Calkins: LeBron's no-show stings fans

Becky Morris is a hair stylist. Her husband, Justin, sells video security systems. They do not have a lot of money. They have to be careful with what they spend.

But their son, Canon, had an 18th birthday coming up. And Canon Morris loves LeBron James.

“He absolutely adores LeBron,” said Justin. “It has taken some time for him to prefer the Grizzlies to LeBron. He does now, but he still absolutely loves LeBron. So for his 18th birthday, we decided we were going all out.”

They bought tickets to the Grizzlies-Cavaliers game. Not just any tickets, tickets in the lower bowl. And not just any tickets in the lower bowl, tickets — just two tickets — that cost a total of $600.

“It was a special occasion,” said Justin. “We wanted to do it for our son. And then, with the tragedy that happened, it became that much more important to him.”

The tragedy was the death of Eddie McDonald, the recent graduate of Christian Brothers High School who was killed in a shooting outside Country Squire Apartments. Canon and Eddie were best friends. Canon was with Eddie when he died.

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“It’s been extremely emotional for everyone,” said Justin. “They were inseparable. We figured that seeing game would at least be a moment of relief. But then we got the news about LeBron staying home.”

James did not make the trip to Memphis. Neither did Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love. All three players were healthy. All three players were resting in Cleveland as the Grizzlies beat the Cavaliers Wednesday night, 93-85.

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” said Justin. “Apart from our personal situation, people plan and spend a lot of money and sacrifice to pay for tickets. It’s really, really frustrating that teams allow this to happen, that the league allows this to happen. Canon is still enjoying the game — he is being really good about it — but it’s hard not to feel bad for the kid.”

That part, we can all agree on, can’t we? It’s hard not to feel bad for the kid. Or for any kid — or grownup — who shelled out a lot of money to see James, Love, Irving and the World Champion Cavaliers. Instead, they watched Mike Dunleavy, DeAndre Liggins, Channing Frye and the Substitute Cavaliers.

“It’’s not the same,” said Justin Morris.

No, it is not.

And here, we should acknowledge that the Cavaliers could not have known about any particular fan’s personal situation and, indeed, did not do anything other NBA teams don’t do.

The Grizzlies rested Marc Gasol during Tuesday’s game at Cleveland. They rested Mike Conley and Gasol during an earlier game against Minnesota. The San Antonio Spurs — who invented the strategy — have been resting star players for years now.

Indeed, the Spurs have demonstrated the wisdom of the relaxed approach. They have extended the careers and the effectiveness of aging stars. Eighty-two games is too much pounding for the (very large) human body. The NBA schedule is packed with too many back-to-backs.

So the smart thing to do is to pick games to sit star players. That’s what the Cavaliers — who expect to be playing well into June — did Wednesday night. If you’re going to criticize them for sitting their stars against the Grizzlies, you have to criticize the Grizzlies for sitting their stars against the Timberwolves and the Cavs.

But let’s not pretend it doesn’t have an impact. Let’s not pretend that real fans don’t get the shaft.

Anna Rose Baker is 9 years old. She got Griz-Cavs tickets as an early Christmas present.

“She loves the Grizzlies, but she loves LeBron, too,” said her mother, Kimberly Baker. “When the schedule came out, she picked the games she wanted to go to most and the Cavaliers game was at the top of the list. So we made it a priority to get nice seats so she could be closer to LeBron. Tuesday night, when the news came that he would not be here, there were definitely tears.”

Erin Harris is the woman who created the Carpenter Art Garden. She arranged for 40 underprivileged kids to go to the season opener.

“But one boy, Marion, couldn’t go, because he had just moved out of the neighborhood to live with his grandmother,” she said. “He was upset. And then he moved back into the neighborhood because his grandmother died. So I told him he could go to one game. He picked the Cavaliers because of LeBron.”

Brothers Tristan and Jondon Jason — ages 23 and 15 — drove to FedExForum from Fifty-Six, Ark. They paid $391 dollars each for their seats. When they heard LeBron wasn’t going to play, they made a makeshift sign and held it high. It said: “Drove 4 hours and spent $800 to see LeBron and he’s at home.”

Tristan Jason is the one who actually paid for the tickets. He has a job at a hardware store.

“It’s a paycheck,” he said.

One paycheck paid for both tickets?

“No, one paycheck for each ticket,” he said. “But we wanted to see LeBron.”

Those are just five stories of five disappointed fans. There were hundreds — if not thousands — more. The NBA could avoid such stories by reducing the number of games in the season, but that would mean less revenue.

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So people like Marion, people like Anna Rose, people like Canon, people like Trinstan and Jondon, will continue to get their hopes smashed. It’s certainly not the biggest problem in the world. But it seems like a raw deal, doesn’t it? Like something should be done?

In the meantime, the Baker family decided to use it as a lesson, about fandom and about life.

“We told Anna Rose that there will be disappointments,” said Kimberly Baker. “Things happen sometimes. And while you can appreciate sports, and you can love some of the superstars, what is most important is your team. Your Z-Bo is still there. Your Vince is still there. Your JaMychal is still there. Your Marc is still there.

“LeBron is great, but he’s not the Grizzlies. They’re the ones playing for you.”