LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have their backs against the wall. The Eastern Conference Champions find themselves down 0-2 against the Golden State Warriors in the Finals and fans are scrambling to find someone to blame. To some, King James is blameless. After all, he’s the unquestioned leader, most consistent producer and the only truly unstoppable force on the team. Without James, the Cavs would not be able to sniff the NBA Finals. However, as long as he continues to wield power as the team’s best player, de facto general manager and player-coach, it’s unlikely that Cleveland will be able to scratch its championship itch anytime soon.
Maybe Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert should have paid more attention in Civics 101 at Michigan State back in his days at Michigan State. I’m sure that even in the early 1980s, professors taught about the importance of checks and balances. No, I’m not talking about balancing his multi-billion-dollar checkbook. As a person whose net worth is calculated in frozen burritos, I dare not lecture Gilbert about money matters. However, four score and seven years ago, George Washington chopped down the cherry tree so that we, the people, could form a more perfect Union (or something like that). The result is that the nation’s forefathers had the insight to separate its powers into three branches: executive (President), legislative (Congress) and judicial (Supreme Court). In Cleveland, there is one branch: LeBron James.
While Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and coach Tyronn Lue have all taken turns as punching bags in the blame game, James and Gilbert are the ones who put the Cavaliers in a precarious position. Obviously, the Cavaliers are head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference, but it will not translate into a NBA Championship until Gilbert puts in place both a GM and a coach who have the authority, and respect, to stand up to James.
Last year, when tensions arose between James and then-coach David Blatt, I penned an article entitled ‘Time for the return of the player-coach.’ The article warned of the dangers of a single player having such enormous power and influence over an organization. After praying and begging for James’ return, it’s no surprise that Gilbert is bending over backwards to keep his star player happy. The Cavs canned Blatt halfway through his second season despite the team sitting in first-place in the Eastern Conference and a trip to the Finals in his first. Gilbert hired Lue as head coach with zero experience leading a team, much less a superstar player. The team also signed Tristan Thompson to a 5-year, $82 million deal and Kevin Love to a 5-year $110 million deal in the offseason despite the fact that they play the same position. Make no bones about it, James wielded heavy influence in each of those decisions.
Unless a team is prepared to go back to the olden days with an actual player-coach, having a player as the puppet-master is just not going to work. Think of all the players who have been labeled as coach killers: Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins. How many of them have NBA championships? None.
Michael Jordan needed Phil Jackson, as did Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Magic Johnson did help to usher in the Pat Riley era in Los Angeles, but Riley turned out to be one of the greatest coaches of all-time and the Lakers boasted two of the greatest players of all-time with Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. All due respects to Love and Irving, legitimate All-Star caliber players, neither is Johnson or Abdul-Jabbar. Also, don’t think for a second that Erik Spoelstra would have survived James’ first season in Miami (when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks) if the universally-respected Riley wasn’t calling the shots.
Now that the Warriors have made it appear that a second crown will be easy work, rumors have surfaced that James could take his talents elsewhere once again in free agency. The same individuals who swore that the results of last year’s Finals would have been different if Irving and Love had been healthy are now blaming their lack of defense for the team’s current position. While Stephen Curry has not yet played up to his MVP caliber, backup point guard Shaun Livingston scorched Irving for 20 points in Game 1 and Draymond Green lit up Love for 28 points in Game 2.
Cleveland should play with more of a backbone as the team returns home, but what will happen when Curry and Klay Thompson finally heat up and get buckets live up to their Splash Brothers status? The Warriors took some bad losses against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals and bounced back, so it would be naive to think the series is over. But the series is over.
The Warriors are confident and deep. Though Steve Kerr is just in his second year as head coach, it’s obvious that his players put enough ‘respek’ on his name. There are no rumors about unhappiness in Golden State. Kerr doesn’t have to tell Curry to “shut the [heck] up” in huddles to assert his authority. Even down 3-1 to the Thunder, there were no side eyes or shade sightings in Oakland. General Manager Bob Myers is the architect, Kerr draws up the Xs and Os and Curry and his teammates execute the plays.
In Cleveland, it’s no secret that James calls the shots. When he sat out a game against the Houston Rockets on March 29, James paced the sidelines and called out plays and instructions over Lue’s shoulder. In Lue’s defense, he’s trying his best to assert control of the team. However, it’s a lost cause. James IS Cleveland. Until James finds another Riley-esque leader, he’s destined for runner-up trophies. Maybe he’ll wind up taking his talents to New York. The jewelry stores in Cleveland will stay closed for business.
RIP Muhammad Ali
Though this week’s edition of The St. Louis American is filled with coverage of ‘The Greatest,’ I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least express my condolences and admiration of the late Muhammad Ali. Ali had numerous iconic moments, including his trilogy with Joe Frazier, the amazing rope-a-dope against George Foreman, the brutal “What’s my name?” beat down of Ernie Terrell and his amazing and brave stance against the Vietnam War. He will forever be the face of heavyweight boxing and one of the greatest sportsmen who ever lived. Rest in peace champ!
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