Normally when basketball season ends, Northeast Ohioans just shrug and move right on to anticipating what sports fans can expect from the Browns in the coming season.

Notice I wrote ''normally.''

Something has clearly changed in the psyche of the local sports fan. A prolonged listen at sports-talker WKNR (850-AM) proves that.

Listening to the station in the past few days, it's clear that after the basketball season, hoops remain on the tongues of fans.

You can hear scathing critiques of the end of the season after the Cavs were bounced by the Boston Celtics. What's behind it? A sense of urgency.

With LeBron James having two years left on his contract, basketball fans sense that a window might be closing, slowly but surely.

Many have invested emotionally and intellectually in the prospect that James is the chosen one to deliver the first major sports championship to the area in more than three decades.

Give owner Dan Gilbert and General Manager Danny Ferry credit for building an organization where expectations are high, and Gilbert is willing to keep signing checks to maintain that impression.

Paint Cavs Redd?

Much of that fan talk related to the Cavs and how to make the team better centers around prominent trade rumors that have been reported on a host of Internet sports blogs.

The Milwaukee Bucks and former Ohio State Buckeye player Michael Redd have reportedly grown disenchanted with one another, and Redd is on the trading block.

Those who follow hoops free agency will remember that the Cavs courted Redd a few years ago, but he elected to take the cabbage and stay with the Bucks. I think he's having more than a few regrets about that move.

And judging from the comments of local Cavaliers fans, they would love the chance to add Redd to the roster, believing it might provide a sense of call after LeBron James stated publicly that tweaks needed to be made to the roster to get him some help.

Playoffs go on

The only constant in the NBA playoffs is how emotions go up and down with every single game.

Take for instance Game 3 in the Western Conference finals between the visiting Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs on TNT.

After bombing for two straight games in Los Angeles, the Spurs looked D.O.A for this series. That changed rather quickly with a 103-84 win.

Now it looks as if the Spurs have some momentum going into Game 4, after Tim Duncan had 22 points and 21 rebounds, Manu Ginobili 30 points and Tony Parker 19. Don't underestimate Ginobili's importance to the Spurs, TNT's Charles Barkley said.

''[He] is the emotional leader of [the Spurs]. He gets the crowd going in the game. He plays with such reckless abandon and that's why he's one of my favorite players. He's not afraid to fail,'' the round mound of rebound said.

Barkley was his usual subtle and reserved self when assessing what happened in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, which the Detroit Pistons lost to the Boston Celtics 94-80.

''[For the Pistons] to come out that flat at home [in Game 3], they can't blame anybody but themselves,'' he said. ''I heard a couple of reporters tried to blame Pistons head coach Flip Saunders, which is totally a joke. If you have to get guys motivated and you're three games away from playing for the championship, that's all on the players.''