It’s catharsis for Cleveland.
Go back nearly a year ago, the summer of The Decision, the loss of the hometown hero, the ultimate heartbreak for a city without a championship in a long time and lacking elite stars in most sports.
Scrolling through Twitter following the Mavs’ victory, a flurry of tweets from the CavsforMavs movement filled my feed. A summer and subsequent season in no short supply of vitriol spewed toward one man, LeBron James.
The Big Three of James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh didn’t have too much trouble getting to the Finals. It took the Heat just five games to roll through the East, beating the Sixers, Celtics and Bulls. But this series turned out differently.
Unlike the previous three, Miami never got out to a two-game advantage. The Heat got up 1-0 at home, had a commanding 15-point lead in game two. But with seven minutes left in that one, Dallas altered the course of this series.
The Mavericks forged an epic comeback, an incredible performance by Dirk Nowitzki and company. The Heat followed the historic game two collapse with a win and a 2-1 lead. But again the Mavericks did not back down. They answered in game four and did more with a huge game five victory. Its backs against the wall for the first time these playoffs, Miami could not provide an answer of its own.
So a summer seeped in talk of superstars moving around to create “dream teams” and these type of trifectas forever altering the NBA landscape, it’s instead a team not many talked about in the offseason or the regular season lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The key word there…team. Yes, the Mavericks have a top 10 player in Dirk Nowitzki, a guy who had one of the greatest postseasons I can remember. While Nowitzki drove this run, the guys around him were instrumental. Guys like the undrafted JJ Barea, 17-year veteran Jason Kidd, a guy Nowitzki called out Jason Terry and an offseason signing you didn’t hear much about Tyson Chandler.
In the deciding game six, Dallas’ bench outscored Miami’s 43-20. Dallas is a better all-around team with an excellent coach in Rick Carlisle who got them to play defense good enough to match up with the Heat’s. But what people will remember from the 2011 NBA Finals outside of Nowitzki’s superb performance is James’ lack of one. He never took over the game, went quiet in the fourth quarter when Nowitzki elevated his game.
In eight seasons, James does not have many defining playoff moments. There was his complete domination of game five of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, when he scored all of the Cavs’ finals 25 points and 48 total. There was his game-winning 3-pointer with one-second left that beat the Magic in game two of the 2008 Eastern Finals. But let’s be honest, Nowitzki may have had more defining moments in this postseason alone than James has in his entire playoff career. Nowitzki scored more 4th quarter points in the Finals then Wade and James combined.
Time and time again, James has fallen short. In Cleveland, the excuse was that he didn’t have enough talent around him. That can’t be an excuse this time playing with Wade and Bosh. Maybe James’ time will come. But right now he’s no Jordan, Bryant, even his very own teammate Wade.
He didn’t do in Cleveland, bolted and didn’t do it in Miami. He may one day but for now, Cleveland's happiness is warranted. Next step, the Cavs’ first and fourth picks and maybe someday not just catharsis but joy from a trophy coming through the streets of downtown Cleveland, a title of its own.
Go back nearly a year ago, the summer of The Decision, the loss of the hometown hero, the ultimate heartbreak for a city without a championship in a long time and lacking elite stars in most sports.
Scrolling through Twitter following the Mavs’ victory, a flurry of tweets from the CavsforMavs movement filled my feed. A summer and subsequent season in no short supply of vitriol spewed toward one man, LeBron James.
The Big Three of James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh didn’t have too much trouble getting to the Finals. It took the Heat just five games to roll through the East, beating the Sixers, Celtics and Bulls. But this series turned out differently.
Unlike the previous three, Miami never got out to a two-game advantage. The Heat got up 1-0 at home, had a commanding 15-point lead in game two. But with seven minutes left in that one, Dallas altered the course of this series.
The Mavericks forged an epic comeback, an incredible performance by Dirk Nowitzki and company. The Heat followed the historic game two collapse with a win and a 2-1 lead. But again the Mavericks did not back down. They answered in game four and did more with a huge game five victory. Its backs against the wall for the first time these playoffs, Miami could not provide an answer of its own.
So a summer seeped in talk of superstars moving around to create “dream teams” and these type of trifectas forever altering the NBA landscape, it’s instead a team not many talked about in the offseason or the regular season lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The key word there…team. Yes, the Mavericks have a top 10 player in Dirk Nowitzki, a guy who had one of the greatest postseasons I can remember. While Nowitzki drove this run, the guys around him were instrumental. Guys like the undrafted JJ Barea, 17-year veteran Jason Kidd, a guy Nowitzki called out Jason Terry and an offseason signing you didn’t hear much about Tyson Chandler.
In the deciding game six, Dallas’ bench outscored Miami’s 43-20. Dallas is a better all-around team with an excellent coach in Rick Carlisle who got them to play defense good enough to match up with the Heat’s. But what people will remember from the 2011 NBA Finals outside of Nowitzki’s superb performance is James’ lack of one. He never took over the game, went quiet in the fourth quarter when Nowitzki elevated his game.
In eight seasons, James does not have many defining playoff moments. There was his complete domination of game five of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, when he scored all of the Cavs’ finals 25 points and 48 total. There was his game-winning 3-pointer with one-second left that beat the Magic in game two of the 2008 Eastern Finals. But let’s be honest, Nowitzki may have had more defining moments in this postseason alone than James has in his entire playoff career. Nowitzki scored more 4th quarter points in the Finals then Wade and James combined.
Time and time again, James has fallen short. In Cleveland, the excuse was that he didn’t have enough talent around him. That can’t be an excuse this time playing with Wade and Bosh. Maybe James’ time will come. But right now he’s no Jordan, Bryant, even his very own teammate Wade.
He didn’t do in Cleveland, bolted and didn’t do it in Miami. He may one day but for now, Cleveland's happiness is warranted. Next step, the Cavs’ first and fourth picks and maybe someday not just catharsis but joy from a trophy coming through the streets of downtown Cleveland, a title of its own.
LeBron couldn't go to college because he refused to show up to finals.
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