Why not Chicago?

In a way, it seems like Chicago is the only place LeBron could go.*



For one thing, it’s a team that, with Rose and Noah and a host of well-fitting role players, is already a playoff contender. Add LeBron to that mix — especially if he brings Bosh with him, which would seem likely — and you’re talking about a team that, on paper, should be able to beat anybody. LeBron’s Bulls (again, on paper) look like a juggernaut that would surpass even the 2001 Lakers.

For another, LeBron could take the torch from his boyhood idol and become the one who delivers Chicago back to its rightful glorious place in Basketball History. (And let’s just say he could match MJ’s six rings there — in the very same city, in the very same uni. In terms of history and perception, if you’re LeBron, could you not imagine people someday discussing you as MJ’s only equal?)

Now follow me blindly for a minute here...

Next to MJ, Kobe represents the closest concept of how LeBron wants to evolve as a basketball superstar. We saw how profoundly LeBron seemed to respond after they played together during the 2008 Olympic games. We’ve seen how competitive he gets when he faces Kobe head-to-head. And we know he just watched, with chewed fingernails, as Kobe grab that fifth ring (which makes him now only one shy of you-know-who).

And while Bron was watching Kobe and his peeps standing around waiting to be handed the Larry O’Brien trophy, he saw Stu Scott take the mic. He watched as Scott brought Magic Johnson to the stage by introducing him as “the greatest Laker of all time.” Ouch. Kobe had just clinched his fifth ring not five minutes before, and Scott was sure to remind him that, not only is he no MJ, he’s not even the greatest Laker.

I have no doubt in my mind that LeBron noticed. Big time. And he made instant work of this simple arithmetic: If he ever goes to Chicago, he will have to win ten rings and build a skyscraper higher than the Sears Tower to ever be thought of as better than MJ.

My best guess? He stays in Cleveland...and starts really calling the shots there.

(My second-best guess? Prokorov leverages Bron’s relationship with Jay-Z and shocks us all by signing him to the Newark/Brooklyn Nyets. A long shot, yes; but I would put a C-note down on 50-1 odds if it were offered.)

G.

*Regarding the meeting between Wade, LeBron and Bosh, where they supposedly discussed joining forces in Miami, ESPN’s Ric Bucher made a great point: that in choosing to go there, LeBron would be implicitly saying that he needs Wade to win a title, which is something that, and I quote, “wouldn’t really fit with the LeBron James brand.” Sadly, that is precisely the reason Miami ain’t gonna happen.

Prediction: Finals

The Lakers have to win this thing, right? That’s what my gut is telling me.

But my gut has been wrong before. (Not where it applies to the Orlando Magic, mind you, but in other contexts.)

For no real good reason, allow me to break it down like Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof”...



> The two teams met just a couple of years ago, and we saw what happened then. As the good book says, “There is faith and there is reality. Always believe reality.” I may not have that right exactly.

> On the other hand, it’s been two years that Pau has gotten to gel with his teammates. The Lakers are a better TEAM than they were...as evidenced, in part, by the ring they grabbed last year. This is a team with a history (!) and a tradition (!) of winning.

> The Lakers also have Bynum back (though he’ll play limited minutes), and Ron-Ron (who replaced Ariza, who was hurt during the ’08 Finals). So the Lakers have a slightly better interior presence than before, plus a defender who can get in the tuches of whichever C is giving them the most trouble. Oy vey.

> But on the other hand, Rondo is playing on an entirely different level. If he can keep from getting the shpilkes, he’s going to be the answer for this C’s team. The goy can get to the rack at will, and/or facilitate by finding the open shooter anywhere on the floor. Gevalt geshreeyeh!

> The C’s are a flat-out better defensive team. And like the good book says, “Defense wins in the Finals.” Or something.

> The C’s have more weapons and a deeper bench.

> The C’s don’t have that shmedrik Ron-Ron doing dumb shit.

> The Lakers have Kobe...who has been a miracle of miracles! I hesitate to use this strong a word, but in his case it applies: Kobe has been makkif. (Transcendent.)

> On the other hand, Kobe has been transcendent for a month. He’s been a self-destructive meshugeneh his entire career. If the Lakers struggle early, which version of Kobe will emerge?

> Kobe is a warrior, and this is a vengeance series for him. He got his shmeckle knocked around in 2008. If that happens again, his legacy will be written as such. Is he gonna let that happen? What about history?! What about TRADITION?!?

> Repeat: the C’s are a flat-out better defensive team. “Defense wins in the Finals.” It is the word of Hashem.

Oy, this is a tough one. The only thing I’m certain of is that I couldn’t be more excited about the Finals this year. No matter what happens. Vos vet zein, vet zein.

All right, all right, my prediction already:

C’s in 7.

-G