Post by jbaer10314 on Jun 23, 2009 10:45:51 GMT -5
WIN OR GO BALLISTIC
We should be thankful for the knee-jerk reactionaries. If they didn’t go haywire at the drop of a hat, life would be kind of boring.
The sports world is full of them, and the NBA probably has more of them than any other league. Don’t believe me? Just ask the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As soon as they dropped Game 6 of their slugfest with the Orlando Magic, every analyst decided the team would never win a title as presently constructed. What confused everyone even more was how the Cavs could lose so badly after sweeping the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs.
Coach Mike Brown, who turned the Cavs into a 66-win team and owners of homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, took most of the heat for his team’s collapse. That’s nothing new, really, because the coach always gets flak under circumstances like these. But I thought it sounded awkward to hear the folks on ESPN and TNT talk about what a genius Brown was and then do a one-eighty when the Cavs ran into that buzzsaw known as the Magic.
Then again, these are the playoffs, and things are supposed to be different. The Magic actually beat the Cavs two games to one in the regular season. But no one seemed to think the Magic could pull it off again when it really mattered. I certainly didn’t, or else I wouldn’t pick the Cavs to move on to the Finals.
But as it turned out, this was a bad matchup for the expected NBA champs. For one thing, the Cavs didn’t have Dwight Howard, whose youth and athleticism is unmatched. They also didn’t have an army of three-point shooters, including Rashard Lewis, who deserved to be MVP of the series. And to make matters worse, the Cavs didn’t have homecourt advantage when they needed it. The Magic stole it after Game 1, and the Cavs would’ve been dismissed early if LeBron James missed that miracle shot at the end of Game 2.
The Cavs’ dismissal naturally prompted the big question among the staff of EPSN and TNT: now what? How can the Cavs get back to the big stage and win it all?
To hear those people tell it, the answer is absolutely nothing. A rather hopeless assessment, but hey--this is the NBA, and results matter.
When the Cavs made it into the 2007 Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. nobody gave the Cavs a chance. But no one expected the Cavs to roll over. And between Games 3 and 4, someone on ESPN declared James would win a title, but with a different team. Now while no NBA team ever came back from a 0-3 deficit to win a seven-game series, I still thought that was an ill-timed statement. After all, why wouldn’t James come back even more determined to win it all for his home state’s team?
As far as I know, that’s all anyone said about James's fate that season. But this season, they all came out of the woodwork with their Magic 8-Balls and decided James couldn’t win with his current teammates. In fairness, they did have a point. Long-time center Zydrunas Ilgauskas lost a step against Howard, Mo Williams wasn't up to his All-Star billing, and Ben Wallace immediately talked about calling it a career after that Game 6. No doubt James would be distracted by such things next season. Maybe that’s why there was recent talk about the Cavs luring Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming to town next season. (Talk about knee-jerking...)
So where would James go when he becomes a free agent next summer? Believe it or not, the Knicks are the front-runners. Early last November they grabbed the league’s attention with a pair of trades made to free up cap space. And why wouldn’t he want to play at the World’s Most Famous Arena? Not only that, but just think of all those endorsement deals he could rack up. (I later learned the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups to clear cap space for their own run at James. Good luck with that, you guys.)
The playoff losses and resulting analysis are enough to make James’s head spin. So my advice to him is this: when the time comes, stay in Cleveland.
First of all, these people on ESPN, TNT et. al. are NOT his agents. They’re entitled to say what they please--this is a free country--but they can’t go into it thinking he’ll actually listen to them. He has to show everyone he has his own mind and will do what he likes. The sports world isn’t conducive to that kind of thought process, so it would be nice to see an athlete think for himself.
Second, it sends a message about loyalty. I can think of only two NBA stars in recent years who spent their careers with one team--namely, Magic Johnson and Reggie Miller. In this era of free agency, which many fans thin ruined major sports, team loyalty is all but a thing of the past. Future players might take a hint if the latest superstar sticks with the franchise that drafted him.
Third, and most importantly, the Cavs already bought into James as leader of the team, and he knows how to lead his team to victory. He’s the best hope for a title in Cleveland. If he goes to another team, he’ll spend time working his new teammates into his philosophy, which would delay success--and if he came to New York, which is still reeling from a decade of mismanagement, that delay would last a lot longer.
And let’s face it--the Cavs lost to ONE TEAM, the Orlando Magic. Would any of these knee-jerkers overreact if they beat another team in the Conference Finals and went on to win the whole ball of wax? Not bloody likely.
People can say what they want about the Cavs, but the current group still has another season to play together before James makes his fateful decision. And who can say whether this lineup will blow it again in the second season? Nobody associated with the Cavs will forget how their season ended, so getting better is the top priority.
And for all those knee-jerkers out there, take my advice: buy some of that glucosamine and chondroitin stuff.
We should be thankful for the knee-jerk reactionaries. If they didn’t go haywire at the drop of a hat, life would be kind of boring.
The sports world is full of them, and the NBA probably has more of them than any other league. Don’t believe me? Just ask the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As soon as they dropped Game 6 of their slugfest with the Orlando Magic, every analyst decided the team would never win a title as presently constructed. What confused everyone even more was how the Cavs could lose so badly after sweeping the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs.
Coach Mike Brown, who turned the Cavs into a 66-win team and owners of homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, took most of the heat for his team’s collapse. That’s nothing new, really, because the coach always gets flak under circumstances like these. But I thought it sounded awkward to hear the folks on ESPN and TNT talk about what a genius Brown was and then do a one-eighty when the Cavs ran into that buzzsaw known as the Magic.
Then again, these are the playoffs, and things are supposed to be different. The Magic actually beat the Cavs two games to one in the regular season. But no one seemed to think the Magic could pull it off again when it really mattered. I certainly didn’t, or else I wouldn’t pick the Cavs to move on to the Finals.
But as it turned out, this was a bad matchup for the expected NBA champs. For one thing, the Cavs didn’t have Dwight Howard, whose youth and athleticism is unmatched. They also didn’t have an army of three-point shooters, including Rashard Lewis, who deserved to be MVP of the series. And to make matters worse, the Cavs didn’t have homecourt advantage when they needed it. The Magic stole it after Game 1, and the Cavs would’ve been dismissed early if LeBron James missed that miracle shot at the end of Game 2.
The Cavs’ dismissal naturally prompted the big question among the staff of EPSN and TNT: now what? How can the Cavs get back to the big stage and win it all?
To hear those people tell it, the answer is absolutely nothing. A rather hopeless assessment, but hey--this is the NBA, and results matter.
When the Cavs made it into the 2007 Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. nobody gave the Cavs a chance. But no one expected the Cavs to roll over. And between Games 3 and 4, someone on ESPN declared James would win a title, but with a different team. Now while no NBA team ever came back from a 0-3 deficit to win a seven-game series, I still thought that was an ill-timed statement. After all, why wouldn’t James come back even more determined to win it all for his home state’s team?
As far as I know, that’s all anyone said about James's fate that season. But this season, they all came out of the woodwork with their Magic 8-Balls and decided James couldn’t win with his current teammates. In fairness, they did have a point. Long-time center Zydrunas Ilgauskas lost a step against Howard, Mo Williams wasn't up to his All-Star billing, and Ben Wallace immediately talked about calling it a career after that Game 6. No doubt James would be distracted by such things next season. Maybe that’s why there was recent talk about the Cavs luring Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming to town next season. (Talk about knee-jerking...)
So where would James go when he becomes a free agent next summer? Believe it or not, the Knicks are the front-runners. Early last November they grabbed the league’s attention with a pair of trades made to free up cap space. And why wouldn’t he want to play at the World’s Most Famous Arena? Not only that, but just think of all those endorsement deals he could rack up. (I later learned the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups to clear cap space for their own run at James. Good luck with that, you guys.)
The playoff losses and resulting analysis are enough to make James’s head spin. So my advice to him is this: when the time comes, stay in Cleveland.
First of all, these people on ESPN, TNT et. al. are NOT his agents. They’re entitled to say what they please--this is a free country--but they can’t go into it thinking he’ll actually listen to them. He has to show everyone he has his own mind and will do what he likes. The sports world isn’t conducive to that kind of thought process, so it would be nice to see an athlete think for himself.
Second, it sends a message about loyalty. I can think of only two NBA stars in recent years who spent their careers with one team--namely, Magic Johnson and Reggie Miller. In this era of free agency, which many fans thin ruined major sports, team loyalty is all but a thing of the past. Future players might take a hint if the latest superstar sticks with the franchise that drafted him.
Third, and most importantly, the Cavs already bought into James as leader of the team, and he knows how to lead his team to victory. He’s the best hope for a title in Cleveland. If he goes to another team, he’ll spend time working his new teammates into his philosophy, which would delay success--and if he came to New York, which is still reeling from a decade of mismanagement, that delay would last a lot longer.
And let’s face it--the Cavs lost to ONE TEAM, the Orlando Magic. Would any of these knee-jerkers overreact if they beat another team in the Conference Finals and went on to win the whole ball of wax? Not bloody likely.
People can say what they want about the Cavs, but the current group still has another season to play together before James makes his fateful decision. And who can say whether this lineup will blow it again in the second season? Nobody associated with the Cavs will forget how their season ended, so getting better is the top priority.
And for all those knee-jerkers out there, take my advice: buy some of that glucosamine and chondroitin stuff.