The King’s Downfall
Ahmed Salazar reviews in real-time format, the final game of the Celtics-Cavs series, and perhaps the final game Lebron will play in a Cleveland jersey
You may have heard a little controversy in the past week regarding LeBron James and the debacle that was the Cleveland Cavaliers shocking home loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. If you haven’t, you either don’t follow sports very closely, or are a naïve LeBron lover who refuses to believe there was something fishy about his virtual “no-show” in that game.
As fate would have it, I decided to sit down and watch Game 6 of this Boston/Cleveland series in its entirety (something I wouldn’t normally do for a non-Lakers game) to dissect the performance of the self-proclaimed “King” or “Chosen 1”. Never before can I remember a star player being magnified under such scrutiny after a poor performance in a very important game. And it’s not like it has never happened before – it’s just that, in LeBron’s case, he seemed to be completely disinterested. He looked like me when I was at a “pleasure party” once they began passing around the dildos. I wanted out of there worse than Lindsey Lohan wants out of her DUI class immediately after signing in, and it seemed as if LeBron was in the same boat during that infamous Game 5.
In the spirit of this game being in Boston, I’m going to attempt a Bill Simmons-style running diary, while analyzing the events of this game from beginning to end. Why this game in particular? Well, simply put, it’s the make-or-break game of the series. If Boston wins, it’s over. If Cleveland wins, it goes back to C-Town, and it’s over. Whoever wins this game will more or less win the series, so anything this critical has to be evaluated as such. But more than that, the hopes and dreams of an entire town hang in the balance. With a loss, Cleveland fans have absolutely nothing to look forward to, as there’s a good chance The Chosen One won’t be returning. With that in mind, here goes nothing…
1st quarter
9:51 – Kendrick Perkins bricks two FTs and LeBron flies in for the rebound. He looks to have taken the criticism of looking “indifferent” in the last game to heart. Or maybe he’s just trying to make this tank job/bid adieu to Cleveland for free agency look not so obvious. Time will tell.
8:15 – Both teams are taking a ton of jump shots and missing. There’s a lot of intensity going on early. This is either going to be a very close game, or Boston is going to blow them out real quick.
7:13 — Rondo just pick-and-rolled a beautiful pass to Perkins for a wide open dunk. Cleveland calls timeout. This already isn’t looking good for the Cavs. Boston is feeding off the crazy energy from the crowd, and LeBron has that kind of look on his face as if he knows he’s about to break the collective hearts of an entire city in Ohio.
5:56 – Antawn Jamison makes a floater off the feed from James to bring Cleveland within 5. Boston leads 16-11. The Celtics defense looks outstanding right now. They came to win.
5:06 – My TV just turned off by itself. Fucking hell. Now I have paranormal activity to worry about?
3:47 – Both teams are exchanging TOs like crazy. LeBron steals a pass in mid-air than drives to the basket, taking an off balance shot and complaining about no foul. The refs somehow give him two shots before the ball is even inbound on the next possession. I guess royalty has its perks. He misses the 2nd of 2 shots.
3:12 – Another 3 bricked by LeBron. He’s 2-of-7 at this point. Not good, but not terrible. At least he’s being more aggressive. Timeout by Boston.
(Commercial break: Who is the mastermind that casted Common in the lead role of Just Wright? If you ever wanted people to lose interest in a movie immediately after seeing the previews, that would be the best way to go. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of some of his music, but … oh to hell with it).
2:53 – News Flash: Rasheed Wallace is still alive, and he can still play basketball a little bit. He sinks a jumper, but something tells me his heart is truly at home in the shape of a 5-foot water bong.
1:33 – LeBron grabs an offensive rebound with authority and puts it back off the Delonte West miss. Yup, he gets it now.
1:01 – Uh-oh, 2 fouls for LeBron as he lightly impedes Rondo’s path during transition. Rondo took a fabricated spill out of the pages of Derek Fisher’s book of How to Flop. I wonder how crucial this is going to be moving forward … very little contact on that play.
10.7 – Mo Williams dribbles the clock out, causing a 24-second violation. That’s the only dumb thing he’s done thus far, as he has 10 points already. The Cavs need him to be big today, probably even more than LBJ.
1st quarter ends with Boston up 25-22. Still anyone’s game, but LeBron must stay out of foul trouble from here on out.
2nd quarter
11:36 – Rajon Rondo drives and makes a beautiful circus scoop layup while drawing the foul from Anderson Varejao. This kid is crazy good.
11:13 – Rondo feeds Ray Allen for a fast-break dunk, and the refs call a foul on Mo Williams. The replay shows Mo doesn’t even graze him when attempting to block the shot. Oh well, 3-point play. Boston’s lead is 8 now, 31-23.
10:42 – Cleveland timeout after the Cavs attempt to force the ball inside, turn it over, and give up another fast-break layup. They seem disoriented and completely shook. The Celtics look confident and at ease. Boston up 33-23. I don’t want to say it’s over, but Doc Rivers has outcoached Phil Jackson once to his credit. Is outcoaching Mike Brown really going to be that much harder, especially under all the controversy going on with his star player?
10:27 – LeBron caps off a 3-point play after being fouled on a layup drive. Yeah, he’s definitely not going to tank two games in a row.
9:33 – Mo Williams blows a chance to bring the score within a basket. He basically ran towards the baseline under the basket, then threw the ball to the ref (LeBron was wide open on the wing). If guys get paid millions of dollars to do this sort of stuff, how come I haven’t been signed to a team yet?
8:30 – 8-0 run by the Cavs after Varejao finishes a reverse layup. Cavs only down by 2 now. This run happened so abruptly. I don’t even have time to eat in between plays, dammit!
6:30 – Rondo travels, but the refs ignore it and Kevin Garnett scores an easy layup. Some weird stuff has been happening in this game in terms of officiating. I guess it’s nothing new, but I don’t notice it as much until I’m sitting here analyzing every little aspect of the contest while writing a column. Funny how life works, ain’t it?
5:14 – Mighty Mo is fouled by Ray Allen, although it appears it should have been a jump ball. This game is being dominated by Rondo and Mo Williams thus far, as should be the case. If your point guards aren’t involved and making plays, it’s tough to get off quality shots.
(Commercial break: These NBA playoffs commercials are too cool. I love the ones where they chop up player quotes and make them into a hip-hop song, with Magic Johnson saying “Get back into our game” as the hook. Good stuff).
Boston up 41-38.
4:50 – Mo Williams steals the ball and drives the length of the floor for a layup. When he’s on, he’s a very, very good player. It’s the off switch that kills it for him and the rest of the team. Cleveland only down by 1.
3:43 – Unbelievably weird sequence on Cleveland’s end of the floor in which Shaq traveled about 12 times, yet gets the kick back from Mo and puts the Cavs up by 1 with a lay-in. Cleveland leads for the first time, 43-42.
2:48 – Boston is playing very sloppy now. Seems all of their pass attempts are interrupted by the hand of a Cleveland player. This reminds me of the last couple weeks of the regular season for the Lakers, when they couldn’t even pass gas after eating a bowl of chili.
2:14 – Antawn Jamison takes a horrible one-handed shot from the baseline, which results in some fouls shots on the other end for Kendrick Perkins after transition. He sinks one of two, Boston up 45-43.
1:37 – Rondo finds Tony Allen underneath with an amazing assist. I love this kid’s game. He’s like a mini Magic Johnson. It’s sacrilegious for me to say that, but I truly believe it. Imagine how good the Lakers would be if they had him? OK, OK … I know … too far. But hey, Derek Fisher can’t live forever, right?
52.4 – Mo Williams, off the pass from LeBron, pump fakes Tony Allen to high hell, and drains a 20-footer. He’s playing out of his mind right now.
43.2 – Tony Allen responds on the other end with a vicious dunk over Antawn “I’m less of a factor than Jenna” Jamison that gets the crowd out of their seats.
OK, I missed what time it occurred at, but Shaq traveled (again) into the hole and blew a layup that would have tied the game at the half. Boston up 51-49. The story of the first half without question is the play of the point guards. Mo Williams is single-handedly keeping Cleveland alive, and without him, the story would be LeBron having another poor shooting effort (4-12 from the field, 33%). To his credit, though, he’s on pace for a triple double. Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo is becoming a star. He’s easily the best player on the Celtics now. Crazy, considering the other 3 big name guys are future Hall-of-Famers. Excuse me while I devour this bowl of Fruit Loops now …
The red ones are the best... in a close tie every other color
3rd quarter
10:51 – Anthony Parker hits a corner 3 and gives the Cavs their largest lead of the game, 54-51. The crowd is silent now. I wonder where all the energy went? They didn’t come back from the break very loud, and I see a few too many empty seats. Is there some sort of special on Samuel Adams going on? It’s good beer, but come on, Bostonians…
8:48 – Antawn Jamison sees an opportunity to prove his worth on a fast break, and abruptly travels. Had he been somewhat smooth like Shaq he may have gotten away with it, but the entire Celtics bench and the first 3 rows all saw it and did the rolling arm motion, thus forcing the whistle. Sometimes you have to guide the officials, folks. This also goes back to what I said about Jamison in a prior column: in a big game, he’s not the kind of player you want to rely on. He’s been as insignificant as any member of the Black Eyed Peas not named Fergie or will.i.am.
7:54 – Shaq finds himself at the FT line again. You would think after 15+ years of being absolutely abysmal at the stripe, he’d at least improve A LITTLE bit. It looks as if he’s gotten worse, though. You know how wine gets better with age? Yeah, this is the exact opposite of that.
6:56 – Shaq is fouled by Kendrick Perkins, and a minor shoving match ensues. Double technical fouls called on both. What? No free throws for Shaq? Bummer…
6:29 – Shaq returns the favor on the other end fouling Perkins. At some point, we’re going to have to spin this feud into a WWE-style grudge match and have Dana White set up a UFC match. Weird sequence ensues where Garnett misses a layup, several passes are broken up, Antawn Jamison bricks a 3, and they show that the teams are a combined 2-17 from 3-point range. I’m suddenly feeling a lot better about the Lakers chances after seeing this. This is like prison yard jungle ball going on.
4:54 – LeBron appears to be shook when at the FT line. He goes 1 for 2 again, and is now 4-14 from the field and 6-9 from the line. You can already hear the critics chirping again. He’s inside his own head at this point. This is a Tiger Woods style breakdown like when he missed the cut a couple weeks back.
3:31 – Boston reels off several unanswered baskets after Anderson Varejao, during an offensive possession, pleaded with an official that he was bleeding. Play was not stopped, and an ill-advised Mo Williams 3-point brick led to a Garnett jumper in transition. The momentum shift has begun, and it’s going to take a serious move on Cleveland’s part to get it back. The Cavs are not in sync whatsoever, and the writing appears to be on the wall.
2:59 – OK, I may have spoken too soon. LeBron steals the ball and drives to the hoop, making a semi-lucky lefty layup with a foul. Boston up, 67-61.
2:45 – Rasheed Wallace answers with a 3 from the corner. And after a bad pass from LeBron on the other end, Paul Pierce hits a 3 from the opposite corner. Boston now has their largest lead of the night at 12. Hey, Cleveland, at least you’ll still have the Indians after this season. No, wait … I mean the Browns. Hmm, scratch that … um … Drew Carey is still hosting The Price is Right. There you go. Chin up.
47.3 – Mo Williams hits a long 2, bringing Cleveland within 8 now. He’s the only one hitting big shots at this point. LeBron has made some decent plays to get to the line, but he simply isn’t playing like a winner. He’s not trying to take the game over the way a true champion would. I’ve seen it in Michael Jordan many times. Kobe has done it. Even Dwyane Wade did it a few years back against the Mavericks. LeBron simply seems to not have “it.”
10.0 – LeBron turns it over in the paint, his 7th TO of the game. Still on pace for a triple-double, but it’s ugly. Cavs are down by 9 going into the last stanza. LeBron looks like a broken man. I think the pressure of the media has finally gotten to him, if it hadn’t already before the game, and it appears that he has mentally bailed out on his hometown team. Meanwhile, the GMs in New York and Chicago are already counting their bankrolls in anticipation.
4th quarter
11:50 – Rondo catches the Cavs D napping and scores an uncontested layup. That’s the worst possible way to start this quarter.
11:10 – Cleveland blows 2 easy chances to score against one chubby Boston defender (Big Baby Davis), but get the foul. After the in-bounds pass, they lose the ball right back. Either Boston has dialed back the clock to two years ago, or Cleveland simply doesn’t want to win this game.
10:46 – Anthony Parker misses a FT. That’s been the story of the Cavs’ game, missed opportunities. After AP makes the 2nd, they are 20 for 30 at the charity stripe. Not a recipe for success.
10:11 – Umm, we just had a LeBron sighting. He nails a 3 to bring the Cavs within 6.
9:34 – Holy crap, LeBron hits another 3 and the score is now 78-74. Why did it take this long for him to get rolling? He immediately goes to the bench after Boston calls timeout, sits down and ducks his head. I don’t think he’s tired — this is just unusual body language. I wouldn’t want the leader of my team acting in this manner. Any time Kobe nails a big shot like that, he gives one of those “I got this, boys” head nods. We’ll see what happens from here, but this just got interesting … again.
8:35 – LeBron dribbles the ball off of his foot at the top of the key which results in a breakaway layup for Rondo. Uh huh … this is the “King” I’ve come to know.
8:05 – Another lost possession for the Cavs, and Boston makes them pay with a Paul Pierce transition 3-pointer. Oh yeah, I’ve seen this before. The Celtics lead is back to 9. Cleveland, did I mention you guys still have Bone Thugs N Harmony? Or Kid Cudi? Those are some great artists, I must say. Chin up.
6:09 – Pierce drives and kicks out to Wallace on the wing for a 3. Lead is 12. Cleveland brings the ball down, loses it (again) and Garnett finishes the break with a monster dunk. The crowd is going nuts, the Cavs call a timeout, and word has it that the sales of both Kleenex and handguns in Ohio have skyrocketed by 80% in the past 2 minutes.
5:35 – Antawn Jamison scores his 2nd FG of the night with a layup. He’s 2-9 from the field. This is the guy that was supposed to put them over the top at the trade deadline?
4:38 – Rajon Rondo hits a floating bank shot that puts the Celtics up by 14. Mark Jackson, one of the commentators, points out that the Cavs like to dance during their blowout wins, but now there’s no dancing in sight. I couldn’t have pointed it out any better. It’s only a party when you’re winning, but when the chips are down, can you rally back? Cleveland cannot.
3:38 – Jackson says the Cavs’ body language looks like a boxer who’s will has been taken away. Honestly, they came into this game broken down. The camera pans to the Cavs’ bench where Shaq has his mouthpiece hanging out the side of his mouth with an expression that reads, “I should have fucking stayed in L.A.”
2:58 – Anthony Parker hits a 3, and the score is 91-83 Celtics. They aren’t rolling over yet.
2:21 – LeBron gets a defensive board and drives, but misses a turnaround shot in the paint. Great defense by Paul Pierce there – he bodied him and didn’t give him an opportunity for a clear look without much contact.
2:00 – The triple-double is official, but it seems to be too little too late. Garnett misses a couple chances to score, but Cleveland can’t pull down the rebound and it gets tipped out to Rondo. He calls a timeout with 1:38 left, and it’s looking academic from here. There’s no doubt the talent on this Cavs team, but they simply don’t have the winning mentality. It’s easy to dance and have fun when you’re winning, but when teams aren’t going to lay down for you, where does that extra push come from? It’s all mental. Boston has that mental toughness, Cleveland does not.
1:15 – LeBron turns it over one more time, and the Cavs basically quit with over a minute left, refusing to foul and stop the clock.
30-something seconds left – Cleveland got the ball back, and showing absolutely no sense of urgency, trot up the court and dribble out most of the clock. Eventually, Anderson Varejao is the one who takes the 3-point shot and obviously misses. Boston rebound, game over.
What a surreal ending. LeBron actually sticks around to congratulate the Celtics players on the floor (as opposed to last season when he left the floor without shaking hands with any Magic players) then leaves, and as the camera follows him out, he almost symbolically takes off his Cleveland Cavaliers jersey … perhaps for the last time.
Let me say one thing: this loss wasn’t only on LeBron’s shoulders. Antawn Jamison, the proposed “Robin” to LBJ’s Batman, was a complete no-show, as was the rest of the supporting cast. Mike Brown didn’t run with the best lineups he could have throughout this series, and Mo Williams’ only good game came when it was too little, too late. Be that as it may, LeBron will be remembered now as the hometown boy who failed his city. He promised a few rings to Cleveland, and he may very well leave with none.
That part of this story has yet to be written.
As for what we HAVE read … well, LeBron may be the MVP. He may even have more MVP awards than Kobe. But ask anyone and they’ll tell you, true happiness lies behind the man with four rings … and right now, that man’s season isn’t over just yet.
