With last night’s triumphant 98-82 win over the Detroit Pistons, the Cavaliers asserted themselves as the best team in the East and LeBron James asserted himself as a superstar who has taken his game to the next level. Earlier in this series, LeBron caught a lot of flak from the media about not being the guy who took the pivotal shot or someone who wasn’t taking the game into his own hands. Over these last two games, however, we’ve seen just how dominant LeBron can be.

Last night, LeBron was being double teamed by Detroit Pistons essentially from the start. Every time he touched the ball, it seemed like he would get tag teamed by two defenders like he stole something. In my opinion this is where the true superstar emerged. We saw his super human effort in game five that resulted in him scoring 29 of the last 30 Cavalier points and stealing game five in Detroit. Detroit’s answer to that was to swarm LeBron and not let him get good looks, and that’s exactly what they did.

20 points, 14 boards, 8 assists, 2 blocks. That was LeBron’s line last night. The one thing that has been a glaring weakness for the Cavaliers is that they have never had a reliable second option for LeBron. Making a run at Michael Redd was a great idea last off season, but settling for Larry Hughes just hasn’t worked out. Hughes is way too streaky of a shooter to be effective in big time situations. Daniel Gibson, a man who has emerged as a star in the making during this series, became that second option last night and made Detroit pay. This, in my opinion, is what the Cavs could look like if there was always that second option for LeBron. When he drew the double team, he kicked it to Gibson who buried three pointer after three pointer in Detroit’s mug, and put the game completely out of reach.

They say that a superstar is someone who makes everyone else around them better, and that’s exactly what we saw last night. It wasn’t LeBron versus five like it had been for the majority of the series. This time it was LeBron and Gibson versus five with Sideshow Bob/Justin Guarini clone Anderson Varejao doing some gumpy and awkward shit under the hoop every now and then. This is where the King James dynasty has begun. If Gibson really is the talented second shooter that the Cavs have been longing for and a guy who is going to draw even the slightest bit of attention off LeBron, then the Cavs could be evolving from a good team to a great time right before our eyes. And how gratifying was it to watch King James hoist the trophy after the game? Finally, a guy who has pretty much rebuilt Cleveland basketball with his own hands is rewarded with a trip to the NBA Finals. For all the criticism he has drawn during this series, it’s finally his time to shine in the Finals. For how hard LeBron has worked this series to answer every question critics have thrown at him, it’s hard not to feel good for the 22 year old who is showing shades of….dare I say….Jordan qualities. Most people said that Golden State was the feel good story of the playoffs, but I’m going with the Cavs. I can’t root against LeBron, not after his efforts in game five and not after his efforts in game six. This guy is special, and I can’t wait to watch him on the stage of the NBA finals. Now, it’s time to get ready for San Antonio. Are you a witness? I know I am.