2011 NBA Draft: Why Kyrie Irving Will Have a Ring Before LeBron James

The Miami Heat were going into Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals with a 2-1 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks with all the momentum after an 88-86 Game 3 victory. On top of all that, Mavs superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki was forced to play with a 102 degree fever.

A Mike Miller three and a Udonis Haslem jumper gave the Heat 74-65 lead early in the fourth quarter, forcing Dallas to call a timeout.

The game was over. The series was over. Crown the Heat the 2011 NBA champions as well as the team of the decade.

Nowitzki pointed a finger at Jason Terry after not showing up in Game 3 and the Jet responded with eight fourth quarter points, leading Dallas to yet another comeback victory in Game 4. We all know what happened from there. Like the Mavericks back in 2006, Miami had the ring within their grasp, but it was snatched away.

"I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before the self-titled former 'king' wins one."  - Dan Gilbert.

"The Promise" followed "The Decision" in a highly controversial move by Dan Gilbert. The Cavs owner was the pun of every joke around the league for months. Dan Gilbert may be crazed, but he's not crazy.

Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers will win a ring before LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Mark it on your calendar. Etch it into your driveway. Stick it on your fridge: it will happen.

First off, the Heat won't and can't win a title with the Big Three in Miami. Don't get me wrong—they have the talent, there's no disputing that. The pressure they have on them right now is far greater than any team has ever experience in sports history.

Former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Trevor Price has a strong opinion on the likelihood of an NFL team's ability to three-peat: "It's impossible." He went on to emphasize the "X on your back" created by winning back-to-back titles.

"Not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven."  

LeBron James didn't realize that every time he added another title that "X" got a little bigger for the Miami Heat. By the time the Finals rolled around after an entire season of Miami Heat this, Miami Heat that, the target wasn't on the Heat's back anymore: it was on their heart. Again, no team has become more of a target than the Miami Heat in sports history.  

In just NBA history, the Shaq and Kobe Lakers three-peat of the early 2000s has no comparison. Neither does Michael Jordan's two three-peats with the Bulls in the '90s. Not even the Boston Celtics after eight straight titles were teams as hungry to take to them out.

Today's mass media has a lot to do with that.  

When all you hear 24/7, as Rick Carlisle put it, is LeBron James' reality show on every single ESPN program from SportsCenter to Jim Rome is Burning to Around the Horn to P.T.I. nonstop, that "X" continues to get bigger and bigger. 

You can't escape it by turning off the television and going to the Internet either as any little thing that happens with the Heat is featured front and center on every single sports website. Don't go to the radio either because you'll find the exact same thing there.

Now, this pressure isn't impossible for any team to overcome. Example: Jackie Robinson faced more pressure than any single athlete in sports and he came out of it a legend. The Heat won't overcome that pressure because they aren't mentally tough enough, specifically: LeBron James.

Five, two, two, zero, two, seven: those are LeBron's fourth quarter totals for each game in the 2011 NBA Finals. If you may be, as Scottie Pippen would put it, "the greatest player to ever play the game" or as Larry Bird would say, "as good as anyone that’s ever played this game," you can't score 18 combined fourth quarter points in the NBA Finals. You can't average 17.8 points a game when no one in the NBA can stop you one-on-one.

LeBron James has the talent to put up 30, 10 and 10 every single night. He didn't do that because he willingly stepped down to let Dwyane Wade run the show. He hid when it was his time to fulfill every expectation that has been laid upon him since high school.

James could come back stronger than ever, hit the weights, work on his post game and use these finals as motivation for the rest of his career. He won't do that because he's too immature, arrogant and egotistical.

In Game 6's postgame press conference, LeBron responded exactly how that sore loser in your fourth grade elementary school class would after failing to win a kickball game saying: 

"

"At the end of the day, all the people that were rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day, they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that."

"

You couldn't possibly sum up that statement better than comedian Stephen Colbert did saying, "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you disparage the pathetic lives of the little people who make it possible for you to have a career bouncing an inflatable ball."

Enough about the Miami Heat; in order for the Cleveland Cavaliers to beat the Heat in their NBA title race, they obviously have to win an NBA title. With the Cavs current roster, that looks highly improbable, but they can and will do it.

It all starts with the ownership and trickles down. Dan Gilbert wants this so badly. He wants to keep his promise and to give the city a Cleveland a title making up for the promise LeBron broke. 

The Cavs took some heat for taking Tristan Thompson with the No. 4 pick in the NBA Draft. It was either between Thompson and Jonas Valanciunas, who had a much higher ceiling. Gilbert took Thompson because Valanciunas wouldn't be able to help the Cavs win now with his buyout situation, but Thompson can.

Cleveland doesn't want to win in the future, waste a few years rebuilding like so many other NBA teams do nowadays. They want to compete and that's the passion and the drive that will without a doubt head the Cavs in the right direction. They want to win, and they have a coach who knows how to win.

Byron Scott is a three-time NBA champion as a player so he has winning in his blood, but he can coach too. Scott led the New Jersey Nets to two straight NBA Finals appearances only to run into the ongoing dynasties of the Lakers and Spurs. He was the Coach of the Year in 2008 after leading the New Orleans Hornets to the second best record in the West, only to run into the Spurs again, losing in Game 7 in the playoffs.

Scott's fast-tempo offense fits the talented first overall pick Kyrie Irving's skill set perfectly. Irving has no weakness in his game. He's a good athlete, scorer, passer and defender.

Barring injury, of course, Irving will turn into an all-star in this league. The Cavs have the trading pieces to put other young, talented players around him. For now, Baron Davis and Antwan Jamison will help him transition to the NBA successfully.

With the addition of Tristan Thompson, they have a logjam at the forward position. Someone will be traded and Dan Gilbert will make the right moves because he has to. Possibly players like J.J. Hickson and Ramon Sessions will be turned into a center and a wing by the time the season rolls around.

It won't be this year, but as we've seen recently with the Thunder, Bulls and Grizzlies, teams can go from rebuilding to contending in the blink of an eye. Don't be surprised if next year if the Cavs are already back in the playoffs, and expect them to be contending for a 2013 NBA title.

Miami can't win because every team wants to take their head off their shoulders. Cleveland will win because Dan Gilbert wants it more than every owner in NBA.  

And you can take that to the bank.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him on Twitter.