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.
source: nbasoup.com
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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source: coolspotters.com
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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The Decision
LeBron James is the biggest star in the NBA and one of the most famous athletes in the world. He has legions of adoring fans, including many from competing cities. But in 15 seconds, he ruined 7 years of goodwill (and his legacy) for nothing more than a 60 minute infomercial on ESPN.
On July 8th, roughly 30 minutes after 9pm Eastern Standard Time, LeBron announced his intentions to sign with the Miami Heat, joining fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade & Chris Bosh. In doing so, he betrayed Cleveland fans and left the franchise gutted yet bloated with terrible contracts signed only to appease LeBron. Many can excuse LeBron for wanting to change teams. But no one can excuse the manner in which he did it — on live TV, with no warning. His public jilting of Cleveland is akin to a woman delivering a baby with her husband by her side, only to tell him it’s not his right before the baby is born.
Athletes change teams all the time. When contracts end, they are allowed to seek employment elsewhere. Sometimes in the middle of a contract, their team decides it is best to part ways. That is part of sports. Sport leagues are (for the most part) run as businesses and even fans understand this. Loyalty is expected by fans, but most recognize that if a better deal comes along it simply must be considered by the athlete who has at most a 10-15 year earning window. But one thing fans do not expect (and certainly detest) is false hope.
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To no one’s surprise, and you can certainly count David Stern and every NBA executive, Zydrunas Ilgauskas is set to rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Despite being traded to the Washington Wizards for Antawn Jamison just a month ago, Big Z is back in Cleveland and ready to resign. How did it happen? Simple: every NBA executive knows the obvious loopholes in cap system and tacitly agrees to follow along. That is not to say that Washington shouldn’t have waived Ilgauskas. He is an aging veteran on the backside of a good career. But given the utter disarray for the Wiz, cutting salary, ushering a youth movement, and ** shhh ** TANKING are in full effect.
The “loophole” is not that Washington waived Z, it is that no other playoff team picked him up. Legally, Cleveland is not allowed to resign Ilgauskas until he clears waivers. Are you telling me that teams like San Antonio, Atlanta, even Boston couldn’t use another big body for the playoffs? Of course they could. But all NBA execs know not to touch a guy like this because someday it will be their star hanging on waivers waiting to clear.
The upside of the buffoonery is that LeBron James is closer to his first NBA ring. With Shaq sidelined with injury, Z is needed now more than ever. Maybe they should’ve traded Shaq for Amare, then claimed him again after he cleared waivers…
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