The King threads the needle between Aaron Gordon’s legs
Early in the second quarter between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, LeBron James proved that he was a basketball wizard put on this planet to embarrass his competition. As the two teams scrambled to gain possession of the loose ball, The King snatched the rock and zip-lined a pass behind his back for an unbelievable nutmeg assist to partner in crime Dwyane Wade.
Most of the contest went the way of the Cavaliers, but thanks to some lackadaisical play down the stretch, the Orlando Magic managed to make it a close one. Cleveland held a lead as large as 23 points, but ultimately the game came down to a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
Isaiah Thomas swooped in to rescue Cleveland from an embarrassing loss, but he shouldn’t have had to. Although his team ultimately came away with the 104-103 triumph over Orlando, The Cavs have little to celebrate with their play of late.
They’ve gone 4-9 over their last 13 games and though it’d be excusable if their schedule was grueling, that truly hasn’t been the case. Yes, they’re squared off against the Warriors twice, but they’ve also lost to the Bucks, Kings and Pacers, teams that are from title contention.
Don’t get me wrong, as long as the Cavs have LeBron on their side they’ll always be in the running for a Finals appearance, but in this league that’s never enough. If Cleveland hopes to bring a second title to The Land, they can’t defer to LeBron on every play.
Isaiah Thomas has made himself useful as a scorer and a playmaker, but two players don’t make a team. Teams may be led by their stars, but titles are won by the collective efforts of their role players.
