Cleveland's Lesson

Many hoped LeBron and the rest of the Cavs would shock the world, but ultimately the far superior, San Antonio Spurs, ascended the mountain and claimed their fourth NBA Championship in nine seasons. Tim Duncan probably cemented his legacy as one of the best power forwards in NBA history, and Tony Parker used the spotlight of the NBA Finals to claim NBA upper echelon player status and a Finals MVP.

I wouldn’t even say I’m shocked by the outcome because I never honestly thought Cleveland was the best team in the Eastern Conference. I knew they’d beat the Washington Wizards and New Jersey Nets, but I never thought they’d beat the Detroit Pistons, but then LeBron, like all great players rose to the challenge – he single-handedly destroyed the Pistons in a double overtime victory.

Unfortunately, LeBron couldn’t replicate this feat in the finals. He and the rest of the Cavs never seemed to get off the ground because every shot they made, the Spurs made two, every individual defensive stop they made against Duncan, San Antonio collectively would stop the entire Cleveland team. In retrospect, the series was over after the first game because the faults in the Cavs offensive scheme and over-dependence on LeBron were exposed.

Hopefully, Cleveland learned an important NBA lesson – one player, no matter how great, cannot lead a team to the NBA championship. Just ask Charles Barkley’s Phoenix Suns and Patrick Ewing’s New York Knicks. Although, I’m not a Cavs fan, more a LeBron fan, I would like to see them get some help for LeBron because I don’t want him to go the way of other great NBA players who never played for teams worthy of their talent.