Cleveland, We have a problem

Well, I don't even think its necessary to talk about the loss last night against the Celtics. In general this Cavs team has played with no heart, no desire, no passion, and no hustle. They thought this Celtics team would just roll over and they didn't. This team is over and done with, they aren't going to win game 6 in Boston.

I think there are some bigger issues arising with this team and Brian Windhorst pointed them out pretty clearly last night. He is reporting that there are some chemistry problems right now. Players are upset with Mike Brown's erratic rotation and in-game adjustments. LeBron seems to be not taking an active leadership role since this series began. After our game 2 loss, he went to the podium completley stoic, while MB was pulling the fire alarm.

I ask myself why is LeBron playing the way he is? He had 3 field goals all last game. I have a couple reasons for why he seems disinterested out there. One, he is unsatisfied with MB, and no longer trusts him. I can believe this because MB is not a master of in-game adjustments (which confuses our players), and these two seem to be echoing two different trains of thought. MB is trying to warn the team to wake up, while LeBron is saying "We'll get them next game". Often times player and coaches echo the same tune when it comes to post-game press conferences, but this has not been the case. Also after game 4, Shaq did not speak to the media as he was upset that he did not play in the 4th quarter. Shaq is known to have a massive ego, and while we haven't seen much of it, it seems to be flaring up now. If LeBron is indeed tuning out MB, he is doing it at the worst time. He needs to be a man and just go out there and play as hard as he can and not use this series as an excuse to get rid of your coach. The problem lies even deeper than LeBron can do this because he knows every single team in the NBA would do anything to get their hands on him, teams will still want to sign him despite what happens in this series.

The second issue I see is LeBron's elbow is much more injured then we have been led to believe. Although the team has done an MRI on his elbow, LeBron has not been the same "attack mode" player we are used to seeing in the playoffs and regular season. He was settling for jumpers yesturday and was not taking an active role in the offense. I wouldn't be suprised if in a few weeks from now we heard that LeBron's elbow was a much more serious injury than previously reported.

What do I make of this series debacle? For one, I am shocked. I knew this team sometimes would get complacent, but not for stretches of 3-4 games. I knew if this team turned the light on and kept it on that no team would beat us in a 7 game series. Who do I point the blame at? 2 people, LeBron James for one, especially if he is trying to show up Mike Brown by playing disinterested basketball, and two Mike Brown for not being able to enable the trust of his players in the most important time of the year and get on the same page with all of them. His inability to manage in-game adjustments has finally taken precedent here. Shaq, Z, and LeBron have all been upset with MB this series, and it is up to him as a coach not only to solve these problems, but to motivate his team. I find it hard to believe that all these chemistry issues will be solved in a matter of 2 days. I don't think I have ever been this dissapointed in a team before in my life. At least the Indians and Browns when they played in high level games showed some fight and heart. Yes, the Orlando Magic were down 3-2 and had to play a game 7 in Boston and won, but I don't see that coming from this team. This team is like the Night of the Living Dead, just a bunch of zombies walking around with no signs of life......

The most important question everyone is asking is LeBron going to stay in Cleveland? I think he is because of the fact that we have a great owner, GM, and we can pay him the most money. The Gilbert/Ferry team has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to put a winner on the court. I defintley MB is fired after we lose this series, so I am sure we will be looking at long list of new coaches (cough cough John Calipari). This offseason is going to be interesting because we have the expirings of Parker/Telfair/West, a reliable 3 point shooter in Gibson, the Mid-Level Exception to sign a free agent, a young piece in Hickson, and the issue of Z/Shaq coming back. This has defintley been an extremely dissapointing season, but it should be a very interesting offseason.....

-Raz