There were a couple of news items coming out of the Cleveland Cavaliers camp yesterday. First, LeBron James was named the NBA MVP, his first such award, and the first by a Cleveland athlete since Brian Sipe took the NFL honor in 1980. Second, it seems the team will actually play a game tonight. Game 1 of the conference semifinals will start tonight at Quicken Loans Arena against the Atlanta Hawks.
There is no question that James deserved the MVP. In my opinion, he is now the best player in the world, and he most certainly was the best player on the best team in the league’s regular season. He set the tone with the wine and gold from the beginning of training camp, and never let up. With the Cavaliers getting to 66 wins this season, there is no question that the award goes to the right man.
As for the Hawks, the do not have one of the game’s top five players like Miami did in Dewayne Wade, but make no mistake, this is a good, young squad that continues to improve. They are taking the next step in their evolution by getting past the first round after losing to the eventual champion Celtics in seven games last season.
The Hawks have a tremendous all around player in Joe Johnson, an all-star, an experienced point guard in Mike Bibby, and a freak type athlete in Josh Smith, so this is not the over the hill Pistons team. They can run the floor, but they aren’t the consistent defensive team the Cavs are. They also have a very good power forward in Al Horford and an Anderson Varajao wannabe in Zaza Pachulia.
This will definitely be a much tougher series than round one. In fact, tonight’s game has the potential to be very difficult because of the nine-day layoff for Cleveland. The Hawks have the momentum of a game seven win at home, so they are feeling pretty good about themselves.
The quicker the wine and gold can get back in the swing of things, the better off they will be. It would be great if the Cavs came out tonight with a dominate performance to get Atlanta thinking that their victory over Miami doesn’t count for much because the Cavaliers are a much better team.
The next step for the Cavs starts tonight, and if we can learn anything from both Orlando and Houston winning on the road last night, the real playoffs start in round two.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 
have you seen the LBJ MVP shirts?? i saw one on tv during the detroit series and saw this post on twitter (http://twitpic.com/4kb9d) but can’t find them for sale online anywhere … anyone know where they are being sold?