Nothin’ but Net: LeBron’s mission took flight

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – All of that hype and for what? Nothing.

All of the hoopla and what did he get? A loss.

With all of the media scrutiny, and all of the stories written about him, Thursday was a tough night for one of the biggest superstars in the world.

Yes, Thursday was a difficult night for Justin Beiber, but he left Quicken Loans Arena with his head held high and supported by an overly large Pilgrim hat.

It was a rough night for LeBron James, too.

The four-time MVP scored 17 points on 5-for-15 shooting and committed a whopping eight turnovers. It was not a characteristic night from the greatest professional athlete in the world, and James’ Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the New York Knicks, 95-90.

The outcome matters. The Cavs are favored to win the Eastern Conference. The Knicks will be lucky to make the postseason. It illustrated, especially early on, the Cavs can’t roll the ball out and rely solely on talent.

However, it’s one of 82 and the Cavaliers weren’t going to win them all. They aren’t perfect. They aren’t God, or Salma Hayek. They have warts and those warts get exacerbated when the reality of newness sets in. James said some of his turnovers were directly related to the fact he and his new mates haven’t been together very long.

“I’m throwing passes where I was hoping some of my teammates would be,” James said after the loss.

All of that can be remedied and it will. Talent reigns in the NBA and the Cavs possess more of it than almost any other team. James will figure out when Kyrie Irving cuts instead of stays. He’ll determine when Kevin Love is going to roll or pop after a screen.

Familiarity will help the best player in the league. James might have been a little too amped up for his return. But who cares? LeBron already took gigantic strides toward his main goal and Thursday night was living, breathing proof.

James told us in his essay his quest is to bring the city of Cleveland a championship. One game starts the odyssey, but in the bigger picture, James accomplished so much in just one night.

James, by his mere presence, brought a passion to a fan base robbed of it. When James left town, the Cavs were awful, despite winning the lottery three of the four years he was playing for a ring in Miami.

On Thursday night, the anticipation was fevered. The crowd responded immediately, starting with the national anthem. Usher performed. Usher! With all due respect to the middle-school contest winners, or local “American Idol” rejects, the Cavs went large with one of the biggest recording artists in the world.

How did the crowd respond? They cheered throughout before eventually joining Usher in his rendition.

“That was amazing. That was some college stuff there,” said James.

The player introductions were breathtaking. The Cavs announced the Knicks to NWO theme music, which was brilliant. (NWO were bad-guy wrestlers back in the day, Mom.)

The Cavs video presentation was epic. It showed highlights of prominent Cavaliers playing high-school ball to drive home the theme, highlighted by James closing the presentation saying, “there’s no place like home.” The video elicited the exact reaction intended – frenzy and excitement. If I was ever to dunk a basketball, Thursday night was the time, even being 38 and slightly plumper than a mumps patient.

He even brought back the chalk toss thing! The chalk toss!

Kevin Hart didn’t come to watch Tristan Thompson last season. Getting Beiber was a major coup, and one that didn’t come about because of Matthew Dellavedova.

It’s all because of James. His plan, in a roundabout way, was to rejuvenate a city. He did that already based on what we witnessed in Cleveland on Thursday night.

And Cleveland needed rejuvenation, at least in sports.

The Indians missed the playoffs this season. The Browns looked great early, but have tailed a bit. The town needed stars. Johnny Manziel is more likely to marry a descendant of the Kardashian family, than excel at the NFL level.

James was the answer for the city.

“It was a huge night. It was exciting for the fans, exciting for the city,” James said. “Everyone was excited for this game. I just tried to stay focused. It was a special night for everybody. I’m glad it was great, I’m also glad it’s over.”

His mission is partly accomplished already. James has gotten a city back to believing and it responded. The ultimate goal is a championship. That will make James a hero.

On Thursday night, the trek began. LeBron James’ plan for his hometown got off to a poor start in the standings, but in the bigger picture, he’s already become a savior for Cleveland.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

– The Russell Westbrook hand injury puts him virtually on the same timetable as Kevin Durant for a return to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the Western Conference, the Thunder will need close to 50 wins just to make the postseason. They should still be able to do that in that amount of time available, but it will be close. This OKC group needs to win probably seven games to make it as easy as possible when the pair returns. Could be tough sledding, especially offensively. It’s unimaginable for the Thunder not to be in the playoffs.

– Friday night is the deadline for the draft class of 2011 to sign extensions. To date, only six members of the class have signed extensions – Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Markieff and Marcus Morris, Nikola Vucevic and Kenneth Faried. Reports suggest Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson and Kawhi Leonard are far apart with their teams. Klay Thompson is the biggest prize and is seeking a max contract extension. By the time the candy is counted, next summer’s free-agent class will be better defined. Teams beware – what you think are lofty prices now, only get loftier on the open market. They can match, but you’ll pay more later.

– Game ball to the Knicks. After the horrendous outing against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, they went into Cleveland and emerged victorious with all that went on at the Q. That was a tough, well-earned victory.

– Movie moment – You’d think, after so much time away from this portion of my column, I’d have watched several films, but that would be untrue. I did re- watch “The Lion King.” It’s amazing how quickly the story moved. We meet the family, dead lion, boy meets two new animals, they return, he wins the kingdom.

– TV moment – If I had to pick a reality show that would have gotten canceled because one of the principals dated a registered sex offender, it would have been “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.”

Categorized in: NBA