CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I have never seen a better Cleveland Cavaliers team than this one.

There have been several times during the playoffs when that thought crossed my mind. But it really hit home during their final two victories of the Eastern Conference Finals.

This is the best Cavs team ... ever.

Not the best in terms of record.

But the best when it comes to talent.

The best when it comes to having a future Hall of Famer who truly knows how to lead a team to the NBA Finals.

The best when it comes to combining LeBron James with two young stars -- but not rookies. I'm talking about Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

This is the best team in Cavs history, and I have seen them all since the franchise began in 1970.

Are they good enough to knock off Golden State?

Not so sure about that. But they certainly are in better position than a year ago when they lost to the Warriors in the Finals.

Here's a quick history lesson:

HOW DID THEY WIN 66 GAMES?

My favorite team in the first LeBron James Era was the 2009 edition. But look at the names: Mo Williams, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Zyrdunas Ilgauskas, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao...

The question is not, "Why did those guys get upset by Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals?"

Rather, it's "How did those guys win 66 games in the regular season?"

The answer is James.

And the reality is those Cavs were exposed with all their flaws in the playoffs.





LENNY WILKENS ERA

My favorite all-time Cavs team was the Lenny Wilkens Era of the late 1980s and early 1990s: Mark Price, Larry Nance, Brad Daughtery, John Williams, Ron Harper and Craig Ehlo.

That team was one player from winning a title, even in the Michael Jordan Era.

That player would have been LeBron James.

The Cavs had a Hall of Fame coach in Wilkens. They had All-Stars in Price, Daugherty and Nance.

They didn't have greatness.

In the end, that's why they kept losing to Chicago. The Bulls had greatness in Jordan, their No. 23.

I really would pay some serious cash to see the Cavs No. 23 (James) of today joining that Price/Daugherty/Nance group for a seven-game series against Jordan's Bulls.





THE ALMOST MIRACLE

My good friend and veteran Cavs broadcaster Joe Tait insists the 1976 Cavs would have won the NBA title if only Jim Chones had not broken his foot before the second round of the playoffs.

Maybe that's true.

Because of the injury to Chones, we'll never know if the Miracle of Richfield would have led to a title.

That roster featured some very good players: Austin Carr, Campy Russell, Bingo Smith, Jim Cleamons, Dick Snyder, Nate Thurmond, Jim Brewer and Foots Walker.

But that group missed one thing ... that's right ... greatness.

It had no player that compared to James. Only Thurmond is in the Hall of Fame, and he was at the end of his career with 1976 Cavs.

THE FIRST FINALS TEAM

There have been a few analytic studies rating the 2007 Cavs among the 10 worst teams ever to reach the NBA Finals.

Here was the starting lineup: Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic, Drew Gooden, Ilgauskas and James.

Key subs: Donyell Marshall, Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, Damon Jones and Eric Snow.

They made The Finals averaging only 89 points a game in the playoffs, shooting 42 percent as a team. It was 33 percent on 3-pointers.

In the postseason, James averaged 25.1 points. Next was Ilgauskas at 12.1 points.

I have no clue how they reached The Finals, and it should be no surprise they were swept by San Antonio. This was the first Cavs team to ever reach The Finals.





THE ASTERISK YEAR

The 2015 Cavs overachieved to reach The Finals.

That was a tribute to the sheer will of James, who carried determined role players through the Eastern Conference playoffs before losing to Golden State in six games.

Would they have defeated the Warriors with a healthy Love and Irving?

Who knows?

But the Cavs' Big Three were still working through issues in the 2014-15 regular season. It continued for much of the 2015-16 regular season.

That 2015 team with a healthy Love and Irving was talented enough to beat the Warriors. But were they mentally tough enough? Remember, 2015 was the first playoff exposure for Irving and Love.

I don't know if that team had the experience and maturity to beat Golden State in 2015.

As we know now, that Warriors team was on the edge of greatness. After winning the 2015 title, they came back to have the NBA's greatest regular season with a 73-9 record.

And just when they seemed about to be buried in the Western Conference Finals, they have come back ... and back ... and back.

Maybe Oklahoma City will pull an epic upset in Game 7 on the Warriors home court in Oakland tonight. But would you bet on it?

TODAY'S CAVS, THE BEST SHOT

LeBron James is 31.

Kevin Love is 27.

Tristan Thompson is 25.

Kyrie Irving is 24.

J.R. Smith is 31.

Iman Shumpert is 26.

Matthew Dellavedova is 26.

All of those players are in their prime. Among the others who are regular rotation members, only Richard Jefferson (36) and Channing Frye (33) would be considered past their peak years -- but they still can play.

The 6-foot-11 Frye will probably be throwing in 3-pointers at the age of 90. Jefferson is in amazing condition for a 15-year veteran.

The ages also indicate the Cavs should be able to contend for the next few years. That's especially true in the Eastern Conference.

Never before has a Cavs team advanced this deep in the playoffs with this combination of talent, experience and health.

It still may not be enough. Golden State is scary and has the heart and rings of a champion.

In his 'Coming Home' essay in Sports Illustrated, James wrote: "In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given, everything is earned."

That's so true.

And never have the Cavs had a team in a better position to go out and earn the franchise's first title.







