HOOPSAHOLIC

As a humongous basketball fan, the day the 2014-15 NBA schedule was released, I circled December 11th and eagerly awaited that date to arrive. The 11th was going to be a very special day because that's when the Thunder were slated to play the Cavaliers, or in other words: KD vs. LeBron. That very match up feared to be in jeopardy when the Thunder announced Kevin Durant would miss some time with an injury to his foot, but when the reigning MVP returned in early December, it appeared we would get to see the two best players in the world square off after all. That was until LeBron James decided to give the proverbial middle finger to the Oklahoma City community when he announced he would sit out of the game due to "knee soreness." 

I'm a HUMONGOUS LeBron fan. If you don't believe me check my blog post from Monday where I describe LeBron as the Santa Clause of the league. But what he pulled yesterday by sitting out of the 103-94 loss to the Thunder, was extremely disappointing. LeBron is one of the more aware athletes of all-time, he knows exactly how big the game was, and what the match up meant for NBA fans and more importantly Thunder fans.  

Yes, Thunder fans are happy their team won, but it's not everyday that the best athlete in the planet comes to your hometown. The way the NBA schedule is structured, an Eastern Conference team like the Cavaliers only makes one visit to each Western Conference arena per season. The Cavs and Thunder will indeed play again this season, but unless the two teams square off in the finals, LeBron won't be making a trip to OKC until next year. Just like the many Kobe Bryant fans of this world, people from any nook and cranny are "King James" fans who worship the once in a lifetime talent. Kids and adults of all ages stand in line to buy his shoes, they wear his jerseys and even obsess over his social media accounts. Some Thunder fans probably even asked for tickets to see LeBron play as their Christmas gift, or set aside enough money to buy tickets for the opportunity. LeBron knows his impact, and he knows the excitement he brings to every NBA city he visits. Arenas that are normally halfway filled, sell out completely when the King rolls into town. Not to mention the 

I'm not questioning LeBron's toughness, but when "knee soreness" is the excuse for not squaring off against Durant I start to smell something a little fishy. LeBron hasn't missed a single game all season, but right as the Cavs are in the midst of an eight game win-streak and headed to OKC for the match up of the season thus far this soreness suddenly appears? C'mon man! People have started to speculate that Durant has been making that push over the last year to supplant LeBron's as the best player in the league, but most experts like to pump the brakes when that topic arises. The showdown that never happened on Thursday night could have been a stepping stone for Durant to get closer to that elite level and I personally feel that LeBron sensed that. I don't think LeBron was afraid, I just think that he may have felt something was a little off with his knee, and didn't want to square off with KD if he wasn't 100%. In doing so, he shorted every NBA fan a chance to see a great show. Injuries happen, I get that. I would never want to see a player such as LeBron hurt himself further just to play in a regular season game, but it isn't like this was a serious injury. As a heroic figure and the most influential player in the NBA, it's LeBron's responsibility to play in a game of that magnitude.