I've done a good bit of thinking (and sleeping) the past 64 hours or so since the Cavaliers were officially eliminated from the race for the 2010 NBA Championship by the Boston Celtics who I personally loathe with a passion in case anyone reading this hasn't seen my Facebook statuses over the past several months.
Several things have crisscrossed my mind during this time of mourning. A mourning that seems to have become an annual event about this time of year for me.
First, Bruce Hooley of Columbus' 97.1 FM The Fan, a sports talk radio station, made an interesting analogy regarding LeBron James' post game press conference after game 6.
Normally I disagree with his opinions or takes on everything sports. But this time around he seemed to nail it.
He said the interview felt like a conversation you have with your soon-to-be ex-girlfriend just before you break up or maybe that required first conversation after you have split.
It was real uncomfortable and it seemed like he just wanted to get it over with. He seemed to "say" all the right things but the mannerisms and the tone just reeked of "GET ME OUT Of HERE!"
This reminded me of a girl I was dating back in college. We never progressed to the point of a committed, exclusive relationship that one might compare to the love affair us Cavs' fans have had with LeBron James, but it was a very cool, enjoyable period of time in which we hung out a great bit and shared a ton of good times.
But suddenly things got real weird with her. Out of no where there was this disconnect without any real event to point to as a cause.
This is much how I felt throughout the Boston series with LeBron. He suddenly started acting weird with no real event that I was aware of as to why. He seemed to lose interest. He wasn't joking around with his teammates. He didn't seem to be trying or even caring. He wasn't even mad.
It felt very wrong.
Now that the series is over, our Cavs lost and they lost this way with these odd, bad feelings surrounding it, we enter the LeBron free agency summer in an extremely fragile state.
Why would he want to stay? $30 million?
He says he wants to play for a winner. He even went so far as to say he believes the Cavaliers are committed to winning which one would say is a positive sign.
But with two choke jobs in a row and little wiggle room with the cap (although don't quote me here, I haven't looked into the details so I am not so sure what they can or cannot do), the Cavs may be in trouble. The players they have are obviously not enough. They may not be able to acquire the kinds of players that can.
In addition, there is this sour feeling surrounding the team and city. I can easily see why James would want to leave for a fresh start. Even though the pressure to win in markets like New York are immense, they are also intensified in a championship starved city like Cleveland. So little or no benefit there.
This leads to my next series of thoughts.
How much better would the Cavs have done had they a better coach than Mike Brown. I hate to trash a man that has already been dragged through the mud. He seems like a good man. But I look at this lineup and there seems to be a ton of talent. And the super talent of a two time MVP.
Why couldn't they do better?
The rotations seemed so bad. There didn't seem to be the right players on the court at the right time.
The offense was BAD. There was little or no ball movement or reliable plays.
I never saw the kinds of adjustments I see from other teams and their coaches. In fact, it seemed like the opponents were always able to adjust in critical times in the past several postseasons while the Cavs could not.
Finally, opposing coaches that looked out coached in the past, somehow were able to coach well in their series against the Cavs. Did the light bulb suddenly go off for them?
No.
They were just coaching against a minor league coach.
Therefore, I ask myself why did the Cavs lose? Every year seemed to have a new excuse. This time there is no where else to look or blame than the coach or players themselves.
They had the MVP. They had home court advantage two years in a row. They had playoff experience. They had several all stars. They had size down low with Shaq and length and athleticism in Parker and Moon. They had outside shooting. Lastly, they had a strong defensive scheme...or so I thought up until the All Star break.
Every off season they made moves to shore up weaknesses, but here we are in the same place for the Finals. Home.
So would a new coach be able to get this same group to a championship? Would this be enough to convince James to stay?
I try to rate where this disappointment and fear of LeBron leaving ranks in the bad events of my life.
While it doesn't come close to sitting in the doctor's office hearing that my baby will die before its born or watching my daughter seize uncontrollably in the hospital with no answers as to why, it does match up with walking through Ohio Stadium where I cheered on so many people so many times in a moment where I would finally get cheered for and fulfill a dream I worked hard to accomplish just to see it wash away before my very eyes in the only Spring commencement at The Ohio State University to get cancelled due to weather.
Yep. Only one and it was mine.
To add insult to injury, the second I returned to the apartment for a family celebration, the sun shone through for a beautiful afternoon.
Yeah, this feeling regarding the Cavs relates well to that moment.
Its bad. Real bad.
The worst of it is that this realization of the impending departure of LeBron James has happened so many times before. We know what is coming:
Joe Carter heroically winning the World Series for the Blue Jays with a dramatic home run.
Art Modell taking our football team from us and winning a Super Bowl. Something our Browns STILL haven't done.
Bill Belichick going to New England to lead a dynasty.
Manny Ramirez and CC Sabathia signing with bigger markets out east to win World Series rings.
James will leave for greener pastures where he will win championship after championship while we sit here with nothing.
NO THING.
4 comments:
I think you're overestimating Cleveland's talent. It always bothered me that LeBron was compared to Kobe and MJ, but after looking at their starting lineups, it's clear that the Cavs teams have been suspect at best. The biggest missing component? A solid #2. That's something LeBron has never had. Kobe had a Shaq in his prime. Jordan had Pippen.
It's unfair to expect James to win anything, much less 60 games a year, without a solid #2. The Cavs have had chances to grab that other guy many times, but they botch it every time.
You are right about Brown. He used to be a good defensive coach, but I think his lack of control killed the Cavs this year. He doesn't have the credentials to stand up to James or Shaq. I think that has more to do with the defensive struggles than the personnel.
I say, sign Phil Jackson or Avery Johnson. Sign Ray Allen. Then, give up everything they have to get Chris Bosh in a sign and trade. Of course, I personally think Allen and the current lineup could be enough with a new coach.
Not sure if you heard about this... but what do you think of the rumors that Delonte West was sleeping with LeBron's Mom?... and this is what was at the center of the Cavs meltdown... as crazy as this sounds.. there seems to be more weight to the story every day.
-Mike
That one still seems to be a rumor as none of the major news outlets are reporting on it. Of course, the blogs and rumor sites are all over it. All I can say is never trust a dude with a neck tattoo. (Well, except for you, John.)
My neck tattoo will be of Jesus. Maybe that will offset the supposed social "taboo" of it. One thing is for sure, never let your daughterdate a dude that goes Kenyon Martin and gets a tat of woman's lips on the neck.
RUN!
Yeah Mike, when you hear about that along with the fact that LeBron's elbow was only able to get a shot once every 7-10 days per medical reasons (he received one before the blow up in game three then not again), the temper tantrum James threw at halftime of game 4 over Brown's rotations and then Shaq and Mo jumping to Brown's defense leading Bron to sday "see how well you all do without me," the picture suddenly becomes clearer.
Something was obviously going on and maybe all of that put together was it.
Like I kept saying to my friends at the bar every game allseason...something unexpected that makes no sense will happen out of the blue. Logic, reason ad rational thought have no place here.
Zac, from what i ahve heard, the Cavs will not be able to make any moves this summer. They are so far over the cap that even losing Z and Shaq doesn't give them any space. I don't know how sign and trades work but it sounds very bleak. What we got is what we got.
And if LeBron is thinking what you are thinking...he truly IS LeGone.
We tried the Allen thing already and he wanted nothing to do with us. We ended up with Laura Hughes.
Laura booooooos.
I agree the talent on the Cavs was overrated but I really think Jamison could have been used better with a better coach. Moon and Hickson would have been better in there. Even Shaq would have been used better.
It seemed like there was wasted talent. Think of how little Fratello had but still kept the Cavs competitive in the late 90s.
Post a Comment