As much as the Cavs' end to the season seems like such a great mystery, I don't believe it. Here are the reasons I believe it ended the way it did.
1. LeBron was hurt.
First of all, WE KNOW he was hurt. He admitted it...there was an MRI and everything. Even with the description, nobody really knows what it meant or how it feels to play with it. However, we did see LeBron James play with it, so that might give us a good idea. Here is why this makes sense with how he played in game 5 and game 6.
LeBron couldn't shoot or dribble. When have we ever really seen him just lose the ball dribbling? When have we seen him pass up shots (unless prudent)? The things he is usually criticized for is shooting too many heat-check jumpers and over-dribbling. And now, in the playoffs, he's so afraid to dribble that he passes up 1-on-1 opportunities in the open court to let Anthony Parker run the break? That would make sense if LeBron either had no playoff history or a history of choking in the playoffs but he has neither. Even when he fails, he does it aggressively. He said it himself when asked about his elbow. He said, "I'll be a productive player." That's how he was playing in game 5...like he was trying to just contribute. Obviously, the way that team is constructed, LeBron can't play that way against the Celtics and win. He needs to be all out aggressive and enthusiastic about it. He wasn't. They lost.
The other rumor I've heard discussed is that LeBron was somehow paid off or motivated to play poorly and lose to the Celtics. If that were the case, why try so hard in other playoff series? Why play so well in the regular season? And, most importantly, why go all out in game 6 to get a career playoff high 19 rebounds? LeBron did not play all that well in game 6, but his effort was not lacking. I watched it, don't try to convince me otherwise.
2. Mike Brown
Mike Brown is a great guy and a really good coach but he failed with this team. It would take a great coaching job to have won the title with this team, but it was possible and truthfully, every title team has a great coach. That's just what it takes and, at the end of the day, Mike Brown didn't deliver.
Specifically, this Cleveland team was unusually deep and versatile, has the best player in the league, but was not all that top-heavy with it's supporting stars. What Mike Brown was lacking was the clout to look a 38-year-old Shaq in the face and say, "Big fella, you're not starting against the Celtics, it's a bad match up...same with you Antawn...that's just the way our team is constructed and I cannot sacrifice potentially losing a series just to make sure our stars' egos are fed." Instead, the Cavs started Jamison on Garnett, which was a disaster, and when Anderson Varejao, a player who CAN guard Garnett, came in...Garnett subbed out. The way those two were rotated in and out rendered both of them useless. The two best non-LeBron forwards for the Cavs did not help them in any real way in this series that they lost to the likely eventual champions in six games.
LeBron normally can make up for this lack of quick thinking adjustments from Mike Brown because he is so good. But, with this elbow that hindered his ball handling, shooting and finishing with any strength, he could only be a really great player, not a fix-all. This, I believe, led to LeBron getting frustrated with Brown to the point that there was visible tension between the two. I don't know if LeBron was interested in the adjustments that I think should have been made, but he disagreed over some substitutions for sure. The effect this had was the death of the good vibes this team had on which it was uniquely based.With no good vibes, no crafty or creative rotation adjustments and LeBron injured just enough to not be able to perform his heroics, they were doomed.
3. No Continuity.
As old as the Celtics seemed in the regular season, apparently there is a lot to be said for having the same starting five three years in a row. People seem to forget that Shaq and Jamison had essentially never started together. It's hard enough to create enough chemistry to win a title in one season let alone one first round playoff series. This is why I would not be opposed to the exact same team returning. I'm convinced this Cleveland team had the guns to win it all and an extra year together couldn't hurt.
4. The pressure of LeBron potentially leaving.
I never subscribed to this theory during the regular season but it was noticeable in the playoffs. When LeBron started to get moody, everyone could sense it could be the end. This includes the crowd and the players. I'm sure Mike Brown knew he was fired after game 5. You just can't play free and easy under those circumstances, especially against a team like Boston, a great and tough team that I continue to have a growing respect for as they expose one playoff pretender after another on their way to another potential title. When Boston smells blood, it's tough to hold them off. They're well-coached, smart, tough and good. That's just the way it is.
Which brings us to the Finals.
I hate to keep beating this drum, but I keep hearing about how, after beating the Suns and playing so very well in all the games, Kobe has somehow changed history and passed Jordan as the greatest ever or even LeBron as the greatest currently.
Kobe Bryant averaged 34-8-7 against the suns...a great stat line, no doubt. That's 4 points more than LeBron averaged during the season...but apparently it's historic for Kobe to do that in a series being guarded by...oh wait...they played a zone. THEY PLAYED A ZONE IN AN NBA PLAYOFF SERIES. Essentially the Suns admitted they had nobody to guard Kobe or really anybody else on the Lakers for that matter. I'm impressed with how well Kobe played but the world has to realize how many point LeBron could have averaged against this Suns team in the playoffs if he were at full strength. Anybody who has ever been any good at playing shooting guard knows the feeling when a team can't guard him and that's what it was like in this Suns series. The Celtics have proven they can guard him and the Finals will be a different story. All I'm really saying that after a series against one of the worst defensive teams in history is not the right time to anoint anyone of anything.
To conclude this long-awaited (???) post, I'd just like to say that I have no idea what's going to happen...in either thing. Is LeBron gonna stay? I don't know. Where's he gonna go if he leaves? No idea. Who is going to win the Finals? Ya know what...not really sure.
Gun to the head though, I'm taking Cleveland for the first two and Boston for the second. Is there really a chance I'm still a wild-eyed optimist at this point? It seems hard to believe.
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