I tried. I really did. I tried to go all day without doing one more sports post. I just can’t help it. I’ve said it before, I’m a Cavs fan and native Clevelander. So last night’s loss to the Celtics and ultimate Championship Dreams was disappointing. Heartbreaking? No. Disappointing? Yes. For those that don’t enjoy the sports talk, you can scroll down to another post at this point. If you’re up for some good sports rants, feel free to read on.
Game 6, while entertaining was not the biggest problem for me. Game 5 still stands out to me as the one that really got away. While I say that, I don’t think it got away, it was given away. While I have very strong feelings about Coach Mike Brown (who is reportedly going to be fired), I lay all of this at the feet of one Mr. Lebron James. All of it. In all my years of watching the NBA, I have never seen a player quit his team like Lebron did. I can’t explain it and that is what bothers me the most.
Last night I received text messages from friends with all sorts of speculation. I can’t say that I haven’t speculated either. It’s conspiracy theory kind of stuff that I’m talking about though and that just doesn’t seem to fit who Lebron has been to Cleveland since arriving 7 years ago. Stuff like:
1. Maybe he received death threats
2. Maybe there is more than we know wrong physically (terminal illness?)
3. Maybe, as one friend said, he’s got a Tiger Woods like scandal that’s about to break.
4. Maybe the NBA is all fixed and he was in the middle of one of the biggest fixes ever
While that all sounds crazy and a little off base, trust me when I say that it’s not the bitter Cleveland fan talking. Watch the tape. Watch Lebron. I know he got a triple double last night, but it wasn’t a Lebron triple double. Outside of two 3 pointers late in the game, his baskets were garbage put backs and free throws. His attacking the rim was minimal. JJ Hickson could have had 17 rebounds if he played the whole game and focused on it. If you’ve watched Lebron, you and I both know he mailed in the last 2 games. Period.
Lebron quit.
I’m sure the next argument will be that the other players were just as bad. No disagreement from me. I love former Tar Heel Antawn Jamison. He has always been one of my favorite players. But these guys were as shell shocked as the rest of us watching. Even the guys calling the game saw it. How could they know what to do when they didn’t know what Lebron was going to do? Mo Williams took over Lebron’s spot in Game 6 and had 20 in the first half. He was the one driving and dishing. He was the one driving to the basket and pulling up for long jumpers. Lebron wanted no part of it. Is there a Cavalier fan reading this that can say that Lebron doesn’t ALWAYS have his hands on the ball? Even on his rebounds, Lebron usually goes coast-to-coast like a man possessed. You can’t stop him. He got the rebounds, dribbled and passed to Mo Williams. Watch the tape. It doesn’t lie.
I don’t think this story is over. I’ll be honest and say I don’t care if Lebron stays or goes. I love Cleveland and Lebron has done so much for the economy and sports, but it’s all tainted now. I want the truth. I want to know why he quit. Maybe there’s a good reason for it. Maybe it’s one of those 4 things I mentioned above. I want to know why he bailed. If it’s the free agency thing, let him walk. If it’s a scandal, he will need to deal with it accordingly. If it was a death threat, the league should have been made aware and stepped in. I don’t even want to consider it was a terminal illness.
Walking off the court and in the post game conference, Lebron looked terrible. He looked stressed and like there was something he just wasn’t saying. If he’s stressed about the free agency thing, he made that bed and now he needs to sleep in it. I don’t buy that it was the tough series he went through vs. the Celtics. After all, he only really played in 4 of the games…if that. I think the owner, the players, the fans all deserve an answer to why the MVP was anything but. I don’t buy the elbow deal. Yes, he might be hurt, but he could still dunk and hang two handed on the rim. Something was up and I believe we all need those answers.
Until then I am going to go on an NBA fast. I don’t want to hear about his courtship with other teams. I don’t want to read the speculation about where and when. Don’t even get me started about the whole John Calipari noise. I just want the truth from Lebron. Not the “A Few Good Men” truth. I want the real truth as to why he quit.
Watch this clip and see if you don’t see it too.
