Save the league, LeBron: We need the Cavs

[Windmill360]

The NBA is needy when it comes to salvaging this postseason.

A knockdown drag-out battle between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons for seven games just won't do it. The NBA and basketball fans everywhere need LeBron James to keep the Cleveland Cavaliers on his shoulders for one more game to eliminate the Pistons. If that happens, and the Cavs make it to the Finals for the first time in franchise history, the rest of the sports world will follow the buzz.
NBA Playoff Roundup
Eastern Conference final:


If not, say good night, NBA — see you next year.

Granted, the Spurs and the Pistons have clearly been the best teams in their respective conferences the past five years. That's been close to true most of this season as well.

But the prospect of them having a re-match from the 2005 Finals is a yawner. To be sure, it will be enough to draw interest from both cities, the families of everyone from the respective organizations and a handful of diehards who still aren't ready for the interminable season to end.

All the marginal fans will be lost, and even some of the good ones. And that's really what has happened since the first round — that is, until the Kings James Show of Thursday night produced an awakening that perked up the dormant fan.

It just wasn't easy getting there. Once we got past the first round — where the Golden State Warriors pulled off an extraordinary upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls swept the defending champion Miami Heat — everything went downhill fast. There was nothing sexy about the Utah Jazz coming from behind to knock off the Rockets in Houston in Game 7 of the first round, with the exception of perhaps the national coming-out party for Jazz point guard Deron Williams.

And nothing was going on in the East. The Pistons won their first seven games and the Cavs their first six. They may as well not even played the first two rounds in the Eastern Conference and just let the Cavs and Pistons play the way the brackets broke.

On came the second round in the West, and what promised to be the de facto Finals between the Spurs and Phoenix Suns. Instead, it turned into a bloody mess with fingers pointing at the Spurs as cheap-shot artists. Commissioner David Stern then made it worse with suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw that were completely unnecessary and virtually took the Suns out of the series. And while that's not fair to the Spurs — who are once again proving to have the best trio in the NBA in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili — that's not the point.

The league office ruined the only truly championship-caliber matchup of the postseason and eliminated the intriguing possibility of some fresh faces in the Finals.

Instead, we're guaranteed to be looking at the sullen, whining Duncan, the most under-appreciated superstar this side of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — mostly because he chooses to be a dullard to the media and public. All of that throws a wet towel on what an amazing performer he has been, an all-time great seeking the fourth title in nine years for the Spurs.

The Pistons are similarly unexciting, even if they don't agree. They get full of themselves far too often, and that's caused them to underachieve from the end of last season through ... right now. Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Chris Webber are a terrific starting lineup and at times move the ball so well you could swear James Naismith has re-surfaced just to stand and applaud.


Now hear this: LeBron James is the last hope to salvage these NBA playoffs. (Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

Consequently, basketball purists will be fine with the Spurs and Pistons in the Finals. Most people expected it anyway (including yours truly).

All of that was before Thursday night, when LeBron James decided to save the world.

When somebody has a transcendent performance as he did, it changes everything. Basketball fans are looking for magic in the postseason and James is the closest thing we've seen to the spectacular play of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. James scored 29 of the Cavs' final 30 points — including the final 25 — in their 109-107 double-overtime win at Detroit to set up Game 6 in Cleveland. He didn't get there by gaining free-throw attempt after free-throw attempt either, he did it by blasting through, running around or jumping over the vaunted Pistons defenders to the tune of 48 points.

The Cavs now have a chance to pick up Cleveland — a franchise with no championships in 43 years — from the doldrums. Even more special is that James is a 22-year-old who grew just a few miles down the road from the old Richfield Coliseum where the Cavaliers used to play before moving downtown.

He's fresh, exciting, and a new breed of athlete. It's what made last year's Finals fun with the explosion from Dwyane Wade, although too much of it was predicated by incessant fouls.

James is a 21st-century version of Jim Brown in basketball trunks — too big, fast, and powerful. He also has the genius basketball IQ to overcome the marginal talent and coaching around him. Not coincidentally, it was Brown who led the Cleveland Browns to the NFL title — in 1964, which was the city's last official championship.

What we don't know is how well James can sustain this to get his team over the hump. The first five games were all nail-biters, and either team could have won any of the games. The Cavs have outscored the Pistons by an average of 1.2 points per game.

It's likely the Pistons are much better prepared than the inexperienced Cavs to deal with a rested Spurs team, and give it a shot. It just wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

This has nothing to do with being realistic. Realistic is not what James did on Thursday night, so we don't know if he's through as a miracle-worker for the season, or just getting started.

For the sake of Cleveland, the organization and the league, let's just hope it's the latter.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6875620?MSNHPHMA

Spurs/Pistons is bad for the NBA. We don't need the spurts to win again. Besides, if the Cavs win this year, what are the chances of them being a serious contender for a championship next year? They might turn into the next Miami. You never know with the east. I say root for the Cavs this year. After all, they are searching for their first championship just like us. Who wants to live in a world where the spurts get labeled the championship dynasty of the new millenium? I'm a Mavericks fan, not a Michael Finley fan.

[alby]

What if it does turn out to be San Antonio vs Cleveland
would it still save the NBA if its a 4-0 sweep for the Spurs?

[mqywaaah]

Since the Mavs exited the Playoffs, its been goodnight NBA for me ever since... so it doesnt really matter who wins the East and the NBA Finals.

[dalmations202]

Business--the NBA is a business.

It was better marketing for DWade to win it all last year, and better marketing for Lebron to win it this year.

It is the Spurs chance to win anyway.

I think it will be fun. I would not put $$$ against Lebron though, if he can get Cleveland there - because it make too much business sense.

[Tokey41]

If the Cavs make it Lebron will need all the ref love in the world in order to win the series. A 4-0 sweep in the finals would be ridiculous in any sport, too bad it's actually happened.

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by Tokey41

If the Cavs make it Lebron will need all the ref love in the world in order to win the series. A 4-0 sweep in the finals would be ridiculous in any sport, too bad it's actually happened.

Yeah, people get swept in the NFL playoffs all the team. Even in the finals.

[Tokey41]

I'm not getting into a football discussion but I still think one game to decide it all is a bad idea. You don't usually win a best of seven series with luck. You can however win the Superbowl even if your the inferior team with a little luck. I can understand why they do it in a sport such as football but the point is the better team doesn't win as much as they would if they had played several games.

[kenny9]

I personally want to see clevland win now...so that way my taste losing last year can somewhat leave....and feel good that spurs can be considered choking too!

[alby]

The media will twist it around and say that the greatness of Lebron won it and not because the Spurs choked.

[birdsanctuary]

The Cavs will advance and like Miami vs Dallas the Cavs will be handed the Trophy...

You heard it here....

[twelli]

Watching LeBron is great entertainment, and they now have another media darling in Gibson too. I like witnessing greatness, especially if it doesn't come with selfishness.

I admit it. I'll watch the finals to see LeBron.

[rakesh.s]

Originally Posted by alby

The media will twist it around and say that the greatness of Lebron won it and not because the Spurs choked.

spurs have 3 rings over the last 8 years..they have nothing to prove. Any more rings at this point is just gravy for Duncan and moves him up the ladder on the G.O.A.T. list.

The mavs desperately needed to win a title and Dirk gagged....you can see why the media called dallas chokers.

[hotsauce]

omg!!! I almost never post, but I feel that I need to in this circumstance due to absurd comments and idiotic homers. Well, I would like to, first and foremost, point out that although I may want the mavs to win a title soon there is no reason to stop watching basketball because they are not in the playoffs. I'm not saying there is anything particularly wrong about this, but it just seems a bit gay to me that half of you posters stopped watching basketball because dirk wont hoist the trophy. Its one thing to root for a team while appreciating the sport being played at its highest level, but another thing to have a man crush on dirk and not enjoy the rest of the great basketball left to be played. Oh and please do not continue to insist that the refs gave the championship to miami----i think "we lost it". We simply did not have the balls to make clutch plays hopefully we will next year.
1. josh's infamous timeout
2. dirks missed free throw with game on the line
3. losing a 13 point lead in the fourth quarter.
etc..... we lost the series..... not the refs. They did make bad calls, but we played like the Pistons--- we played like punks..
cavs over sa in 6 .. mavs over miami in 2008

[dude1394]

Hey I quit watching most of football until superbowl as well. It's the way I roll.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by hotsauce

omg!!! I almost never post, but I feel that I need to in this circumstance due to absurd comments and idiotic homers. Well, I would like to, first and foremost, point out that although I may want the mavs to win a title soon there is no reason to stop watching basketball because they are not in the playoffs. I'm not saying there is anything particularly wrong about this, but it just seems a bit gay to me that half of you posters stopped watching basketball because dirk wont hoist the trophy. Its one thing to root for a team while appreciating the sport being played at its highest level, but another thing to have a man crush on dirk and not enjoy the rest of the great basketball left to be played. Oh and please do not continue to insist that the refs gave the championship to miami----i think "we lost it". We simply did not have the balls to make clutch plays hopefully we will next year.
1. josh's infamous timeout
2. dirks missed free throw with game on the line
3. losing a 13 point lead in the fourth quarter.
etc..... we lost the series..... not the refs. They did make bad calls, but we played like the Pistons--- we played like punks..
cavs over sa in 6 .. mavs over miami in 2008

I'm glad you got that off your chest.

[alby]

Originally Posted by dude1394

I'm glad you got that off your chest.

I'm glad he doesn't post much.

[nashtymavsfan13]

Originally Posted by alby

I'm glad he doesn't post much.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to alby again.

[Dtownsfinest]

The Cavs will advance and like Miami vs Dallas the Cavs will be handed the Trophy...

I doubt it. The Spurs aren't the Mavs. If the Spurs are up 2 games to 0 than that series is over. I gotta see how the Cavs play the Spurs on thursday to get a good glimpse of how this series will go. Without watching any games i'm gonna say that the Spurs win in 5. If "Boobie" has to put up 30 in order for the Cavs to win than they are doomed. 'Bron's shooting has been inconsistent except for the Game 5 outburst.