There were times when a rambunctious crowd erupted a crazy frenzy at the Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland, and witnessed LeBron James sprinkled baby powder onto his hands and tossed it skyward to thrill a sold-out capacity crowd.
So there are the Cleveland Cavaliers in their finest season, generating enough buzz to pose as the next NBA franchise to be crowned champs. If the loyal population in an avid sporting town is still inquisitive to know exactly where LeBron may end up next season when he becomes a free-agent this summer, his status of testing the market is trivial.
Expected to alleviate town indignities, the Cavs are the nearest major franchise in a cursed sports town to revoke from humiliation that has dragged down soul for its dismal culture.
It’s wrongly inappropriate to dismiss the Cavs, a franchise led by more than a puppet, but a global superstar in James. He’s expected to be named the MVP for the second straight season, with leading a deep supporting cast and having a large impact on the Cavs optimistic pursuit to the NBA Finals.
Need I remind you that the town rocks, zests to taste a legitimate prize in June? At last, there’s much more to witness than rock stars performing at a nearby venue or touring the luxurious sites of the Rock and Roll museum, observing photos and memorabilia of the Beatles or Rolling Stones.
It’s the time of year when much blabbering and attention is given to a fascinating basketball franchise, with the excitement and captivation of LeBron’s intense performances. Ever since he was the overall selection in the NBA Draft years ago, he was absorbed heavily as a savior and earned praise for rejuvenating a horrid franchise.
In his domain, he has improved ticket sales and lifted the attendance level at a spacious venue, suddenly a noisy and active environment where the swinging towels and flags are a notable trademark. No disrespect to the Boston Celtics, but it’s now or never for the Cavs to prove worthy of winning a title and satisfy a long-awaited crowd.
Although this series should be exciting, Cleveland is more athletic, hungrier, earnest and younger than the battered Celtics. Although this series should be an intense battle and last seven games, they’ll prevail in a sudden death to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
What happened Saturday was an indicator that the Cavs are delivering a sense of normalcy in the postseason, translating its usual trends seen so often during the regular-season. It’s simply a great team at home, fueled on the crowd’s intensity and enthusiasm, which mostly results in a charming win.
If anything, it doesn’t take much to deliver a knock out punch against the vulnerable and beatable Boston. When the Cavs dispatched the Chicago Bulls in the first round, enough to irritate Joakim Noah, whose animosity encouraged them to pummel an unbalanced and tumultuous team, the Cavs were resilient and savvy at knocking out the Bulls.
The elements of well-coaching and intrepidity is a common philosophy to excel at the highest level in a competitive postseason. The unique possibility of the Cavs purging in the second-round is hard to imagine, fortunate to take on Boston.
It certainly is less daunting to fall to the Celtics, but fittingly, it’s more convenient to thrive and advance deeper into the postseason for a feasible meeting with the Lakers in the Finals. After all, it’s a unanimous bout the world desires witnessing, in which the man with the scowl would collide with the man with the tomahawk dunks.
More specifically, the dream matchup we are dying to see is Kobe and LeBron clash on the same court in what would be an epic classic, and even silence the obnoxious debates on which player is more prominent and worthy of MVP notability.
Right now, it’s no one other than LeBron, the noble superstar who’s hours before receiving his second straight MVP award. The delivery and leadership alone declares James as the front-runner with his versatility and energy to appease respectable fans of honoring his powerful influence.
He’s the reigning Most Valuable Player, but hails in an indigenous environment attached to ineffectual and inspiring star players. He symbolizes the heart of a beloved sports town, bowing to King James when he has a wonderful scoring night. All the people in attendance gratefully chanted “MVP! MVP!"
Nearly each game this season, he was the clutch performer in the fourth quarter and pleaded for the ball to close out a wild contest on a positive note. What superstar doesn’t take over in the late minutes?
As a native growing up in Akron, Ohio, he always dreamed of playing for his hometown team, a franchise he grew up rooting and now in good position of winning a title as an NBA star at home. He accepts the challenge, likes dazzling in the huge moments and feels comfortable with the ball in his hands.
It’s not that he distrusts in his teammates, but plays the leadership role when it’s necessary, and if he intends to excel an agenda before he tests the market, he knows the consequence of controlling the tempo while aiming to win a title.
Maybe it would bribe the All-Star forward to wear a Cavs uniform until he retires, urging the organization to sign LeBron to the richest deal in NBA history before New York pursues and offers James millions.
For now, he’s strictly focused on winning a championship and celebrating with his hometown friends, teammates and family. Before the series, the masses worried about his sore elbow, but relieved tension when he reported that it felt better and had loosened. He also said that he didn’t put pressure on it during the off days since he was forced to attempt a left-handed free throw Tuesday to close out the series against the Bulls.
The worldwide icon walked of the court in Game One against Boston calmed, after pulling off a convincing comeback to salvage a 101-93 win Saturday. If the supporting cast has a brilliant and productive run without vanishing, the Cavs can win the championship. But he’ll need contributions from all the role players, while he adds the finishing touches and afloat in the Eastern Conference with the commodities of a sizable frontcourt.
More substantially, the Cavs have tremendous depth in the frontcourt with Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson. Now that coach Mike Brown realizes he’s getting production out of Hickson, he’ll probably make some adjustments and juggle the starting lineup around, giving him more quality minutes.
A lot of fans are pleased with his toughness and work ethic underneath the rim, as well as Varejao, both attacking and creating trouble by smothering Paul Pierce.
Like the average individual, we all age. During the offseason, the Cavs acquired Shaquille O’Neal, the once-dominant center whose phrase is freestyle rapping, but also is clobbering the middle with his oversized athleticism. It seems he’s slower in running up and down the floor, but still blocks shots and throws down dunks when he’s inside the interior.
It’s conceivable to think that the Cavs are orchestrated by James’ coercion. The scoreboard read that he scored 35 points on 24 field goal attempts, with seven assists to finish the night. As always, he’s an expertise of the game, he’s a world-class athlete and he’s the Most Valuable Player, not only in the league, but as a member of the Cavs.
He’s the remarkable King James.
