The Cleveland Cavaliers are in one of the most dismal stretches of basketball in the franchise's history. In fact, the Cavs are so bad right now, local radio personalities are calling them the most embarrassing team in all of sports. Ouch!
Responding to a humiliating defeat to a Los Angeles Lakers team that came to Cleveland with only eight players (none named Kobe Bryant) and finished the game with only five, the Cavs fired General Manager Chris Grant, according to Yahoo Sports.
Team owner Dan Gilbert had to do something. Talk around Cleveland is centering around what fans can do to get the Quicken Loans CEO's attention; suggestions range from humorous to downright ridiculous, but who can blame Cleveland fans?
What's next?
If you have seen any of the Cavs' last 10 games, you know that the ax is likely to continue to fall.
One must wonder if head coach Mike Brown isn't next.
Brilliant or Insane publisher Mark Barnes covered the Cavs for the Warren Tribune in the 1980s. He now writes primarily about education.
Kobe Bryant is hurt again. He only returned to action recently, after sitting out the first month of the season, after rupturing his achilles last year.
Bryant is 35, and he's played in 1,465 NBA games, including the playoffs, and numerous other Olympic and summer competitions.
His game has already morphed into something quite different from what it was even five years ago.
Bryant can still kill opponents with a sick fall away J, with a taller defender draped all over him. He can meander his way through traffic and spin the ball off the backboard and into the cup, with relative ease.
The mammoth dunks, for the most part, have faded into the distance. Blowing by younger, quicker guards is ancient history.
Returning from a ruptured achilles with a withering body seemed doubtful.
Now, with yet another devastating blow to those oh-so-tender twigs that Kobe calls legs, one must wonder if we haven't seen the last of the real Black Mamba.
About six years ago, I wrote an article for Suite101, naming LeBron James one of the NBA's top 5 players of all time. In fact, as stated in the article, I placed King James at number 3, and he had been in the league for less than five years at that time.
The old version of that article received many comments, and most of them were less than kind to yours truly (Suite101 has removed old comments from its updated site). How could I place LeBron on such a lofty pedestal in such a short time, readers wondered.
Although the slant of this post is similar to the Suite101 article, the debate is fresh. With a decade of experience, four NBA MVPs and two NBA championships to his credit, it's time to pose the question: Is LeBron the best ever?
I'm selling LeBron James as the NBA's best all-time player
Based on my high ranking of LeBron years ago, it may seem strange that I'm not yet convinced that he's number 1 overall, considering his hefty laurels, and a good argument might convince me, because it's a very close call.
As I did years ago, I'm still going with Michael Jordan as the NBA's all-time best player.
Even though LeBron James can rip an opponent's heart out faster than a zombie in The Walking Dead, Michael Jordan was even deadlier, when it came to snatching victory away from opponents and jubilance from opposing fans.
According to sketchy historical data, outlined here, Jordan hit 50 percent of his game-tying or game-winning playoff shots. By comparison, King James has hit slightly less than 42 percent in fewer attempts. Game winners is still just one more measuring tool, but a key one for me.
It's NBA Finals Game 7. The clock is winding down. 3, 2, 1. . . . You can have any player in history take this shot.
I'll take Michael Jordan, the NBA's best all-time player.
LeBron James and the Miami Heat visited Cleveland the day before Thanksgiving and must have been very thankful for an easy evening meeting and victory over the woeful Cavaliers.
via: InterBasket.net
The most exciting part of the visit was the wave of conversation it started around Ohio about the possibility of LeBron returning to Cleveland next year, when he becomes a free agent.
I won't say LeBron playing for the Cavs again is impossible, but here are 5 things that are more likely to happen than King James wearing the Wine and Gold.
Mike Brown will be fired as the Cavs head coach. The Brown-LeBron marraige failed once, I doubt Cavs owner Dan Gilbert will want to preside over a second union.
The Cleveland Indians will win a World Series. Sound crazy? I thought so too, until Terry Francona brought the hapless Tribe back to life last season.
My fantasy football team will win another championship. It's been a few years; I'm due, and I have Jimmy Graham on my side.
Cleveland's hockey team will win the Stanley Cup. Come on! Does Cleveland even have a hockey team? Okay, technically, I suppose it's Columbus. Need I go on?
The Cleveland Browns will win a Super Bowl. If you haven't deduced by now how little confidence I have in LeBron returning to play for Cleveland, this one should clarify the matter. The Cleveland Browns winning a Super Bowl? Is Hell freezing over, too?
