I'm disappointed that the universe doesn't care about how those three buffoons planned this for years before they got to do it.
I'm disappointed that Dan Gilbert's promise won't get to be fulfilled, and he's going to be the butt of all kinds of national jokes.
I'm disappointed that LeBron quit on the Cavs in Game Five of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, blamed it on his elbow, said he "spoils" people with his play—all because he knew he was going to Miami with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and he didn't give two you-know-whats about Cleveland at that point.
I will say this, LeBron James has finally figured it out. He's finally matured into the player that everybody expected him to be. You can see it in press conferences, on the floor when he told Mario Chalmers to stop celebrating towards the end of the 3rd quarter in tonight's massacre. But most of all, you can see it in the way he's now realized that winning isn't easy—this is as hard as LeBron James has worked in any postseason since 2007. And now that he's finally won that elusive first ring, he's undoubtedly earned it.
You see, I have this theory about LeBron James and I'll lay it out to you now. I think that after he led the Cavs to The Finals in '07—against all odds, and in spite of the lack of talent around him (seriously, Larry Hughes was on that team)—LeBron thought to himself, "Wow, that was really hard. And then we got swept! You know what, I shouldn't have to work that hard. I may be good—even great maybe—but this is ridiculous!"
So after that, LeBron began to think that it was Cavs GM Danny Ferry, and Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert's jobs to do everything in their power to make sure LeBron James had enough talent around him so that LeBron James didn't have to work so hard to just get the team to The Finals—let alone win a championship.
Then, in 2008, LeBron, Bosh and Wade were all on the Olympics team together and won a gold medal. I think sometime when all three were in China, they had a conversation that went something like, "Wow, wouldn't it be great if we could all play together and freaking dominante the league? Think about how easy that would be! We'd win so many Championships!"
This is something plenty of people have suggested before—that the three planned on playing together since Beijing—but I think the mentality of those three coming into last season played into their little party after it became official that they'd all be playing together. LeBron especially seemed to think it would be easy, and this didn't change even after he got steamrolled by the Mavs last year in the Finals.
But here's the deal—it turns out, LeBron James had to work just as hard, if not harder, than he did in '07 to win his first title here in 2012. He finally figured out that he had to work during the series against Indiana. Once the Heat got down, you know who showed up like the superstar he was supposed to be? LeBron James.
Once the Heat got down 3-2 to the Celtics, who showed up? LeBron James.
And who played like an MVP in the Finals? None other than LeBron James.
And that's what frustrates me so damn much. LeBron had gotten everything handed to him for so many years, (seriously—a Sports Illustrated cover before his senior year of high school?) how could you blame him for thinking winning a Championship should be easy?
But how can you not blame him for quitting on one team knowing he would go to another to take the path of least resistance to winning a Championship just a few weeks later?
I won't congratulate him. I know that makes me the subject of every national analyst telling Clevelanders to "get over it" but I just can't.
This is a night that all of us in Cleveland believed we'd be sharing with a victorious Cavaliers team. I know he's a great player—I see that, I recognize that.
But you know what? Anyone that trashes my city like LeBron James did when he announced a decision made years before the fact deserves neither my respect nor my congratulations.
Go Cavs, Go Indians, and Go Browns.
And damnit, Go Cleveland.
Never forget.
~MAS
