Cavs Fall to Celtics

Is it even a discussion who the best basketball player in the world is anymore?

In my opinion, no. Kobe Bryant is now by far the best player in the world. And after the pathetic showing of LeBron James these last few games against the Boston Celtics, I’m hesitating to call him even the 2nd best.

Why do I say this? The best player in the world does not fold up like a lawn chair when his team, nay, his CITY needs him most. Now you may say, “Gee, Matt. LeBron had a triple double in game 6. He had 27 points, 10 assists, and 19 rebounds. What’s wrong with that?” You and I both know stats do not tell the entire story, and anyone who watched game 6 saw that LeBron James was not out there playing for a championship.

It is one thing to watch a team go out playing their best basketball. It is another to watch a team fall into a slumber and just not care whether they win or lose. It was even shown in this series that when the Cavs were at their best the Celtics could not stop them. So why did the Cavs decide to close up shop?

I knew there was something amiss after the game 2 loss to the Celtics when Mike Brown went out and called out his team at the press conference, and rightly so. What followed shocked me most. LeBron went to the podium and just seemed like the worst thing that happened was that the game kept him from finding out what happened on 24 that night. Little did I know this was just the beginning of the LeBron James rollercoaster.

The series returned to Boston where the Cavs blew the Celtics out of the building. For a moment all seemed right with the universe. LeBron was the best player on the court, and the Cavs looked like the team that was going to win the NBA Championship. Oh, how a week can change things. Game 4 came, and while the Cavs did not look awful, they were a team that only appeared to be interested in playing for a few minutes at a time. There appeared to be a switch somewhere that turned the Cavs off and on, but eventually they folded, the Celtics pulled away, and the series was even.

The Cavs still had two home games left to the Celtics’ one. Everything was still in their favor. However, apparently the players, most notably LeBron, decided this whole playoffs thing was starting to get a little uninteresting. Game 5 was the most important game of franchise history, and in the career of LeBron James. So what happens? Not only to the Cavs barely show up, but James puts on a performance that warranted the return of his MVP trophy to the powers at be.

The thing about star players is that even when they are not 100%, they are still supposed to be a factor. LeBron James could not even give the Cavs fans that in game 5. He went on the court, threw up brick after brick, and often stood off to the side of the play apparently with the thought basketball is more fun to watch. Eventually he went and sat on the bench like a kindergartener in time out.

Now, the bad game is one thing, but after the game he gave a press conference that felt like a middle finger to Cleveland fans everywhere. He dismissed the game as a “bad day” and just seemed to not care in general about the fact he just blew the entire season and made people across the nation second-guess his legitimacy as the best player in the game.

Then came game 6, which I barely feel like discussing. Was he better? Yes. Did he make some good plays? Yes. But he was not the best player on the court, nor did he truly appear to be playing as if there was no tomorrow.

Is it the elbow? Maybe, but that doesn’t explain his performance in game 3, which was the only game I felt like I was truly watching LeBron James. If anything was injured it was his head.

Now for the remainder of this I will address LeBron James directly.

Dear LeBron,

I know you fancy yourself the greatest basketball player of all time. A couple of weeks ago I might have agreed with you. I also thought you were mature beyond your years. Now after this Celtics series you have not only let your team down but the entire city of Cleveland. I would not be this virulent if you ever appeared to care, but frankly you didn’t.

Let’s examine your idol, Michael Jordan. In situations such as this he went out and left it all on the court. If he died out there he wouldn’t have cared, so long as he helped his team win. The same can be said of Kobe Bryant, or countless other players throughout this league. But apparently the same cannot be said of you.

Neither Bryant nor Jordan nor anyone else would display the behavior you have shown us in the last week. You go out there and make terrible plays and passes leading to turnovers, and start mouthing off to your teammates. Learn how to take responsibility. You apparently haven’t yet. You will no doubt use this blame you put on the rest of your team in your decision this summer as to where you will play. Run off to New York, Chicago, or wherever. Just know that I have serious doubts that the man I saw playing these past few games will ever amount to anything truly great in the history of this league. To win this league consistently not only takes skill, but maturity and work ethic. You seem to have a lot of work to do. I think the people of Cleveland deserve better.

Sincerely,
Matt

P.S. – I now notice Drew has posted something already, so it may seem redundant. Sorry about that.