When LeBron James announced that he would be returning to Cleveland for the 2014-15 season, he set the world of basketball ablaze. Cleveland fans were ecstatic, Miami fans were bitter, and everyone was curious to see how far LeBron could carry this Cavaliers team with Kyrie Irving by his side. Cleveland fans were given further reason to rejoice when Kevin Love jumped ship in Minnesota to form the league’s latest big 3.
However, there were still many questions. How far would the team be able to go? They certainly had star power, but that can only take a team so far. There were questions about team chemistry and defense. NBA fans weren’t sure the team was in a position to make a finals run. Apparently, fans weren’t the only one with doubt in their minds.
LeBron James told USA Today Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt:
“Could I foresee this?” James said. “At the beginning of the season, I couldn’t. I couldn’t foresee us being in the Finals at the beginning of the season because I just knew that we just had to get better and I just saw how young we were and how young-kminded we were at that point in time.”
It appears even LeBron had his doubts about the team in the early going. However, James had faith that the team would be able to get to a place where they could compete for a title, telling Zillgitt:
“But I knew I had to lead these guys, and if they just followed my leadership, I knew I could get them to a place where they haven’t been before.”
LeBron was right, to some degree. While his leadership and high level of play has clearly been a huge factor, this Cleveland team is not the same one that started the season. They got rid of shot-chucking guard Dion Waiters. They added much needed perimeter defense and rim protection with the acquisitions of Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov, as well as getting a big-time bench scorer in J.R. Smith.
However, with injuries to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, as well as a 2-game suspension for J.R. Smith, LeBron has had to step up majorly, and successfully lead his team to a sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in the Conference Finals(albeit with some help from injuries to the Hawks).
LeBron was able to do as he hoped and lead his team to the NBA finals, where they will face their biggest challenge yet(assuming that the Warriors can close out the Rockets in a series that currently sits at 3-1).
LeBron certainly had reason to have his doubts at the beginning of the year, but with his leadership and some nifty moves from General Manager David Griffin, Cleveland has advanced to the finals, where the team will have a shot at bringing home its first championship.
