Hey, Mike Freeman, I'm debating between a delicious porterhouse and a filet mignon, with the latter just to be a pretentious jerk.

Honestly, I'll take a strip.

Morton's?

To clue the rest of you in, Freeman, one of SportsLine's two national columnists, saw my piece guaranteeing this Cavs-Pistons series would go seven games.

He laughed. Maybe you did, too.

I saw no way that the Cavs wouldn't hang around in this series. I saw this as a rivalry that had already been born. He, like most experts, saw it as a one-sided debacle. It really was the classic case of a young team going up against a bunch of veterans, and I understood where everyone was coming from.

Just didn't agree with it. I watched last year's series intently. I've been watching the Detroit Pistons take teams lightly for years.

"If it ain't rough, it ain't right, Chauncey?"

Really?

Well, it's rough now.

Again, as stated in this column right before the series started, the Cavs had already proven to themselves last year that they could play with Detroit. I'm not going to put words in the Pistons' mouths -- Reggie Miller said he feels the Cavs weren't on the Pistons' radar -- but the fact of the matter is that this went seven games last year, and there was no reason to believe that this year would be different.

LeBron James get worse? Anderson Varejao? The Cavs, the top rebounding team pretty much all season, were all of a sudden going to forget how to hit the boards? Mike Brown, a rookie coach last year, wasn't going to learn from his mistakes? He had me worried there for a bit, but he's too bright to for that. Nice job for Brown to keep his guys confident in the face of the missed opportunities in Auburn Hills.

I understand the criticism James faced early in this series because a lot of people want him to fail. We have a multitude of haters in this society, and they resent the fact that a 22-year-old has been crowned without having won anything. I get that, too, but the fact of the matter is that James has never been asked to be compared to Michael Jordan. That's on you, people.

He made a great play in Game 1 and a bad one in Game 2, and you can tell he's learning how to handle all of this. You can see by the huge smile on his face, talking about knocking down big free throws and Rip Hamilton getting in his ear right beforehand, that he's relieved. He's finding his comfort zone. You can only assume that because he's LeBron and you see him on television that he had found it, but the fact of the matter is that these are all learning experiences, and he's starting to break through.

The bottom line is that Cleveland has had an opportunity to win every game in this series. This could have been a sweep. The Cavs could've been swept. But now they're in it. Whether you believe the Cavs are better than people expected or the Pistons are much worse, I'll leave up to you.

But this series is going the distance. It has to. We've only gotten a single elimination game in this great postseason -- Houston/Utah -- and deserve another. Hopefully it turns out to be much better than the Game 7 these two played last year, a Pistons rout. I think Cleveland has proven it's a little more prepared this time around.

Hey Mike, I ran into Michael Wilbon and David Aldridge in Salt Lake City and mentioned you would be joining me at the Finals. They seemed excited, looking forward to seeing you. I am, too.

Morton's. Yum.

LeBron James took another bad shot, but this time his pull-up jumper was on point. But please, stop the Michael Jordan comparisons and acknowledge two things: one, the King isn't His Airness.

Not even close. He doesn't expect to be and the comparisons are unfair.

Secondly, the fact he knocked down the jumper can be partially attributed to his teammates actually showing up and supporting him.

Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden and Andy Varejao decided to join him, making James' jumper, while necessary, not essential. Ideally, James and his supporting cast should be taking pressure off each other, not intensifying it. If the Cavs are going to even this up, that has to continue.

LeBron James let the critics get the best of him.

Fouled or not -- to me, he wasn't -- he took a poor shot, one that was forced.

Despite what James said about not hearing anyone but his teammates and not letting anyone affect his play, he listened, put his head down and tried to draw a whistle that didn't come, and was too inconclusive to be called in Detroit's building.

If they didn't call Rasheed Wallace for his push-off on the eventual game winner -- that was a clear foul -- how could the Cavs expect to get any love on the opposite end? They gambled that there might be a make-up call and lost.

It's unfortunate that it seems like LeBron is damned no matter what he does, but I'm not one of those who likes to crucify him. I trumpeted his decision to pass and go for the win in Game 1.

I hated that he tried to get to the hole to put the result on his shoulders by making a non-LeBron play. It looked like he let the frustration of watching Sasha Pavlovic turn the ball over on the previous possession get the better of him.

Mike Brown said that final play was the right one, and I have to wonder whether he was watching the same second half I was. He sent James out there to go one-on-one knowing the Pistons had found a way to limit him in the second half, consistently putting three bodies in his line of sight to cut off angles. The decision to go for the final shot again was also wrong.

James went early enough to give his team an opportunity to gain the offensive rebound, but it would've made more sense to try and get something early, within the flow of a conventional offense, rather than let the Pistons settle in defensively.

The Cavs were down, not tied.

Another fact that shouldn't be lost in this second consecutive 79-76 loss is that James' teammates failed to bail him out once again. No one is talking about fouls that weren't called if Larry Hughes makes a fairly open 10-footer. Anderson Varejao did his best to get to the loose ball, and I certainly don't fault him for missing a desperation tip. Hughes is a different story.

He choked.

James panicked.

Cleveland is down 2-0 when it should be up 2-0.

Orlando made the long-anticipated decision to remove Brian Hill as head coach, offering him the dreaded "position within the organization" consolation prize.

At face value, this seems like a surprising decision, but anyone who watched the Magic barely make the playoffs after a 13-4 start could see this coming as early as early as the All-Star break. The fact of the matter is that Orlando never improved at all this season, somehow surviving being ranked 29th in the league in turnovers to make the playoffs.

Hill did have injuries to deal with, but teeter-tottered between Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo at the point, relied on awful isolation plays to pull out games in the closing seconds and failed to maximize the full abilities of All-Star Dwight Howard, who went through stretches where he completely disappeared.

General manager Otis Smith made no effort to hide his displeasure with the team's inability to secure a playoff spot until the final week of the regular season after leading the Eastern Conference all of November. The team had been vague about whether Hill would be back since being swept out of the postseason by Detroit, and on Wednesday afternoon, team president Bob Vander Weide dropped the ax.

Hill failed to win a championship with Shaquille O'Neal, a healthy Penny Hardaway and Horace Grant, getting swept out of the 1995 Finals. Ultimately, that will go down as the high point of his two stints in Orlando, with the low point being a Hardaway-led revolt that led to Hill's firing in 1997. I've always said, if he couldn't win with Shaq and Penny, is it realistic to expect him to win with a young Orlando team?

Apparently, after little progress over the course of the second season of his second stint, the Magic decided that answer is no.

The Magic will now search for a replacement, and public sentiment will force them to reach out and gauge University of Florida coach Billy Donovan's interest in the position. That would be the home run the organization needs. He's met with Memphis, and will now hear from Orlando -- if he hasn't already.

Should he look to stay put, the next name on the list might be former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, who has had success coaching a dominant big man and is ready to get back in the game. Former Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is enjoying his time as an analyst for ESPN, but would dive back into the coaching fraternity given the right opportunity.

Given the Magic's desire to win right now, it would be surprising to see them go for any first-time head coaches, unless Donovan somehow bites.

In other coaching news, it looks like Sam Vincent will become Charlotte's next head man, which should come as no surprise. If you scroll down a few entries, you'll see he was rumored to have climbed to the top of Michael Jordan's list for days now.

In a matter of minutes, the Portland Trail Blazers became a franchise to take seriously for the next decade, with a potential post combination of LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden now likely.

Meanwhile, fans in Memphis, Boston and Phoenix were bit by enormous disappointment.

The disastrous season the Grizzlies suffered through yielded just the No. 4 pick, while the Celtics, accused of tanking down the stretch, fell all the way to No. 5.

The Suns, dreaming of a top-five pick to add to their arsenal, wound up with nothing. Atlanta, although disappointed not to wind up with either Oden or Kevin Durant, will at least get to keep the lottery pick it would've had to give to Phoenix as part of the Joe Johnson trade. Phoenix sure does keep getting screwed by the NBA.

Here's my very early top five, with a full mock draft soon to follow:

1. Portland: Greg Oden, C, Ohio State
2. Seattle: Kevin Durant, F, Texas
3. Atlanta: Al Horford, F, Florida
4. Memphis: Brandan Wright, F, North Carolina
5. Boston: Yi Jianlian, F/C, China.

Rick Adelman has scooped up the best gig available on the coaching market, replacing Jeff Van Gundy in Houston. Consider this fate looking out for someone who should have never been out of work in the first place.

Sacramento made a mistake in letting him go after eight consecutive playoff berths, and is currently in the toilet. The Kings are again looking for a head coach after dismissing Adelman's successor, Eric Musselman.

Adelman is now sitting pretty after laying low for a year, inheriting Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. The hiring of an offensive-minded head coach, the first major move of the Daryl Morey era as GM, is rumored to be more owner Les Alexander's call. Seems he grew tired of Van Gundy's conservative defense-oriented philosophy.

Adelman is a winner who reached a pair of NBA Finals with Portland and got to the Western Conference finals once with Sacramento. He has won four Pacific Division titles. At this point, Houston is just trying to get out of the first round of the playoffs, something Van Gundy failed to do in his four years on the job. Adelman hasn't gotten out of a first round since 2004, so he's looking to end a drought, too.

It's hard to guarantee that he'll be successful immediately, considering that Houston still has holes to fill and the Western Conference promises to remain loaded. But based on track record, you have to like his chances, particularly since Yao is now entering his prime.

In other coaching nuggets, Sam Mitchell is staying put in Toronto, which means Indiana and Charlotte will have to look elsewhere. Sam Vincent might wind up being Michael Jordan's choice to lead the Bobcats.

Sacramento would be wise to jump on Phoenix assistant Marc Iavaroni, who met with Memphis owner Michael Heisley last week and was rumored to be less than thrilled with the Grizzlies' offer.

I understand the pressure involved and all, but how does a professional miss an open look like Donyell Marshall had on Cleveland's final possession?

I bet it winds up costing the Cavs the series.

Kudos to Mike Brown for calling that play. Kudos to LeBron James for making that pass, and shame on Marshall for missing.

"That's the play we didn't want to happen," Rip Hamilton told TNT's Craig Sager after the game. "We wanted everyone to stay home."

Rasheed Wallace saw James heading for the basket and bit. It was a major goof. Marshall had about 6 feet of space, and just didn't make him pay for it.

Cleveland will still push this series to the limit, but now I'm certain the Cavs won't win. If you're going to pull off a postseason upset, you have to take advantage of your opportunities. Detroit gift-wrapped a potential game winner, and Marshall failed to pull the ribbon.

The game was played at the Cavaliers' pace, barely reaching 80. Remember, Detroit doesn't have Ben Wallace anymore. The Pistons are no longer compromised offensively. The Cavs are better equipped to grind games out, especially since they won the battle of the boards, dominating on the offensive end.

Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were the best big men in the contest. Cleveland stayed in it despite James not getting to the free-throw line at all. Bottom line, this is a game that the Cavs had to steal, and Marshall's miss prevented that from happening.

Now on to James, and the criticism he'll no doubt face. Placing the caveat that there were some calls he should've received, how does one of the NBA's most unstoppable penetrators not get to the line? He's like a human train, and although Detroit did accomplish its goal of making him see multiple defenders at all times, the new-school Jordan rules, James has to find a way to get to the line.

That being said, I don't blame him for this. It's too easy to say that when the game is on the line he needs to be the one taking the big shot because he wears No. 23 and is the best player on the floor. Let's all remember that he came into the NBA saying that if he had to compare himself to anyone, he's more Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan.

He played the role of facilitator, somewhat to excess, but with the game on the line, he stayed in character and made the right play, finding Marshall in the corner.

Marshall let him and all of Cleveland down. If he makes that shot, no one is criticizing James, and the Cavaliers are up 1-0.

Detroit is among the strangest teams in the history of basketball.

But don't try figuring what the Pistons want. They can't be fit in a square box, or a rectangular box, or a circular box.

Just understand they're moving on to their fifth consecutive conference finals, something no one has done since Boston achieved the feat since 1988.

This puts this current Pistons team, one who has enjoyed three different head coaches, among the best basketball teams of their era. At the same time, they have won just a single championship, so this team still has plenty to build on as far as their legacy is concerned.

That's why accolades don't matter to this bunch. They know full well what their short-comings are, and know that unless this season produces a championship, this season promises to take away more than it can potentially provide.

The Pistons are expected to reach the conference finals, and there is no room for error against the Cleveland/New Jersey winner in the next matchup. Expectations dictate that they would get past teams that haven't experienced the highest levels of basketball, trying their hand against the heavily favored Western Conference champ, no matter who that is.

Of course, that's as debatable as their status as the Eastern Conference's flag-bearer. While they might be the team best equipped to extend the East's run of NBA titles, nothing is guaranteed. As a result, they wallow in infamy as the greatest team no one respects.

They like it that way, too. Told you they were strange.

In a result very few saw coming -- though I must confess, I did pick New Jersey to win Game 5 -- there has to be someone to cast blame upon.

Cleveland, at home, allowed the Nets to dictate tempo. The Cavs allowed easy layups. They spoon-fed them a voucher to get back in the series. They played like a team that wasn't ready. Despite not allowing a New Jersey field goal for roughly the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, they barely scratched back within single digits. Their effort was embarrassing.

So, who to blame?

Gee, I wonder ...

How about LeBron James, who played the worst postseason game of his career in a potential close-out game, never setting the tone, committing more turnovers than anyone on his team, failing to lead?

Sorry, but that's too easy.

James has not gotten all of the credit for the Cavaliers surprising the Nets to this point, closing in on the Eastern Conference finals. Sure, the King has been brilliant, but he had help.

That same help, Zydrunas Ilgauskas aside, failed miserably in Game 5. Larry Hughes, whose effort keeping up with Jason Kidd has been instrumental in the series, would've done his team a great service by simply not showing up. While Kidd was the best player on the floor, Hughes was the worst, shooting 3-for-17.

He's not the only one, though. Drew Gooden was dominated by Mikki Moore. The Cleveland bench came close to being outscored by Boki Nachbar's first-quarter 3-point barrage.

It was a collective collapse. There's no other way to spin it.

So, what should this tell you? That Cleveland isn't ready? That things aren't meant to be this simple for a team looking to make its first conference finals since James was 7 years old?

Maybe. What it shouldn't tell you is that James is not a clutch player or that the Cavaliers are not ready. I won't grant you those presumptions. New Jersey might push this to seven, but it's not winning this series.

That's where choking and blame would come in. Cleveland has been good enough to buy itself some wiggle room. Unfortunately, it made use of it on Wednesday night.

Kobe Bryant is media savvy, so don't try and come back and sell me in a few weeks that what he said late Wednesday night came out of frustration.

It came out of frustration alright, but it was months of frustration, years of frustration, not just a bad Game 5. What he said was calculated. It was defiant. It was an order.

What did he say?

"If you're going to do something do it now," Bryant said in message to the Lakers front office, stunning a group of reporters into silence.

Asked what he meant, he responded that "it's been three years and we're still at Ground Zero," and wondering aloud what direction the Lakers organization wants to go.

Translation: Fix this now.

Fix this now because I'm not going out like Kevin Garnett. In fact, get me Kevin Garnett.

Bryant has issued a mandate that Jerry Buss, Mitch Kupchak and Co. better look alive. He's not about to waste his best years rebuilding and waiting on help from Kwame Brown or Andrew Bynum. Get them out of town, and get a superstar into help.

"Big summer," Bryant said.

Translation: I'm issuing another trade demand.

The Shaquille O'Neal thing didn't work out so well, but I've matured, I realize that winning is everything and I'm tired and frustrated that I'm the most scrutinized player in the gain and get absolutely no love. Paid idiots like Tony Mejia can write whatever they want about me and look like geniuses, because my team doesn't win.

Because this team they have around me can't win.

Everyone is right, I can't do this alone, and I'm tired of looking like a fool for trying.

Fix this now.

Can't get Garnett? Try for Jermaine O'Neal.

"If you're going to do something do it now."

The rebuilding is over.

At least you know he's willing to share the spotlight now.