Monday, June 25, 2012

Trevor Ariza's LeBron Moment

Last week's series-clinching Game 5 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder granted LeBron James some respite from critics challenging his arrogance (critic's description)/ optimism (DBSF's descrption) when after signing with the Heat he announced that the team would win not one NBA Finals, not two, not three, not . . . etc but a touchdown and extra point or maybe even two point conversion number of NBA championships. What was missed in all the LeBron-directed vitriol was that he was at a pep rally where it is basically standard protocol for a new acquisition to promote a the-sky's-the-limit type of optimism. 


This week Trevor Ariza exhibited even greater irrational exuberance when after discovering he would be playing with John Wall in Washington. Ariza announced that "Watching this young team and the talent they already have here and trying to help them grow. I definitely think this can be a playoff team."  Getting traded from New Orleans Hornets to the Washington Wizards is like getting released on parole because your old prison was getting too overcrowded--it's a step-up but by no means any reason to draw attention to the situation. How LeBron gets harangued for predicting championships and going 1-1 in Finals in his first two years but Trevor Ariza thinks a team that at one point last year wasn't really much more than a mid-major barnstorming all-star crew can improve from fantastically futile to Milwaukee Bucksish is shocking. 

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