Cavs' legacies, futures of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell may have all changed with one bounce

Harden is now 4-13 all-time in Game 6s in the playoffs, worst of all time. Mitchell doesn't have much better a playoff winning record.

These guys haven't proven they can pull out the biggest games on the biggest stage. And now they've been backed into a corner where they must.

If they don't, there's no telling what happens next. There will be trade rumors, fans calling for the backcourt to be broken up, or the frontcourt to be broken up, or both.

This was supposed to be the season to make noise in the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics were supposed to be down. The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers were down.

And maybe the Cavs can still do that. Like we said, they'll get a chance at a do-over, a chance to make sure "The Bounce" doesn't become infamous in Cleveland sports history, too.

But if they can't? It'll go right next to "The Shot," when Michael Jordan stunned the Mark Price-led Cavs in 1989 to eliminate Cleveland and send them mostly out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture until LeBron arrived.

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These Cavs can still have a promising future, but there are only so many times a team can lose in the first two rounds. And there are only so many times a Cleveland team seeded better can lose to the team that doesn't even have home-court advantage.

The Cavaliers are on the brink, all because that high bounce off the back rim was positioned just so that the ball could come back through the hoop.

Will Cavs fans remember The Bounce for years to come? It'll all hinge on what happens in Game 7.

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