31-05-2009	•	24 Comments »	•	(avg: 2.84 out of 6)  Loading ...

LBJ and Cavs Going Home. James Skips Media After Game 6 Loss. »

It’s over. Orland Magic sent LeBron James home. #23 walked off the court, head down, brushing off a few pieces of confetti. He ignored the few taunts by Magic fans and took one last look at the crowd without muttering a word. Not to anyone. A scintillating series by the NBA’s MVP was washed away by his not-so-supporting cast, as the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated Saturday night with a 103-90 loss to the Orlando Magic in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. Kobe vs. LeBron? Not this year. James dressed quickly in the locker room, put on headphones and went to the team bus without talking to reporters. In obvious frustration, he let his play do all the talking. James averaged more than 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the series, performances that are almost unmatched in league history. But he is starving for a wingman. That league-best, 66-win regular season disappeared against a Magic team that accounted for six of the Cavs’ losses this season, counting the playoffs. Cleveland may have had the best player. Orlando had the better team.

All season long, the Cleveland Cavaliers had one goal. It wasn’t to set a franchise record for wins or earn home-court advantage throughout the postseason. It wasn’t to win the MVP or Coach of the Year award. The only trophy they wanted has Larry O’Brien’s name on it. The Cavs seemingly had the right formula. They were a great defensive team, they had the best player in the world, and they surrounded him with the best supporting cast he’s had in his six seasons, as well as strong coaching staff. Maybe the Cavs just ran into the wrong team at the wrong time. With a 6-10 point-forward, a 6-10 deep-shooting power forward, and a beast in the post, the Magic posed serious matchup problems. And on top of that, they shot the ball much better (48 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range) than they did in the regular season or the previous two rounds of the Playoffs. The Cavs did hurt themselves as well. They committed costly turnovers, missed critical free throws, and just didn’t play big in big games. Williams shot poorly in the first four games of the series, not ready for the spotlight. And the rest of James’ supporting cast was inconsistent at best. Two of Orlando’s wins could have gone the other way had the Cavs been able to get a stop down the stretch. Just one stop at the end of Game 1 or Game 4 would have made a huge difference. But the Cavs just couldn’t get it. It will be an interesting summer in Cleveland. The Cavs’ success through their first 90 games tempered any thoughts of James leaving a year from now. But with his supporting cast coming up short when it mattered most, and with the way he left Amway Arena, those thoughts have already resurfaced around the league. The Cavs have James for at least one more year. And no matter what happens to the rest of the roster, that means they’ll likely have another shot at a championship. But as we saw this season, just having a shot at the title isn’t enough.

Photos Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE via Getty Images. Photos by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images, Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images, Elsa/Getty Images.

See also...

Tags: 2008-09, lebron james, nba, playoffs

Related Posts on NLB.net

• King Does It All. Gets Triple-Double. Keeps Cavs Alive.
• LBJ, Cavaliers Fall into 1-3 Hole After an OT Thriller in Orlando
• LeBron and the Cavaliers Struggle on the Road and Drop Game 3
• LeBron James Hits Buzzer Beating Game Winner!!! Series Tied.
• Magic Stun Cavs in the ECF Opener. Overcome LeBron’s New Playoff Record.
• Highlights from LBJ’s 47-Point Outburst. Greatest Shooting Game Ever?

24 Responses to “LBJ and Cavs Going Home. James Skips Media After Game 6 Loss.”

1. Kaczala on 31 May 2009 at 3:08 am | permalink | quote me It was heart-breaking to witness this From Poland Using Google Chrome 2.0.172.28 on Windows XP

2. Jerome on 31 May 2009 at 5:04 am | permalink | quote me we still have next year Lebron…:) Cavs will get you another star player… maybe at shooting guard or center perhaps an upgrade. maybe Booz will come back or maybe Amare may get traded. maybe in ‘10 you’ll get Wade. keep your hopes up Cavs. LBJ will have his own dynasty same as Michael’s and Kobe’s. From Philippines Using Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10 on Windows Vista

3. linlihao on 31 May 2009 at 5:04 am | permalink | quote me Referee is amazing… why Mo …. From China Using Internet Explorer 7.0 on Windows Vista

4. gogolbj on 31 May 2009 at 8:48 am | permalink | quote me I witnessed the worst bench and just plain supporting cast play I’ve seen all season by the cavs this series. Lebron can’t do it all on his own From United States Using Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10 on Windows XP

5. Wiktor on 31 May 2009 at 9:22 am | permalink | quote me Kaczala don’t cry! what about Gortat in the finals LOL From Poland Using Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10 on Windows XP

6. Kaczala on 31 May 2009 at 9:26 am | permalink | quote me On 31-05-2009 at 9:22 am, Wiktor wrote: Kaczala don’t cry! what about Gortat in the finals LOL I don’t care about that fool. He’s arrogant. From Poland Using Google Chrome 2.0.172.28 on Windows XP

7. Kostas 29 on 31 May 2009 at 9:35 am | permalink | quote me you have to get through this……you have to fall….the KING will be back…we there will be many finals in the future!! From Greece Using Safari 528.17 on Windows Vista

8. AKOO on 31 May 2009 at 10:25 am | permalink | quote me Heres what I saw last night. Lebron seem out of gas after the first quarter. He has played about 48 minutes every game. This game was also going to define his season and that probably put a lot of stress on him. I can only feel bad for him since he played his heart out. Yeh the media and other ppl are pissed cuz he left w/out shaking the hands of the athletes and yeh it is sportsmanship but just imagine what he went through realizing that this season was a waste even reggie i think said that who knows how many days lebron lost losing this game. This moment is different because the the entire season has always sat on his shoulders. Just like roger federer cried when he lost to nadal james probably became very emotional and didnt want to explain why he lost. I think if cleveland wants to keep him they better sign a better supporting cast or lebron is goin to ny and thats what they deserve. Zydrunas is old, wally is not gonna be signed again prolly atleast not for 13 million and wallace is thinking of retiring. They need a solid center if they want to keep james is what i think. Best to the king! From United States Using Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10 on Mac OS X

9. King james on 31 May 2009 at 11:59 am | permalink | quote me i´m very disapoint Lebron is the MVP and lose de eastern conference finals. From Argentina Using Internet Explorer 7.0 on Windows XP

10. Kingtrel22 on 31 May 2009 at 12:07 pm | permalink | quote me Bosh, Boozer, Amare, or Wade in 2010 all Lebron has to do if he wants to win a ring is take a pay cut..Plz LBJ do it lets get the RINGS ROLLIN IN!!!! From United States Using Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10 on Windows Vista

11. 4DRUMZ on 31 May 2009 at 1:02 pm | permalink | quote me ^ Pay Cut??? This isn’t Lebron in the same predicament as KG was (ringless and aging). PAY HIM and keep him for his career! Hey Cleveland Cavs front office: Re-sign Anderson… Lock-up Lebron NOW if you can get a few more key players… Go after Shaq for one year with your eyes on Chris Bosh in 2010. KEEP Mo & Delonte’! BAN Jay-Z from entering Ohio and keep Lebron no further east than Ashtabula!!! From United States Using Safari 525.27.1 on Mac OS X

12. fistonclothing on 31 May 2009 at 3:01 pm | permalink | quote me my heart and condolence goes to King James… yea homie u r the man… and a reminder to everyone the man is not a God… He did everything and anything possible in his power… AND yEA I AM STILL HEART BROKEN, but we win some and loose some. Thats life and King James will learn from it. From United States Using Internet Explorer 7.0 on Windows XP

13. twigg on 31 May 2009 at 9:17 pm | permalink | quote me i think that lebron going to get is champion when its time to get one. i will say he did a great job this year. and next year his going to use this for encouragement to achieve his goals. cool From United States Using Safari 525.28.1 on Windows Vista

14. mOe23 on 31 May 2009 at 10:11 pm | permalink | quote me Same old story! It’s all about LeBron vs Magics. . . Watch out Danny Ferry time is ticking or else its all gonna be NY when season 10-11 comes when James didn’t win a championship next year! From Philippines Using Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows XP

15. jusack on 01 Jun 2009 at 12:55 am | permalink | quote me i feel sorry for lebron. but i realy think he should have been at least go to howard and say gud luck. they were buddies in the olympics and all star games. yes sometimes you win and sometomes you loose. i even loose a bucks for betting that james and the cavs were going to the finals. but thats life. we have to accept it, the important thing is he do what he could and regrets nothing. see you next year in the finals lebron. lol From Philippines Using Internet Explorer 7.0 on Windows XP

16. Curtis J on 01 Jun 2009 at 12:56 am | permalink | quote me All this is stressing me out man we had that championship trophy right there 6 years of no rings sucks . I mean how do you go from sweeping two teams to losing at the conference finals man if that was me I would move because I would get tired and do get tired of hearing ” Maybe next year ” that gets old when your are one of the best but whatever happens next year happens From United States Using Internet Explorer 7.0 on Windows Vista

17. lisciu on 01 Jun 2009 at 8:28 am | permalink | quote me OMG, gortat is arogant? You don’t hear what you writing. So how is Lebron if not totaly arogant person with too confidence? Lebron is suck as a person and character, but as a player everyone know it. Gortat have some potencial and i glad that he is on nba finals. Lebron must teach more about modest and his arogant way of life. From Poland Using Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10 on Windows XP

18. KEVINWCW on 01 Jun 2009 at 10:59 am | permalink | quote me i was so angry when magic fans shouting MVP for howard in front of LBJ…never shows any respect on him…anyways..AKOO is rite..i will support LeBron all the time…they did made a lot of record tis season tat other team dont have… From Malaysia Using Internet Explorer 8.0 on Windows XP

19. gogolbj on 01 Jun 2009 at 10:02 pm | permalink | quote me On 01-06-2009 at 8:28 am, lisciu wrote: OMG, gortat is arogant? You don’t hear what you writing. So how is Lebron if not totaly arogant person with too confidence? Lebron is suck as a person and character, but as a player everyone know it. Gortat have some potencial and i glad that he is on nba finals. Lebron must teach more about modest and his arogant way of life. What the hell? Arrogant? I don’t think you have any idea how high the cavs expectations were this year. Me and every other cavs fan and probably fans of other teams thought we were going all the way this year. From United States Using Mozilla Firefox 3.0.10 on Windows XP

20. chowdz on 01 Jun 2009 at 10:42 pm | permalink | quote me The KING is now revealed to be the JESTER. Who walks off the court after losing a playoff series to a superior opponent? Such boorish behavior shows LBJ is far from being the mogul of an NBA empire. He’s still a little boy coddled by mom, the team and his entourage. Real MEN face up to their losses and congratulate the winners. Can you imagine the CEO of a major corporation dealing with a crisis for his company by HIDING from the press? GROW UP Lebron! From United States Using Safari 525.27.1 on Mac OS X

21. lakersalltheway on 01 Jun 2009 at 11:25 pm | permalink | quote me All Lebron needs to do is work on his shooting to be like kobe and he will the greatest ever. From United States Using Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows XP

22. jclown94 on 02 Jun 2009 at 9:22 pm | permalink | quote me The KING is now revealed to be the JESTER. Who walks off the court after losing a playoff series to a superior opponent? Such boorish behavior shows LBJ is far from being the mogul of an NBA empire. He?s still a little boy coddled by mom, the team and his entourage. Real MEN face up to their losses and congratulate the winners. Can you imagine the CEO of a major corporation dealing with a crisis for his company by HIDING from the press? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ r u kidding me so u saying jordan or kobe never walked of a court with out shaking anyones hands and after a big as loss wat the hell is wrong with u i woodint want to talk to anyone after having my hopes so high up and losing only a couple of steps away from ya goals From United States Using Safari 525.28.1 on Windows Vista

23. Myke_BeeZY23 on 03 Jun 2009 at 4:47 pm | permalink | quote me If lebron doesnt get a supporting cast next year that is better and will help win games, then he should leave cleveland for the sake of his carrer i am a lebron fan and i hope he stays in cleveland but if they dont act soon, and get better bench and role players, i wouldnt be suprised to see lebron leave cleveland From United States Using Internet Explorer 7.0 on Windows XP

24. efrain on 03 Jun 2009 at 7:28 pm | permalink | quote me i told all u #@!$ the joke u call lebron was going down but no one would listen so now its kobe in 6 #@!#. From United States Using Internet Explorer 8.0 on Windows Vista

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

Leave a Reply

Want an avatar associated with your comment? It's easy... upload one at gravatar.com.

Name (required)

Mail (hidden) (required)

Website

Recent Activity