Cavs Go Down, Lebron's Future in Doubt

Despite putting up a triple double LeBron had 9 turnovers in the Cavs' loss to the Celtics. 

The #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals by losing in 6 games to the Boston Celtics. The Cavs lost 94-85. LeBron James had 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and 9 turnovers in the loss.

Noooooooooooooo. LeBron has been my favorite athlete since he broke into the league 7 years ago already given the nickname "The Chosen One." Not just my favorite NBA players but my favorite sports athlete in general. He has the perfect combination of talent, swagger, maturity and affability that won over so many sports fans.

LeBron was always writing himself into the record books with all sorts of new "youngest player to ..." achievements. But the only knock on LeBron, if you can find any criticism for a player still only 25 years old and at his level, is that he has never won a championship. He is constantly compared to Kobe with the "who's the best player in the NBA" argument. Even though LeBron may be able to dominate a game more than Kobe and have better stats Kobe has got 4 NBA championships. LeBron has 0 and won't be sniffing one this year.

This year the big story surrounding LeBron was his expiring contract. His rookie contract he inked with the Cavs runs out this summer and he can decide to be a free agent. Teams like the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls have freed up tons of cap space to woo James and everyone knows LeBron loves the city of New York. It was thought that if the Cavs won a title there was no way he could leave. Or the Cavs would win the championship and the fans would be grateful that LeBron had brought them a title before he left.

Will LeBron leave Cleveland for The Big Apple?

But now nobody knows what's going to happen. Will he stay in Cleveland and try to build his legacy as a Cavalier? Or will he and another superstar like Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh go to the Knicks?

Get ready for LeBron, LeBron and even more of King James. If you thought the media attention and pressure was big after the game where Cavaliers got blown out by 32 points and James only had 15 points then you are in for a big surprise. There will be an incredible amount of media attention dedicated to LeBron's tenure with the Cavs and speculation on where he will be headed next year.

Personally, I think LeBron will stay in Cleveland. He'll realize that it all boils down to championships and his career would be considered a failure if he never won a title. Can you imagine if one of basketball's greatest players ever never won a title? We're talking about a guy who's nickname is "King" and "The Chosen One." And by starting all over with a new team he has to start from scratch. If he went to the Knicks he'd have to erase all his progress with the Cavs and carry another team on his back. But by staying with the Cavs he remains on the best team (regular season) instead of going to the 10th best in the Eastern Conference.

I heard this from a sports radio show and I completely agree. As amazing as LeBron is, he has too much power in Cleveland. Anyone who has watched Cavs games sees that James goes 1 on 5 all the time. And a lot of the time he makes crazy shots that no one else could make. But the rest of his team just stands around. The entire offense is built around him. And even though the Cavs have or have added a bunch of great pieces to support him, Mo Williams, Shaq, Antawn Jamison, they can't be expected to perform if they never touch the ball. And when they do get the ball they are criticized if they take any shots away from LeBron. And the Cleveland Cavaliers will have a hard time emphasizing the other players because Mike Brown and the organization would face a mountain of critique from their fans. If LeBron for some reason didn't get the ball with the game on the line everyone would be jumping down Brown's throat. It's easy to say that the supporting cast would suck if LeBron wasn't on the team and that Mike Brown isn't a good coach but the truth is that LeBron's power in Cleveland is detrimental to the team. I'm in no way saying get rid of him because the Cavs would be much worse without him. But the Cavs have to find a way to take less responsibility off of James and allow the other players more freedom. That's the reason why the Lakers are so good. They have a superstar in Kobe, but he doesn't have as much weight on his shoulders as LeBron because he lets the other players do their thing. Granted, Kobe's supporting cast is much better but Kobe is better at managing games in that sense. He doesn't feel the need to go 1 on 5 into the teeth of the defense. He's content to get everyone involved in the first 3 quarters then takes over in the 4th.

Mostly though I am just bummed that the Cavs lost. It seems like they've been the best team in the NBA for a few years now but haven't won a championship. Sad that LeBron might go to the Knicks and if he does he won't be sniffing a title for a while and he might not ever get one. But he'll always be great and I'll still support him whatever team he goes to. Even if it means putting up a new Fathead poster of him in a Knicks jersey.

Little Bee and Iron Man 2

Mickey Rourke playing the villain Ivan Vanko in Iron Man 2 and the cover of Little Bee.

This weekend I finished one of the most heart-rending books I have ever read and saw Iron Man 2, the blockbuster action movie whose sole purpose was to entertain.

Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, tells the story of a Nigerian immigrant and an English woman. Sarah was on vacation with her husband in Nigeria when she met Little Bee who was fleeing men that had destroyed her village. A fateful decision was made and the two parted ways, never expecting to see the other again. Two years later, after finally escaping her country and being released from an immigrant detention center Little Bee finds Sarah and the two try to reconcile the past and push ahead to the future.

Little Bee continued my pattern of books with female protagonists. (I had previously read Precious and The Help.) What made the book so special was the shocking plot, dual perspectives and imagery. Chris Cleave purposely doesn't reveal the events that occurred when Little Bee and Sarah met because "the magic is in how the story unfolds." Cleave builds up the story before explaining the pivotal event and then reveals bits and pieces that will surprise the reader. Each chapter alternates between the perspective of Little Bee and Sarah. Both characters are equally important and it wouldn't be possible to completely understand the rationale behind their decision making without getting inside their heads. Little Bee's narrations are thoughtful and ties her imagery to what her life was like before conflict came to her village.

I would highly recommend this book but probably not to anyone in middle school or lower because there are so brutal and traumatic events described in vivid detail.

Iron Man 2, the sequel to the incredibly popular Marvel superhero flick didn't disappoint. Although it was kind of slow in the middle, the final action scene blew me away.

The movie jumps right into the introduction of this movie's bad guy. Mickey Rourke plays Ivan Vanko, a hulking, tattooed Russian physicist whose only wish is to destroy Tony Stark. He is recruited by Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), a rival businessman who will do anything to outdo Stark when it comes to weapons technology.

Tony Stark's ego is even bigger this movie and his mouth never stops moving. He seems even more full of himself than the first movie. Rourke's character Ivan is easily a better bad guy than Obadiah Stane, Stark's friend turned nemesis in the first Ironman. His hair is an unkempt white mane, tattoos slink along his muscular frame, his crazy demeanor shows his indifference to death and is almost Stark's equal in smarts. Because Stark is such a jerk I found myself rooting for Vanko and his sweet lightning whips and even when he was defeated he went out with a bang, literally.

Don Cheadle fills in for Terrence Howard as James Rhodes, Stark's friend and fighter pilot. Scarlett Johansson is a hecka hot undercover agent kicking ass in a skintight full body suit and Samuel L. Jackson is the head of the covert organization called SHIELD.