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MVP chant for James not entirely undeserved
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007
CLEVELAND: Before the game, Doc Rivers shrugged off the notion that Tuesday evening's tilt between the Cavaliers and Boston Celtics was anything special.
''Game 7s,'' the Celtics coach said, ''are statement games.''
OK, then let's just go with that one, if only to be kind hosts.
Never mind that the Celtics bench rose en masse a few times during the game, something that usually does not happen with that frequency until the playoffs.
And that at times the Cavs' bench was standing as well.
And that the atmosphere in the fourth quarter felt playoff-like.
And that at one point, after Lebron James made a jumper in front of Paul Pierce, James clapped toward Pierce then talked to him the whole way down the court.
And that later, in overtime, Kevin Garnett spent time jawing with James, jawing that seemed to turn things edgy as the game wound down.
Stars get competitive in big games, and this game was as edgy and competitive as a regular-season game might get.
So let's dismiss that it was a ''statement game,'' but let's quickly say there are certain benchmark games in an 82-game season that might mean a trifle more than others.
So it was at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday.
Perhaps it could be called an assertion game. Or a declaration game. Or a sentence game.
A sentence game, that's it.
So here's the sentence that sums things up: The Cavs beat a team that had won 11 of its first 12 games, a team that had made the most dramatic improvement of any team in the league from last season to this.
Long sentence, but hey, it's not a statement.
Really, the only statements made the past two days were the drivel spouted by Anderson Varejao, who played the ''I just want what I'm worth'' card.
''Earvin Magic'' Varejao then added: ''It's gotten to the point that I don't want to play there anymore.''
Fine.
Then don't.
Nobody said playing in the NBA is one of the unalienable rights.
So stay home, leave the rest of the world alone and let the Cavs move on and compete without your apparently immeasurable skills.
Which is what they did against the Celtics and their trio of stars.
While Varejao was whining to his chosen media outlet — in this case ESPN.com — Drew Gooden was making 8-of-8 shots in the third quarter en route to a 24-point game.
And Sasha Pavlovic, who unlike Varejao chose to sign his contract, was hitting a big 3-pointer late in regulation and then a driving layup in overtime.
And James was scoring 38 points, 11 in overtime when the Cavs pulled away.
For so long, these Cavs have been painted as a team that is lacking. Lacking this, lacking that.
They do not lack effort, drive or heart.
And they have their leader, James, who vowed before the season that he would not allow his team to play poorly.
If any statement matters, that was the one.
Because James has backed it up. Again, and again, and again. He has four triple-doubles in a 9-6 start. In the past seven games, he has scored 38, 30, 37, 45, 34, 40 and 39 points.
And in overtime, when he went to the line, he heard the M-V-P chant from the crowd. This could be the most premature chant in league history, but it is not completely undeserved. For where would the Cavs be without James exerting his strength and determination on his team. On Tuesday, he did it against the team that was 11-1, the team with Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen. Three stars.
Three stars who walked off the court fuming. Especially Garnett, who even got Gloria James out of her courtside seat as he jawed at her son.
There's a lot of season left to play, so Rivers' statement that it's not a statement game is probably correct. The Cavs play in Detroit tonight. They play in Boston the first Sunday in December.
But if there's a statement to be taken from Tuesday night, it's this one:
The Cavs are the defending Eastern Conference champions, and with No. 23 doing his thing, that is a title they will not surrender willingly.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com.
CLEVELAND: Before the game, Doc Rivers shrugged off the notion that Tuesday evening's tilt between the Cavaliers and Boston Celtics was anything special.
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