Cleveland Cavaliers: Does LeBron’s Path To The Finals Diminish His Achievements?

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are destined for another Finals appearance, but does the level of his opposition in the East affect his perception?

The Cleveland Cavaliers dismantled the Toronto Raptors in Game 1, putting them three games away from their second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.

For LeBron James, it would be his sixth consecutive chance to play for the NBA title. Such a thing is nearly unheard of in the sport.

James’ critics will be quick to point out that he has gone 2-3 in that span and has lost in the championship series four times overall.

He has a meteoric impact on any team he is on. That is unquestionable. But, does the fact that he plays in the Eastern Conference diminish his what he has done in the sport?

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For the last several years, the East has been seen as the weaker of the two conferences of the NBA.

The West is known for elite teams such as Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and LA Clippers that contend for a spot in the Finals each year.

In the East, it has essentially been LeBron’s team and nobody else.

During his time with the Heat, the team dispatched competition that would disappear the next season.

Teams like the Bulls, Celtics and Pacers would appear as threats to the Big 3, but all fell apart for multiple different reasons by the time the next year rolled around.

Even last season, the Hawks made waves by having the best record in the East. This year, the Hawks were overshadowed by the new upstarts of the NBA in the Toronto Raptors.

While the West has churned out a five different title challengers in the last six seasons, it has been a LeBron James led team that has dominated the East for more than half the last decade.

Also notable, he has gone with two different squads. Four trips to the Finals were with the Miami Heat, where he had teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Now, back with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he’s had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to help carry the work load.

That kind of evidence would refute the claim that LeBron has had it easy.

But the fact is, the Cavaliers have no control over which team is in front of them.

The postseason is a tournament, and the only opponent that any team knows in advance is in the first round due to the standings. After that, there is no controlling which team, elite or otherwise, makes it to the next round.

For the past six years, LeBron has led every team he has been on to the Finals regardless of whichever team was in front of him in the East

Take a look at this year’s playoffs, the LA Clippers with the return of Blake Griffin were expected to cruise by the Portland TrailBlazers. Instead, injury helped eliminate a team whose second round appearance was a foregone conclusion.

For the past six years, LeBron has led every team he has been on to the Finals regardless of whichever team was in front of him in the East.

Each of his losses has had its own context. The loss to the Mavericks came in part due to the Heat’s inexperience as a squad together, for example. Last season, James was without two All-Star caliber teammates against the Warriors, who had the best record in the league and the reigning MVP.

That’s not to make any excuse for James. At the end of the day, both teams must compete to the best of their ability with whoever they have available. In a seven-game series, the winner is the team that was simply better when it came time to compete.

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Nothing, except perhaps seven rings, would be enough to silence LeBron’s critics. But he has been the difference maker in the East in a way that hasn’t been seen in a generation.

In the NBA however, nothing less than hoisting the trophy validates a career.