The NBA season is barely a week old and already the Washington Wizards (2-1) are set to play one of their biggest road games of the season at Cleveland (2-2).
At least, that’s their opinion.
The three straight playoff series between Washington and the Cavaliers from 2006-2008 were heated, engaging and entertaining — both on and off the court. But the answer to whether it amounts to a bona fide rivalry is still unclear.
Can evidence of bad blood be easily found on the Internet? Yes.
Newly-acquired Wizards guard Randy Foye had seen the playoff games and heard the talk in the Washington locker room. But he found real proof online:
“I just YouTubed DeShawn Stevenson versus LeBron to see what came up because I heard them talking about it, and so I got a little bit of everything. I heard Brendan [Haywood] talking. I heard Caron [Butler] talking. I heard [ESPN’s] Stuart Scott saying things. From then on, I understood that it was a big rivalry.”
Have both teams won on the other’s floor? No.
The Wizards were 4-12 overall in the playoffs against the Cavaliers from 2006-2008, including only two wins in eight contests in Cleveland. Despite beating Cleveland twice last year at Verizon Center, Washington hasn’t won during the regular season at Quicken Loans Arena since Feb. 24, 2006, losing five straight.
Has the distaste spilled into surprising events and places off the court? Yes.
Stevenson was booed by a Cleveland airport worker when the Wizards visited the Cavs during the preseason. Wizards head coach Flip Saunders was booed by Washington season ticket holders when he said he was originally from Cleveland.
“I knew there was a rivalry,” said Saunders. “I didn’t know it was to the extent that it is.”
Is the matchup more important to one team than another? For now, yes.
Last summer, James denied that there was a rivalry, but Stevenson wasn’t convinced.
“He’s the Golden Child,” said Stevenson. “He’s going to say that. He got a lot of stuff to lose. I don’t. I don’t care.”
A game in November won’t change things either. But the Wizards will have no trouble getting themselves pumped up for the chance to try.
“They were the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference last year,” said Butler, who is expected to return to the starting lineup after missing last weekend’s home opener with a bruised left kneecap. “Whenever you face that team and all the hoopla that surrounds them, it’s always going to be fun to play a team like that.”
