LeBron Leads New-Look Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals

LeBron James anchored a group of no names and castaways leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 4-2 series win over the Chicago Bulls and into the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavaliers will play the winner of the series between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards, in which the Hawks lead 3-2.

At the beginning of the season with James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love surrounded by a strong supporting cast, the Cavaliers where picked to rip through the NBA.

However, when it came time to close out Central Division rivals the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals, the starting five for Cleveland was three fifths different.

The Cavaliers lost Anderson Varejao in December to a torn Achilles, Dion Waiters was traded in January, Love had surgery on his torn shoulder and Irving finally had to give in to his multiple injuries after just the first quarter of Game 6 on Thursday.

However, rather than fall apart, James pushed the group that was left over and helped Cleveland reach the next round.

LeBron led a pair of Knicks castaways, a former pick in the lottery, someone whose last name has become equal to being dunked on, a shooter who is 34 years old but dislocated a finger on his shooting hand and an Australian who was undrafted, but the results were just what he and the city of Cleveland were hoping for.

Cleveland is just four wins from the coveted NBA Finals.

After three games of the series, the Cavaliers trailed 2-1 and were down by 11 points after halftime in Game 4. Cleveland was lucky not to go gown 3-1 in the series after referees missed a David Blatt timeout signal before James took the final shot that won the game.

Blatt said after Thursday’s win that LeBron does not want to take any credit for the team’s success but he must. He called James the team’s true leader, the voice of the team and the one who leads by example.

However, James is interested in winning a championship not taking credit for how it is done. The goal is attainable but will only be harder going forward. Of the six teams that remain in the postseason, only the Washington Wizards have won less games this season than Cleveland. That means whatever team they face knows how to win.

The Cavaliers will have Irving back for the Eastern Conference Finals, but will be without Love who was lost for the remainder of the playoffs.