If Cleveland Plays Like Game 2 Again, It Will Lose More Than NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavavliers were clearly the best team in the East, but if they put on another performance like Game 2, LeBron James will most probably walk.

Despite the fact that the Eastern Conference is an easier run into the NBA Finals, it is still no easy task to get there.

That being said, it seems that if you put LeBron James on a team in the East and they make it. He went to the NBA Finals four times with Miami, winning two and losing two.

Moving back to Cleveland, he has taken the Cavaliers to the Finals twice now, both times against the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers lost in six games last season and unless they change the momentum, they will possibly lose in four games this series.

Cleveland should play better at home but in order to win the championship, it has to play well at least once in the Bay Area this series.

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The problem for Cleveland is that James is looking to win championships. Yes, he has won two, but it is what has to be driving him.

He wants to bring one home to his hometown but if they keep playing this way he might not believe that it is possible.

Looking at his achievements, James is 11th all-time on the scoring list. Next season he will move into the top 10 within the first month of basketball.

James is 38th all-time in defensive rebounds and 99th in total rebounds.

James is 18th all-time in assists. If he has another season like this one, he will be close to the top 10 at the end of next season.

James is also 24th in steals and will be in the top 20 by the end of 2016-17.

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There has not been many players with this all-around talent. He could create a sensation in the offseason by signing with another team.

In the loss Sunday night, James sat out the fourth quarter, saving him for Game 3 and eliminating the risk of injury in a game that the Cavaliers could not win.

In only three quarters, James almost recorded another playoff triple-double with 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds and nine assists.

Who was Cleveland’s second-best player? Richard Jefferson, of course. Wait, what? Jefferson! Yes, he had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Kevin Love got hit in the head going for a rebound in a shocking no-call. He played on for a short while, but missed a large portion of the game after becoming disoriented. His status for Game 3 is in question, as he will enter the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Kyrie Irving was a non-factor with 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting with only one assist. Irving needs to learn what to do if his shot is not working.

A good point guard will facilitate the offense and get others into position to score if they are struggling themselves.

If James sees the same insipid effort from his teammates again he will find another team to contend with.

Like a true champion, James took the blame for the loss, but that is just the leader he is. Yes, he had turnovers (seven in the game), so did the Warriors, who committed 20 as a team. It was one of those games.

If he stays in the East, he might go back to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade if he thinks they have a better chance.

A scary thought is that he might go to Atlanta and team up with Paul Millsap in a frontcourt that would be almost unstoppable.

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If he moves to the West,

Memphis

would love to have him to team up with

and

.

The scary thought in the West is that if he went to Portland, he might bring them a championship with the way that they played this season.

The outside shooting show of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum would spread the floor for James to work his magic.

The other contender who would love to have the services of James are the Los Angeles Clippers. Add James into their starting lineup and step aside, Golden State.

All those teams showed effort, passion and drive this  season. Cleveland lacked that this in Game 2.

Even when Cleveland was down and Golden State were playing its bench, the Cavs did not appear to care.

Just imagine if Bill Laimbeer of the Detroit Piston Bad Boy days was down by 20 or 30 points. Would he have given up? No, he would have been in there with physical play, letting the opposition know that next game was not going to be as easy.

I saw way too many uncontested layups in the Game 2, when you want to win a championship you have to contest every shot, go for every rebound and dive on every loose ball.

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A memo to Irving and the rest of the team. Play better or you might not appreciate what you have until it is gone. James has done it once before.