One thing I've always hated about sports commentators and writers alike is their insistance on blowing things out of proportion. Tony Parker gets knocked down midway through the first quarter, that must be the reason he started the 4th 0 for 4. Ron Artest grabs his ankle during a timeout, let's watch this for the rest of the game and base our opinion of his performance around this event. LeBron James and his infamous elbow...
Speaking of LeBron James and blowing things out of proportion, all of this talk about his Game 5 performance is starting to get to me. Theories of him mailing in the performance are flying and I thought to myself, here we go again, one bad performance being blown out of proportion.
But here's a point that is every bit as important as the media is making it out to be. What LeBron James decides to do this offseason will have a drastic effect on the NBA for the next 10 to 12 years. Consider the situation, the NBA's best player, potentially one of the greatest ever, 25 years old and not even in his prime yet has the opportunity to choose between a number of NBA teams. His decision will have a snowball effect on the rest of the league.
I'd always believed LeBron would stay in Cleveland but what does he have to gain from that? They're already up against the wall to an aging Celtics team, and likely don't stand a chance against a Magic team that is firing on all cylinders. An aging Jamison and Mo Williams don't look as attractive as say a Devin Harris and Brooke Lopez or a Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.
All the talk about LeBron has centered around the Knicks. If he doesn't stay in Cleveland he will likely go to New York to play with the Knicks in a big market, make movies with Spike Lee, and lay down the intro for Jay Z's next record. New York's most attractive options are Wilson Chandler and an Italian guy who can shoot threes some of the time. David Lee will bolt for free agency, leaving the door open for New York to sign LeBron and another big name such as Chris Bosh.
About a year and a half ago I was watching ESPN, and there was Jalen Rose and his goofy smirk. I loved Jalen Rose as a player, but as an analyst, not so much. He gave that little cockeyed grin, looked directly in the camera and said, "Ladies and gentleman, you heard it here first." He paused and let the suspense build. "LeBron James and Chris Bosh will both be playing for the New York Knicks in 2010."
At the time this seemed about as far fetched as Jalen Rose playing for the Knicks in 2010. Now it seems like a distinct possibility and it worries me. Team LeBron and Bosh together and they win at least 5 NBA titles, probably more. They immediatley become the Magic's only competition in the East and soon enough would usurp the aging Lakers and up and coming Thunder. Plain and simple, putting those two together would not be fair for the rest of the league.
And since I can't go more than a few paragraphs without mentioning a Chicago team, Bosh to the Knicks would set the Bulls back another ten years. They let Ben Gordon walk, traded John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas, and have been giving minutes to the likes of Brad Miller, James Johnson, and Flip Murray with the hope that they would clear enough cap room to lure a major free agent.
I'm not even going to entertain Wade or LeBron to the Bulls rumors, neither of those are happening, and the more I think about them the more I try to convince myself they are. So that is the last I will mention of it. Bosh is the main target on the Bulls radar and would instantly catapult them into a top 3 or 4 team in the East that could legitimately contend for a title next year.
Amare Stoudemire would be second on the Bulls radar, who the Bulls could have drafted in 2002 if it wasn't for the previous years draft landing Tyson Chandler (gasp) and Eddy Curry (double gasp). He'd be a nice addition but I'd still prefer a more traditional back to the basket scorer that Bosh is.
LeBron's offseason decision will greatly alter the landscape of the NBA for the next decade but don't read too much into this series. It would be foolish to assume that LeBron's decision is going to be based solely off what the Cavs do in the playoffs. If he wants to leave he will, simple as that. If it's for more money or because he feels he has a better shot at winning a championship he will do it.
This Game 6 is, however, of monumental importance for the city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers franchise. It is the most important game in franchise history, and that is not blowing it out of proportion. LeBron won't stay or go based on this game, but Cleveland fans realize that this is their last chance to win a championship. This team, even with LeBron isn't going to be good enough to contend in years to come, this is their shot. I can't wait to see how this unfolds, I haven't been this excited to watch a single playoff game since 1998.
No comments:
Post a Comment