While the Cavs managed to close out the Bulls and march on to their second-round date with the Celtics, all is not well in Lebron-land. Namely, the Chosen One’s apparently gimpy right elbow is inspiring dread among the Cleveland faithful, as SB Nation’s Fear The Sword explains:
Cleveland Advances, But Lebron’s Gimpy Elbow Cause For Concern For Cavs Fans
First off (and second off, and third off, as well) I want to know that LeBron will be able to go this weekend when we begin our second-round series against the Celtics. When it came down to LBJ shooting a free throw left-handed in the final ten seconds, the groans far outweighed the cheers, even as the Cavaliers pulled out an ugly 96-94 victory
It wasn’t clear at which point exactly James injured his elbow, but it noticeably bothered him throughout the second half, culminating in him attempting the free throw mentioned above with his left hand with seven seconds left and the Cavs only up by four points.
As for the actual game itself, the fans at Fear The Sword were worried that, while it (barely) didn’t cost them in Game 5, the team’s seemingly lackadaisical approach against an inferior opponent does not portend good things for Mike Brown’s squad:
What bothered me tonight more than anything was a seeming laissez-faire attitude to the performance, once the Cavaliers sprinted out to a 52-40 second quarter lead, a lack of killer-instinct that let the Bulls back into the game, allowed them to think that they had a real chance, and more importantly, completely extended our best player into having to play almost 44 minutes...against an eight-seed which, just two days earlier, had succumbed by 23 points at home to this same Cavs team.
And as a coda to the “the Cavs won unconvincingly” feeling is the fact that -- CONSPIRACY ALERT -- the Cavs just edged the Bulls despite Lebron and Co. receiving “a healthy dose of of help from the referees”, per Fear The Sword. Indeed, the Bulls bigs were in perpetual foul trouble thanks to a slew of questionable calls, particularly as they tried to check Shaq.
Of course, the Cavs are still the slight favorites to come out of the East, so long as Lebron can hoist up shots with his right hand. But don’t expect to hear the end of the “David Stern told the refs to help Lebron” meme -- especially from Stan Van Gundy in a potential Cavs-Magic conference final.
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