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DAyum......this guy is going way out on a limb IMHO.
CLEVELAND -- One debate about Game 2 surrounded LeBron James coming out within the first five minutes of the opening quarter due to foul trouble. Why?
Understanding that Mike Brown has to face one of his mentors with an undermanned team is one thing, but if you're going for broke, you go for broke. James picked up his second foul less than five minutes in, came out of the game and before you knew it, the Spurs led 16-6. It was over.
Mark it down: Tony Parker is an easy call for NBA Finals MVP.
Mark it down: Tony Parker is an easy call for NBA Finals MVP.
You can't beat the Spurs in San Antonio without your full arsenal, and anyone that anticipated Daniel Gibson or Zydrunas Ilgauskas leading a comeback with James sitting on the bench was delusional. There's only one player on the Cavaliers roster that can alter the outcome of this series, and if he's relegated to the pine, someone needs to find Mills Lane.
This shouldn't even be contested. Honestly, the next time James picks up two fouls early, Brown needs to do the right thing and leave him out there. It's not only the right thing, it's necessary. It's unequivocally the only thing he can do.
Otherwise, stop wasting everyone's time. Those of us taking the time to watch shouldn't be disturbed by this predictable intrusion.
Could St. Louis have won a championship without Albert Pujols? Would San Francisco have won multiple Super Bowls without Joe Montana? Would the Cavs even have gotten out of the first round without James? The answer to all those questions is no, which is why the answer to James being left out there with two fouls in the opening five minutes should've been yes.
What more do you have to lose?
You're already the Cavs, in your first NBA Finals, experiencing something that you never have before. You're up against San Antonio, a team that has proven it can and will exterminate you.
As the series shifts to Cleveland for a game the Cavaliers must win in order to have any chance to survive, all conventional wisdom goes out the window. If James picks up two fouls 15 seconds in, he'd better stay out there to pick up his third, fourth, fifth and sixth fouls.
Desperation needs to kick in. James said as much after the Cavs got back at Detroit by winning Game 3 of that series. If you go down 3-0, it's over. If you can find a way to get it to 2-1, all of a sudden there's a reason to believe.
The Cavs took four in a row from Detroit. If the Cavs take four in a row from San Antonio, I will quit my job. My managing editor may not appreciate this, but if I'm not good enough to recognize that the Cavs are the greatest team on God's green earth, I shouldn't be writing for the world's best website. So I'll give you that, knowing full well that I'm not going anywhere, because the debate should honestly surround whether Cleveland can win a game in this series, not win this series at all.
A good friend of mine has dedicated his next column to writing about the myth of the 2-0 lead. Two years ago, San Antonio made Detroit look as bad as the Spurs have made the Cavs look this year. Maybe worse. That series ended up being phenomenal. Last season, Miami went to Dallas and was handed a beatdown.
The Heat rebounded in time to win an NBA championship.
If that happens in this series, I'll walk back to Cleveland's Hopkins Airport in my boxers. This isn't a publicity stunt. It's something that just won't happen. I like my job. I am not going to give it up. By saying the Cavs won't do in the Spurs like they did in the Pistons, I'm not even putting my job at risk. This is already over.
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That said, it would be nice if Cleveland goes out there on Tuesday night and takes advantage of its one opportunity to shine. To the people that will come out and support them, it doesn't matter that the Cavs went down to south Texas and failed. What will matter is that little kids in Cleveland jerseys will get a chance to see a team in a city notorious for losing actually represent.
Honestly, since my only niche in all of this is to try and be right all the time, it's somewhat risky to be so sure about this as to promise to become unemployed and walk a good 10 miles half-naked. However, because I do know what I'm talking about, from calling Tony Parker the NBA Finals MVP before anything even started to guaranteeing things that would destroy my career if I'm wrong, the fact of the matter boils down to two things:
1. San Antonio is the best team since Michael Jordan's Bulls. The Spurs have proven it. They will win this series in five games or less. Where we got a book out of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal's displeasure with one another, you can hear out of Parker and Manu Ginobili how unbelievable it is to play with Tim Duncan. I don't know how to say this to you, so I will go this route: Do I know I'm pretty good at what I do? Sure. Do I recognize when people are better? Yes.
2. You get to a point in your life where the only thing that matters is giving your readers an accurate portrayal of what is going on in the league that they love to watch and read about. If I have to be the bearer of bad news and say O'Neal is probably done and the Cavs are dead, so be it. The truth, if you're right, sets you free. But the bottom line is that Cleveland has one shot, one opportunity, like Eminem says, to make this happen. And the Cavs better go for it. They better realize where they're at, better realize who they are and better go for broke. If not, they will get swept. Weakness is for suckers. You either win or you lose. The next couple of days will tell you all you need to know about Brown and James.
I wish them well, but you will never see me in my boxers.
he should have bet his jon on TP for MVP. that would be interesting.
