BOSTON — The Cavaliers gave another fine demonstration Wednesday of what might have been.
They had the makings of a lottery-ready losing team this season, if only LeBron James, their guard-forward-center-and-sometimes-coach, had not disrupted their listless rhythms with galactic level displays of scoring, rebounding and passing.
On this night in Boston when James was merely human and merely led both teams in scoring, the Cavaliers swerved wildly this way and that before pitching into a deep ditch, losing 96-83.
With Game 6 set for Cleveland on Friday night, the Cavaliers are one more loss removed from booking beach bungalows, and, save for James and perhaps one or two other Cavaliers, who could quibble that they have earned their vacation time?