The Cleveland Cavaliers got kicked in the teeth over the summer when their native son, LeBron James, announced on national television that he would not be staying in Cleveland, but rather “taking his talents to South Beach.” As you might have guessed, every red-blooded Clevelander has had December 2nd marked on their calendar since the NBA released the 2010-11 basketball schedule.

LeBron James Returns to Cleveland on December 2, 2010

Maybe only one game (or two) so far this season have brought with it an enormous Superbowl-type hype with it. The opening tip between Boston and Miami felt like a Game 7. The first Orlando v. Miami game also had something special, until the blowout of the second half. These games were hyped because everyone wanted to see how Miami measured up against the NBA heavyweights.

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The weight of heavy expectations can burden even the best of us. Was it really possible for Obama to solve all of the domestic and foreign problems in the US within 2 years? Probably not. But the expectations of the American President pale in comparison to what was expected of the Dynamic Three-O of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. Anything less than a championship in season one is an utter disaster.

Miami opened its season against the veteran Boston Celtics is a game that was only close the first two minutes. Miami was humbled by a well-oiled Celtics machine that is to big down low and too smart on the bench to give in to the Miami Heat hype. Fast forward to game 14 and the Heat are a pedestrian 8-6, a game and a half behind Orlando and tied with a suddenly-swooning Atlanta team.

What happened to the 72 win possibility for the Miami Heat?

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Mike Woodson was fired by the Atlanta Hawks after taking the Atlanta Hawks to their best regular season finish in more than a decade. Should it come as any surprise that the regular season Eastern Conference champions have fired their coach?

Mike Brown was let go by the Cleveland Cavaliers after 5 seasons as head coach. The one-time assistant for the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, and the Indiana Pacers, was the only coach that NBA All-Star LeBron James has ever had. That is both good news and bad news for Brown. With LeBron comes instant wins but monumental expectations.

Brown is one of the most successful coaches in Cavs history, going 314-177 in the last two years and qualifying for the playoffs in each of his five years. However, after winning the coach of the year award in 2009, a year where the Cavalies won 66 games, he was unable to duplicate regular season success into playoff wins. NBA finalists in 2007 (the only appearance in Cleveland history), the Cavaliers have backslid every year, losing to the Orlando Magic in teh Eastern Conference finals last year and bowing out to the aged Celtics in the second round this year.

Brown’s fate was sealed by the performance of his team in this year’s playoffs. A sluggish and well contested first round series against a scrappy Bulls team may have been a sign of things to come. Despite excellent performances by LeBron James, the Cavs were never comfortable in the series. Game 1 of the second round against the Boston Celtics started ominously for the Cavs as they trailed by double-digits well into the second half. But a LeBron outburst in the fourth quarter led to a win and a 1-0 series lead. Two more games, and it was 2-1 for Cleveland. Inexplicably, the team lost 3 games in a row, some in blowout fashion to a Celtics team on the backside of their careers.

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Final stat line for LeBron James: 39 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists. Add in 21 points from Mo Williams and 19 from Antawn Jamison. You’d expect the Cavs to cruise to an easy victory, right? Wrong!

The balanced scoring of the Chicago Bulls led them to victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 on Thursday, 108-106. Derrick Rose had another stellar game, posting 31 points and 7 assists on 50% shooting. But it was the scoring of little Kirk Hinrich (27 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 75% shooting) and the rebounding of loud-mouth Joakim Noah (15 rebounds) that made the difference. Add Luol Deng’s 20 points and good contribution from the bench, at this was Chicago’s game.

But it was not as easy as they would have liked. Up by 21 points in the third quarter, the Bulls let the Cavs make a grand comeback. With less than a minute to go, the normally steady free throw shooting of the Bulls left them. Misses by Hinrich, Rose, and Deng gave Cleveland a chance to win at the end, but Anthony Parker’s three point attempt was off the mark.

LeBron had a monster game, but he hurt his team with the one true weakness he has — free throw shooting. LBJ was 7 of 13 from the charity stripe and the team as a whole shot only 65% from the FT line and 44% from the field. Compare that to the stellar percentages of the Bulls — 50% FG, 76% FT — and you have your difference in the game.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers got up big against the Chicago Bulls and never looked backed. But the performance of Derrick Rose was something to watch.

The Cavs beat the Bulls 96-83 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series at the Q. LeBron James did his best on both sides of the ball finishing with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 BLOCKS! The Cavs as a team swatted 12 balls, 10 in the second half. Mo Williams carried a heavy load at point guard dropping in 19 points with 10 dimes. Newly acquired Antawn Jamison was his ever-steady, quiet self, adding 15 points, 10 rebounds, and an impressive 3 blocks.

It was the depth of Cleveland that was the real difference. For once, it was not the LeBron + 4 game. Shaq, having not played since late February, came back with a strong performance, posting 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Varejao brought the energy with 15 rebounds and helped counter his bizarro self, Joakim Noah.

The offense of Chicago went through Derrick Rose. He had 28 points on 28 attempts and added 10 assists. His 7 TOs cost the Bulls but Rose has shown that he plays better in big games. The loss of another big scorer, losing Ben Gordon last year and John Salmons at the trade deadline, reduce the options of Chicago. Luol Deng was only 5-15 shooting, finishing with 12 points.

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LeBron & Wade are the current and future stars of the NBA. They showed the rest of the league why when they clashed in Miami on Thursday.

A much anticipated, star-studded clash took place in the NBA on Thursday as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers visited Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. When you look to star power in the NBA, few shine as bright as LeBron and Wade. They are the #1 & #2 centerpieces of a dynamite 2010 free agency class. Friends off the court, and respectful adversaries on the court, LeBron & Wade have even mused about playing together one day — though desired salaries and existing cap space will make that likely impossible.

“I like playing against LeBron more than anybody else in the league,” Wade said. “He brings out the best in me, and I bring out the best in him.”

The All-Star duel took place amid speculation James and Wade might become teammates next season.

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