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Sports Articles by the staff>
Basketball with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
May 16, 2010
by Budd Foxx
Another sport, another team with the best regular season record out of the playoffs early. Last month it was hockey with the Washington Capitals, this month it’s basketball with the Cleveland Cavaliers. I wasn’t too surprised with the Capitals. Alex Ovechkin is a great player, but he just doesn’t seem ready yet to lead a team to a championship. That’s just the vibe I get when I see him celebrating wild after scoring, and the way he talks in his interviews.
But the Cavaliers did surprise me. I don’t think they would have won the championship. I think the Lakers would have beat them, and who is to say they would have even got past the Orlando Magic. But they certainly should’ve beat the Boston Celtics.
Question. What do Dan Marino, Charles Barkley, and Lebron James have in common? Yes, they all three were MVP’s, all-stars, and all reached the championship game, but all three never won the big game. For Lebron James, there is still a chance. And not just for a year or two, he has a good decade to win a championship. But unlike Marino and Barkley, he doesn’t seem to care. There is no arguing he was a no-show for game 5. There is arguing as to whether or not he didn’t show up on purpose or he just had a bad game. Either way, it doesn’t seem like he cares too much. He has said he wants to be the first athlete billionaire. He can’t accomplish this without winning championships, and it seems unlikely that that will happen in a city such as Cleveland. It does seem likely that it can happen in a city such as: New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. The problem with Los Angeles is that he would have to be a Laker and not a Clipper, so that isn’t happening. The problem with Chicago is that from a basketball point of view, and beyond, that is Michael Jordan’s city.
That leaves New York. Patrick Ewing’s town. Oh yes, I forgot about Ewing, not an MVP, but a rookie of the year, all-star, gold medalist, and also not a champion. King James can go to the Knicks. It’s Derek Jeter’s town, and will be for the next decade at least, but from a basketball perspective, he can become the greatest player in Knick’s history potentially. I can’t see the Knicks winning a championship anytime soon. But they have plenty of money to spare. Lebron will make more money as the number of James’ new jerseys selling will no doubt break records. Plus New York is a city where he can be seen, advertise more, and make more money. Let’s face it, how many times do we see TMZ reporters hanging around Cleveland? He can now hang out with guys like Jeter, A-rod, Spike Lee, Jay-Z, and the like. If he is going to be a billionaire, New York city makes sense.
But to me, it’s too bad he cares more about that than about being a champion. Where is that hunger that Jordan had, that Kobe still has? Jordan had 6 titles, and 2 three-peats. It is so hard to win just back-to-back championships because teams focus on beating you more so. They give you their best, yet The Bulls of the 90s were able to win 6 rings. Jordan made those around him better. He was able to even keep Dennis Rodman in check. Who has James made better on the Cav’s? Exactly. I think Lebron will play in Cleveland again, but not wearing a white Jersey. Wherever he winds up, the sport’s world will be glued to the TV sets and radios when the announcement is made. I am putting my money on New York. In the meantime, there are still two rounds of play of basketball to be played. The Lakers and Suns, and the Celtics and Magic. Look for the Lakers and Magic to both punch quick tickets to the finals, I’m thinking 5 games each. Then, it’s up for grabs. The Magic have not lost in the playoffs yet. They will vs. Boston. They will want revenge for last year. I never count Kobe out, he has the hunger and the Lakers have the experience of what it takes to win champiosnhips. The Magic have home court though.
That’s why I thought it was so important for the Lakers to play hard at the end of the season. The Cav’s wrapped up the best record, but assuming they would lose, which they did, the Lakers should have been playing for home court vs. the Magic. I think that will be a 6-7 game series, and I have the Magic winning it all. But Congrats to Lebron, MVP, best regular season record, and I guess that’s about it.
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