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**Pioneer10** · 03-15-2006, 09:30 AM

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- The LeBrons are a lucky bunch. They can amass a big lead in Miami, blow it all on national television and then gag themselves with a virtual replay in Big D some 48 hours later . . . all without real consequence.

All because they have the good fortune to reside in a not-so-new Eastern Conference.

Rail at the NBA's marketing machine, if you wish, for elevating a 21-year-old from Cleveland to a King James pedestal without waiting to see him in a playoff game. Much more of a rip-off, to me, is the fact that LeBron James and his Cavaliers feel no sense of urgency.

That resuscitated East we were promised this season is the real myth here.

Want to know the real difference between these Cavs and the last two Cavs teams that faded out of playoff view in the final 30-odd games? This time, no one beneath Cleveland in the standings looks interested in trying to pass them.

Since returning from the All-Star break, Cleveland has endured a five-game losing streak, needed game-winners at the buzzer from Flip Murray and Damon Jones to avoid two more deflating defeats and find themselves mired in another three-game skid that began with a 29-point humbling at rebuilding Orlando before these fall-from-way-ahead road defeats to the Heat and Mavs. The Cavs, though, remain safely ensconced in fourth place in the East, with little evidence to suggest that Indiana or Washington or anyone else can bump them out of home-court advantage in the first round.

No wonder James, before Tuesday's tip, disclosed that "the feeling I had around this time last year is totally different than what I'm feeling now."

The feeling then?

"Like we were slipping off the deep end," James said.

Now?

Asked if he fears that Cleveland is susceptible to another stretch-run collapse, James said: "It's already prevented."

Yet just because he's right doesn't mean we're not entitled to expect more. From these Cavs, in this East, I don't think it's too much to ask. That's even though they don't have Larry Hughes and privately remind themselves that there's a good chance he's not coming back for the post-season.

I'd still say it's reasonable, in this East, to expect Cleveland to win a playoff series. Yes, without Hughes.

At least it did seem reasonable until catching this double-dose of how these Cavs deal with pressure.

"Obviously not well," Zydrunas Ilgauskas conceded.

James, as ever, was sufficiently spectacular in this 91-87 defeat to make you feel privileged to be in the building, with 18 points in each half and a bonus 12 boards and five assists. Of course, after Cleveland got bullied out of a 15-point halftime lead Sunday on South Beach by the Heat's vets, you might have expected them to show that they learned something from that experience.

Nope. The Cavs rolled to a 19-point halftime lead against a Dallas team playing without four key members of its rotation -- Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn and Adrian Griffin -- then promptly melted in the third quarter when the Mavericks retaliated with the inevitable trapping, pressing and double-teaming.

The most apt descriptions for what happened came from a seething Mike Brown. "Panicked" and "rattled" were two of the first-year coach's choice words for how the Cavs looked in an eight-point third quarter and eventual surrender in the fourth.

"Two games in a row, we played a playoff team in their building," Brown said. "We got up, they stepped it up and we didn't know how to respond. Bottom line."

No question it would be easier to respond with Hughes at James' side. With a second playmaker on the floor, as general manager Danny Ferry envisioned when he assembled this team, Cleveland's offense probably wouldn't stagnate -- and certainly couldn't look as skittish -- like it did after the last two halftimes.

Then again . . .

If the team with the third-best record in the East is good enough to build double-digit leads at Miami and Dallas sans Hughes, you'd like to think they'd be able to hold at least one of them.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...ilydime-060315

Who does he really expect to help Lebron on the Cavs: w/o Hughes this is essentially again like last years team a terrific frontcourt which can be neutralized because of terrible backcourt production (i.e. sag off the PG spot and double Lebron: leaving Z to be the only other scoring option)

**remy23** · 03-15-2006, 09:45 AM

When Cleveland is on their losing rollercoaster, it leaves the door open for this kind of stuff. I've seen Stein make a lot of questionable remarks over the years on various subjects, so I'm not surprised.

**Benedict_Boozer** · 03-15-2006, 08:41 PM

Not surprising to me at all, Stein is a LBJ hater, always has been.

Remarks like this - " Rail at the NBA's marketing machine, if you wish, for elevating a 21-year-old from Cleveland to a King James pedestal without waiting to see him in a playoff game." that's just unecessary and he always has a smart *** remark.

Lebron and the Cavs seem to get more negative press for a team currently 7 games above .500 than i've ever seen. They've been entrenched with homecourt all year long and never get any respect.

The tide is turning in particular with Lebron, the only press he gets nowadays is criticism.

He puts up a 36/12/5 game literally scoring the only pts for the Cavs in the 3rd qtr and Stein wants to insinuate it's Lebron's fault they lost a lead to - frankly - a superior team. Miami is likewise a superior team, it's not even arguable in terms of talent level. They have great home records for a reason.

Where was Stein with these articles when the Cavs beat the Spurs, or the Pistons? Nowhere to be found.

futuristxen · 03-15-2006, 10:19 PM

Yeah no kidding. It's such a ****ing travesty. The Cavs lost to the Mavericks!! Wow hit the panic button.

At least we didn't get blown out like the Pistons did.

The Cavs get so much bull**** these days. I'm glad we have these articles, because these are the sorts of negative articles it's good to keep in mind when Stein and his ilk have to reverse course and start paying heed to Lebron and the Cavs. The image of a bitter Stein being forced to write blowjob pieces about Lebron later on, is fantastic. Sucks to eat your words.

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