Welcome to the great settling, Cavs fans. After watching one of the most exciting (Western) Conference Finals in history, we await the start of the NBA finals, and lament what could have been if the Cavs had only held on in Game 1. After the biggest fourth quarter playoff collapse in team history, and one of the two worst in NBA History, neither the Cavs front office, roster, or coaching staff has taken accountability for the utter abdication of common sense, toughness, and composure that was Game 1. As we saw with OKC/San Antonio, Game 1 of a playoff series can change everything. For San Antonio, it was validation that they were ready to compete with the champs, and they would not under any circumstances go gentle into that good night; and for Cleveland Game 1 was a demoralizing loss which has apparently left the Cavs on cruise control with the speedometer set on "happy to be in the 'offs."

To break down the recent reports that the wine and gold have moved into a nice Craftsman in the exurbs on the banks of denial, Nate Smith and Elijah Kim rafted into the podcast booth to give a current state of the team. What are the rumors around Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, CPJ, Tyrese Proctor, the coaching staff, and the coming offseason? Are Giannis or LeBron walking through that door? Will we be forced to watch Dennis Schröder next year? Will Nate have the will to turn on the games? Eli channeled his inner Brian Windhorst to let you all know.

After going through the Cavs ugly loss, the CtB brain trust looked to the Spurs, Knicks, and Thunder to see if there were any lessons to be taken from the top three teams in the league. Two themes emerged: "trust the young guys," and "play taller players." We broke down the amazing OKC series, the ridiculous upside of Wemby, the Spurs' stellar young core, whether the Knicks have a chance, and the great disappearing Chet Holmgren (and why Kenny doesn't have the balls to bench players who're sucking). We gave our series picks and our pitches. It was cathartic, even as we settled into living a lyric from Father John Misty's "bored in the U.S.A."

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