LeBron and Cleveland's Time is Now

LeBron James is seeking to bring an NBA Championship to a title-deprived city.

With the NBA Eastern Conference Finals set to tip-off tonight, LeBron James and his Cavaliers are set on bringing Cleveland sports fans a title they deserve. The last time a Cleveland team won a championship was the Browns in 1964, and this year's Cavaliers seem to be the best chance they have had in quite some time. The Cavaliers have come through the first two rounds of the playoffs unscathed, unbeaten and untested. They have managed to get halfway to a championship without truly breaking a sweat, behind the exceptional play of their "Big Three." Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love have all been outstanding, albeit against lower-level competition, and will need to continue to get even better in order for the Cavaliers to lift the Larry Brown Trophy this season. Through the first eight games of the postseason, James has averaged 23.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. Irving has put up a team-high 24.2 points to go along with 5.5 assists, while Love has contributed a nightly double-double with 18.9 points and 12.5 rebounds. These three, along with the Cavaliers supporting cast, will undoubtedly be tested more in the coming rounds.

Their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals are the Toronto Raptors, who have survived two very tough 7-game series' in order to reach the third round. Scrapping past the pesky Indiana Pacers and Dwyane Wade-led Miami Heat are impressive results, but, with tired legs, getting past the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Cavaliers is a completely different story. Toronto will need it's two best players, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, to continue to play well in order to have a fighting chance, but even that will likely have them coming up short against a superior group. James and his troops are focused, locked-and-loaded and are not wasting energy in dispatching opponents. Toronto figures to be too physically and mentally drained to put up a real test, and Cleveland should be able to get past them in five games. With the Oklahoma City Thunder winning Game One in Golden State last night, Cleveland has to feel like they are in a good position right now. With the Western Conference Finals shaping up to be a dogfight of six or seven games, the Cavaliers have to love the fact that they are playing a bruised team to reach the NBA Finals. All of the signs are pointing towards the Cavaliers ending their cities' title drought, but they will have to continue to take care of business as favorites. Then, based on the opponent's health and length of the Western Conference Finals, we will have a better understanding of how realistic it is to expect James and the Cavaliers to win an NBA championship.