Sporting News, The: King James must rule with a tighter fist: no one in Cleveland seems to have the

Write this down. Take it to Vegas, take it to some off-shore Internet casino, take it to Knee-breaking Ned, your local bookie: The Cavaliers will make the playoffs next year.

Barring some freakish injury, things cannot get any worse in Cleveland. After a 31-21 start this year, the Cavaliers spiraled out of control, finished 11-19, forked over their playoff spot and left just about everyone involved with the franchise wearing the scarlet "C" (as in choke). General manager Jim Paxson and coach Paul Silas got the tangible brunt of blame--both were fired. New owner Dan Gilbert already has alienated many fans with his knee-jerk reactions. Among the players, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas did nothing to warrant the big-time contract he will seek in the free-agent market this summer, and point guard Jeff McInnis' attitude and lax defense sent his free-agent stock plummeting. Oh, and whatever happened to Jiri Welsch, Lucious Harris and Sasha Pavlovic?

The only Cavaliers employee who has escaped the mudslinging is the savior of Cleveland basketball, the mahatma of the Midwest, LeBron James. That's because he is coming off a terrific season in which he averaged 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists and because his triple double in the Cavs' finale nearly nudged Cleveland into the playoffs. It's also because folks in Cleveland do not want to offend James--he can become a free agent in two years, and no one wants to run the risk of upsetting him.

But someone should. As terrific as James was this season, he is the Cavaliers' franchise player, and when the franchise fails, the leader must accept some blame. Sure, he is 20 years old, and sure, he just finished only his second NBA season. But James bears some responsibility for what happens to his team, for better and worse. The triple double was nice, but how about the six turnovers he committed in a key loss to New Jersey? Or the crushing home loss to the Knicks, in which James shot 2-for-8 with three turnovers as the Cavs blew a 4-point lead in the fourth quarter?

Making the playoffs in the East is not a terribly difficult thing to do--James should have found a way to get it done. As one opposing East assistant coach points out, "LeBron seemed to not trust his teammates more as the year went on, and their offense kind of stopped. It became LeBron on an isolation, again and again, and that wasn't really enough."

Kevin Loughery, who coached the Bulls during Michael Jordan's rookie year, sees a major difference between the young Jordan and the young James. "LeBron James is a great player," Loughery says. "But I don't think Michael Jordan would let his team lose the games that the Cavaliers lost late in the year the way LeBron has. I think, obviously, there are some problems in that locker room, and it could be jealousy around LeBron.

"We had that when Michael was a rookie. He was not easy on his teammates, even in his first year. He would practice hard, he would go all-out all the time, and some guys did not like that. Not all of his teammates liked Michael, but he did not care. They respected him. He would not allow his team to lose games if he could control it. I don't see that in LeBron yet."

Someone in Cleveland needs to say that to James, whether it's the new owner, the new coach, the new general manager or one of the many new players the Cavaliers will add this summer. Don't let James escape blame. Appeal to his competitive instincts. Let the pain of what happened at the end of this season drive him over the summer. Let him stop caring about what his teammates think, the way Jordan did.

Too many people in Cleveland seem to operate in fear of offending James, but the team can't make its decisions based on paranoia over whether James wants to stay with the Cavaliers. James has said he does not want to leave. Besides, the way James' contract is structured, he will be a free agent after 2007, but he will be restricted, meaning the Cavaliers will be able to match any offer and keep him.

James is good enough to lead the Cavaliers to the postseason single-handedly. He will do that next year. But only if someone in Cleveland has the guts to point the finger at him.

speed reads

The Cavaliers and Nets finished tied for the eighth seed in the East, and the Nets won the playoff spot on the head-to-head tiebreaker. But the league should employ the same tiebreaker baseball does--a winner-goes-on game. Cavs vs. Nets would have been a nice playoff appetizer.

The NBA has generous counting methods when it comes to attendance, but the fact the league managed to break the single-season attendance mark is an impressive accomplishment considering big markets New York and Los Angeles are home to lottery-bound teams.

Isiah Thomas has not done much to distinguish his tenure as Knicks head honcho, but he is right when he says he should get at least another year. Thomas just completed his first full season. When he is finished adding big contracts and minimal talent next season, though, he should be fired.

INSIDE DISH

The Bucks got a bit of pleasant news at the end of an otherwise forgettable 30-win season: PG T.J. Ford, who missed the entire season after having surgery on his spine last spring, was able to begin light workouts. Many in Milwaukee feared Ford would not be able to play again, and though that remains an outside possibility, he seems to be on pace to return next season. That would give the Bucks a solid point guard situation, with the speedy Ford and PG Maurice Williams, who's nearly as fast as Ford, and it would allow the Bucks to focus on choosing size in this year's draft. Word is, the team has been impressed by Spanish PF Fran Vazquez. > The Kings are in no rush to give C Brad Miller (leg) lots of playing time, in part because Miller has been sidelined since the beginning of March but also because the Kings have learned the hard way (with SF Peja Stojakovic in 2003 and PF Chris Webber in 2004) that you can't reintroduce major pieces of your lineup on the fly in the playoffs. Sacramento also has been pleased with the play of C Brian Skinner. The problem with Skinner, though, is that he can't be on the floor in crunch-time situations--he shot a miserable 35.7 percent from the free throw line this season. > Last summer, the Bobcats took on the final year of C Jahidi White's contract and received the Cavaliers' 2005 first-round pick for doing so. The pick was supposed to be protected if the Cavaliers did not make the playoffs, but the Bobcats allowed the Cars to remove that restriction so the team could trade for SG Jiri Welsch in February. Now, the Bobcats have a second lottery pick and seem likely to use their first choice on a wing player and their second on a point guard. > The Blazers hope to have SG Sergei Monia on the roster next season but will have to negotiate a buyout of his contract with CSKA Moscow. Monia is only 22 and has a reputation as a tough defender and good shooter, but he plays limited minutes for CSKA and averaged just 5.5 points in Euroleague play. > F Al Harrington says he wants to remain with Atlanta, but the Hawks are learning about Harrington what the Pacers already knew: He is a 'tweener, not athletic enough to be a small forward and not big enough to play power forward. Atlanta likes its young crop of wing players, including SF Josh Smith, SG Josh Childress and even raw G/F Donta Smith. The team also would like to keep SG Boris Diaw from having to play point guard. Harrington fits best as a small forward, but there is no room for him with his younger teammates, which is why the Hawks are expected to deal Harrington this summer.

The 76ers have committed to keeping C Samuel Dalembert, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, and the team has the right to match any offer Dalembert receives. The question is, does Dalembert want to return to Philadelphia? He was the subject of one of coach Jim O'Brien's early-season motivational experiments, in which Dalembert was frequently bounced in and out of the lineup. Dalembert did not appreciate the uncertainty he dealt with, and it probably hurt his development. He will have plenty of offers--Atlanta has cap space and interest, and Seattle is a likely suitor. If Dalembert remains with Philadelphia, he will want some assurance about his role.

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SEAN DEVENEY

sdeveney@sportingnews.com