During a wonderfully entertaining NBA Finals, it is a bit of a challenge to exercise restraint, which, of course, doesn’t exist in TwitterWorld, anyway.
After Game 3, it was obvious that no matter what happened the rest of the series, LeBron James would be the MVP. Even if the Cavs lost three straight and the series. James had been sufficiently brilliant – to borrow from the esteemed pundit Moses Malone, LeBron had taken four guys from Australia, Russia, Canada and the Planet J.R. and had a 2-1 series lead – and deserved at worst to become the second player to win MVP in a losing effort. Jerry West did it in 1969, the first year of the award.
That the Cavaliers could win even one game was astounding, especially after they lost Game 1 and point guard Kyrie Irving. With All-Stars Kevin Love and Irving out with injuries, LeBron led the Cavs to two victories and was so dominant that when he had 40 points in Game 3, his scoring average dropped.
To me, his performance was again a reminder that we have come to take him for granted, which is obvious when he finished third in regular season MVP voting.
Another easy explanation of why he should have won: In 2013-14, the Heat had the second-best record in the East and the Cavs had the 10th best. LeBron went from Miami to Cleveland in the summer. This year, the Cavs had the second-best record in the East and Miami was 10th.
What did James do to deserve third? Simple. He is the best player in the world and greatness is expected. Or so that line of thinking goes.
It is apparent, again, that the trend to take James for granted – and, well, guilty as charged – is something that should end. In fact, it’s not too early to start thinking about next season, so let me be the first to say it:
In 2015-16, LeBron James should win his fifth MVP award.
Then again, that opinion was formed when the Cavs were 2-1. In Game 4, he was not magnificent. He had a mere 20 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Those are not exactly pedestrian totals, but neither are they astounding. And as the regular season proved, LeBron must be astounding at all times. So suddenly, Andre Iguodala is center stage and LeBron is yesterday’s Finals news.
That’s OK, though. Part of the charm of sports is its irrationality and we are all entertained by knee-jerk reactions, including our own.
The Cavs have become a scrappy team, epitomized by Matthew Dellavedova, who no doubt has overachieved. But this is a guy who averaged 20.6 minutes a game during the regular season.
In the last three games, played in a five-day span with a five-hour flight thrown in, he’s averaged 38 minutes a game – a workload that put him in the hospital one night. When your point guard goes from guarding Steph Curry to being under a nurse’s care, it’s not that great of a sign.
Logic suggests that any team that loses its second- and third-best players and relies on a seven-man rotation ignoring veterans who could add, perhaps, at least a little defense and offense has no shot of beating a team that tied for the sixth-most regular season victories in NBA history.
LeBron James, however, defies logic – sometimes in good ways (victories in Games 2 and 3) and sometimes in not so good (third in MVP voting) – so maybe the Cavs have a chance.
The series should continue to be compelling. Fans have responded in large TV numbers, which makes the NBA and ABC very happy. And even a small non-scientific sampling is indicative of how well received the Finals are. I’ve watched two games in different Dallas-area sports bars and with no local rooting interest, fans have picked sides and the roars in the bar after each basket are surprisingly loud.
Game 5 is scheduled for Sunday night. Overreaction follows immediately after.
(RELATED: FINALS MVP DEBATE; FORECASTING BLATT ADJUSTMENTS FOR GAME 5)
(RELATED: LeBRON DOESN’T NEED ANY MORE VALIDATION)
Jan Hubbard has written about basketball since 1976 and worked in the NBA league office for eight years between media stints. Follow him on Twitter at @whyhub.