Anyone associated with basketball has had this day circled on their calendar.
It's the day LeBron James ggoes back to Cleveland to play his first game since deciding to leave the Cavaliers back in July. Heck, even non basketball fans will be watching this one. It's kind of like the casual fan watching golf just because some guy in a red shirt named Tiger Woods is the big story.
Or just like fans in Oklahoma City last winter when I happened to be there for an NBA basketball game, suddenly taking an interest in hockey on a Sunday evening because the USA was involved in a titanic struggle with Canada.
There will be high security in Cleveland for this one and the Heat were careful not to release any details surrounding their itinerary as they headed for Cleveland. But it seems like there were some travel issues with the Heat's airplane and you have to wonder if that is some kind of harbinger of things to come.
So what do you think will happen tonight?
There are a number of different scenarios.
LeBron has said it's going to be emotional and what impact will that have on his play? Will he come out with a controlled focus and try to give the Cavs a 60-point night and blow kisses as he leaves the court after a close win? Will his big night result in a blowout for the Heat, galvanize a team looking for answers, and send them on a run of consecutive victories that will have people look back at this game as the turning point in Miami's season?
Or does LeBron leave the bench late in the fourth quarter with the Heat in control because of an injury we can't see, like a tight hamstring or back spasms? Do the Cavs come out and feed off the energy in the building with LeBron struggling because he's trying to do too much for his new squad and come away with a win?
Regardless, it's going to be interesting.
It has often been said that at a young age, sports shapes character, and I believe that is true. But once you get to a certain point in one's life, sports ceases to shape character and starts to reveal character. James should go into that locker room and by the code of the blacktop tell his Heat teammates: "Fellas, tonight, I got this one. Give me the ball, help me when I need it, but tonight, I got it."
With all that has happened since July 8th and "The Decision," this is yet another new learning situation for James and the Heat. With James already talking about looking forward to the end of the game and Friday, the day after, this contest will tell us a whole lot more about LeBron James and his character.
It's going to be crazy in Cleveland. This is like the accident on the highway and tonight we're all rubber-necking.
Get your popcorn ready!
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How about the debut of Raptors' first-round pick, Ed Davis? The rookie did a great job of playing within himself in Toronto's 127-108 payback win.
The former North Carolina Tarheel concentrated on the simple things during the game finishing with 11 points and six rebounds in the Raptors victory.
Toronto will need that kind of play from him as Davis will get more time with Reggie Evans out until the new year following surgery to repair the non-displaced fracture in his right foot.
So Raptors fans can take some solace in the fact that the team's record is same this season, 7-11 as it was last season after 18 games.
Yes, it's early and schedules are different from season-to-season, but we're inching to the quarter pole and Toronto is right where they were last season.
Hmmmm...
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So what's up with the Lakers as they have lost four in a row? The Monday's MLB scoreboard latest defeat came at the hands of the Houston Rockets.
Just a little note: None of Phil Jackson's championship teams lost four games in a row.
Hmmmm...
