Rock Bottom

I'm hesitant to even post this but I'm going to because A) it's all over twitter and message boards anyways and B) it kinda/sorta makes sense.

The rumor? From a site called Terez Owens(?):Delonte West is sleeping with Gloria James (you know things are on the up and up if there's no paragraph break):

In what is truly a disturbing story, comes exclusive Terez Owens news that LeBron’s teammate Delonte West is sleeping with LeBron’s Mother Gloria James..Yes, this is the purported story coming from my source in Cleveland..My source explains the following.”My uncle is the general contractor at the Q and has been for the last 7 years. He’s good friends with a lot of guys at the Q, including some of the bigger boys in the organization and knows Dan Gilbert personally.My uncle has been told that Delonte has been banging Gloria James (Lebron’s Mom) for some time now. Somehow Lebron found out before game four and it destroyed their chemistry and divided the team. I am not making this up, I wish it wasn’t true but it happened. .” With Delonte West’s checkered past, LeBron can be none too pleased with his teammate and good friend hanging with his Mother… The Cavs definitely looked like a different squad from game 4 on..especially LeBron…coincidence, or did this really just happen? Maybe this is the reason LeBron’s leaving Cleveland..-TO

So there it is. This is all over the internet ("Delonte" is a trending topic on Twitter right now) and lord knows if this is true or how credible this is.

But here's the thing, it kinda, sorta makes sense.

If you listened to the Windhorst podcasts I linked to, he mentions how LeBron is just in an extended bad mood. That James is just in a funk and no one knows why. Well, this would certainly explain it, no?

Then there's the fact that both he and Delonte played horrible after Game 3 (and really, Delonte was awful). The Big Lead posts the following:

Rumor has it that LeBron found out before Game 4 which is where the entire series changed. Delonte West stopped playing as much and LeBron’s numbers fell of a cliff. Here are Delonte West’s minutes in the playoffs:

First Round vs. Bulls
Game 1 – 24
Game 2 – 27
Game 3 – 30
Game 4 – 26
Game 5 -31

Second Round vs. Celtics
Game 1 – 27
Game 2 -31
Game 3 – 29
Game 4 – 20
Game 5 – 9
Game 6 – 14

That’s a pretty noticeable drop off for a guy that played 42 minutes a game during last season’s playoffs. This season he played 25 minutes a game during the regular season for the 61-win Cavs. Why does one of the Cavs’ best players suddenly fall out of the rotation in the most important games of the season?

As for LeBron’s performance… Going into Game 4 against the Celtics, LeBron was shooting 55 percent and had scored around 32 points a game in the playoffs. In games 4, 5, and 6 he shot a combined 33 percent and scored just 21 points a game. He was standing around on offense and when he was trying, it didn’t look like the old LeBron James.

Suddenly, in Game 4, Delonte West stopped playing the majority of the games and LeBron James completely stopped playing like LeBron James.I assumed he was hurt worse than initially reported, but Danny Ferry says he won’t be having surgery.

Again, Delonte was just awful these last two games. In games 4, 5 and 6 he shot 1-12 and scored 8 points and his defense was horrendous (he was getting beat off the dribble by the likes of Ray Allen). He didn't look himself these past few games (he was quite tentative on the court).

Of course, it's just as likely that Delonte's minutes were yanked around simply because Mike Brown is a terrible coach (who's not fired... yet) and was just showing shit up against the wall to see what stuck (Boobie Gibson... did not stick).

Again, I'm hesitant to even post this, but if you're on Twitter or Facebook or any Cavalier message board, you're sure to come across it anyways.

I need a shower.