Flawed Cavs’ elimination no surprise

It will be months before we know if LeBron James has played his final game for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But we do know the "King" will not be part of the NBA Finals, again, and that comes as no major surprise.

At least to some of us.

The Cavaliers were a flawed outfit when the playoffs started. The addition of Shaquille O'Neal always was dubious, the trade for Antawn Jamison was a desperate act to salvage a lame supporting cast, and simply growing older was not going to transform Mike Brown into a wiser coach.

This was supposed to be the year James finally won a championship, for his legacy and for the depressed fans of Cleveland. It was their destiny. And believing in that destiny is a foolish mistake too many bettors made.

The betting public piled on the King James bandwagon, and the result was a gruesome crash and much carnage. The Cavaliers, favorites to win the NBA title, were ousted Thursday by the Boston Celtics in a one-sided Eastern Conference semifinal series.

"We took a lot of Cavs money," M Resort sports book director Mike Colbert said. "A lot of Cleveland money to win the series, to win the East and to win the championship."

Colbert, and his colleagues at most Las Vegas sports books, probably slept easily after Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo led Boston to a 94-85 victory in Game 6.

Before the game, Colbert predicted the Celtics would "put LeBron out of his misery." He made a similar prediction in this space two weeks ago, calling for Boston to win the series as a plus-375 underdog.

Before the first playoff game, Vegas Sports Authority handicapper Jim Kruger predicted -- also in this space -- the Orlando Magic would win the East.

It's a tough call which was a more colossal failure, the Cavaliers' postseason or the zigzag theory which was detailed in this space last week. Both were big losers.

The favorites in the conference finals are easy to figure. The Los Angeles Lakers are minus-350 over the Phoenix Suns in the West, and the Magic are minus-280 over the Celtics in the East.

With the way Steve Nash is running the show, Amare Stoudemire is dominating inside and the Suns are playing defense, expect the Lakers to stumble a couple of times. But don't bet on them falling.

"The Lakers have got that championship swagger back. I think the Lakers will win probably 4-2 in the series," Colbert said. "I like the Lakers a lot in this series.

"In a seven-game series, the best team always wins."

The Lakers have been the best in the West since they stole Pau Gasol from Memphis in February 2008. Gasol is the perfect inside complement to Kobe Bryant.

James is a two-time Most Valuable Player, but I've always regarded Bryant as the league's top player. Bryant possesses the rare killer instinct required to win a championship.

Don't count out Boston, but it sure seems a Finals rematch is on the way. Orlando, 8-0 in the playoffs, has all the pieces in place with Dwight Howard surrounded by an array of perimeter shooters.

"I think the Magic will be a really bad matchup for the Celtics," Colbert said. "I think Orlando does have a really good shot to avenge the loss last year to the Lakers."

A month ago, the Lakers were looking shaky. Bryant's injured finger was hindering his shot. Derek Fisher wasn't running the point, he was walking it with a cane. Even the pro-Lakers crowds in Las Vegas sports books were turning on them.

"I feel like I'm rooting for the Lakers in every game they play because we need them," Colbert said. "It's strange."

But the Lakers got their act together. The Cavaliers never came close.

James, who took an unprecedented bashing by the media after his lackadaisical performance in Game 5, bounced back somewhat. He just missed a quadruple-double Thursday with 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and nine turnovers.

We don't know how much his injured right elbow factored into it all.

But we do know Shaq should be done in Cleveland, and Brown should not be back on the bench.

The next game James plays will be in free agency. For now, the big stage still belongs to Bryant and the Lakers.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.