The KING and all his men The Cavs are favorites to end title drought
LeBron James, the monarch of the highest basketball order has accomplished everything forecast of him as a ballyhooed teen from Akron, but this is the year he’s expected to end the woeful 45-year title drought of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
To say that James or LeBron as most would call him is the favorite son of Ohio would be like saying President Barack Obama only governs Chicago. LeBron is the KING of the basketball universe and a transformational sportsman of the modern era.
A couple of weeks ago he was in his hometown of Akron with the First Lady Michelle Obama encouraging kids to go to college.
Charles Barkley he is not. He has embraced his hero status as a mega star, shared his celebrity, spoke out about social issues even donning a T-shirt protest supporting a Black man who was murdered by police.
Simply, put, he is a legend already and has surpassed hero status as hundreds of kids in Akron can attest when he paid for their college tuition.
However, make no mistake about it, LeBron James is the world’s best basketball player. Period.
He’s won every major award in the NBA since arriving out of St. Vincent St. Mary High School; two Finals MVP, two NBA titles and is a four time MVP, and he has led his beloved Cavs to a pair of Finals including last year.
However, this is the year the KING and all of his men are expected to get it done.
As LeBron returned home to the Cavs last season, the Wine and Gold payroll has sky
rocketed.
No longer does Cleveland trail signature franchises like the Lakers, Celtics and Spurs in salary distribution, but right now they are the old New York Yankees of basketball.
Forward Kevin Love and guard Kyrie Irvin lead the $100 million dollar club, recently signed Tristan Thompson is not far behind at a cool $85 million.
The KING has been playing out a string of one year deals and will break the bank when the salary cap increases to $108 million in a couple of years.
However, will not matter to the Cavs title starving fan base if this team under second year coach David Blatt can bring home the gold.
This season those LeBron drooling fans may show up to find that the KING is not in uniform as his minutes are expected to decrease drastically from last season which was at a career low of 32 minutes per game.
Love returns from season ending shoulder surgery and Irvin is a fragile as a chandelier.
Anderson Varejao’s return from season ending surgery maybe the biggest lift the Cavs will get as the Golden Sate Warriors’ blue print of small ball is infecting the entire league.
The team opened with back-to backs at Chicago (losing 97-95) on Tuesday and Memphis (Wednesday) and will pay its home opener Oct. 30 against LeBron’s old mates the Miami Heat on Oct. 30.
It’s cup cake city after that with the dreaded Knicks arriving at the Q on Nov. 4, Philadelphia twice, Indy and Utah.
As the bitter tastes of watching the Warriors celebrate at the Q fades into a distant memory, the new season beckons with hope and fleeting dreams that this will be the years the City of Cleveland—SCREAMS! We Won It.
