Cavs feel a sense of satisfaction, but there’s still work to be done

CLEVELAND (AP) — The joyous ending, the one where confetti flies, champagne flows and floats parade through downtown streets — the finish Cleveland fans have waited more than 40 years to witness — will take place elsewhere.

It always does.

A championship trophy was finally handed out in this title-famished town, and the winners took it home — with their broom.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers were simply swept aside in their first trip to the NBA finals.

They couldn’t stop the San Antonio Spurs’ drive to a dynasty, and Friday the Cavaliers met for the final time at Quicken Loans Arena following the greatest season in franchise history.

It was a season to savor. After all, they waited 37 years to make the finals. With James around, it’s safe to assume they’ll get back before 2044.

No Cavs team ever went as far, and while there was a sense of satisfaction in winning their first Eastern Conference title, some of the good vibes were tinged with a mix of uncertainty about the what lies ahead.

Making the finals once doesn’t assure it will happen again, and as construction crews dismantled a gigantic replica of the shiny Larry O’Brien Trophy that stood guard outside the arena for four days, the Cavaliers had a chance to reflect.

“We came up short,” center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “Sometimes you have to go through growing pains. There is no guarantee we will make it back but I like our chances. It makes you realize how tough it is to take the last step to win a championship.”

Tough series

James stumbled in his initial steps toward one.

After soaring past Detroit in the conference finals, James was grounded by the Spurs, whose defense was unlike anything he had ever faced before. The 22-year-old never came close to taking over as he did against the Pistons.

Hounded by Spurs stopper Bruce Bowen, James couldn’t get his outside jumper to fall and he concluded the series with a miserable 10-of-30 outing in Game 4. He also had nearly as many turnovers (23) in the finals as assists (27) or rebounds (28).

Following Game 4, James didn’t disguise his disappointment and humbly vowed to improve.

“Everybody has to be better coming into next season,” he said. “I have to be 10 times better. Our team has to be 10 times better.”

Coach Mike Brown feels James, who became a father for the second time Thursday, will be fueled by his sub-par finals showing.

“He knows he can play better than that, and he knows he can get better,” Brown said. “He’s a guy who doesn’t like to fail and doesn’t like to lose. He doesn’t like second place — or anything worse — and that in itself is motivating enough for him to say, ‘There are some things that I need to work on in order to help my team reach the ultimate goal, to win a championship.’ ”

Work in progress

For all that went right for the Cavs this season, they remain a work in progress. Their lack of a true point guard was evident in their inability to push the tempo. It was only when Larry Hughes moved over from shooting guard that Cleveland’s offense began to click. But a painful foot injury slowed Hughes in the playoffs and eventually sidelined him for Games 3 and 4.

“I think this experience for LeBron in the playoffs was unbelievable,” general manager Danny Ferry said. “You really saw him improve in the Detroit series, just in how he saw the game and the pace he played. His growth in that series was impressive.

“As a team we didn’t play well against the Spurs. It wasn’t him it was all of us, and that’s the next level of growth.”