Isiah Thomas Returns - Part Five?

Imagine for a moment that you own a business. In the past, this business had been rather successful, ranking near the top in it's respective field. However, the business has fallen upon hard times recently, and needs help to achieve it's former level of greatness. As such, you are looking for someone to lead the business back.

Amongst your candidates, there are people that have been successful in the type of business that you own, there is someone that has learned the position by working his way through the ranks, and then there is someone that destroyed the last four companies he has been a part of over the last ten years. Obviously, that last person is not someone you would seriously consider, right?

Unless, apparently, you happen to be the Detroit Pistons. Their present head coaching search is down to four people - Mike Woodson, Kelvin Sampson, Bill Laimbeer, and......Isiah Thomas. Yes, that Isiah Thomas. The same Isiah Thomas that managed to bankrupt the Continental Basketball Association two years after purchasing it. The Isiah Thomas that took a talented Pacers team that had just come off an NBA Finals appearance, yet was unable to get them past the first round. The same Isiah Thomas that ran the New York Knicks into the ground, both in the front office and as a coach - yet was almost brought back last year as an advisor. And yes, the same Isiah Thomas that is presently attempting to coach in college basketball without anything resembling success.

All of this does not take into account the various scandals that have marked his career either. From his attempts to freeze out Michael Jordan during the All-Star game, to his being sued for sexual harassment while with the Knicks, to his being hospitalized for an overdose of Lunesta (and trying to cover it up by claiming his daughter was the one getting the medical attention), to the Knicks having illegal workouts with draft prospects while he was in the front office, Thomas is toxic. Stay away at all costs.

We here at Mr. Dave's Sports Blog are aware that making fun of Isiah Thomas is roughly akin to beating up Helen Keller - too easy. Yet, despite his long list of failures, Thomas continually returns in the ranks of basketball. Either he has pictures of someone in the NBA that allow him to continue getting employment, or he is David Stern's version of the retarded kid that works at McDonald's washing dishes for $3.00 per hour. Nice to know that the NBA's favorite charity involves watching Thomas pretend to be a competent basketball coach/executive/towel boy while not having the capabilities to manage my cat.

So, Detroit, bring Isiah Thomas back as your coach at your own peril. Just expect failure at an epic level.

Not-so-lovable losers

With their 103-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers matched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mark with 26 consecutive losses. As horrible as that mark is, there are certain things to remember here. First, the Bucs were an expansion franchise when they lost their 26 in a row. The first ever draft choice of their franchise became a Hall of Fame player in Lee Roy Selmon. The Cavs have been around since the 1970-71 season, so they definitely do not have 'expansion franchise' as an excuse.

Second, the Cavs have a legitimately good head coach in Byron Scott. Scott led the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back finals appearances, and led the New Orleans Hornets to the playoffs twice. After the 2007-08 season, he was voted as the Coach of the Year. This is not some clueless excuse wearing a suit who is manning the sidelines in Cleveland. The situation, and losing streak, cannot be placed solely on him. He did not just wake up one day and forget how to be an effective head coach.

Third, the continued struggles of the Cavs actually make LeBron James look better. One of LeBron's chief complaints was that the Cavs front office was not putting enough talent around him to permit a legitimate shot at a championship. Jordan had Pippen. Kobe had Shaq and Pau Gasol. Bird had McHale and Parrish. Every star needs that second option. Cleveland gave LeBron a washed up Shaq, Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, and J.J. Hickson. No one on that list is going to be the second option for a title contending team. The fact that LeBron even got them to the finals once is looking more and more amazing as this season unfolds.

Going forward, the Cavs are not going to have an easy time of it. To quote Tracy McGrady: "You don't want to be the team that loses to them." Every team that goes out there and has the Cavs on their schedule is going to give them their best shot. Nothing will come easy for this squad.

Looking at the upcoming schedule, Friday night the Cavs face the Clippers. LA has played well as of late, and with the right moves, could end up being a playoff team in the next couple of years. This will probably be a loss, and set the record at 27 games straight. However, on Sunday, they face the Washington Wizards, who have not won on the road. If they are going to end this run of futility, this is where it will happen. One way or another, one of these streaks will come to an end.

As bad as this losing streak has been, the Cavs are not at an all-time worst record level. Presently, they sit on eight victories. One more lets them be no worse than the 9-73 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. At least they are not in jeopardy of reaching that mark. Yet.

In the end, it's going to be a long painful journey for any fans of the Cavs. This mess is going to take a long time to dig out from.