When I first sat down to write this, I had a million ideas running through my mind -- most of it your typical agony of defeat that Cleveland has had to endure becoming accustomed to. I was going to ironically jest how the last time this city has seen a championship, "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles was the #1 song in the country and how the painfully overplayed "We Are the Champions" staple wasn't even written until 13 years later. Even more numbing is the (alleged) fact that Neil Armstrong pressed a firm boot-print into the surface of the moon more recently than a Cleveland athlete has hoisted a trophy.
And then I thought of Jose Mesa's barn-burning meltdown of the 1997 World Series. The game in-hand, all Mesa had to do was come out and secure the 2-1 margin over the Florida Marlins in the final game of the series. Instead, he allowed the game to tie and subsequently go into extra innings. And with one bounce off of the glove of Charlie Nagy, the Indians had put another feather into the cap of Cleveland misery.
So where am I going with this? That Tribe game was the pinnacle of the season. There would be no rounds to follow, there would be no game 8. That night in late October was a win-or-go-home situation. No second chances, no shot at redemption. This is the one luxury the Cavs have in this championship run -- there is the opportunity to bounce back.
History, however, does not side with the Cavs. Since the franchise's inception, they have been on the short end of a 3-2 lead in a playoff series 4 times -- and all 4 series ended with the Cavaliers being ousted. That having been said, this is a team that has the tools to overcome adversity, still boasts the best record in the NBA and (regardless of what the summer brings) still has the best all-around player in the league on its roster.
And, yes, in lieu of his game 5 no-show, Lebron is still the best all-around player in the league. Here's a guy who's taken a tremendous amount of heat from all over the country in the last 14 hours or so, and I am no one to say that he hasn't deserved every word of it. "King James" in all his glory, for now, has been demoted to that of a lowly grunt after a performance that was abysmal to say the least. Lebron's lack of aggression and overall inactivity has many people wondering whether he has become too complacent, or is simply going through the motions before jetting Northeast Ohio. That much is true.
Though whatever the case may be, a lot is to be said for what Lebron has done for this team since being drafted and is the only reason the Cavs have advanced this far to begin with. Or have we forgotten the dismal days of 2002 when the Cavs limped to a 17-65 finish? Hell, even Michael Jordan has had a lapse in judgement now and again. But down 3-2 against a very confident Celtics squad, this has to be Lebron's difinitive moment as a Cavalier. He has to be that guy who, once again, puts the team on his back in order to catapult them closer to the championship history books. And all this talk about whether or not he'll remain in a Cav uniform next year is no different from the same chatter we've heard for the last 3 years: pure speculation. None of these so-called experts know what Lebron is going to do any more than you or I. And frankly, I think most any basketball fan or analyst can agree that going to New York could be one of the dumbest decisions he could make as a competitor. Of course, whether or not there are more formidable suitors remains to be seen.
Even with that being said, I know Dan Gilbert did not buy this team to simply let Lebron walk away -- especially without having some hardware to show for it. After all, Gilbert is the one who stands to lose the most if Lebron does in fact leave. Forget the heart of the city, forget curses, forget the never-ending sports drought. James' departure will cost the franchise a boatload of dollars and cents, something to the tune of $100 million. I don't care who you are or how much dough you have -- that's a lot of money.
Lastly, as we all know every postseason exposes the offensive deficiencies of Mike Brown. For me, he is the weak link of this franchise. For years, I've demanded more of Danny Ferry and found many of his early moves to be questionable at best. In fact, before this last offseason, I would have ranked the acquisition of Flip Murray among the best moves he made. But then he added some key components in Anthony Parker and, before that, Delonte West. He also got some good value in drafting JJ Hickson and Daniel Gibson as well as getting Shaq and Antwan Jamison for not much more than a paycheck. But it has been Mike Brown's inability to properly utilize those players in matchup situations that has been the achilles heel of this team over the last several years. It is still possible, however, to still win this series and the title in spite of Mike Brown's coaching blunders.
Look, I know this team is in a bad spot and all indications are last night's loss was the end to not only a season, but to an era. But after having seen some pretty venomous fan and media reaction (myself included) over the last several hours, I decided to take the somewhat-optomistic viewpoint regarding the series and the season as a whole. Do I necessarily believe a lot of what I've written here? Some I do, some I don't. But I do know that there are still two games left and the offseason doesn't start until mid-June. Until then, the only thing that matters is winning games. So join me, if you will, in crossing fingers, toes, or any other good-luck appendages you might have. We're going to need all the help we can get.
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