This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on Nov. 23, 2014.

By Nick Tavares

November basketball isn’t necessarily of consequence, but with little else to go on, speculation is still fun.

And with speculation comes predictions of chaos and possible doom. It’s the kind of thing that can keep a basketball fan warm when temperatures drop.

Take the Cleveland Cavaliers’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs the other night. With the game down to the wire, LeBron James got the rebound off a missed Manu Ginobili free throw, tried to bring the ball up the court himself, looked a little lost doing it, and eventually turned it back over to Ginobili.

It was a bad turnover in a bad spot in a game that may not end up meaning much. But the growing pains of the Cavs in LeBron’s second tour of duty in that ill-fated city could be a boon to the rest of the league.

Nick Tavares' column appears Sundays in The Standard-Times and at SouthCoastToday.com. He can be reached at nick@nicktavares.com