LeBron's Goals Are Bigger Than Just The Regular Season

Cleveland Cavalier's coach Mike Brown watched Antawn Jamison's left elbow collide directly with Chris Bosh's face April 6, and his subsequent decision to avoid a similar catastrophe has created a firestorm of controversy.

LeBron James has sat the 3 games his Cavaliers have played since the gruesome Bosh injury. Fans who have attended these games sans the King feel ripped off and misled, many analysts have been very critical of LeBron sitting, including one specifically who has ordered LeBron to refund fans and has claimed he will no longer vote for LeBron as league MVP.

To me, this is no different than the Indianapolis Colts resting Peyton Manning at the conclusion of his regular season. Perhaps more than any other NBA franchise, the Cleveland Cavaliers' success in the postseason is paramount. Their entire future hinges on these playoffs. Whether or not LeBron James remains a Cavalier, whether or not Shaquille O'Neal will return, whether or not Mike Brown will retain his post as Cavalier's head coach. The Cavalier's title hopes rest squarely on the 25 year old's shoulders, and everyone knows it. With just one inadvertent elbow, or a simple tweak of the knee or ankle and championship aspirations leave as quick as a LeBron coast to coast dunk.

The city of Cleveland's sports heartache's have been well documented. Potentially joining "The Drive", and "The Fumble", would have been "The Sprain" or something of the sort. Brandon Roy can attest to sustaining a serious injury in the last game or two of the regular season. Fans can complain that they didn't get an adequate return on the games LeBron missed, but it'll be water under the bridge if he can deliver a title to championship starved Cleveland.