The Cleveland Cavaliers are an ongoing illusion. We'll soon learn if LeBron James is willing to step back from his creation, leave his beloved home town and try to craft something real.
At a crucial moment of Thursday night's Game 6 of the Cavaliers-Celtics series, the illusion came alarmingly to life. It was late in the third quarter, the game was slipping away from the Cavs, and the Boston crowd was in an uproar. Delonte West was at the free-throw line. The two men stationed near the basket were Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
How monumentally depressing. It could have been two playoff seasons ago - or in the case of the two big men, 2005. The same tired acts trying to measure up to LeBron's greatness. The truth about the Cavaliers - and James had better realize this right now - is that they've never had a clear idea how to build a championship team. They add players, constantly, but not the correct ones.
It's such a fine, captivating illusion. Everyone gets sucked into the maelstrom at some point, believing LeBron actually might win an NBA championship all by himself. That was the Dead Wrong in Public stance here Sunday, when I had the series ending "quickly" after James' stunningly victorious performance in Game 3.
Like so many others, I forgot.
I forgot about Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace, Larry Hughes, Joe Smith, Drew Gooden, and now the vacant Antawn Jamison, the irrelevant Jamario Moon and the aging Shaquille O'Neal. And, of course, Varejao and Ilgauskas, both of whom will be playing for the Cavs 28 years from now.
If James took a good look at the Celtics, the reality couldn't have been more clear. Championship teams have at least two really influential players; no exceptions. Beyond the outright superstars, there's always a James Worthy, Joe Dumars, Mo Cheeks, Kevin McHale, Scottie Pippen or Tony Parker. (The 1975 Warriors didn't strictly follow this pattern, but in rookies Phil Smith and Keith Wilkes, they had two stars of the future alongside the great Rick Barry.)
Thursday night's game was over at the halfway mark of the fourth quarter, when Rasheed Wallace hit a three-point shot from the left corner (for an 86-74 lead), because that meant the Celtics had five time-tested men on the floor, all of whom could send you reeling into summer: Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.
The Celtics had such a firm grasp on the proceedings, they had to be stifling laughter. The Cavs, trapped between identities (slow-it-down with Shaq or up-tempo with the younger guys), were so brutally outclassed by game's end, they simply quit - a point sternly made by ESPN's Mark Jackson.
James, a gracious loser this time, had ripped off his Cleveland jersey before he got to the hallway. Take a good look into Garnett's eyes, LeBron, and never pick it up again.
Tradition counts
New football coach Brian Kelly is just a voice in the wilderness when it comes to Notre Dame politics, but he's right: The glory of the Irish is in their independence. Forget the Big Ten. Don't be part of that expansion nonsense. ... The voters confirmed Brian Cushing's award for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, even after learning he'd been suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and it's hardly a surprise. It's a given that NFL players get juiced out of their minds, in a number of ways, to stay competitive in that arena. The vast majority of writers, fans and executives don't care. ... No surprise that manager Joe Torre is backing off all talks about a contract extension with the Dodgers. He has about had it with the McCourts' preposterous divorce case (and the ensuing effect on team finances), and their trial is scheduled to begin in late August - just in time to torment the stretch drive. Hollywood at its worst. ... I guess Dallas Braden's perfect game falls into a pattern - the Mark Buerhle-Kenny Rogers-Tom Browning types who finesse their way through - but that's not how I remember it. I witnessed Sandy Koufax's perfecto against the Cubs in 1965. He struck out the last six guys (14 overall). Nobody had a prayer against him. ... What people are discovering about Braden: For all the talk about his street-tough upbringing in Stockton, lending the impression he's some kind of rube, he's one of the brightest, most quick-witted guys in sports. This will serve him well through the tough times (inevitable, once you come down from perfection). He handled his David Letterman spot with a comedian's fine touch, with my personal highlight: "Even I haven't heard of me."
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