What happened to the Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers? Best record in the NBA for the past two years, and then ultimate chokers in the NBA playoffs. Are they the “San Jose Sharks” of the NBA?…yeah ok, that was brutal.
But really what happened to the team? Why couldn’t they get by Orlando last year and Boston this year? Is it fair that Lebron James is taking all the scrutiny for the failures of the Cavs?
Before I start, I really dont have a favorite team or player in the NBA, though I would say that I’m more inclined to root for the LA Lakers every year. I feel that out of all the sports, I follow the NBA with the most objective point of view that I can possibly take, and I’m not really biased for or against any particular player or team.
That said, while Lebron James is arguably the best player in the league, I feel I have to blame the management and ownership for failing to give Lebron a decent team to compete with.
Take a look at some players and their recent championship fortunes.
1. Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics – For the longest time, Paul Pierce was the lone man in Boston and was surrounded by terrible talent. As good as he was, the Boston Celtics were TERRIBLE. What did Danny Ainge do? He then brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, two perenially all stars, and they won the championship the very next year.
2. Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers – Kobe Bryant has 4 titles, but three of those titles came early on in his career with Shaquille Oneal. As good as Kobe was in his early years, this was Oneal’s team, and Oneal was the most important and best player on the team. When Shaq left for Miami, the Lakers went into a downspin. They had players like Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown, and a young Andrew Bynum. As GREAT as Kobe was (and is), you just can’t win with a team like these players. Finally, Bryant made some threats and the Lakers made a move for Pau Gasol, again arguable the best Power Forward in the world. They made the NBA Finals that year, losing to Boston (see above), but after a full year of playing together, the Lakers finally won the title in 2009.
3. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls – Like Lebron James, Michael Jordan was a beast when he arrived in the NBA. However, for the first 7 years of his career, he had to carry the team on his back. His teams did well, but always came up short in the playoffs, and never won a championship. He even won a MVP award during this time as well. But management surrounded Jordan with great talent. They drafted Scottie Pippen, and surrounded Jordan with great talent like Horace Grant, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, and Dennis Rodman. With these additions, Jordan was finally able to win 6 championships in the 1990s.
4. San Antonio Spurs – Champions in 2003, 2005, and 2007 had an amazing trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili with great role players such as Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry.
What’s my point?
My point is that a superstar can’t win a title all by himself. He needs a team that can play with him. He needs a team with a deep bench.
I’m sorry, but the Cleveland Cavs are not that team. Who was their starting 4 other than Lebron in the playoffs?
Mo Williams – 1 time All-Star in 2009, but that’s because he made it as an alternate because of injuries. He’s a serviceable point guard…in no way a star. I can probably name at least 6-7 pgs better than him
Anthony Parker – He was great in the Euroleague, but really shouldn’t be a starting SG on a team with championship aspirations. Never been an allstar in the NBA
Shaquille O’Neal – Probably goes down as one of the best Centers in NBA history, but is at least 3-4 years past his prime. While he’s still effective, he’s no way near the player he used to be.
Antwan Jamison – Two time allstar, good scorer. can’t play defense. inconsistent. dont know what you’re going to get.
That’s just the starting 4 other than Lebron. Don’t even get me started on the bench: Varejao, Ilgasuskas, West, Moon? yeah…not that good.
This just wasn’t a good team. Their starting 4 other than Lebron James was suspect and their bench just wasnt that good.
But then you might throw the “they had the best record in the NBA the past two season” argument at me. Sure, but out of their 21 losses this year, 16 of them came against playoff teams. Good teams are SUPPOSED to beat the bad teams. How you play against the great teams is what matters.
Also, the regular season is completely different than the postseason. It’s a whole new ball game. Great teams elevate their game to a whole new level. There was so much uncertainty about the Boston Celtics coming into the playoffs. The “Big 3” just weren’t playing well together at the end of the season. They looked tired and out of sync. Come playoff time though, Pierce, Garnett, and Allen turned it on and stunned pretty much everyone. They brought their game to a whole new level.
The Cavs as a whole didnt elevate their game. Actually, only one player did…Shaq. The best center in history played actually a pretty good series against the Celtics. He’s the only one that knows that it takes to win, and he really didnt disappoint.
Which brings me to the next obvious question? Is Lebron staying in Cleveland next year?
It depends. He has to be realistic and realize that he can not win a championship with this team. If ownership shows a commitment to bring in an actual STAR, and some good role players to fill out the bench, I think Lebron stays. Else he’s gone.
But while a lot of the blame should rest on the shoulders of management, I do believe Lebron needs to shoulder a lot of the responsibility as well. He still has a ton to learn about maturity, focus, and how to actually lead a team…which I dont want to get into now, but will save for a future post. He is still miles behind Kobe, Duncan, Nash, and the Big 3 in Boston in terms of how to be a leader.
Obsessedsportsnut's Blog 
Jon,
Way to not pick a side! NEW YORK? CHICAGO? MAKE A DECISION SON!
But more importantly, you avoided the biggest story-line of the series Cavs vs. Celtics: Lebron James quitting on his team.
Now, my friends and I have been debating about this a lot, and I am still adament about my position: Lebron James quit on his teammates in Game 5 and Game 6. 27-19-10!!! Howard, those were like Rondo’s Stats in Game 4!! And I retort with some statistics, but also my observations from the game. (And stats never give the clear picture; 1-5 just doesn’t show me anything except the guy missed 4 shots…)
With an AP exam coming up and a paper to write,
I did what any logical student, yet true basketball lover did: procrastinate and watch the Playoffs.
The journey begins in the 2nd quarter of Game 5:
Celtics make a run down 23-29 and take the lead at 30-29. Garnett is surprisingly looking like… Garnett?
Nothing special really happens at this point (partly because I don’t remember) until the 3rd quarter
And then I saw it: Lebron quit and the worst coaching job ever.
Celtics start things off with 2 quick 3’s by Ray Allen (the one dude who scares me with his shot)
44-56; and then things get weird
Big Z and Daniel Gibson start playing…: First of all this is 2010 not 2007. What the hell are you guys doing out there?!?! Boobie Gibson didn’t even play in the playoffs until that point!
My dad asked me, “do those guys still play?” AND I SAID NO!!!! *shaking head in disbelief
Mike Brown was the most overrated coach next to…. no sry he’s in a league of his own.
At this point, i’m thinking, “ook where’s lebron at this point, where’s the run?”
and it never came… and while I saw the death of the Cleveland Cavaliers I also saw the ressurection of the Celtics. Big Baby is hitting shots, Rondo is being legendary, Ray Allen is on fire, and KG was suddenly KG.
I wrote off this team back in April and I’m legitamitely scared for the rest of the teams.
all these questions and confusion and I’m already at the 4th quarter and the Celts are up by 17….
So I’ll sum up the game with my opinion on Lebron’s performance of Game 5.
It’s one thing to have a bad game. It’s another to pull yourself out and let your team who look to you as the leader and the future, (cuz you kinda are if you havent noticed lebron) and basically the cavaliers crumbled after that…
No attacking the basket, creating nothing, just letting teammates have the ball and create on their own. THIS WAS NOT LEBRON JAMES. THIS WAS NOT THE GUY WHO DUNKED IT OVER JAMES JOHNSON AND ROARED THE LEBRON ROAR.
3-2 Celtics….
at that point, I knew it was over; lebron quit on his team… and the team handled it as well as girls handle breakups… wow not a great line, but then again i’m rushing this thing while writing a gatsby essay.
Anyways, I’ll finish up like Usher and give you Part 2 later
Comment by Howard — May 14, 2010 @ 11:15 am
here’s part 2:
1st 5 minutes: my dad and i are watching at a restaurant (Cooking Papa, which is pretty good) while we wait for our order to go. I see lebron attacking, but… looking for his own shot and being a bit too aggressive. I tell my Dad, the media’s gotten to him already…
2nd quarter: Tony Allen and his amazing bench play while Mo williams is kinda giving the finger to Lebron, refusing to pass to him and scoring himself on a layup where he usually lobs off to Lebron. Even Jeff Van Gundy (one of my favorite commentators including Hubbie Brown)is saying Mo williams needs to pass!
You know the team is done when the point guard will not pass to the best player and finisher on the break and tries to finish on his own… These guys passed to Lebron as if they would get electrocuted. (hence game 5 was so mind boggling to them when Lebron kept passing to them, it was like, Wait you’re tricking me right?)
Finishing off the 2nd half with the Tony Allen Jam and Boston goes in the half with a lead.
2nd Half:
Its actually a single digit game yet Cavs are acting like they just watched Saw or _________________ (insert scary, crazy depressing movie, maybe like the Holocaust documentaries that they make you watch in history class); they just were not into it…
Again I dont know why Z is playing.
So interestingly, lebron suddenly shows signs of life! 2 quick 3’s and suddenly down by 4!
At this point the commentators were like
HALLELUJAH, we need you to come back! the whole world was waiting and suddenly cried a sigh of relief when they saw lebron make shots.
And then… it stops…
Lebron dribbles off his foot and rondo goes and scores on Mo williams who played no defense btw…
and at this point
celtics put it away; pierce 3, wallace 3. just enough to put the cavs out of distance
But heres the highlight of the game: Final minute you’re down 9. what do you do…
A) play up and try to steal the ball
B) double team the ball handler into the corner and hope for a steal or
C) Foul the ball handler as early as possible
D) Stand around and surrender
Cavs chose D. I saw it; dont tell me they didnt quit. When it became clear Lebron was done, the rest of the Cavs were done… EVEN Anderson Varejo and this is the guy who is known for his “hustle” called it quits. That’s like Sam quitting on Frodo!
(Revelation: Lebron James is……… Paul Crewe)
Who?
Paul Crewe, the main character of the movie, The Longest Yard, played by Adam Sandler
quit on his team in the Super Bowl and shaved points. Nearly did it again on his prison teammates and theres a scene where the offensive line don’t block the guards and let them pulverize Sandler.
That is the Cavaliers. Except there is no happy ending.
Lebron instead takes off his jersey immediately and worries about his own future, while the rest of his teammates must worry because their future is based on his choices. Lebron basically is here for himself and has the “excuse or cover”
My teammates weren’t good enough (true), coach was crazy (true), and we were down 3-2 at their home floor (true).
But true champions have that zeal to compete and to win, no matter what. Down 2 or 20, you have to fight until that buzzer sounds. Quitters never win and winners never quit. It’s true. It has to be true since its so catchy!
Lebron: Go to New York or Chicago, but for now, just watch Kobe win one more championship and have 5 more rings than you have now.
Have a nice summer Lebron!
Comment by howard — May 18, 2010 @ 8:00 pm