NBA Schedules Don’t Give LeBron James a Primetime Cleveland Showdown
Despite a searing rumour, and it being one of the most anticipated games in NBA history, schedule makers decided yesterday that they will not give LeBron James and the Heat a primetime spot against Cleveland in the upcoming schedule.
The NBA released the highlights of its schedule Tuesday, and one of the biggest aspects of the big game slate is that it does not include the Heat visiting Cleveland.
NBA Commissioner David Stern recently acknowledged the legitimacy of the powerhouse teaming-up in Miami, saying that players have the right to choose what they will during free agency. But now his actions imply that he doesn’t want to show the world James beating up on his former team, despite the massive audiences this would obviously command. No, that kind of a meeting might just ring a bit hostile and unnecessary for a league still concerned with gentlemanly propriety and respect.
While it seems like a faltering business move on the face of it, it is one the NBA is right to make. After all, we’re not talking about professional wrestling here, but the integrity of a sports institution.
Cleveland, as well, doesn’t seem too miffed by the possibility of an encounter. Coach Byron Scott recently told Sporting News: “There are 82 games in the schedule and we’re not going to go out of our way to worry about that one.”
At the same time, that’s not to say James isn’t a selling point in the upcoming schedule. Indeed, along with Kobe Bryant and a handful of others, his personal brand is the selling point. Of what’s been released at this point, the Heat show up three times, including a season opener against the Boston Celtics and a Christmas Day match against the Los Angeles Lakers. These are obviously heavy hitters, and worth their weight in gold.
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