveland’s Game 1 defeat had very little to do with Love’s absence.
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