As I was sitting with mixed emotions (boredom from the lack of offense, but yet satistaction because it is basketball) at Game 4 of the NBA Finals, my mind, as it often does, began to wonder. Then it hit me, like a Miguel Cotto low blow (sorry Zab): the Lebrons weren't prepared for the NBA Finals. This has nothing to do with Mike Brown or shootarounds or anything, but merely about the path that Cleveland took to get to the Championship round. So I'll explain this as the non-Timmy-related reason why Cleveland was doomed from opening tip.
In the first round, the Cavaliers played the Washington Wizards. As you all know, no Hibachi and Caron, so it was to be a smooth ride to the second round. But what surprised me was that even without two all-stars, the Wiz were in every game that series. Antawn Jamison played like he was back at Golden State, even when he was the only legit scoring option. Yes, it was a sweep, but when situations like that arise, a supposed favorite should destroy a wounded team easily.
So on to the second round. Their opponent: the New Jersey Nets. Honestly, I picked the Nets to win; but upon further review, I shouldn't have. That series was not 5 on 5, but more like 5 on 3, with Kidd, Jefferson, and ughh, Vince as the 3. Despite Jason Kidd being the best rebounder in the series, and Vince not understanding that he could get to the basket whenever, it still took the Lebrons 6 games to win.Now, the Cavs are in the Eastern Conference Finals--a place not even the great Mark Price could lead them (read up on him). Next up is the big, not so bad, Detroit Pistons. While Detroit is still a good team, they are nowhere near as good as the championship team, or even the 2006 team that lost to Dwyane Wade. So while, again, i picked against Cleveland, i wasn't totally surprised that they beat the Pistons; especially with Chris Webber on their team lol. This scenario is the same scenario that allowed the 2004 Pistons to win their title. They caught a Lakers "dynasty" that was on the decline. How can I tell? They signed 58 year-old Karl Malone and expected him to contribute.
I do not take anything away from the Lebrons making it this far, but aside from reasons related to the San Antonio Spurs, they did not have the mental readiness needed to win it all. Plus, by the way, the Spurs were way better than them from jump.
Congrats,
Johnathan Tillman
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