INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Their greatest regular season complete and another, more important campaign dawning, the Cavaliers unveiled their new playoff logo and theme Thursday.
The two-word motto: One Goal.
It’s been the mantra of Cleveland’s players for some time.
“Since Day One,” guard Mo Williams said.
The Cavaliers shattered nearly every team record on their way to 66 wins, a 39-2 home record, a second Central Division title and the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs. They were the best team in the Eastern Conference, maybe in the entire league.
None of that matters anymore.
“The records go out the window,” LeBron James said. “Everyone is zero and zero.”
From here out, it’s NBA championship or bust.
“That’s the only thing we’re playing for,” Williams said.
With a chance to match the 1985-86 Celtics’ home record of 40-1 on Wednesday night, the Cavs, who will face the eighth-seeded Pistons in the first round, instead sat James, Williams, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Joe Smith for their regular-season finale against the 76ers to get some extra rest for the postseason.
There’s no time for risky behavior anymore. One injury or one slip-up in a series, and six months of hard work can go down the drain.
Coach Mike Brown ordered his players to report to their training facility for a 4 p.m. film session Thursday followed by a noncontact workout. That was followed by an evening break, more videotape and then the team’s annual playoff dinner, a tradition Brown started four years ago.
Brown said he didn’t expect center Ben Wallace to be ready for today’s series opener against the Pistons. Wallace missed Cleveland’s final two games with a sprained patellar tendon in his left knee.
“I’m not getting my hopes up,” Brown said. “Right now, I’m not expecting him to (play).”
There was a more businesslike feel in the gym when the doors were opened for media members. The usual loud chatter among the players was replaced by a quiet calm as the sound of basketballs thudding the floor dominated.
James and a few teammates worked on some trick shots afterward.
Tarence Kinsey bounced a ball off a side wall and sent it through the hoop, a basket that forced James to try matching or besting him — which he couldn’t do.
James showered and dressed before speaking with reporters. On his way over to the assembled group, he turned his New York Yankees cap around backward, fully aware that the overlaid NY logo would be greeted with some trash talk after his beloved Bronx Bombers were pounded 10-2 by the Cleveland Indians in the opening game at the new, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium.
Coming off his best season, one that could earn him his first MVP award, James has never felt better physically or mentally. With the Cavs blowing out teams regularly, the 24-year-old averaged just 37.7 minutes per game, nearly two minutes less than his previous career high.
He’s rested and ready for a title run.
“I’m more of a complete basketball player going into these playoffs than I have been in my career,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge to see how defenses are going to guard me.
“It’s going to be tough for a lot of defenses because of the firepower we have and the confidence that I’m playing with.”
This will be the third time in four years that the Cavaliers and Pistons have met in the postseason. Cleveland has won the two previous matchups, and is expected to advance again.
James isn’t looking past the Pistons, whose experience can make them dangerous.
“We don’t go into the series not giving them a shot,” he said. “We’ve had battles with Detroit. We know how powerful that team is and we know what they are capable of. We’re going into the series like it’s anybody’s. If we don’t go in and play the right way, we can easily lose.”
