Lebron Gives Cleveland The Finger

 
Lebron James is giving Cleveland the finger. I’m not talking about him wearing the dreaded New York Yankees hat at an Indians home game in the ALDS despite sitting amongst his adoring fans, and he defiantly didn’t flip anyone the bird either. No, Lebron is giving his home town the sprained left index finger that has cost the Cavs six straight losses...

The once 9-6 Cavaliers are now 9-12 and tied for fourth place in the Central division. Without their leader they look overmatched and abysmal. The finger was injured on a drive to the hoop against the Detroit Pistons on November 28. Since then the Cavs have been outscored by an average of sixteen points a game and have been led in scoring by the likes of Shannon Brown, Drew Gooden, and Daniel Gibson. The reality of the situation is that the Cavs have only been competitive in the second half of one of those six games. Without a floor general the Cavs look like a group of pick up players heaving up jump shots and calling it an offense.

The last of these losses came to the Charlotte Bobcats who were 6-11 before their win over the Cavs and only above the lowly Miami Heat in the Southeast Divisions basement. Cleveland got guard Larry Hughes back from a bone bruise for that game. He was the lone bright spot in an ugly 27 turnover performance. Before Hughes returned to the lineup the Cavs were running out arguably the worst lineup in the NBA. In the absence of Anderson Varejao (holdout), Larry Hughes (bone bruise), and Lebron James (sprained finger) players such as Dwayne Jones, Shannon Brown, and Ira Newble saw extensive minutes on the floor and that did not bode well for the Cavs.

Offense isn’t the main problem for the Cavaliers though. Their defense has been nothing short of repulsive. They are allowing 101.2 points per game which is nineteenth in the NBA. They are behind known defensive superpowers such as Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trailblazers in this category. “We have to clean that up(defense) and not be careless with the basketball,” Coach Mike Brown said. That is an understatement. The “olay” style defense that the Cavs are playing is more fitting for a bull fight than a basketball game. Maybe the NBA can have a game in Mexico City next year and Cleveland can take this show to the bullfighting ring while they’re there. After all, it would be good for Lebron’s global appeal.

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