Sorts of Sports

LeBron and the Cavs

This one has got me perplexed about LeBron James and the Cleveland Caveliers. Is LeBron that good or are the Cavs that bad? LeBron leaves and suddenly the Cavs are the worst team in the NBA, setting the all-time record for worst losing streak in all of sports? Who's to blame? Are the Cavs that bad or was LeBron that good? I want to root against LeBron but I'm having trouble.

The Cleveland Caveliers are 8-45 at the time of writing this. If you can name more than 3 players on their current team, congratulations. But could you name 3 players at the beginning of the season, or has this become a thing since they are on SportsCenter more often because of their losing ways?

Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, J.J. Hickson. That is all I can name off the top of my head. Williams and Varejao are injured and your go to guy is Jamison? Right there, that spells trouble. If you are relying on a PF to take the game winning three-pointer there are more issues with the team. Jamison passed up the three because he is not expected to be 'that guy'. That is the problem right there.

When a team loses a star like LeBron James, it is important to see what the team does with that extra cap space. They got Ramon Sessions? He has started 20 of 52 games. I think that is the problem there. LeBron is very good, especially when you look at the fact that he really had no sidekick last year, but that is not the reason they are miserable this year.

The Cavs have lose a handful of games by less than 5 points all because they don't have a clutch scorer. If LeBron was on the team they would have that one person, but if they had Chauncey Billups they would have that person, or anyone who is willing to take a three pointer and anyone that would be ready to lead a team. Getting young players is great for the future but LeBron is not the reason that they keep losing. Look at the Nets from last year, with no veteran leadership they had the worst record in the NBA. It isn't because they didn't have LeBron, it is because they didn't have one player to take veteran leadership and big shots.

Is LeBron great? Sure he is. I won't deny that fact because of the spite I have for him. The NBA, and all other sports, has changed since the era of free agency. If you don't have at least one superstar, you aren't going to be good. You can look at any sport and identify the worst team and see that they don't have a superstar.  I use the Patriots as an example when they went 11-5 with Matt Cassell. Did they stumble the following year after they dealt him? No, because they replaced him with a superstar in Tom Brady. The only excuse for the Cavs is that they are young and Antawn Jamison is the "superstar".

Don't blame the Cavs problems on LeBron, rather blame it on the front office, and Mike James leaving, and the inability to find an emerging star, this season. That's the key: this season they didn't do anything. If the Celtics lost the Big 3, would Rondo be able to carry them to the Finals? No, because they are not a good team, unless they replaced the Big 3 with 3 other stars. The top teams in the East are much better than the top 4 teams in the West. With LeBron the Cavs would be a solid team, but lack the punch of a Championship team.

Is LeBron the reason? No. Is he the MVP? Probably not to the true sense of what MVP stands for, but he is the best player in the league and the Cavs would be better with him, just like any team would be better with him. To say that the Cavs are bad because of LeBron is true and false. The Cavs are bad, period, just don't give all the credit to Lebron.