Cleveland Cavaliers: Tip-Off Fresh Start For LeBron James
By Joshua Howe
Ever since he’s been back home, LeBron James seems to be loving life even more than usual. He even got a standing ovation (which wasn’t for you, Mike Miller!) when he played with the other Cleveland Cavaliers in the home stadium of the Ohio State Buckeyes. And why shouldn’t he be so happy? This is exactly what he came home for.
Haters have started to back off of James now that he’s back in his old stomping grounds. He’s no longer part of a constructed Big Three that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with their immediate self-promoting style. Now, he’s the golden boy again, back in Ohio where it all started, trying to bring the franchise that drafted him that elusive title.
Opening night for the 2014-15 NBA season tips off on Wednesday, with Thursday being the first game for revamped Cleveland. We’re so close. James will be ready. And so will the rest of the Cavs, who have all gotten a pretty good run in with preseason now under their belts.
But because this journey home has been so special for LeBron, it doesn’t seem so ludicrous to suggest that the Cavaliers’ first home game against the New York Knicks on Thursday evening will be anything less than extravagant.
When he’s announced last in the starting lineup, expect the fantastic Cleveland crowd to blow the roof off of the building. If he does the powder toss, then add another few decibel levels. When he scores his first point of the night, cover your ears. And hey, maybe there’ll even be that electric buzz in the air every single time he touches the ball.
The same sort of charge that was in the air that night James returned to massacre the Cavaliers for the first time as part of the Miami Heat, only now it will be jubilant, determined and fun.
All of this should factor in as James’ triumphant return four years later becomes an emotional spectacle. That’s right, Kevin Durant, you and your MVP acceptance speech can move over. The King is back in his hometown, and the crowd will most definitely be treating him like one.
In special situations like this, anything can happen. And the only thing that can make that atmosphere better is tossing a great player into it and seeing what happens. How about LeBron’s Game 6 against the Boston Celtics in 2012, for example? Or Ray Allen’s three-pointer in 2013?
This opening night, I think LeBron gives everything. It won’t matter who the team they’re playing is, it won’t matter who’s guarding him, it won’t matter the new offensive style of play they’re using, and it won’t matter his change in teammates.
All that will matter is that James will be feeding off of the crowd’s energy like a starving wolf. For his career, he has averaged 26.4 points per game, 6.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists on opening nights. And for his 12th time starting an NBA season, there is no reason to expect anything less than those sorts of numbers, especially with the raucous arena pumping their fists and wearing their taped up No. 23 jerseys.
This night will be one worth watching. A different monster than we have seen before. A kickoff to a season that means so much to fans of the Cavaliers and of James himself. It’s three days away. Are you ready?