LeBron's return to Cleveland was muted, but his love of home remains



[ad_1]

Getty Image

CLEVELAND – He entered unexpectedly and unexpectedly, wearing a black peacoat, a scarf and a gray cap, it is the outfit of this man who left for a long time for warmer climates without ever forgetting the cold of his hometown.

LeBron James' return to Cleveland as a visitor for the first time in four years was as quiet as possible, and he walked so fast from the player's entrance into the bowels of Quicken Loans Arena to the locker room from the visitor that there remained several cameras men murmuring that they could not capture the perfect shot.

Everything about Wednesday's Cavs-Lakers national televised match was as reserved as the King's arrival. There was no anti-LeBron sign dotting the crowd as was the case on December 2, 2010, the very first time LeBron returned to Cleveland with anything but wine and gold. There were almost as many LeBron Lakers jerseys in the lower bowl as Cavs Garb. Friendly exchanges took place between LeBron and some of his former teammates: he kissed Kevin Love near the Cavs locker room, signed his handshake with Tristan Thompson during the match and surprised Channing Frye with a huge hug.

The only kind of drama happened when LeBron stayed in the locker room nearly five minutes longer than the rest of his Laker teammates before running on the court for the pre-game warm-ups, turning an exhausted crowd looking forward to to be able to glimpse his presence in a worried crowd. . But then he came out of the tunnel, the building briefly burst with joy and the reality of the situation was again installed. It was a basketball match of the regular season mid-November between the worst team in the NBA and a Lakers team still trying to understand his identity.

Even LeBron's performance was relatively pedestrian. He came out hot, scoring 6 points in the first four minutes of the game, then downgraded to neutral for most of the second half, even though the Cavs had built a double-digit lead. He returned to 4th place, catching Cedi Osman a few feet past the 3-point arc to tie in at 99, equalizing one of those impossible shots he'd made so many times in a Cavs uniform . Suddenly, he finished the game with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists, a scandalous line to have compiled so calmly, as is the custom for LeBron.

The Lakers escaped with a 105-101 win and LeBron retired in the locker room, where he feasted on Swenson, the burger from his hometown of Akron, before reappearing for his post-match interview, as happy as someone who just sank into the galley Boy and banana milkshake could be.

[ad_2]
Source link