LeBron, Shaq and the Cavs Need to Cut the Chatter—the Time to Win Is Now

I really feel for Magic Johnson today.

The poor guy had to begin and end his career in Los Angeles. Before he even had a chance to dazzle a crowd at the old Forum in Inglewood, Magic had to resign himself to life with a legendary center in the middle. Darn that Kareem.

Magic also had to share backcourt time with Norm Nixon, and then Michael Cooper. He had to pass the ball to Jamal Wilkes, and later to James Worthy. The Lakers eventually had the nerve to acquire Bob McAdoo, one of the league’s all-time best scorers.

It had to be a nightmare for somebody who had always been The Man during his youth. Share, share, share. What were the Lakers thinking? So what if they won five championships during his career there? It’s the team we remember, not just him. Poor Magic.

Likewise, I really feel for LeBron James today.

Poor guy has the world by the tail. Worth millions. Big house. Block-long mural of himself hanging in downtown Cleveland. All those shoes. It’s a rough life, but someone has to live it.

Now he, too, has to contemplate life with a legendary center in the middle, and it has to be rough. Kobe decided—after three rings, of course—that he didn’t want to share the spotlight with this O’Neal fellow. Eventually, neither did Dwayne Wade or Steve Nash.

(At least Nash can point out that Phoenix didn’t win a championship with Shaq. Of course, they haven’t won one with Nash, either, but I digress.)

So now it’s LeBron’s turn, and it’s not working out very well—at least, not yet. The Cavs were dismantled by a runnin’, gunnin’ Charlotte Bobcats team Friday night.

You read it right. Bobcats, 94-87, and it wasn’t even that close.

O’Neal started after missing six games with a dinged up shoulder. The Cavs were 5-1 during that stretch.

“While he was out, things just flowed because we were playing loose,” LeBron said bluntly after Friday’s game. “We had enough time where we had a certain lineup going. I don’t think we’ve had enough games with him in the lineup.”

Good point. Shaq’s only played in 10 games with the Cavs, plus the preseason, plus all of training camp. Gee, they’ve barely had time to learn one another’s names, let alone their tendencies.

What do you think Shaq’s going to do this time? Post up? OK, how about this time? Post up, again? Hang on, let me write that down....

Meanwhile, Stephen Jackson’s been with Charlotte for six games. After three close losses following his arrival, they’ve won three in a row. So it takes time to fit a star into a team, you know.

Seriously, can we cut the nonsense?

Either Shaq and the Cavs are championship material, or they’re not. Either LeBron is more concerned about the team than his own legend, or he’s not. Either Mike Brown knows how to handle a lineup, or he doesn’t.

But that game Friday night was a stinker, start to finish. Mo Williams recognized it early. He called his own number and nailed a few jumpers, as if to encourage his teammates to snap out of it.

Instead, they played like they expected a win, then forgot to earn it. Even Brown behaved as if the guys on his bench were strangers.

I know, it was "only one loss." Shaq keeps telling us to be patient, that the only games that matter are the ones in June.

Could be. But I seem to remember a Boston Celtics team that picked up Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in order to compete for a championship—and then went out and won it, wire to wire. Paul Pierce played great with them, not in spite of them.

That’s what needs to happen in Cleveland. Shaq and LeBron need to decide they’re going to be dominant together, and then go out and do it. Friday night, Gerald Wallace outplayed LeBron, and Nazr Mohammed kept O’Neal in check.

King James and Superman, you say?

After the Cavs were swept by San Antonio in the 2007 finals, the consensus was they needed a scorer to complement James, so they went out and got Williams. Then, after they lost to Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals last spring, the consensus was they needed a stronger presence in the middle. They got Shaq.

The pieces are in place. The talent is there. Enough is enough.

Cleveland fans are impatient. They’re apprehensive about LeBron leaving to free agency, and he’s done nothing to ease those concerns. They’re wondering if Shaq came here to win another ring, or just to extend his career and bask in the media spotlight one more time.

The last thing they need to hear is philosophical jargon about how things will fall into place somewhere down the road. This team is loaded with talent and should have opened the season at full speed.

Losing is one thing. Looking terrible while doing it is another. It shouldn’t happen to a championship caliber team.

Don’t expect us to wait any longer, LeBron. You either, Shaq.

The time to win is now.