It was the kind of season Cavaliers fans dreamed about for almost four decades and expected when

It was the kind of season Cavaliers fans dreamed about for almost four decades and expected when phenom LeBron James first joined the team.

Cleveland showed defensive intensity that led it to its first Eastern Conference title in the franchise’s 37-year history. The Cavs finished the season with a 50-32 record, finishing second to the Detroit Pistons in the Central Division.

The Cavs opened the playoffs with a four-game sweep of the injury-prone Washington Wizards, then knocked out the New Jersey Nets in six games, setting up a showdown with the Detroit Pistons for the Eastern Conference title.

Cleveland lost the first two games of the series in Detroit, then won Games 3 and 4 at home to even the series. James carried the Cavs to a double overtime win in the pivotal Game 5, scoring 48 points, and Cleveland closed out the series two nights later.

In the finals, James was grounded by the Spurs, whose defense was unlike anything he’d ever faced before. The 22-year-old never came close to taking over as he did against the Pistons as Cleveland was swept in four games.

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 in Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena.

He also had nearly as many turnovers (23) in the finals as assists (27) or rebounds (28).

Granted, a painful foot injury slowed point guard Larry Hughes in the playoffs and eventually sidelined him for Games 3 and 4.

In October, the Cavs reach agreement with swingman Sasha Pavlovic, one of two restricted free agents to miss training camp in contract disputes. The other was Anderson Varejao, who was a late holdout.