Kharma Writes Stories and Wins Game 4 For LeBron

And then there were none.

Is LeBron his own dynasty, or is Cleveland attempting
the impossible? Winning in a small market?

With the fall of the San Antonio Spurs, the age of the NBA dynasties has almost come to an end.  If you count the fact that LeBron is struggling as I write to take down the Chicago Bulls just for a chance to overcome the Washington Wizards or the Atlanta Hawks, then its safe to say that none of the remaining teams are cut from championship pedigree.

The moment I typed these words, LeBron drove to the lane against the Bulls to cut into their double digit lead that they took into the fourth quarter of game 4.  Win this game and the Bulls take a strangle hold over the series (3-1) and start the process of returning Chicago to the realm of champion, despite distant memories from their dynastic days of old.

This season, all signs point towards the rise of the "Have Not's", teams from small market cities that typically were believed to be incapable of winning a championship.  Maybe Chicago or the LA Clippers will win and keep the theory intact, but their franchises are among the many in the league fighting to rise to relevancy too.  Even if the Clippers (big city) or the Cavs (LeBron's team) can win a title this season, hope still springs eternal for lowly cities like Denver that have never proven themselves to be capable of reaching the peak of the NBA.

While my heart has moved into the corner of supporting NBA legend Doc Rivers this playoff season, the only other championship mind capable of dealing with the championship experience of LeBron, I wouldn't be sad if the Warriors lay siege or the Wizards cast  a spell of hope for the rest of us secondary sports cities like Denver to build on.  With a capable front office, anything is possible.  Whether or not Denver's front office qualifies as capable is the only question left unanswered for this hopeful fan looking for a reason to believe.  The Nuggets' next few moves will reveal a lot.  In the mean time, I have to watch this Cav's versus Bulls game and wonder if losing Timofey Mosgov and J.R. Smith was good in the long run, or is LeBron so good that he makes even these ex-Nuggets look like stars?

Before I could complete two paragraphs of thought, LeBron has erased the Chicago lead, and is making Smith and Mosgov look like Parish and Ainge as he carries them towards greatness.  I expect LeBron to find a way to win this game and keep the Bulls in the state of figuring things out- which might mean firing Tom Thibideau at the end of this season.  Thibideau is actually the only other coach that I would take in Denver aside from Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt, still in the hunt for a permanent tag in Denver.

As I write, J.R. Smith just nailed another long range 3 in response to one scored by the Bulls, giving the Cavaliers a 3 point lead with 5 minutes to play.  James blocks a shot that Mosgov recovered and then set Mosgov up with a pick and roll dunk   He missed of course, but nailed the two free throws from being fouled.  In game 3, Mosgov only missed one free throw, and for all of the things he struggled with in Denver, he was an improving free throw shooter.  As I typed these two sentences, Mosgov followed his two freebies with a defensive rebound, and offensive rebound and a put back for a 7 point lead.

Timeout Chicago.

Cleveland might win it with LeBron doing what he does, but they are the Cavaliers of small city Cleveland. A victory by this team makes small city hoops more possible than ever, so even the magic that LeBron keeps doing works in favor of the little guys.  After a really good defensive play that produced a foul from the Bulls, J.R. Smith shoved the same Bulls player, giving up a technical free throw and reminding me why we don't really miss J.R.  On the next possession, Mosgov got one of those wide open layups that he often misses.  He missed the shot, reminding me why we don't really miss Mosgov that much either.

With the clock winding down quickly, LeBron misses another 3 point shot (he has hardly made any during the series), and Derrick Rose heads down court to show King James how its done, knocking down a 3 pointer to close this pivotal game to a 3 point margin.  How did the King respond?  With a muscle drive to the hole for an easy 2 points.  Rose advances up the court trying to match LeBron shot for shot, and gets fouled by a Cavalier team unwilling to let him do it freely.

Rose hits both freebies.

When the King can't hit a jumpers, it's not hard to guess what he will do instead, so Joakim Noah did just that when he guessed right on the next Cavalier possession, drawing an offensive foul on James destined to get to the hole.  Despite the turnover, the Cavs got a stop and had one minute and LeBron James to finish off an important game.  This time down, the Bulls fouled an attacking LeBron and he nailed both freebies for a 5 point lead.  With 27 seconds left in the game, Jimmy Butler nails a 3 point bucket to try and salvage the biggest game in the series for his team.  Win the game and you cripple the King.  Lose it and he inspires his henchmen to take you out.  Guaranteed. If LeBron doesn't get you, the depression of such a lost will do it for him

Bulls use their last time out to create a plan.

3 seconds separate the game and shot clock, and Noah informs the ref that they will not play to foul, so hold tight to that whistle. A strong double team on J.R. causes him to take a timeout with 19 seconds on the clock.  Though the Bulls have no time outs with one left for the Cavs, until more great defense on the in-bounds forces the Cavs to use their last timeout without taking a second off of the clock.  These Bulls saw red and the Cavs were it.  With a long inbound pass to LeBron that he catches in half court corner, the Bulls double team too, forcing LeBron into another offensive foul and a turnover. With a sudden sign of life, Rose takes the ball end to end to tie the game and force the play back to LeBron.

There are no timeouts left and very little time on the clock as LeBron makes his hesitation drive at the lane.  When he was a younger man, he would have dunked on Noah who put a hand on his shoulder to stop the expected dunk. The refs swallowed their whistle forcing the King to use 1.5 seconds in regulation to decide it.  He was clearly fouled on the play, but the uncertainty of when the ball got knocked  of bounds gave both teams one last chance to huddle up as referee's checked video to correct the shot clock.

In my mind, hoop kharma writes these stories for you, and kharma usually goes in favor of those who've paid their dues in the past.  LeBron has won it before, but he also has a lot of tears from those years when he didn't win.  Those are the tears that carry you over the top in moments that matter.

James hit the shot at the buzzer.  Series tied 2-2.

Maybe all the years of bad hair has hurt Rickie's kharma?

PostScript:  Kharma told me that Rickie Fowler was going to rush from behind to win the Players championship today even though he was 5 shots back when I felt the premonition and turned to watch the Cavs/Bulls finish.  By the time I turned the channel back to The Players, Fowler was in a three-way playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner.  Garcia has a lot of kharma out there on the course, but nothing compares to 2014 for Fowler.  I'm predicting Fowler wins just so I can pat myself on the back for having kharmic awareness.  He's left a lot of tears out on the course over the years
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