The Golden State Warriors are now NBA Champions after completing the mere formality of game 4. The sweep in the finals was sad for every person who has seen LeBron play. He gave his heart out and his team failed.
It was another case of ‘David versus Goliath’, however this time round, the former dominated the latter. Unfortunately, LeBron and Cavalier fans across witnessed Golden State exude their dominance throughout the series. Things could have panned out very differently if the Cavaliers had managed to secure the win in game 1. They were extremely close to doing so. James had 50, the first since Michael Jordan back in 1993. There were no words to say it, he had a perfect game. However, it was Victory blown away after this……………..
This may go down in NBA history as the moment that shaped an era. An era that may cause a massive change in the landscape of Basketball. James is almost certainly out of Cleveland, and it wont tarnish his legacy as he already did what he had to. In 2016 LeBron put his team on his back and lead an outstanding comeback against the Warriors, after being down 3-1in the series, bringing back a championship to “The land”.
However, during this year’s series, LeBron reportedly incurred a self-inflicted hand injury affected his performance. He averaged 28.3 points (49.2% shooting overall and 27.3% from three-point range on just 3.7 attempts), 10.7 assists, and 8.7 rebounds in the first three games with an injured wrist. In game 4, he attempted only one three-pointer shot and took only three shots in the second half. This caused a barrage of scathing criticism from the likes of Charles Barkley, Chris Webber and Grant Hill.
Giving up does not come with the territory of being one of the greatest to ever play the game, especially considering the fact that we live in a time where you compare effort on the court to Michael Jordan. We even compare the lack of the “killer instinct” athletes at this level usually tend to have. Also noticeable is the lack of defensive effort, but that’s down to the era and the fact that James is in his 15th season. On the other hand, One would be foolish to doubt LeBron’s work ethic. To be fair to LeBron and the Cavaliers, they had a great first half and the game just went away after the Warriors took off in scoring and exploiting mismatches. Durant began to express his true potential and that was something Cleveland couldn’t handle.
For now, we can only speculate where the best player of the modern day NBA will go. In addition, Michael Jordan comparisons must be cast aside, for now.
by Rutvik Bhaskar Perepa
Rutvik Bhaskar Perepa is a student at The University of Manchester working towards a MEng in Mechanical Engineering hoping to be on a placement after Year 3. He has had the privilege to travel around his home country, India and discover the rich heritage and diversity. His personal interests include Food and travel, history, Sport among many others. Often found in discourse on various issues ranging Engineering to Religious Practices, he never shy’s away from being expressive. He believes in being open minded, empathetic and analytical is the key to problems posed on a daily basis.
