Nobody Bitches And Whines Like LeBron!

Well it’d appear not content with the fact that his team had just gone and loss the Eastern Conference Finals series. The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ LeBron James is quite content to show us also how immature he really is.

James gets ready to leave the court after his team's loss to the Orlando Magic in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The players failed to address the press in the mandatory postgame interviews. And he chose not to congratulate his opponents on their win after the game. picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Gregory Shaw ..........

  

In succumbing to the Orlando Magic (4-2) in the best of seven game series and with the emphatic loss 103-90 loss in game 6. It’d suggest that LeBron isn’t quite as mature as he’d have us all believe. After the final buzzer went to signify the end of the game. The player left the court rather abruptly without even addressing the press or even congratulating his opponent on a thoroughly well deserved series’ victory.

Stan Van Gundy instructs his players during a timeout in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Gregory Shaw........

And this is from a guy who’s looking to be viewed as the next major force within the game ? But then again what tries to convey in terms of a persona . And what is then placed out there for the public to see when faced with undue adversity. For much of the time are two completely different things. And for James this particular incident may not serve him well in the long run. Especially when it comes to the public’s perception of him and what he himself tries to convey.

The presentation is made after the Magic wins the Eastern Conference Finals. On hand to make the presentation is NBA great Oscar Robertson to the Magic

One might understand the player’s frustration at having lost the game and perhaps the series. Especially when one considers that in most people’s minds they were considered the prohibitive favorites to win the series outright. And for James, he and his teammates were seeking to stamp their authority for what had been quite simply an outstanding regular season.

 

It’s Now Or Never …… !

Tonight we’ll either see the Cleveland Cavaliers erase a 3-2 deficit . Or quite possibly we will see the Orlando Magic prevail and make their second appearance in the NBA Finals.

James makes his showman like entrance prior to game five of the Eastern Conference Finals played at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.The Cavaliers would go on to defeat the Orlando Magic and as we enter tonight's game six being played at the Amway Arena in Orlando. The Magic leads the series 3-2 in the best of seven games series.picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus............

Such are the scenarios that are in place as the Eastern Conference Finals’ series makes it way to something of a culmination. Whoever wins out will have the undoubted pleasure of meeting the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals.

And for the Lakers this’ll be their thirtieth appearance in the game’s showpiece event. And as strange as it may seem these finals on appearance only may well be what the league has been harboring for. Inasmuch as last year’s finals proved to be something of a ratings’ bonanza. The likelihood of a Cavaliers’ Lakers’ matchup on paper alone makes it a dream scenario for the NBA. The game’s two most prized and talked about athletes in Kobe Bryant and LeBron James meeting each in these finals would create a buzz for the sport . And on the global stage it’d create the sheer pizzaz not seen since team USA’s appearance at the Beijing Olympics.

Howard reacts to the loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Jesee D Garrabant ......

The Magic were quite possibly viewed as spoilers prior to the start of this series. But if anything it has Orlando who has made this series on appearance alone something well worth watching. OK one can surmise that James and his heroics have also made the series electrifying. But if anything it has been the Cavaliers in some ways who’ve proven to be something of a disappointment.

The Cavaliers are the same 66 win team that swept its way through the earliers rounds of the playoffs. But in the conference finals they’ve been but a shell of themselves. They are clearly not the team that ran amok in the regular season posting an incredible 39-2 home record.

Now inspite of this all we could well be on the verge of seeing the Cavaliers bow out of the postseason. But that’d be predicated upon the Magic playing at a high caliber. And after the game 5 defeat whereby they lost 112-102 in game that they had within their grasp. Only to see LeBron James play the sort game that tend to make postseason legends out of a player when they put on displays such as we’ve witnessed. As if the game three heroics weren’t enough as it was already.

If James is allowed to unleash such devastation once again . Then we could well be seeing the Magic being placed in the unenviable position of having to fight a resurgent Cavaliers’ team.
The premise here would be that all of the desires of the NBA’s hierarchy would be fulfilled . “Exit stage left the Magic should they fail.”

Squaring the series at three games apiece would leave us all looking to see the drama unfold in a tantalizing game seven with so much at stake. The Magic prevails and we’ll see them facing off against the much lauded Los Angeles Lakers for the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Kobe Bryant and Laker' coach Phil Jackson celebrate after the team's triumph in game six of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. In defeating the Nuggets the Lakers advances to the NBA Finals. picture appears courtesy of nbae/getty images/ Scott Richardson .....

A game seven drama would in many ways elicit the comeback made by the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the ALCS of 2003. As memorable as that series was and what culminated from it in the end. Were Cleveland to equal that particular feat then we may well be talking about having witnessed one of the great sporting comebacks in recent memory.

But in just merely discussing it . We can only surmise that whatever transpires tonight. One way or another both teams’ll have to step up to the plate. It’s going to be about all or nothing . Because at the end of it all neither team really wants to be on the outside looking in at the end of it all.

With so much stake it has to be now or never for both teams .

The Cavaliers Are Finished

Last night, Cleveland did all they could to avoid losing to the Magic. All of their players were fully aware of the importance of Game 4, and as a team, the Cavs played their best game of this series. The Magic also understood the importance of Game 4, because a win would all but seal their ticket to the Finals. What transpired was a thrilling 116-114 overtime victory for the Magic, and a series lead that puts history on their side.

The most devastating stat for Cavaliers fans is this: Only eight teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit in a seven-game series.

The Cavaliers are certainly talented enough to make a comeback in this series. Anytime a team has one of the best players in the game, they have a shot. LeBron James will likely come out on a mission in Game 5, trying to put the pressure on Orlando to win Game 6 at Amway Arena. Mo Williams will try and make good on his guarantee that the Cavs will win this series by playing great basketball. 

But it isn’t going to happen. The Cavs put forth their best effort on Tuesday night, and still lost. LeBron played a better game through three quarters. He got his teammates involved early on, a key for Cleveland, and Mike Brown went back to giving a few of his bench players — Wally Szczerbiak and Daniel Gibson — more minutes. 

Williams had been struggling all series long prior to Game 4, and the questions began to arise about whether or not he was a playoff performer. On Tuesday, he played his best game of the series. 

But the Cavs still lost.

Finally, LeBron Acts Like a King

LeBron James has all the talent in the world, without question. He is one of the best players in the NBA today, but he has unfairly been placed into the stratosphere of greatness by many, standing alongside Michael Jordan. From the “Witness” campaign with Nike, to all the commercials proclaiming him one of the best ever, he has yet to accomplish anything to truly justify all of the hype. Yes, he is the youngest player to reach every scoring mark up to 12, 000, but scoring just scoring does not make a player great. 

The great ones have all won championships, and they all had a remarkable ability to win games for their teams down the stretch. That is something that James has struggled with, prompting many to question whether he lacks the “clutch” gene. It was a gene possessed by Jordan, West, Bird, Johnson, and is possessed by Kobe. Without it, James place among the greats will drop significantly in the eyes of many. 

Championships, however, is the biggest and most important barometer by which the greats are judged. James is just six years into his career, so he has quite a bit of time remaining to win the title, but he has never had as much pressure thrust onto him as in these playoffs, especially coming off a regular season in which he won the MVP award. Through the first two rounds, James and the Cavaliers lived up to the hype, sweeping both the Pistons and the Hawks, winning all eight games by double digits. 

But things quickly changed in the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Cavs are facing their toughest opponent yet, the Magic. Orlando was able to come in and steal Game 1 on a last-second shot by Rashard Lewis. James had a chance to win the game, but instead passed the ball off. Questions regarding his toughness once again surfaced. All the pressure in the world was put on Cleveland for Game 2. James needed to step up if the Cavs were going to have a chance to win the game. They could not go to Orlando down 0-2,  or the series would likely be over, and the season would be an enormous disappointment for the Cavaliers. 

Pre-Game Analysis: Magic-Cavaliers Game 2

In Game 1, the Magic took advantage of the matchups that are in their favor and won 107-106. Now, the Cavaliers are in somewhat of a must-win situation, because going back to Orlando with a 0-2 deficit would not be good, to say the least. Here are three keys to the game for each team: 

Cavaliers Keys:

1. LeBron cannot hog the ball: Most of the Cavs struggled mightily on the offensive end of the ball, and I put some of that on LeBron, who did not get his team involved enough. By the third quarter, the game became LeBron dribbling around the court until he could find a shot. He was able to make most of his jumpers in this game, but don’t expect that to continue, as he still is not a consistent jump shooter. The Cavaliers are at their best when LeBron has a stat-line of 27 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, and not 49 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, like he had in Game 1. The rest of the Cavs need to be involved throughout the game, or they won’t be valuable late in games. This also means that the role players will need move without the ball and get open. 

 

2. Mo Williams: Some people believe that Williams’ play was the reason the Cavs lost Game 1, which is an argument I don’t buy. Williams has been very valuable this season, but I think he gave himself way too much credit during the post-game press conference for being the key reason his team lost. How about giving the Magic some credit for playing an excellent second half of basketball? That said, Williams was one of the factors that led to the loss, and he will need to be better than 6-of-19 from the floor, because that will cut down on the shots that LeBron has to take. Maybe there is a good explanation as to why Williams has not been great throughout these playoffs. It has to be questioned whether or not he can handle the pressure of the Eastern Conference Finals. He was a great player for the Cavs in the regular season — an All-star — but he has done nothing in these playoffs. He came Cleveland from Milwaukee, where he faced the pressure of the playoffs just once, and the pressure was not on him. It sometimes takes a while to get acclimated to the Conference Finals, and the Cavs will need him to be back to his old self tonight. 

A Healthy Respect For An Opponent Is Always Better Than Disdain!

Well low and behold the superhuman efforts of LeBron James were all for nought on Wednesday night.  As the Cleveland Cavaliers  succumbed to the Orlando Magic in something of an upset in a 107-106 loss to their Eastern Conference foe.  The loss itself now places the #1 seed in the East in something of an unenviable postion.  A second consecutive loss on their homecourt at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.  It would send shock waves that’d be far reaching not only within their organization but also amongst their very own fans and across the whole NBA as well.

A soldout venue at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Scene of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals played between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. picture appears courtesy of nbae/ getty images/ Jesse D. Garrabant................

The Cavaliers are viewed as the presumptive favorites in the East and the prohibitive favorites to win the NBA title outright.  However a loss of this series may well not only put a severe damper on the aspirations of the team.  But it’d most certainly diminish the spectacle of what is hoped would be a showcase finals being played between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.  Afterall that’s indeed the finals that everyone is hoping to see!  And with the games two brightest stars being on show in the guise of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.  What better advertisement could David Stern, the hierarchy of the game and the fans possibly wish for?  It’d be a marketer’s paradise and a boon for ABC television who would be broadcasting the finals themselves.