Epic Fail

…are the two words that easily describe the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season.  There are no ifs or buts, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the epitome of the term ‘epic fail’ due to their latest playoff fallout. You know what hurts for me? I am a Cleveland Cavaliers’ fan.

But before we dwell on what just happened, let us take an overview as to how they turned to be a huge failure.



For sports fans, Cleveland is known as the city that suffered huge losses through the years. The Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians were competent for very many stretches in their respective leagues but horrible sports incidents have mired their chances. In short, they always had hope with it getting shattered in a heartbreaking fashion in the end. I even think that they currently have the worst experience ever. Chicago’s Cubs might have the longest drought but the city can pride themselves with Michael Jordan’s Bulls. Buffalo may have suffered a lot in NFL but they are still in New York where Yankees and Knicks have at least won a championship. All Cleveland fans have are horrible sports experiences in the past four decades. When LeBron James fell in their lap back in 2003, it brought immense hope that they might have a taste of the elusive championship.

As for me, I can still remember watching LeBron’s first ever game. On that very game, I was already completely sold on him. LeBron has the quality that you want from a basketball player: he scores, overpowers his opponents, has good vision, is unselfish and has the leadership aura. What amazed me the most is the fact that he was too young yet he appeared mature. His built also allowed him to have a higher upside. In short, he had a legitimate potential of being the greatest basketball player ever. Cleveland may not have reached playoffs in LeBron’s first year but I became a Cavs fan due to the fact that LeBron epitomized what a basketball player could be.

Years passed and we finally get to see LeBron land in the playoffs. His first outing was impressive as his Cavs almost eliminated the defending Eastern Conference champs – the Detroit Pistons. In the following year, he continued to impress by decimating the Detroit powerhouse all by himself in the epic 48-point game. They reached the NBA Finals despite the fact that he had a lousy supporting cast. From then, I had high hopes that LeBron will soon become a champion.

Then came the powerhouse era…

If there is one major flaw in NBA from 2004 to 2006, that would have to be the fact that there were no powerhouse teams. San Antonio Spurs got their rings with a combination of luck, tactics and the fact that the league was lacking in talent. Only the LA Lakers were the powerhouse team in the early part of the decade. You even have Jason Kidd’s New Jersey Nets reaching the Finals. The 2007-08 season changed everything. In the 2008 playoffs, you had the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers with sterling lineups. By 2009, Orlando Magic came into the mix. This year, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs can be considered powerhouses due to their strong lineups. As for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they also upgraded and became a powerhouse squad. From a watered-down league, NBA became an imbalanced league that ends with the Finals being a clash of the Titans affair. Despite the fact that LeBron had a better supporting cast, his teams withered down the stretch. We must note though that everybody expected LeBron’s teams before 2009 to lose. Even if the Cavaliers get booted out, people like me were still amazed at how far they have reached.

By this stretch, columnists are already hailing LeBron as basketball’s alpha dog. He has added a jump shot in his arsenal that makes him more dominating as ever. He was heralded as a guy who can make his team better because of his superb passing skill. By the 2009 playoffs, experts have pegged the Cavaliers to be the eventual champions. However, it did not happen. The Orlando Magic milked on the big man mismatch and cut Cleveland’s huge leads with their three-point bombs. But, it was not LeBron’s fault. His teammates choked. LeBron had to bail them out in Game 5 but we know that one man cannot do it all in this team sport.

From this, what did the Cavs do? The front office went full force this year by acquiring Shaq (to defend Dwight), Parker (to defend wingmen) and Jamison (as the reliable offensive weapon who can shoot from downtown). As we enter the 2010 playoffs, experts have pegged Cleveland to become the eventual champions. You know what, all logic supported that claim. The Cavaliers have the propensity to match up any lineup whether it be big or small. LeBron is hungrier after last year’s disappointment. And, Cleveland is a stronger offensive force this time around. But in some way, the Boston Celtics drastically shifted the momentum in Game 5.

Shown below is the turnout of events for me:

Game 5, 3rd Quarter: I was working at the office when my friend Paul sent me a message via YM saying that LeBron is playing badly. He mentioned that LeBron was 0/7 in the field. I quickly took a peek at the box score and I was stunned. Cleveland is trailing a huge Boston lead. Seriously?! Is this happening? I just could not believe what I just saw. At the most pivotal game in the series, LeBron is playing terribly. But since I am at the office, I had no idea how it transpired. All I could do was to proceed working.

Game 5, 4th Quarter: I refreshed the box score and saw that Boston’s lead expands to more than twenty points. I am speechless and helpless. If I were at home watching this game, I would have been punching a pillow out of disgust. After another regular season of keeping my hopes high, are the Cavs squandering it again? This is outright shameful. However, I felt fortunate that I was not watching the horror unfold in my very eyes. Nevertheless, I was disappointed so I tweeted what I thought about LeBron’s game (more on that later. I did not watch the game but I already sensed the glaring weakness. And after reading columns about it, I was right).

Pre-Game 6: This is it! I am watching this game live. I am at home and I have no work for the moment. Is LeBron going to save Cleveland? To be honest, I had doubts. The momentum has shifted and LeBron is facing a mature Celtics team. I never wrote the Celtics off of my pre-playoffs analysis either. I am still hoping that the Cavs will turn this series over because they are the best team in the regular season. They also have fought with heart in the past. However, my perception of LeBron was shattered after Game 5 that it would take more than winning the next two games for him to redeem his clunker.

In the past 16 to 17 years of watching NBA, my favorite teams (Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers) never won a championship. They always reach the playoffs except in 2003 and 2004. Basically, this is the time of the year when I experience my favorite team getting eliminated. I was ready for another Cleveland Cavalier failure if ever it happens.

Game 6, 1st Quarter: Celtics are leading while their crowd was boisterous. This was expected. A part of me was hoping for an early evisceration effort by the Cavs but that did not happen. Moving on…

Game 6, 2nd Quarter: Celtics had a good lead but Cleveland continued to chip on it with Mo Williams’ performance. Wow! Mo has been disappointing me for the past two years and he finally delivers. He is making an early claim that he should not be pinpointed for this loss. As for LeBron, he continues to disappoint. I love the rebounds but what the heck is LeBron doing sagging on the corner without the ball? He should be running this team!

While watching, I noticed that around three to four calls went the Celtics’ way. One of it was a flop by Rajon Rondo. It made me chant “Rondo sucks!” for a while. That was part frustration, part jealousy. After all, Rondo is having another remarkable game.

Game 6, 3rd Quarter: The Boston crowd was just relentless. My sound system further made me feel like I was in the arena. They exploded in every possible momentum shifter (going to the Celtics) and momentum killer (for the Cavs). Ladies and gentlemen, this is a championship crowd. If there is one thing that hinders Cleveland from succeeding, it would be the stain on their crowd. The Cleveland crowd maybe one of the noisiest but the years of failure have somehow withered their passion and belief.

The Celtic crowd took it to another level by chanting “New York Knicks!” during every LeBron freethrow. That was an awesome suggestion by Bill Simmons from his column and it was amazing to witness it. But you know what, as Jeff Van Gundy stated, rooting for another team is bad karma. That goes to Spike Lee and to every Boston fan who chanted last Thursday.

Wait a minute… La Salle chanted “NU! NU! NU!” to Ateneo in 2007 and Ateneans like me joked “NU! NU! NU!” back to La Salle last year. What happened? Both fans who chanted for another team became champions.

As for the Cavaliers, they had some good stretches but there were no remarkable things to be said of them. It is so different from every dominating Cavs game in the past two years. Props to the Boston defense as they made LeBron disappear offensively. Jamison was also horrible (suddenly the trade became stupid). What’s worse is that Cleveland is having more turnovers than a UAAP basketball team. By the third quarter, I am already sensing the inevitable. I am keeping my guard up for another stomach punch loss.

Game 6, 4th Quarter: LeBron became alive after hitting two consecutive threes. Boston did the right thing by calling a timeout. After that, it’s back to Boston dominance and LeBron invisibility. It was frustrating to see LeBron give up the ball in numerous possessions. The Cavaliers did not appear to have adjusted from Boston’s defense. At one time, I have punched the throw pillow nearest to me.

(As I am respecting the city of Cleveland, I will just say) Cavaliers, WTF?! Show some fight in you! Have you guys forgotten how great you were?

LeBron passes the ball after a double team. Clock ticking. The Cavs miss another shot. Celtics score at the other end. I am helpless in my sofa. If my stocks were not climbing that day, I would have been totally depressed.

LeBron, it’s time to be a ballhog. Score at will, please. Teams live and die by their superstars. Why are you not scoring at will?

Final Minute of Game 6: I have accepted that the Cavaliers will not win this game. But you know what’s worse? The Cavs appeared to give up in the final minute. Mo Williams was dribbling without a sense of urgency. Heck, he did not even attempt a three in their last possession. You know who attempted the three? Anderson Varejao. The Cavs appeared to be decapitated chickens dancing around. And as for LeBron, he had a monster stat line but he was still a failure in this game. He did not put an effort to cut the lead by attacking the rim. It was horror right in front of my very eyes.

Just like the past years, my teams get eliminated in the playoffs. What’s new?

I tweeted my disappointments on the Cavs after the game. It is one thing to see a team lose fighting hard for it and it is another to see a team which has no sense of urgency giving up. The Cavs were obviously the latter. I poked some Cavs jokes every now and then because with their effort they deserved it. Actually, some are even harsh truths about the team.

In a span of three weeks, I experienced three of my favorites get eliminated (Siobhan Magnus, Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers). But you know what, I had a sudden realization after the game: I have no right to whine about my sports teams getting eliminated. After all, I have been experiencing my sports teams (Ateneo Blue Eagles, Duke Blue Devils, Boston Red Sox) emerging as champions in the past few years. I just feel sad for the Clevelanders who waited all these years just to end up getting bitch slapped yet again.

We love talking about nostalgia and celebration in sports. We love cheering heavily when our favorite players deliver in the clutch. However, there are also instances when sports deliver emotional trauma (like my teams never winning an NBA championship) and depression. People may say that sports teams winning do not truly affect our lives but I beg to disagree on that. Terrible losses like this emotionally shatter people and it changes their perceptions. I may not be emotionally scarred by this latest Cleveland loss (although I am hugely doubting LeBron now), but I feel sad for Cleveland. I hope that one of these years, they experience the ultimate triumph.

One day, the city of Cleveland will get over the hump. I hope it happens.

And now, let’s discuss the series.

What went wrong?
In the past few years, we can always say that Cleveland lost because of its lineup. San Antonio (2007), Boston (2008) and Orlando (2009) had more complete lineups than the Cavs had. This year, there was no impeccable reason that the Cavs were inferior in paper. They have the best player in the series (LeBron). They have the right mix of players: Jamison can rebound and score; Shaq is the post-up veteran; Parker is a great defender; Varejao is the hustle guy; Mo Williams shoots the jumpers. Boston has the Big Four but with the exception of Rondo, Cleveland can match them up defensively and still be able to score efficiently.

What went wrong? Shit happened. LeBron James was known to be a great leader in keeping his team together. Team chemistry was something the Cavs are proud of but it disappeared. The Cavs had the better lineup in paper but Mike Brown misused it with bizarre rotations. Jamison – a go-to-guy in Washington – became invisible in most stretches. Mo Williams is just a regular season scorer. Aside from Game 6, Mo turns into a mediocre player in playoffs. The defense was gone. Celtics incredibly improved. Rajon Rondo dominated and became the best player in the series. And, LeBron James sucked.

Yes, the player I was rooting for these past six to seven years sucked big time. I noted that he was the prototype basketball player. It turns out that I am wrong. LeBron was missing one key component that made Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player ever – the killer instinct. It was the glaring weakness that was shown in the Cavs-Celtics series. LeBron was more “don’t worry, we will get them next game” than “I am making my life’s mission to destroy the living hell out of them the next game.” LeBron does not have that obsession. Normally, it appears a negative quality because it is destructive as compared to the sportsman behavior that athletes like LeBron possess. However, this drive for winning is what fueled Jordan, Kobe and Russell to win multiple championships. LeBron admits that he does not have that attitude. I actually thought he had it (especially when he destroyed Detroit in the 48-point game). LeBron was as cool as ice in Game 6 that I did not even observe a sense of urgency from him. Another concern was LeBron’s tendency to be larger than the team. LeBron is known to be an unselfish teammate and a player who makes his team better but the results have been contrary to the belief. LeBron’s teammates over-rely on him and they crumble when LeBron is having an off day. I know it’s his teammates’ fault but it is partly James’ fault for making it that way. Jamison and Shaq shrunk from being good go-to-guys to role players when they arrived in Cleveland. It has become ‘LeBron and His Teammates’. I just do not think that one go-to-guy is enough for the team. Jordan had Pippen. Shaq had Bryant. Bryant has Gasol. Magic had Kareem. And the list goes on… It is quite ironic that the qualities that made LeBron great are the same things that have hindered him from being successful.

I became a fan of LeBron because of who he is as a player. After six to seven years of rooting for him, it is disappointing to see his characteristics regress. For years, LeBron was the easiest athlete to defend for his shortcomings. It is because you knew he gave his heart and power for it. However, I am sad to say that I cannot defend him in this debacle (or LeBacle). Cleveland’s loss to Boston was on LeBron. It tarnished his legacy. People will be talking about these two games until LeBron wins a championship ring. If this happened three years ago, we can just shrug this off to inexperience. However, LeBron has won two MVP’s and had the best team in the regular season. One may say that one or two games do not define an athlete. Yes, but the recent chain of events changed the whole perspective of him. The last two games were probably his last games for his hometown. These were the perfect opportunity for James to show how much he cares for Cleveland in case he wants to leave. A legend is defined on how he comes through in big games, not during regular seasons. This is why we still remember LeBron’s 48-point game. Unfortunately the two debacles (LeBacles) erased his past playoff greatness. After all, we do not want stars to regress in their primes. It is a sad day for LeBron fans.

Probably the next question is, where will LeBron go? It appears that staying in Cleveland is not the optimal scenario for him. O’Neal and Jamison will become older and we are not sure if it is indeed the lineup for LeBron. But for the sake of the Cleveland fans, part of me roots for LeBron to stay. If LeBron leaves, I will actually be reconsidering why I am still rooting for LeBron. After all, it was his character that made me a fan. If he leaves, LeBron will have the loyalty guilt in him.

But then again, fans root for their favorites through good and bad times. I may not be able to defend LeBron now (defending him now is like lying) but I am still rooting for him to improve. One thing I can say is, it is a tough time to be a LeBron fan. But just like LeBron, his fans are getting tested right now.

Some Other Thoughts From This Year’s Playoffs

•    Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the league. He might not have the awesome stat lines but he knows how to go for the kill and he will die to keep his team alive.
•    Kobe Bryant is greater than Tim Duncan on the All-Time List. Kobe surpassed Duncan this year after the latter’s degradation in the Suns series. Kobe might be in powerhouse teams but Duncan won titles in a watered-down league. Tim actually showed that he was not done yet during the Dallas series but one has to remember that he had a 4-point game where George Hill bailed the Spurs out.
•    We are headed into an interesting Finals:
o    Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic – rematch of last year’s Finals
o    Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics – the best NBA rivalry. I am rooting for this scenario to happen
o    Boston Celtics vs. Phoenix Suns – rematch of the 1976 triple overtime NBA Finals
o    Orlando Magic vs. Phoenix Suns – say goodbye to TV ratings
•    Rajon Rondo is undoubtedly the best point guard in the Eastern Conference
•    Deron Williams is the best point guard in the Western Conference
•    Phoenix Suns finally get their sweet revenge. It was such an irony that they got it the same way San Antonio did when they beat the Suns in past years: get lucky and have a bench player (Horry/Dragic) eff off the other team.
•    San Antonio is in a terrible spring. They first lost Shawn Michaels in WWE. Now, they are swept by their arch-rivals.
•    Chemistry trumps talent. Just ask the Cleveland Cavaliers, the old Suns Teams which were better on paper than this year’s team and the Dallas Mavericks.
•    LeBron James should not get the MVP award next season. It is a regular season award but he has not proven that he can bail out his team in the past two years.

Sorry, ‘Bron. I have praised you countless times in the past years but you deserve these harsh truths after the stink bomb this year.