Lebron James, Cleveland Cavaliers Look To Complete Historic Comeback In NBA Finals Game 7

Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers enter the NBA Finals Game 7 knowing there are very few basketball fans who thought the team would get this far. The Golden State Warriors weren’t supposed to need an NBA Finals Game 7 in order to win their second straight championship, but Lebron James has managed to rally his team, and with a little help from his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates, is one win away from sneaking away with the title.

As the New York Post reports, it’s likely that people would never have thought the Cavs would be a team the entire country was rooting for. It’s not like Steph Curry and the Warriors are a team that is full of villains, or heels, or any personalities that make you root against them. For his part, Curry is usually seen as one of the most likable players in the league. On the flipside, James has managed to be turned, or turned himself, into some kind of villain.

Some of the reason the Cleveland Cavalier star is so disliked is because of the way that he left his hometown team for the Miami Heat. Some of it is just the residuals of being one of the most talked about and recognizable faces in the National Basketball Association. Whatever the reason, most of the basketball world was likely rooting against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers when this series started. Now that the NBA Finals has reached Game 7, people are suddenly looking to see what would be a pretty historic upset.

The Golden State Warriors ran over, around, and through the rest of the league all season long as they posted a historic win-loss record. They struggled here and there in their path to the finals, but there was usually little doubt they would be able to hit the shots that needed to be hit in order to advance towards their destiny. A funny thing happened on the way to that destiny. Steph Curry whipped his mouthpiece at a fan, and his wife started complaining about the playoffs being rigged.

In general, one team lost its composure while another team embraced the role of underdog and the “cool under pressure” approach that’s needed to pull off the biggest upsets. It helps that Cleveland isn’t a team that owns many championships. The baseball team has largely been the laughing stock of the American League, barring a few very good seasons, and he football team has been one of the worst teams in the history of the NFL since returning to town.

The Cavs have certainly not been thought of as impressive since it’s been more than 52 years of championship-less basketball. When Lebron James returned to the Cavs, he made it clear he did it because he thought the city and the team deserved to win a championship and he wanted to help make that happen. The Warriors are doing their best to make that happen as well, as they lose their composure the closer the team gets to being kicked out of the finals.

James is going to have his team at full strength, while the Warriors are trying to play on without their center. The Canton Rep reports Kyrie Irving’s foot is just fine. That’s good news for a team that needs to have more than one avenue to go to when they are looking for scorers. Irving has had himself a good series, especially in the last few games. James is still someone who can take over a game by himself, but it’s a plus to have someone besides James to take the team and put them on his shoulders. Now Lebron James will get to play a hero, and that’s a situation he rarely finds himself in.

[Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images]