OAKLAND, Calif. — David Blatt, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was on the team bus heading to Oracle Arena on Friday morning when he had the strange sensation that he had just left this place. How long had it actually been since the Golden State Warriors ousted the Cavaliers in the N.B.A. finals? To Blatt, it felt like yesterday.
As much as the Cavaliers have sought to move on from the disappointment of that series, played more than six months ago, many of the complex emotions have lingered: a mix of regret and resolve, the grief over what could have been and the hope of what could still be.