The Redemption of the King. Vince McKee
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Название: The Redemption of the King
Автор: Vince McKee
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Спорт, фитнес
isbn: 9781578605729
isbn:
The pivotal game five of this epic series returned to the TD Garden arena in Boston. Cleveland was full of confidence and the series was up for grabs. Cleveland used a high-energy defensive effort to take a 46–43 halftime lead. The Cavaliers were shutting down the Celtics’ “Big Three” and looked to have an excellent chance to steal one on the road. A familiar problem then crept up on the Cavaliers: Once again, they failed to come out ready for the second half and couldn’t keep pace with the Celtics after Boston’s head coach, Doc Rivers, made some key adjustments. Boston outscored the Cavaliers 29–17 in the third quarter and took a 9-point lead into the final quarter.
LeBron and the Cavaliers fought hard to make it close, but in the end Cleveland dropped game five to the Celtics, 97–89. It was a frustrating loss for the team, as they fought hard all night, but the weak third-quarter effort was their ultimate downfall. LeBron scored 35 points and West scored 21 in the losing effort. But they received almost no help at all from the bench and dropped the pivotal game.
The Cavaliers defense stepped up big-time in game six back at Cleveland by holding the Celtics to only 69 points. The Cavaliers swarmed Boston’s shooters all night long and forced a deciding game seven by taking game six, 74–69. LeBron took matters into his own hands by putting up 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. The series was headed back to Boston for a decisive game seven.
Few words in sports excite fans more than “game seven.” This had been a classic series already, and the game-seven showdown was set to capture the attention of the nation. Boston had the best record in the league and was the heavy favorite to win it all; Cleveland was the defending champ with arguably the world’s best player. It was the final battle of two heavyweight powers that had already gone six brutal rounds and was set for a thrilling finish.
Game seven at first looked like a blowout—Boston came out of the gate with all guns blazing. By halftime, the Celtics led 50–40 and had the Cavaliers beat in almost every category. At halftime, however, Coach Brown made some crucial adjustments that enabled the Cavaliers to come roaring back in the third quarter and cut the lead down to five points heading into the fourth quarter. Then an incredible duel between Pierce and LeBron developed, with Pierce finishing with 41 points and LeBron scoring 45. In the end, Boston did just enough to win the game 97–92 and take the series, sending Cleveland home and ending their bid to repeat as Eastern Conference Champions.
It was a hard-fought series for Cleveland in which they surprised many fans and media members with how well they played and how far they pushed Boston. It was encouraging to see the new players mesh so well together, leaving a hopeful impression that the team would only get better with a full off-season of working out and fine tuning. LeBron only had two years left on his contract, and one final push for a championship was set to begin in MVP fashion!
LeBron slaps hands with the fans on the sidelines.
Photo: Fran Morino
CHAPTER FIVE
The Ascension
The Cavaliers were on a mission to make up for their early exit in the 2008 playoffs with a dominant 2008–09 season. The task for Danny Ferry was clear: He needed to find one more piece of the puzzle for it all to fit together before another serious run at the title could be made.
A big move came on August 13, 2008, when the Cavaliers took part in a three-team trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks that saw Damon Jones and Joe Smith leave town, but in return Cleveland got sharpshooting point guard Mo Williams from the Bucks. Williams was a talented point guard who knew how to generate points with a variety of passes and smart shots. He was quick off the dribble and could create his own shot when needed. He was the perfect complement to Delonte West in the backcourt.
The Cavaliers would be tested right away. Opening night was back in Boston at the TD Garden, where Cleveland would face the defending NBA Champions once more. The Celtics picked up where they had previously left off and, despite a great effort by Cleveland, managed to put away the Cavaliers 90–85. It was clear that the Celtics would remain the team to beat.
The Cavaliers split their next two games with a win at home against the Charlotte Hornets and a loss on the road in New Orleans. It was after that loss to the Hornets that the Cavaliers caught fire and remained that way for the remainder of the season. They rolled an eight-game winning streak, highlighted by wins over the Dallas Mavericks, the Chicago Bulls, the Indiana Pacers, the Denver Nuggets, and the Utah Jazz. They had a short-lived stumbling block with a single loss to the Detroit Pistons, but they quickly bounced back with an 11-game winning streak that pushed their season record to 20–3. They lost on the road to the Atlanta Hawks before winning six more games in a row. The Cavaliers were dominating teams left and right, and by the time of the turn of the 2009 calendar year, the team held a 26–5 record. Cleveland also held a perfect home record that stood firm until the Lakers beat the Cavaliers on February 8, 2009. But even with that loss, Cleveland maintained an impressive 39–10 record and was well on the way to locking up the first overall seed.
The Cavaliers remained red-hot down the stretch with numerous winning streaks, including an impressive 13-game winning streak into late March. Perhaps most impressive of all was an April 12, 2009, win against the Boston Celtics, where the Cavaliers pounded the Celtics and won 107–76. The 31-point win was a clear statement that the Cavaliers had emerged as the new dominant team in the NBA. The Cavaliers finished with a franchise best record of 66–16. It was also the best record of any team in then-current NBA history. It also locked up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and gave Cleveland an enormous amount of momentum heading into the playoffs.
LeBron had a season that was so good it earned him his first league MVP award. He was voted the very best player in the NBA and took home the very prestigious award. He averaged 28.4 points a game, combined with 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists. He was the best player on the court every night and the main reason the Cavaliers enjoyed so much success. It was nice to see the national media finally put aside their negative bias against Cleveland and grant LeBron the well-deserved award. He was, without question, the best player on the planet.
Kenny Roda gave his thoughts on why LeBron was able to have such a breakout season:
I think it was a combination of a number of things with LeBron James. He was able to mature a little bit more that season and was growing as an individual on and off the court. It was just his God-given abilities and understanding the game better, what teams were trying to take away from him, and what he needed to improve on. All the great ones go back and look at their game to try and add something new to it each and every off-season. Whether it’s a post-up game or a better jump shot, improve your foul shots and three-pointers. Go back to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson—they would all do that. They would all work on the things they felt their game needed to get better at in the off-season. This would help in the following seasons if teams were trying to exploit that weakness; it wasn’t a weakness anymore. I think LeBron James, looking back on it now, he was wired the same way, and that is why he is going to be one of the all-time greats. The great thing about players that are that damn good, they usually want to get even better. As good as he was, he wasn’t the MVP yet, and that was his motivation to step it up even more this season and win it. He wanted to be an MVP and felt that he deserved but had not yet won it—then there is that motivation. The great ones, as great as they are, always think that they can get better, and that is a great attitude to have, and LeBron has had that attitude his whole career. I think that part of the reason he broke out that season is because he felt he got slighted the year before.
The Cavaliers opened up the playoffs СКАЧАТЬ