LEBRON PLAYS 1-ON-5; MAGIC GO UP 2-1

In all honestly, Orlando is one second away from being up 3-0 in the series. While Cleveland has the best player on the court (41 pts, 9 asts, 7 rebs), Orlando has the better team, which is all that matters at the end of the day.  Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals showcased one very disturbing fact. Fooled by their regular season success, when the Cavs face adversity, they resort to one on five play. In other words, give the ball to LeBron and pray he has enough energy carry to them to the finish line.

That style of play never works, especially in the playoffs.

Before I go any further, all credit goes to the Magic for the highly talented team that they are. It’s even scarier to imagine how much better they’d be if Jameer Nelson would have never gotten hurt. Even still, they managed to man-handle the Cavs and somehow play around the fact Bron draws a foul nearly every time he touches the rock. Superstar calls, yeah. But at the end of the day, when Cleveland can’t hit the ocean if they fell out of a boat, it really doesn’t matter at all.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been big on Mike Brown. While he is a good defensive coach, like my dude Jeezy and I discussed last night, he’s never been an ELITE coach. He has just benefited off the fact that he has LeBron James as a centerpiece. For the life of me, why James is guarding Rafer Alston is beyond my mental capacity. Guarding Lewis or Hedo makes better sense because if Howard and the other two just mentioned are getting buckets, the Magic are damn near impossible to beat. Add to the fact Courtney Lee and Michael Pietrus are playing great basketball too (Lee dunked on Bron for the second time this series in game three).

Regardless, game four is a MUST win for Cleveland. The season, and potentially LeBron’s future in Cleveland, rides on this series. Mark my words: if the Knicks draft Steph Curry this year, sign Chris Bosh (or any big free agent) in 2010 and with the shooters already in place, LeBron will be wearing a New York Knicks uniform in the fall of 2010. Honestly, as much as I’d like to see him stay in his birth state, fact still remains that management has done the bare minimum as far as finding help…consistent help. Mo Williams is great, don’t get me wrong, but passing up on players such as Rashard Lewis and Kevin Garnett are inexcusable.

Hell, maybe LeBron can convince Tiger Woods to suit up. It’s not a bad idea when you think about it.

Flashback: “Mama, There Goes That Man Again…” | Magic Stun Cavs By 1 @ Home | 4th Quarter or 9th Inning: Kobe Is My Closer