Could the King De-Throne Cleveland?

Another day, another season, another early exit for the Cleveland Cavaliers? While I am certainly enjoying the Cavs being on the verge of elimination yet again (quite thoroughly mind you), I am also a little saddened by what could possibly happen should Boston pull out a win in Game 6 or 7. Come July 1, the most talented -- and hyped -- free agency class ever gets to set sail and roam freely in the NBA waters. King James leads this class, and ever since 2008 teams have been licking their chops waiting to get their hands on him any way possible, even if it means throwing away a few games here or there (see: Knicks, New York). I never really thought LeBron would actually leave Cleveland, considering he grew up in Ohio, is adored beyond belief, wants a championship for the city, all while receiving a maximum contract. However, now I'm not so sure. Looking at the cast around him, there is no reason to believe that the Cavs will be any better next year. If the Celtics advance, I think it will be the last time LeBron James will don the maroon and gold.

Watch the highlights from Game 5 on Monday night. There were times where James was nowhere to be found. For a team with Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, 38-year-old Shaq, and Anderson Varejao, that equates to bad things. There was one sequence where a Cavalier drove as LeBron stood in the far corner, a non-factor in the play. After not charging in for an offensive rebound, he lackadaisically jogged back on defense, didn't know who he was guarding (he asked to guard Rajon Rondo before the game, but didn't here), and stood there as a shot was missed. He started to jog back in anticipation of a teammate getting the rebound, although the ball was right where he was standing, which allowed the C's to grab the ball and swing it to Ray Allen for an open 3-pointer. It was like that for 48 minutes. There was no ferocity, no will to drive to the hoop, nothing. His shot selection was poor, the form was lazy, and he just looked dazed. His first field goal didn't come until the 3rd quarter. In retrospect, how this performance could affect the league is mind-blowing. Now there's a good chance he'll leave Cleveland for a max contract somewhere else. The entire landscape of the league just changed, and it could have happened in one night, because I honestly do not believe he would have left before Monday night. I can't say I would blame him for leaving, but I don't want it to happen (more on that later). But a good question to ask is, was that performance essentially writing his own ticket out of Cleveland?I mean, he has been THE guy since he was drafted 1st overall in 2003. He has had no Pippen to his Jordan in his seven years there -- not even a Derek Fisher to his Kobe, for that matter. Except for that two-game stretch in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals when Daniel Gibson played out of his mind, it has been all LeBron all the time. Shaq was supposed to be the force down low to replace Zydranas Ilgauskas, give it his all for another season and go out on top, winning one for the King. He missed almost 30 games, averaged 12 points during the season, and is grabbing only 5.7 rebounds a game this postseason. Then Antawn Jamison was supposed to be the guy to catapult the Cavs into the Finals, a sweet-shooting #2 scorer. But he has disappointed, too, being streaky at best and shooting only 29% from long range in the playoffs. Having to play an entire regular season, then get all hyped up for another 20+ games for the playoffs does get tiring.

(Ok, that was my rational argument. Truly, I think his performance Monday was unacceptable for a player of his caliber. He rested at the end of the regular season just for this, and probably could have more efficiently expended his energy to be fresh for now considering they clinched their division on March 17. Does Kobe ever take a night off like that? Sure, he has nights where he'll jack up 30 shots because he can, but he doesn't take games off in crunch time. Jordan would never in a hundred million years have done that in the playoffs. If he had lost a playoff series like James did last year to the Magic, he would have averaged 45 a night the next playoffs without a doubt. Dwyane Wade has had to go 100% every game for the past 4 years because, like LeBron, he is the only one on his team with any talent. After a grueling, non-stop regular season in which he had to fight every game, what did Wade do in Round 1? He single-handedly kept the Celtics from winning all 4 games by 35 points by averaging 33.2 points per game. That drive is partly the reason Flash has a ring, Kobe has 4, and Jordan has 6. The best player on the planet needs to go into that game with the mindset of "I'm taking over this game from the opening tip" and rip their hearts out. The other reason the players I mentioned all have rings, by the way, is the fact that all them had at least one other person who could either play or at least had the drive to show up when it mattered.)

But, like I said before, while I am enjoying this more than A-Rod when he looks at himself in the mirror, I am still a little saddened by what is likely to now happen. If the Akron Hammer leaves Cleveland, that means there is a very real chance he will sign with a team with enough money to get a Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh or Amar'e Stoudamire, too. That means a real possibility of LeBron James winning an NBA Championship. To me that would be nearly as bad as when A-Rod won a World Series last year, and the only reason that was worse was because it was with the Yankees. I want James to stay in Cleveland, keep playing with a bunch of nobodies and one or two "it" guys who never come through, continue to do his thing, all without ever winning a ring. I'm not sure why exactly I hate him, but I'm not too concerned with finding the root of the issue. I am perfectly content with my deep, passionate hatred for him, and will be as he continues his climb up the ladder of NBA greatness without the hardware all the others have.

It's bad enough Wade is probably going to leave Miami for somewhere else this summer. Can I at least get LeBron James to stay in Cleveland. I don't ask for much (in my mind I don't, at least). It would please me greatly if I had the honor -- no, no, the privilege -- of witnessing another few historic performances like the one King James gave on Monday. In terms of basketball, nothing would please me more.