In 3 of Orlando’s 4 wins, someone off the bench played more minutes than at least one starter. In the lone game where that did not occur, Mickael Pietrus played 1 min and 50 seconds less than Dwight Howard (Game 3). Only once did Cleveland have a non-starter play more minutes that a starter, also Game 3. Aleksandar Pavlovic played more minutes than Anderson Varejao.

It was always Pietrus who was the non-starter that netted more minutes, so perhaps he should be considered the key to the Magic winning the series. This stat also points out what a lot of LeBron Lovers point to as the reason the Cavs lost. They lament “Poor LeBron can’t do it all himself!!! His teammates let him down, his teammates are only good because the get to play with LeBron!”. Bullshit. I guess his teammates had no part in the Cavs having the best record in the NBA in the regular season. I suppose that his teammates had no part in the Cavs winning their first 8 playoff games this year.

The bottom line is this, once you look past all the hype, and the commercials, and the chalk dust in the air that is clouding everyone’s vision, a few things become very clear:

1. LeBron should have carried his team past the Magic. If LeBron wants the monikers of King and The Chosen One, then this is what he should have done. Is it fair? Probably not, but wtf?! he is The King, isn’t he?
2. The matchup problems caused by the Magic should have been more talked about from the beginning. The Magic bench is better than the Cavs and no one on the Cavs can cover Hedo Turkoglu. He alone was cause for the Magic to win this series.
3. Mike Brown isn’t good enough to be a CYO coach. Coach Brown contributed absolutely nothing to his team in the series with Orlando. No adjustments were made on either the offensive or defensive side of the court that had any positive impact. I will not accept the ‘inferior talent’ argument either. His team had the best record in the NBA this year. The Magic were playing without Jameer Nelson. Mike Brown is not an NBA caliber coach and it showed in this series. His interview at halftime yesterday epitomized his lack of ability as a coach. When asked what can he do to stop Dwight Howard, he responds that Howard is taking hops every time he gets the ball in the post. Thanks for that Coach, but what is the audience going to do about that? Just wanted to get it out there so you have an excuse for when your team ultimately loses?

The Cavs didn’t deserve to win any games in this series. The get a miracle shot to win Game 2, and because of that they get a Game 5 at home, otherwise they would have been done in 4. And do the Cavs really get a pat on the back for winning Game 5 at home, down 3-1?! Really?! The team with the best record in the NBA gets accolades for not quitting in a Game 5 at home, down 3-1?! Really?!

When push came to shove, neither the Cavs nor LeBron showed up. Last night was THE Game of Forever for Cleveland and LeBron goes 8 of 20 from the field, missed 4 foul shots, grabbed 1 offensive rebound, had 3 turnovers, and scored a grand total of 0, yes ZERO, points in the 2nd Quarter. Way to go King, really impressive how you carried the peasants all the way to a Game 6 loss.