Bored waiting for football? Watch the Cavs
Rick Balazs
Sports Columnist
Last Sunday’s Super Bowl had a little bit of everything: Justin Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson (A wardrobe malfunction? I could have come up with something better than that!), a streaker performing a riverdance ritual, and, of course, a wild fourth quarter that featured two prominently defensive teams lighting up the scoreboard. Whew!
The problem is, now what? No more football to watch (nobody cares about the Pro Bowl). March Madness doesn’t start until, well, March. Baseball season doesn’t start until April. What is a sports fan to do during this cold, dull month of February? (Besides, it’s a leap year, which just adds one more day to the agony!)
Watch the Cavs, that’s what! The Cavaliers are finally generating interest and enthusiasm among their fans. With the team’s current momentum in the weak Eastern Conference, could the Cavs actually make the playoffs? What an amazing story that would be, having a Cleveland team make the playoffs.
However, there is perhaps a more interesting storyline than that developing at the Gund. Could the Cavs be better without LeBron James?
In Cleveland, that sounds treasonous, but nonetheless, it might be true, at least right now. Recently, when James was out with a sprained ankle, the Cavs finished 2-1, with impressive wins against Seattle and Philadelphia, two teams that are in playoff contention. The one loss was against Sacramento, the best team in the league, and, with a little luck, they could have easily won that close game.
When LeBron returned, the Cavs won two home games against Orlando and Miami, two losing Florida teams, by one point each. If Tracy McGrady, who had over 30 points at halftime in the Orlando game, hadn’t left in the third quarter with an injured toe, the Cavs certainly would have lost. They continued to struggle that Friday in a loss at Milwaukee. In that game, James made only 7 of 25 shots and missed three critical free throws in the fourth quarter. This past Sunday against Washington, LeBron took over the game in the third quarter, scoring 19 points. In the fourth, however, James allowed the Wizards to get back in the game, scoring only three points, receiving a technical foul, and creating more costly turnovers while focusing more on scoring 40 points than ensuring the victory.
I’m not saying that James is a bad player. He is a tremendous talent who has exceeded the seemingly ridiculous expectations placed on him at the start of the season. He definitely deserved to be considered for the all-star team. Nonetheless, the team just seems to play better when he is not on the floor. When James is in the game, his teammates look for him to take over the game, and he readily accepts this burden. This results in the rookie forcing too many ill-advised jump shots and committing unnecessary turnovers.
A more experienced playmaker would demonstrate better shot-selection and commit fewer turnovers, but James is only 19. It is unfair to expect him to play like Michael Jordan in the fourth quarter this early in his career. Therefore, he shouldn’t be solely responsible for the scoring burden during those late, crucial parts of games.
Furthermore, his teammates have shown that they don’t need him to score like Jordan. Carlos Boozer recently scored 32 points in consecutive games, and DeJuan Wagner has returned to provide a scoring threat off the bench. Therefore, the Cavaliers should be able to establish a more balanced offensive attack, one that does not predominantly feature James.
The Cavs are now at a critical point on their schedule. They have 35 games remaining (through Feb. 2), over half of which are against winning teams. More importantly, more than half are against teams that are currently ahead of them in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Therefore, from now until the end of the season, it is imperative that the Cavaliers play their best basketball of the season. That includes James improving his shot selection, taking better care of the basketball, and his teammates shouldering more of the scoring burden late in games. If these things happen, the Cavaliers will have an excellent chance. If not, then, when the warmer, more exciting month of May rolls around, the Cavaliers will return to familiar territory: the NBA Draft Lottery, which this year will not include LeBron.
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