LeBron James: "Witness" What Exactly?

It is somewhat preposterous of me to write a column about a game I didn't watch, let alone catch any highlights of, but therein lies the point of this.

The outcome of the Miami Heat versus the Cleveland Cavs game was known before opening tip-off. Try as they might, the Cavs were themselves slaughtered by a man undaunted by the cascade of boos, curses and chants of "Akron hates you."

LeBron James dropped 38 in three quarters and had 12 free minutes to soak in his handy work. Sauntering into an environment like that and performing well is not easy, but to go in there and annihilate hopes, dreams and crush vocal cords like that should be commended even if you, like I, were hoping Cleveland would somehow rise like the Phoenix and emerge victorious.

But what exactly did we "witness" here? A mediocre Cleveland Cavaliers team (7-11) get steamrolled by a severely underachieving Miami Heat (12-8, 11-1 against teams under .500) team who isn't meshing as well as the NBA's new, lighter uniforms and looking for someone else to blame for their woes (Eric Spoelstra). 

As Austin Powers once asked, "What does it all mean Basil?"  

The amount of attention this game, one out of 82, received from everyone, myself included since I am typing this, was absurd.

I openly admit that the NFL and NBA are pretty much the only pro sports I watch, and my love for the NBA has drastically waned over the years because of David Stern, officiating, awful teams and most importantly, a severe lack of parity.

Was this game for a championship? Is it a playoff game? Are the two teams battling for the last available playoff spot in the East? No to all of the aforementioned.

The NFL, MLB and NHL are exciting (even though I don't follow two of these very much) because each year there is sincere hope that your favorite team can emerge from their shallow graves and make a run to the playoffs and beyond. That's what having a real draft does for floundering franchises—that a pathetic, antiquated draft lottery does not—it gives the worst teams a chance to choose the best player to build their future around.

The NBA is the only major sport where parity doesn't happen. All you need for proof is to start in 1980, 30 years ago, and count the number of teams that have won and NBA title...eight. The NFL has had 15 different Super Bowl champions. The NHL has watched 14 teams hoist Lord Stanley's Cup and Major League Baseball has crowned 19 different World Series Champions since 1980.

Why is any of this relevant? Because at the end of the season and for many years after this, Miami, who was one of the eight teams to win a championship, will still be a contender and will have won another title, while Cleveland will continue bottom feeding in the East.

So what if Cleveland had actually won, it doesn't matter whatsoever. There is very little hope in getting excited about any regular season game in the NBA because you already know by the end of the season who will be competing for a title—the Lakers, Heat, Magic, Spurs and Celtics.

Don't try to throw Oklahoma City, Chicago, Utah, the Suns and perhaps the underachieving, or even overrated, Trailblazers at me. None of these teams have any chance of winning. I'll even throw the Mavs in there as another team that will fritter away when it counts.

For all of the fun upsets in the playoffs—Golden State upsetting Dallas, Denver stunning Seattle, the Nets just making it to the finals, New Orleans recent run—who ultimately ends up winning the titles?

That is why this game was irrelevant and why I did not watch at all.

I was much more hyped to watch Duke versus Michigan State the night before, or wish
I had ESPN U to watch Georgetown versus Missouri that same night, than anything
the NBA props up on our television screens.

Who won't be watching the Jets versus Patriots for the AFC East lead this weekend? Or if you had the NFL Network, how about watching a truly contrite athlete who has made the comeback of the year, or many years, Michael Vick, throw for over 300 yards again to propel the Eagles past the abysmal Texans? These are games that count.

Would I like to see Cleveland win a title before Miami? Of course I would but that isn't reality. There just aren't any games in the NBA I can get excited about anymore, this one included.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/534257-witness-what-exactly

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