LeBron James Hits A Shot For Hope to Even Cleveland-Orlando Series at 1

The Cleveland Cavaliers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. I know you are saying huh? You have it all wrong, its the other way around. 

Let me explain. Not too long ago Cleveland was the butt of jokes. They were known as the Cadavers, a veritable graveyard of what-ifs and near misses.

Before LeBron, the only other celebrity that I heard off was Drew Carey. He of the "Cleveland Rocks" song fame. 

When LeBron came on the scene in-spite of Drew Carey Cleveland finally did begin too rock. The Cavaliers became relevant.  

They matched the Celtics record of last year and steam-rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs. They became part of the must-see teams that the NBA had to have on TV. 

Sports broadcasters on ESPN, TNT and print media glossed over the flaws of the team.  They figured that Cleveland's trouncing of the dysfunctional Pistons and hapless Hawks proved that they were the best.

Someone forgot to give Orlando that memo.

For two games now the Cleveland Cavaliers much like the Celtics were, are on life support. The difference is the Cavaliers have a healthy team and the best record in the NBA.

Game one saw Clevelands' bench muster 5 points all from Joe Smith.  Game Two they got fourteen points with Smith once again scoring five and Pavlovic eleven. 

Cleveland's home-court mystique never bothered the Magic. They had a regular season record of 3-1 against Cleveland and they took the split in these two games. 

Mike Brown must find someone who can actually defend Hedo Turkoglu and keep LeBron fresh. Lewis may get the last shot, but Turkoglu is the one who creates those opportunities. 

The Cavaliers are dangerously close to cadaver status. The picture for this article sums it up well. It took a miracle shot from James for them to win it at home.

James and his gang got a jolt of hope with this win.  A type of hope that may prove to be short lived.

Orlando has no fear of Cleveland and the tsunami of threes that will greet them for these next to games will more than bury their championship dreams.

On the other hand, this may be the shot that catapults LeBron into that rarefied air with Michael Jordan.