The Observer, April 8, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 24
LeBron has become the lone bright spot for dull Cavaliers
I feel bad for LeBron James. Free agency is over two years away and I'm already scared to death that he's leaving Cleveland when it comes. Every time one of his teammates bricks a wide-open shot (likely created by the other team's defensive concern with James) or lets the opposing team drive to the basket unimpeded, I just want to give No. 23 a big hug, tell him it's going to be all right, and plead with him to stay and bring this city a championship. I feel like a pre-2004 Red Sox fan, always expecting the worst with the constant sense that the sky could fall at any time. Is this healthy? Probably not, but that's what goes through my mind. And it's been happening nearly every game for the past month and a half.
The present Cavaliers team is just maddening. I really don't even like them anymore. LeBron is carrying the team when they do manage to string together a few minutes of solid basketball, and Anderson Varejao still brings admirable relentless energy to each game. It's not that I think this team doesn't have any salvageable parts – it does have some fine potential role players… unfortunately, they're getting starters' minutes. Certainly the players as people are likeable enough. Nobody has made headlines for being arrested this season, which is more than can be said of former Cavalier Shawn Kemp. (But really, can we blame Kemp? The guy has approximately 32 separate child support payments to make. If he's not making the big bucks of a professional basketball player, dealing a lot of drugs is probably the only other way to come up with the cash in order to not default on those payments.)
Free-agents-to-be Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jeff McInnis don't seem as indispensable at this point as they did back in December. "Z" remains one of the best centers in the Eastern Conference, if only because the Eastern Conference's centers consist of Shaq and "other." Sure, you can plug him in at center and win. But he's not worth breaking the bank for. Jamaal Magloire or a similarly physically tough center would do just fine. As for McInnis, he's gone from starter to barely playing in about a month. Kiss him goodbye. It was fun while it lasted.
Of course, at the heart of all of these struggles is the inability of the Cavaliers to consistently make the outside shot. With the inside presence of Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden and James commanding the attention of the defense, it's the same old story – the Cavs just need that one shooter. Of course, defense would help too. Am I bitter? Yes. Is this entire column a bit melodramatic? Yes. But it's only because I've been forced to watch too much terrible basketball over the past weeks and I've about reached my breaking point. As I write this, the Cavaliers are putting the finishing touches on a 30-point loss to sub-.500 New Jersey at home. And I feel the need to coddle LeBron again. Seems it's about time for head coach Brendan Malone to give Jim Mora's ol' "Playoffs?!?!" speech. That said, let's go Cavs! Please make the postseason because I'm awfully anxious to see how high James can elevate his game.
