缅北禁地

Jun 24, 2016 5 min read

LeBron James deserves to be a champion.

I really didn鈥檛 care too much about 鈥淭he Decision,鈥� or that he was taking his talents to South Beach. That was his decision to make and he has dealt with the scrutiny. At times, he acted like a petulant child, but we all have moments of immaturity even during our adult years.

The city of Cleveland was outraged when he left in 2010, as jerseys were burnt and James became the fans No. 1 enemy. I remember reading posts on Facebook from rabid fans stating they hoped former teammate Delonte West had relations with James鈥� mother. There is not any confirmation that James鈥� mom, Gloria, and West were involved, but the venom was present.

I don鈥檛 watch the NBA as much as I would like to, but I don鈥檛 find anything wrong with the play. The critics of the league complain that the officials do their best to keep the game close throughout and let it be decided in two minutes, but there was plenty of intensity in Game 7 of the NBA Finals when James and company led Cleveland to its first professional sports championship since 1964 with a 93-89 victory over Golden State.

James and the Cavaliers trailed in the series, 3-1, to the mighty Warriors, who won a league-record 73 games during the regular season. However, Cleveland won Game 5 on the road, 112-97, came back for a 115-101 victory in Game 6 and made history as the only team in league history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win in the Finals.

The Akron native was criticized for causing the firing of coach David Blatt mid-season, but like the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Cavs thrived under interim coach Tyronn Lue, who is not much older than some of his players, in winning the title.

Isn鈥檛 it ironic that the NHL and NBA champions had coaches fired mid-season, or is it? In defense of the Penguins, Mike Sullivan took over a team that was struggling, while Lue took over the job with Cleveland in first place in the Eastern Conference.

I don鈥檛 believe James had anything to do with Blatt鈥檚 firing, and Lue got the job done, while Blatt wasn鈥檛 able to lead the Cavs to the title last season, as Golden State topped Cleveland in six games.

The Cavaliers, like every other NBA franchise, had been scouting James since his high school days at St. Vincent-St. Mary, and their fans believed they had found the savior of the franchise, who would lead the team to greatness.

After two non-playoffs years, Cleveland qualified for the playoffs but suffered a seven-game defeat to Detroit in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Cavs made it to the NBA Finals the next season but were swept by San Antonio.

James was recognized as one of the most charming athletes and someone that young kids could look up to. He did not have any legal troubles and entertained fans and non-fans alike. The loss to the Spurs was supposed to be the last hurrah for the old timers from Texas, while James and his Cavs would start their run of brilliance next season.

Cleveland would lose to Boston in seven games the next season in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which didn鈥檛 hurt the fans nearly as much with the Celtics winning their 17th NBA title, but an underachieving year followed in 2009 with the Cavaliers winning a franchise-best 66 games before falling in six games to heavy underdog Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Cleveland was the top seed in the NBA Playoffs in 2010 but lost to Boston in the semifinals in six games. James was a free agent following the season and decided to move on. He had taken the brunt of the criticism for the previous years of underachievement, although critics tend to forget that this is a team sport and one person can鈥檛 do it all.

James, who now had a pair of All-Stars to work with in Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, led Miami to the NBA Finals the next season but lost to Dallas in six games.

The city of Cleveland celebrated that James had lost, and another Facebook post, this one by my cousin, Jenna, who has lived in Cleveland her whole life, so I can understand the frustration, smeared her once favorite son. And for the record, I don鈥檛 just sit on Facebook all day. (My lovely wife, Megan, can answer for me on that one.)

James had gone from being the most lovable athlete in the country to the most hated. I remember going to a Cavs game during his first run with the team and the place exploded when he was announced for the starting lineup. It was a meaningless game against a Toronto team that had no chance of making the playoffs, and Cleveland had its postseason berth wrapped up, but the place was in love with James. I had goosebumps during the introductions and even bought a shirt with 鈥淛ames鈥� on the back.

James eventually had success with two titles in Miami, but he was still hated, and not just by those in Cleveland. I do believe he had some growing up to do and decided to come back to the city that loved him so. I think that shows a ton of class on James鈥� part. He knows how much he is beloved and how much the city loves the Cavs.

It reminds me of a sad breakup when you just can鈥檛 stay away. Yes, you have your fall-back love, and you pretend it鈥檚 great, but James鈥� recent championship is the one he is most proud of.

缅北禁地 sports writer Jonathan Guth can be reached via email at jguth@heraldstandard.com or jonathanguth85@gmail.com