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NBA Playoffs: Small Market Success Should Boost Cavaliers Fans

With the Cavaliers well into their summer vacation, are you still paying attention to the NBA Playoffs? If you are, you should feel pretty good about what you are seeing, at least FearTheSword's Conrad Kaczmarek thinks so. With the success of the small market teams thus far in the playoffs, Kaczmarek thinks Cavaliers fans should feel good about the future of the Wine and Gold.

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When people talk about the model of success for small markets they nearly always cite the Oklahoma City Thunder as the quintessential example. A gathering of talented, young, offensive players while still maintaining an emphasis on defense. They show that a team doesn't need to hit the jackpot in free agency to be competitive. Instead, homegrown talent can produce a winning atmosphere. Similarly, the Memphis Grizzlies have shocked the San Antonio Spurs and built a 3-1 lead in their series. I doubt the average NBA fan can name all five of the Grizzlies starters and would likely be hard-pressed to name their head coach. Despite relative anonymity, we are well on our way to seeing a 2nd round match-up that takes place in Memphis and Oklahoma City.

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The success thus far in the playoffs by the Grizzlies and Thunder should have Cavaliers' fans feeling good about the future - and it should give GM Chris Grant the perfect blueprint to follow for the rebuild.

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Photographs by spatulated, Triple Tri, and chrischappelear used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.