Please, Please, Please Don’t Go!

The Clevelanders crying it on billboards, in song, in letters, in petitions and more, whatever the format, the message from Cleveland fans is just the same: Dear LeBron James, please don't go. Please, please, please don't go.

From the hard-luck city on the shores of Lake Erie is very much trying to show its NBA superstar (LeBron James) that, with free agency threatening July 1, the best mark for him is right up the road from his hometown of Akron, Ohio, the town where he's played for seven seasons as a Cleveland Cavalier and gain two MVP awards.

And in the wake up of an inexplicable early departure from the playoffs a six-game series failure to the Boston Celtics the grass roots crusade has taken on not just a new pressure but the sense of a last chance. Without LeBron James, after all, the chances of Cleveland breaking its 46-year title less streak in major pro sports don't seem too good.

Austin Briggs of Cleveland Heights, 23-year-old and co-founder of the Web site pleasedontleave23.com said "He's a hometown guy. We definitely want to put that on his conscience.”

Yet before the playoffs, fans had assisted fund a banner near the home of the Cavs, showing James through his life with the words "Born Here. Raised Here. Plays Here. Stays Here."
However if Clevelanders think showing a little public pride will be enough to romance LeBron, they better think again.

Eclipsing Suns Hope to Shine Again in Phoenix

The Phoenix Suns were left damaged and baffled after losing their second successive game to the rolling Los Angeles Lakers in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series on Wednesday.

Regardless of delivering more than 100 points in each of the first two encounters in Los Angeles, the Phoenix Suns have been powerless to cope with the versatility of their bigger opponents.

"We are just having a hard time," as Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry told to the reporters after his boys were beaten 124-112 at the Staples Center in game 2. "We can't slow them down, he added.

In Monday's series opening, Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant mocked the Suns as he piled up 40 points in a sensational master class to help the NBA champions to a devastating 128-107 victory.

On Wednesday, Kobe Bryant become the catalyst, recording a playoff-high 13 assists as Spain’s pride forward Pau Gasol merged and drove his way through the Suns defense for a personal total of 29 points.

Gentry said “You do an enormous job on Kobe, and I thought we did it tonight, and then they go to Pau,". "As we double-team Pau and there's Lamar on the other side of the pocket. And we get it out of Lamar's hand; Jordan Farmar exists and makes shots.

Lakers Squash Suns In Game 1

Yet on a troubled knee, Kobe Bryant had NP giving the Los Angeles Lakers an early opening in the Western Conference showdown.

Bryant makes 40 points, Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 boards, and the Lakers opened the series with merciless offensive competence in a 128-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

Spain cager Pau Gasol made 21 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who won their seventh straight playoff game and shattered the Suns' six-game streak with a phenomenal second half highlighted by Bryant's 21-point third quarter.

The defending NBA champions bang the third-seeded Suns at their own uptempo game when necessary, gracefully running the court to set up baskets for Bryant in his sixth straight 30-point game. Kobe Bryant then rested his tender knee for most of the fourth quarter in the 11th 40-point game of his playoff career.

Moreover, Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and Steve Nash contributes 13 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who hadn't lost since April 24. Robin Lopez started at center and makes 14 points in his playoff debut, but Phoenix Suns couldn't keep up with the champs in its first conference finals appearance since 2006.

The KING Does It Again

LeBron James – the Cleveland's superstar was voted the league's MVP for the second straight year in a row, a person familiar with the announcement told The Associated Press on Friday. LeBron James will happen to the 10th player in NBA history to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards when results of the nationwide voting are announced Sunday, sources told The Plain Dealer.

James, averaging 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists this season, will going to receive the trophy Sunday at the University of Akron. The presentation by Commissioner David Stern will come in face of Cleveland's crowd.

James hailed to be the 10th NBA player to be the MVP in consecutive seasons. The 25-year-old star LeBron James joins Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash. Russell, Chamberlain and Bird won it three times in a row.

Dwyane Wade said, “I don't think anyone deserved it over LeBron,” "LeBron could get it every year. It's his honor to lose. That's how it is with confident players. Jordan did not win it every year. Jordan could have won it each year. But the criterion was apparently a little different."

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland was the first to announce that James won the award.

For two years in a row, James will accept the honor in his hometown. A year ago, he goes back to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, his alma mater, for a ceremonial in the school's gymnasium that was attended by family, friends, former teachers and the student body.

James with center Shaquille O'Neal hand in hand to help Cleveland win its first NBA title led the Cavaliers to 61 wins in the regular season and the top seed in the playoffs. Cleveland's lineup was continually changing because of injuries, but the Cavs could constantly count on James, the first forward in league history to average more than eight assists a game.

James delivers nightly jaw-dropping highlights, many of them comes from the defensive end on chase-down blocks. His worth was never more obvious than when he sit out the Cavaliers' final four games, and they lost each one.

Even though playing with a strained and bruised right elbow, James still averaged 31.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 steals as the Cavaliers eliminated Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.

"I give a lot of thanks to my teammates, the coaching staff and my family," James said last week when ask about winning a second MVP. "It solidifies a lot of hard work and commitment I was able to put in the off-season to try to get the best as an individual and bring it to this team."

Injured LeBron Help Cavs To Eliminate Bulls in 5

The KING (LeBron James) pulled his right arm tightly to his chest, incapable to do anything but frown as the final seconds expired on Cleveland’s series-clinching win.

The Chicago Bulls were lastly out of the way. However, for the Cavaliers, touching on in the NBA playoffs wasn’t pain free.

LeBron playing regardless of his right elbow injury that went numb and forced him to shoot a free throw with his left hand in the dying seconds, just missed a triple-double as the Cavs advanced to a playoff date with Boston by beating Chicago 96-94 in Game 5 on Tuesday night in possibly Vinny Del Negro’s final game as Bulls coach.

Despite of the injury James scored 19 points – 16 in the second half – added 10 rebounds and contribute 9 assist as the Cavs finally burden the obstinate Bulls to end the series 4-1. After making single free throw, James then lifted and missed the second with his left with 7.8 seconds remaining and the Cavs only ahead by four.

LeBron James doesn’t know when he injured the elbow, which he said troubled him the entire second half. He exposed after the game that he underwent an MRI and X-rays two days ago.

“It troubles me because I don’t know what it is,” James said. “Hopefully it doesn’t continue to burden me. But I’m not worried. There’s nothing to worry about for the fans. No reason to panic. I don’t mind it’s that serious.”

Wade’s 46 Leads Heat Past Celtics 101 – 92

Staring playoffs elimination in the face and the opportunity of playing his last game in Miami, Dwyane Wade explodes with a career playoff-high 46 points to help the Miami Heat to a 101-92 victory over the Boston Celtics last Sunday.

At the end of the season Dwyane Wade become a free agent and possibly be on his way out of Miami. He gives his team an assurance to stave off elimination for another two days anyway, by scoring a 19 of points in the fourth that includes three quick-three-pointers.

The win reduced their deficit in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven series to 3-1 with Game Five heading back to Boston on Tuesday, despite the fact that no team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win in the playoffs.

In an interview, Wade says, “Were always going to fight” after leading the heat to a 25 – 8 run to open the final quarter.

"We fought today and I finally had an excellent shooting game the way I wanted to, he added.

Rajon Rondo provide 23 points and nine assists while Kevin Garnett finished with 18 and 12
rebounds for the Celtics who had formerly defeated the Heat in all six meetings this season.

Shedding Paul Pierce's buzzer-beater shot to bring the win in Game Three, Boston fell behind by 13 after the first quarter but claimed a six-point lead after the third before Wade twisted the game with his fourth-quarter performance.

Playoff Preview: First Round Match Up - Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls

This is one series I feel in no doubt speculating about: The Cleveland Cavaliers is obviously the better team and will undoubtedly best the Bulls in this best of seven series in the first round of the play off. On the other Chicago has had a great run to make it into the playoffs; unfortunately they don’t have enough strength and size to take on the Cavaliers.

With the guidance of the KING, the league MVP LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers are just too deep and too experienced. Equipped with high caliber weapons like Shaq, Z, Williams and Jamison there is nothing that this team doesn’t have – they have size, scoring, defense, rebounding. And they are on a mission to get in to the Finals.

In Cavaliers mind, they want to take Bulls out right away. Fortunately, LeBron get right back into his rhythm as he returns to the court after taking some time off and give Cavaliers a two nothing game advantage over Bulls.

Chicago is competing two things have to happen for as the play offs goes on: Noah has to play off the charts like he did during the past games and guards Rose and Hinrich have to make shots. Deng also has to play big because he’s probably going to be guarding LeBron, in order to retain their moral after losing two times in a row at the Quicken Loans Arena.