I woke up this morning and read a article written by JA Adande of ESPN aka The LeBron James Network saying that the pressure is off James now that Kyrie Irving is out. How the hell is the pressure off? If I’m not mistaken this is still the NBA Finals and the goal is to win a championship no matter who is on the floor. Why do these guys keep giving him excuses to lose? I could see if it was the other way around and it was LeBron that was sidelined then we could give that excuse to Irving and Love but we are talking abut the “Greatest player in the World, The Chosen One, King James”. I have no sympathy for what the Cavs are going through ( I feel for Irving and Love, injury wise) but this is the price of a long and grueling season. Here is why I disagree with Adande’s article.
From the moment James stepped on the court for the first time he was seen as the savior of this league, the guy to take the torch from Kobe and Tim Duncan and win multiple titles. Yes he has won 2 but now he has to WIN this one. Wade and Bosh was there for two of them but he looked around and saw that the Miami Heat were in trouble so he decided to head back home where the grass looked greener and the players were much younger. The Cavs built a great team over the course of this year and the results have been what they wished for but stuff happens. Love went out in the first round but there was still hope. Tristan Thompson stepped up and the Cavs never missed a beat. Irving went down and the Cavs never missed a beat because they still had the best player in the world as he lead them over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now Irving is out and LeBron is alone on an island. What’s the problem, this is what great players want, that spotlight, that opportunity to really showcase their ” I’m better than anyone in the league skills”. Can he do it? No. He has never done it so what makes you think he will now? But yet I still won’t take the pressure off of him.
I don’t have press credentials, I might not ever have the chance to go in the locker room before or after a game to interview him. I don’t have the means to get into the NBA Finals media room as LeBron speaks about a win or loss in the Finals, he won’t be calling me to do an exclusive interview and my website nor radio show is built around any friendship or sponsorship with his camp or team so there is no reason for me to kiss his a**. I can be as honest as I want and not worry about some impending ramifications later down the road or get blackballed and get my press pass taken away. I can speak the truth and feel good about it.
You want to be the King, then be the King. The stage is yours now. All yours now, just like it was in 2007 when you went against the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. Just like it was when you were leading your earlier Cavs teams to 60 wins and flamed out in the playoffs. It’s all yours now dog. You ran from that responsibility, went to Miami and said it was still Wade’s team, everyone thought that was so noble of you but underneath all those words were a wounded and scared player. You didn’t want the pressure so you gave it to Wade. As the Heat won titles you ACCEPTED the credit, but once you tasted that defeat you left again and ran back home. Once you signed in Cleveland you did it again saying this is still Irving’s team and that the Cavs are not expected to win a ring this year due to a learning curve. You, not us set the bar low for you and your team but now that your in the Finals we are supposed to cut you some slack? FOH..
Heading up to the Finals all the talk was about how young the Warriors are and that they have no experience but yet the Cavs were still underdogs. The league wants and needs LeBron to win this ring. The same way they wanted Kobe to win without Shaq, the same way they need Phil to succeed in New York, it’s a great story. And the whole coming back to lead his hometown team to a ring would be icing on the cake but with Irving gone he has been given a pass. If the Warriors lose Klay Thompson in this series should Curry just give up and let Riley do all the talking for him?
None of this is coming form LeBron himself so take it easy with the whole he is hating on James approach. I just feel someway about what the media is doing right now. There are no passes given out in professional sports but yet here is ESPN I mean LBJN doing their best to provide one. If I am the other Cavs players like Smith, Miller, Shumpert, Mozgov and the others I am pissed right now. They have been there with this guy through the bad times this season and now everyone has pissed on their title hopes saying it’s OK to be a loser. I do expect them to win a game in this series, not because James will lead them but because this is still a good team that can get it done. But James is the key, where he goes they go but history has shown that he can only lead them so far before he crashes and burns himself. It’s only been one game so far and that went in overtime. Yes I know it was against a team that won 67 games but didn’t they just beat a team a series earlier that won 60? What’s the difference? Where was Irving? Where was Love then? Did they get a pass for those? Who was willing to give the Wizards a pass when John Wall was out? What about when Chris Paul was not playing?
At the end of the day maybe it’s just me. I didn’t grow up in this era of Angel Soft players. Refs who treat star players like they fathered them or a league that is more worried about image than integrity. This has become a league of What If’s. What if Kobe wasn’t going through that rape case in 2004? What If Charles Smith could make a damn layup? What If Jordan got called for that apparent push-off on Bryon Russell? What if Love and Irving was healthy? How about the best one of all. What If you just played the game like you are supposed too then there wouldn’t be any What If’s.
The new Big 3 is now down to 1 and Cavs fans must be wondering if they are watching 2007 all over again. But the main question is what James did they get back this off-season? The leader, the Chosen ONE, King James or the follower?
Give him a pass. What a joke…