Superman waning

OK. Now you can say it's over.

Probably. Indubitably. Almost certainly.

The NBA Finals came to Cleveland last night, and this time the storyline made the trip. Warriors 110, Cavs 102 in Game 3, and now Golden State is up 3-0 and it's no one's idea of a hot take to say the Warriors likely are going to sweep.

That's because it's become glaringly obvious that not even Superman can lift the Cavaliers beyond themselves, no matter how Super he is. LeBron James did his LeBron thing again last night, putting up 33 points and 11 assists and 10 rebounds and two blocks and two steals. And again it wasn't enough.

That's because it's also become glaringly obvious the Cavs are what they are, a bunch of spare parts who would never have gotten within a light year of the Finals if LeBron hadn't all but burned out the highest setting of Hero Mode. Needing to hit more open looks to keep the Warriors at arm's length, they went 8-of-24 from the arc last night. Throw out LeBron's 13-of-28 shooting, and the rest of the Cavs were 27-of-64 from everywhere.

That's 42 percent. At home. Not nearly good enough, but probably the best they're capable of.

Little wonder that James finally vented a little frustration the other day, when asked by a reporter why he was so disengaged in the huddle before overtime in Game 1. Why wasn't he in there trying to lift his teammates? Why wasn't he (in so many words) being a better leader?

LeBron's reaction to this splendid bit of nitpickery was to basically say "Are you serious with this stuff?" Said he was carrying the weight as much as he could, and how much more did you want him to do? Said this was the NBA Finals, which means no one should have to lift you up.

For this he was gnawed on by the usual radio chipmunks, which prompted the Blob to echo LeBron: Are you people serious with this stuff? The cold fact is, he was absolutely correct, if not exactly politic, in everything he said. He has carried this team as much as he could, as anyone with a working set of eyeballs should be able to see. It is the NBA Finals, which means no one should have  to lift you up.

His teammates are, after all, alleged professionals, not 7-year-olds playing for orange slices. Shouldn't they bear some responsibility for lifting themselves? And, good heavens, given the way his teammates had just so spectacularly let him down there in Game 1, does even Superman not get a pass for being ever-so-briefly human?

Hey, he was disgusted. He was pissed. He had a moment. It happens.

Even Superman, after all, had his Kryptonite.