First off: I rarely do this, but here’s a Cavs-Celtics piece concerning how Rondo did his damage in game four. Basically, the Cavs are going to have to limit transition opportunities if they want to stop Rondo, and game four was a perfect storm of transition opportunities.
Anyways, onto anxiety and potential misery. I want to get all of this out of the way while the series is still tied (for the record, I do still the the Cavs will probably win this series), so I’m a step ahead of the fire and brimstone if they do lose. The Cavaliers are two losses, only one of which has to be at home, from losing this series. The series has been more or less dead-even so far — both teams have won semi-tough games at home and blown their opponent out on the road. Sometimes LeBron has looked unstoppable; other times, Rondo has controlled the game. There is a very, very, very real possibility that the Cavaliers are not going to win this series. Here is what I believe will happen if they do. Keep in mind that I am not saying any of these things are right or wrong. It’s just what I believe will happen.
-There is a high likelihood that LeBron James will leave. Not only has the team had trouble winning any game that LeBron did not dominate, but there doesn’t appear to be much of a core in place at the current moment. Shaq and Antawn Jamison aren’t getting any younger. Mo Williams, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, and J.J. Hickson are the supposed under-30 “core,” and they certainly haven’t been setting the world on fire. LeBron will take a long, hard look at a team that can potentially provide him with a true running mate or running mates, as well as a fresh start. As always, I have no idea if LeBron’s already made up his mind one way or another. But you have to imagine losing this series will influence his decision.
-LeBron will get the reputation as the next Karl Malone/Dan Marino/Charles Barkley, whatever of sports. The dissenting opinion on LeBron will officially become the conventional wisdom on LeBron. Maybe it will be even worse, because only Marino had a chance to be considered an all-time great the way LeBron does. He will not shake this label until he does win a championship.
The list of MVPs to have never won a championship is very short. The list of two-time MVPs to have never won a championship is even shorter. LeBron does not want to be on that list. He is now in his prime. His team has had the best record in basketball for two consecutive years. Fair or unfair, it will be on him if the Cavs do not pull this off. You will see the op-ed headline “no more excuses for LeBron,” likely more than once.
-Mike Brown’s future will be up in the air. If LeBron leaves, he might as well stay, because teams without superstars win with defense. Also, they’re not going to find a big-name coach willing to take the Cavs job if they don’t have LeBron. If he does stay, they may make a desperate shake-up with the coaching staff — public pressure will be too overwhelming. I think Mike Brown has done a great job during his time in Cleveland. But players win games and coaches lose them, and the Cavs are losing some games they shouldn’t be right now.
-The front office will desperately search for an upgrade at the two-guard position. Anthony Parker and Delonte West have not been getting the job done, and the team clearly could use more backcourt production. Ray Allen’s name will be tossed around. He will ultimately likely sign with a team other than Cleveland.
-The team’s focus will be called into question. LeBron’s leadership will bear the brunt of that criticism. Before the playoffs, the team insisted it was much more focused than it was in previous seasons. So far, that claim appears to have been a crock of s**t. The Cavaliers have the talent to win it all and they are failing to get it done. Nothing pisses of fans and journalists more than this. They will swarm on this team like piranha going after a fallen horse. To some degree, they will be right to do so.
-Mo Williams’ ultimate value to a contending team will be called into question. Since the Cavs owe Williams 8.5 million dollars in the 2012/13 season and a rebuilding team won’t want him, they will not have any way to address those concerns.
-Z won’t get a ring.
That’s what I can come up with off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s more. So yeah, I’ve been a little stressed. If the Cavs go down to Orlando, fine. That’s a great team. If the Cavs put up a good fight, that’s a team I’m proud to be a fan of. Same thing goes for whatever team comes out of the West. But this series? Losing this series would be a killer. It would be a letdown of the highest order. I don’t want that to happen. Let’s all hope the Cavs come out kicking ass and taking names on Tuesday.
Whoever claims that Lebron does not have the teammates to win it all are seriously delusional. The Cavs are as talented and as deep as they come. The people who claim that other superstars, like Kobe and Dwight, can have an off game and still win, unlike the Cavs, are missing the point. Even if Dwight has 8 points in a game, his presence in the paint opens everything up for the shooters, and his defensive presence is ALWAYS there. Even when Kobe scores 20 points on 25 shots, he creates easy opportunities for his teammates. It’s not a coincidence that Pau Gasol’s FG% skyrocketed after teaming up with Kobe, nor is it a coincidence that Pau was considered a choker, who got ZERO wins in twelve playoff games before teaming up with Kobe. Kobe MADE Gasol, who was a soft borderline all-star, into an elite player. Now let’s compare what Lebron has done for another somewhat soft borderline all-star (Jamison). Answer – Lebron has made him less effective (similar to what he did to another all-star, Larry Hughes). Steve Nash helped turn Shaq into an all-star just last year. What has Lebron done for Shaq? Answer – made him less effective. The point is, it is up to the super stars to make their teammates better. You cannot give Lebron ALL the credit when he makes his teammates better in the regular season, and give his teammates and his coaches ALL the blame when Lebron can’t make his teammates better against playoff defenses and defensive adjustments. That is nothing but pure Lebron Homerism. Lebron has ALL the tools he needs to win it all this year. He is a two time MVP surrounded by all stars. There are no more excuses left for the King, no matter how hard ESPN and fellow Cavs fans will try to find this year’s scapegoat.
Jesus… everyone thinks the sky is falling or something…
I think we all need to take a page out of Kobe Bryant’s book. When a reporter asked him if the Lakers were in trouble before game 5 against OKC, do you remember what he said? He basically told everyone to chill the f$%k out since the series was still tied 2-2. It wasn’t like the Lakers were down 3-1 or anything like that.
It’s the same deal with us. The series is still tied 2-2. We are facing the 2008 defending champions. Rondo is emerging as one of the best point guards in Celtics history. And still, despite this, when the Cavs have chosen to play well, they have thoroughly dominated the Men in Green.
So, I predict that we will win handily in game 5, followed by a close one in game 6. Cavs in 6.
Then, we will move on to Orlando…. that’s when the real fun begins.
this was the most panic ridden article ive ever read here. what are you thinking krolik? we won 61 games! have a little faith
Cavalier Truth –
Mo williams 3 point percentage jumped .40 percentage points since teaming up with LeBron.
Jamison’s FG% went from 45 to 49 since joining the Cavs.
It’s obvious you are a Kobe fan. you know how I know that? No, it’s not because you sing Kobe’s praises. It’s because your arguments BLOW.
LeBron made Larry Hughes less effective? Did you happen to notice how Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Ira Newble, Sasha Pavlovic fared after LEAVING the Cavs? Can you even tell me which teams they play for? They were STARTERS on a finals team with LeBron. Where are they now? Ira Newble was a STARTER on the Cavs for 3 years. He went to the lakers and they CUT HIM. Drew Gooden and Sasha Pavlovic were starters and Gooden has been traded about 72 times since he was traded from the Cavs. Pavlovic can’t get off the bench in MINNESOTA!
I like how you go on a typical Kobe slobberfest before saying “fellow Cavs fans”.
LeBron surrounded by all-stars? Like Shaq? And Mo Williams? Did you know that Gasol had a higher PER this year than Kobe. (Oh wait, I know, PER makes Kobe fan’s heads explode)
Also, you are right (amazingly) that Gasol’s field goal percentage went up after being traded to the Lakers. Guess who elses went up? Kobe’s. (For one year at least). You can sit here and say Kobe MADE Gasol, but Gasol had a PER of 21.9 for his career. And his PER in the two years with the lakers are 22.2 and 22.9. In the prime of his career he is slightly better than his career average. I wouldn’t say Kobe MADE HIM. Little men generally don’t MAKE big men, it’s the other way around.
No one is finding a scapegoat. The Cavaliers have no excuses to lose to Boston because they are a better team than Boston. Right now, they are NOT playing like the better team. So if they lose, it’s on everybody.
Also, remember when Kobe blew a 20 point lead to these same Celtics in the finals. I can’t imagine a worse thing for a “champion” to do than blow a 20 point lead at home in the finals before suffering the greatest finals loss (by margin of victory) in the history of the NBA. Kobe allowed THAT to happen, and 3 months later it was an olympic LOVEFEST for him. It’s like people pretended that just DIDN’T happen.
Come back with some real facts, or else change your name. you’re probably this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNBsg43cdTc
@Patrick – the attitude is easy to understand if you think about the relationship between sports teams and fans like dating.
If you fall in love, and get burned, it makes it harder to fall in love again. If it happens over and over and over, it makes it REALLY hard. each time, things have to be REALLY GOOD to get excited about the relationship again. And if you get burned AGAIN, it makes it that much more painful. that is the story of Cleveland sports (especially recently, when a lot of good teams have come up short in all 3 major sports)
Everyone in Cleveland always expects the worst because the worst always seems to happen. This entire season has been horrible. The cavs won 61 games and no fans were even excited about that. The only thing that mattered was it looked like they were prepared for Orlando and LA’s bigs this year.
The entire season has been set up so that anything less than a championship is a complete and utter failure. So there can be no joy in anything basketball related in Cleveland unless it pertains to winning the NBA championship. At the first sign that that probably wont happen (cavs playing poorly, Magic dominating everyone) everyone freaks out.
@Tom: Its useless to argue with facts and logic when you are debating someone who refuses to use either.
Trust me, you can save yourself a lot of frustration by sticking to talking to people who know basketball… haha
Colin, what’s really amazing to me is that you’re not coaching the Cavaliers. I mean, really, you should be the head coach of the Cavaliers next year! You know so much basketball!
@Chip:
Some day, Chip. Some day….
I’m actually happy about where this series is. Probability. With the series tied 1-1 going into Boston, it was unrealistic to think that we would win games 3 and 4. Say Cleveland is a 60-40 favorite in Boston (thats pushing it). Probability says that Cleveland goes 2-0 THIRTY SIX PERCENT of the time. Better still, we got a good game (3) that shows how dangerous the Cavs can be when they play well. If the Cavs had lost game 3 and won game 4 by 30 points we would be celebrating.
what now? 4:40 left in game 5 and I cant watch this. Very concerned
@ Tom..Love it MAN. Reading Truth’s comments, I was getting pissed. Glad I didn’t have to write an essay because you explained it beautifully. Thanks, appreciate it!
Fire Coach Brown!!!!! Where in the H-E double hockey sticks is LeBron’s head??? This game should have been a no brainer. The line-up sucked, and I have no clue what coach Brown was thinking. My biggest question is do the Cavs watch the games (win or lose) after the game are over? I do not think they do. This is the number one team in the league, and they are playing like they are the worse team in the league. If LeBron wants to leave and go to NY or where ever so be it, but get a RING first!!! This is suppose to be the year of the Cavs, and I am utterly disgusted with the semi-final games. The Cavs have not swept one team! The only thing I can say is WAKE up and play like a champion team! As for coach Brown, he needs to play the people on his bench, and quit relying on a lineup that is not working! Coach the team, know the plays of the Cavs, and the league’s top teams!
1. Get J.J. Hickson up, he brings ‘loads’ of energy!
2. I question the the team’s sense of urgency?
3. LeBron really needs to hit those jumpers and FTs!
4. Bench Shaq if he’s not helping, it doesn’t matter if he is a legend or not, he got issues with defense and rebounding IMO.
5. You must have ‘heart’ to win a championship. Boston got tons of that but Cle? not so much :(
I’ll be hoping for a Game 6 win on the road… I know they can win road games but the pressure is on Cle.
The Cavaliers simply didn’t care in Game 5. I saw a team with no enthusiasm, no energy, and no drive to win. Missing all these shots, and just letting Boston run every kind of play at their beckoning. I don’t know how they can be so inconsistent. One game they dominate and the next they look like the New Jersey Nets. They were so terrible they left Charles Barkley essentially speechless. This is not a championship team, they’re no where near a championship team. They could have had this series done with tonight in my opinion. But they just don’t want it that bad. They’re not playing to win. It’s not about choking or cracking under pressure. This team is been there done that. They are not playing to their potential. And in all honestly I blame the coaching staff. If Cleveland’s in control of the pace of the game, they win easily. Why doesn’t Brown get their energy up? Why doesn’t he utilize JJ Hickson more? It’s not complicated. Rojan Rondo is containable. Their entire team is manageable. I just think maybe our guards are not defending as well, that’s the only problem I have. Well, rebounds too, on both sides of the ball.
4-0 huh? Waaaaaay off Chuck!