Bulls Crash the Boards, Bash the Cavs
On Sunday, LeBron James scored 37 points as
Cleveland beat Chicago 95-86 despite being without Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic, each of whom missed the game due to injury. Those players also were not able to play in Thursday's rematch and this time the Bulls defeated the Cavs 107-96. Luol Deng and Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 23 points each, while James finished with 39 points, three rebounds and one assist; if Kobe Bryant put up a stat line like that, a lot of people would say that he played a selfish, one dimensional game but that is nonsense: great players read the defense and react accordingly. James shot 13-27 from the field, while the other Cavs shot just 20-57, so there were not many assists to be had. Combined with his 50 points versus the Knicks on Wednesday, James has scored 89 points in his last two games, the most a player has scored in consecutive games since Bryant dropped 60 and 50 at Memphis and New Orleans last March.
This game was not decided by James' scoring or his passing; it was decided on the backboards, where Chicago enjoyed a 56-48 rebounding advantage, including a 21-14 edge in offensive rebounds. Joakim Noah had a game-high 20 rebounds, 10 offensive and 10 defensive. Five of Deng's eight rebounds came on the offensive glass. The formula for Cleveland's success is defense, rebounding and the brilliance of James. An oft-repeated statistic this season is that the Cavs are 0-6 without James but most people fail to mention that rebounder/defender Anderson Varejao also missed several of those games. Why is that significant? Prior to Thursday's game, the Cavs were 18-9 with Varejao and 17-17 without him; they enjoyed a +3.5 ppg differential with him but were outscored by 3.5 ppg without him. There is a widely believed myth that James basically carried the Cavs to last year's Finals all by himself--and the same people who are foolish enough to believe that are the ones who predicted that Cleveland would not make the playoffs this year. The reality is that during last year's playoff run James carried a heavy offensive load--as both a scorer and playmaker--but Cleveland's frontcourt rotation of Ilgauskas-Varejao-Drew Gooden played a vitally important role in terms of rebounding and defense.
From Cleveland's standpoint, the theory behind the recent three way trade with Chicago and Seattle that shipped out Gooden, Larry Hughes and four other players in exchange for Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith and Delonte West is this: the frontcourt rotation of Ilgauskas-Wallace-Varejao-Smith has more depth, West will relieve James of some ballhandling responsibilities by helping to push the ball up the court in transition and Szczerbiak will provide three point shooting. If all of those things turn out to be true, then this will be a good deal for Cleveland but it is important to understand how well Cleveland's previous frontcourt rotation played and how important Hughes was as a perimeter defender. Perhaps Cleveland's rebounding problems on Thursday were simply a function of Ilgauskas not playing and/or James not rebounding as well as he usually does--but the point of the trade was precisely to have enough depth to compensate for when the team is shorthanded up front for whatever reason. Wallace and Varejao did have 10 rebounds each but they also only combined to score six points on 3-15 field goal shooting. The nice thing about having Ilgauskas and Gooden is that they not only rebound but each of them can make a 15 foot jump shot. The "new" Cavs frontcourt may look better and deeper on paper but the question is whether or not it will look better on the court during the playoffs. I understand what General Manager Danny Ferry was thinking when he made the deal but I still am not sold that it significantly improved the team.
In addition to working out the frontcourt chemistry--and getting everybody healthy at the same time--the Cavs have to be concerned about who will be the team's lockdown perimeter defender. Maybe you saw the highlight clip of Ben Gordon freezing James at the foul line with a fake and then blowing by him to the hoop. That is going to be a recurring theme in the playoffs when the Cavs face the likes of Ray Allen and Richard Hamilton, who are bigger and more skilled than the sometimes erratic Gordon.
The Bulls held James to 3-12 field goal shooting in the second half, keeping him out of the paint and off of the free throw line, and they outscored Cleveland 60-45. Yes, it's just one game, but the Cavs showed weaknesses in the very areas that I questioned as soon as this trade was announced. Cleveland Coach Mike Brown was not at all pleased with what he saw: "We've got to dig down deep and find out who we want to be. Play 110 to 115 on the road and win sometimes and look pretty winning? Or do we want to be a playoff team that's going to go far in the playoffs and have a chance to compete for an NBA championship? Get ugly and dirty sometimes by getting stops first and figure out how to score second. It's very concerning for me right now."
The Cavs are 4-3 with their new players (they also won a shorthanded game after the trade when various players had not yet been cleared to play by the league); they started out the calendar year 15-7. The "old" Cavs went 2-1 versus Boston and 0-1 versus Detroit; the "new" Cavs are 0-1 versus Boston and will face Detroit three times before the regular season ends. Keep in mind that the "old" Cavs beat Detroit in six games in last year's playoffs--rattling off four straight wins--and even as an inexperienced team they extended Detroit to seven games in the 2006 playoffs.
Labels: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James
posted by David Friedman @ 6:55 AM
Kobe Bryant Rallies Support for Darfur
You may have already seen the PSA that Kobe Bryant just did regarding the genocide that the Sudanese government has been committing for years in the Darfur region. If you missed it, you can check it out here:
Darfur/Kobe Bryant PSAAccording to a press release that I received from Hunter Payne, the founder of the non-profit organization
Aid Still Required, "Bryant joins NBA notables Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Luol Deng, Derek Fisher, Baron Davis, Grant Hill, Derek Fisher, Emeka Okafor, Andrew Bynum and many more in speaking out about the atrocities. Celebrities and dignitaries involved in similar advocacy include Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Sheryl Crow, Mia Farrow, Common, Ellen DeGeneres, Donovan McNabb, Jessica Biel, Don Cheadle, Desmond Tutu, Barack Obama and President Bush. A few weeks ago Steven Spielberg quit his Beijing Olympics Artistic Director position in protest of China’s policies regarding Darfur. Between 200,000 and 450,000 people have been slaughtered in Darfur over the past five years and 2.5 million have fled to refugee camps...Cleveland Cavaliers forward Ira Newble began the NBA players Darfur campaign late last season by writing a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao asking him to use his considerable influence on Sudan to stop the violence. 12 Cavaliers signed the letter, the notable exception being LeBron James, who said at the time he needed to know about the situation more before signing. Separately last summer Newble and Tracy McGrady traveled to refugee camps in Chad on the Darfur border. Both have professed their trips to be life-altering. 15 NBA players have taped public service announcements, all calling for support."
Anything that increases public awareness of the horrors of Darfur is important and could still potentially save thousands of lives; as Edmund Burke once wrote, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." That said, I must disagree with one of the premises cited in the aforementioned press release, namely that the crisis in Darfur is primarily related to drought conditions there and a lack of "sustained economic development." While those issues do indeed need to be addressed, what has been going on in Darfur for years while most of the rest of the world shut its collective eyes is nothing less than state-sponsored genocide being committed by Sudan's Arab/Muslim government against ethnic African communities within its borders. This has been documented for quite some time. For instance,
an April 27, 2004 fact sheet from the U.S. State Department declared, "The international community can no longer ignore the violence and atrocities taking place in Darfur. For more than 20 years the people of Sudan have been witness to a civil war between the Government of Sudan in the north and the Sudan’s Peoples Liberation Movement/Army stationed in the south. Now as both sides are close to the signing of an agreement that would end the conflict in the country, the Sudanese government, using supported Jingaweid (Arab) militia groups, are systematically killing, looting and destroying ethnic African communities in the western Darfur region of the country."
Basically, the Sudanese government has used the region's very real economic and ecological problems as a pretext to commit ethnic cleansing against a non-Arab, non-Muslim population that it considers to be undesirable. For that reason, simply sending aid to the region is not enough, because the Sudanese government will not equitably distribute that aid, as the above report noted: "Government forces obstructed the flow of humanitarian assistance to the Darfur region. Many thousands of civilians fled into Chad and were without access to any aid because of continued fighting. The UN reported that there has been a total disengagement of Government administration and suspension of all services in non-Arab villages in Darfur. However, no such measures have taken place in Arab villages located in the Darfur region. For example, South Darfur/West Darfur border, non-Arab and ethnic Fur villages in the vicinity are without services but a largely Arab village only four kilometers away has full services complete with schools, health and administrative facilities."
It is worth noting that Sudan is ruled by an authoritarian government controlled by the National Congress Party, which used to be known more descriptively as the National Islamic Front; that group has been in charge of the country for two decades and in the 1990s they provided sanctuary for Osama bin Laden. Perhaps it is not fashionable to speak of good and evil but the horrors of Darfur are not simply the result of ecological and economic problems; these atrocities have been committed at the direction of evil Sudanese leaders and their followers who are determined to completely destroy defenseless ethnic communities in Sudan. I seriously doubt that this genocide will be stopped until that fact is understood and the international community finds the necessary backbone to deal with this issue aggressively; for instance, the political and military leaders who are responsible for this genocide should be put on trial just like the Nazi war criminals and perpetrators of the Khmer Rouge massacres were brought to justice.
Labels: Aid Still Required, Darfur, Ira Newble, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady
posted by David Friedman @ 6:16 PM
NBA Leaderboard, Part XVI
The Celtics just became the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season, in the process winning their season series with the Pistons 2-1. However, anyone who assumes that Boston-Detroit will be the Eastern Conference Finals matchup should pay attention to the exploits of the player who just posted only the third 50 point, 10 assist game since the 1976-77 NBA-ABA merger--LeBron James, who is engaged with Kobe Bryant in one of the most exciting MVP battles in years; for once it seems that most people actually understand who the top two contenders for the award should be.
Best Five Records
-------------------
1) Boston Celtics, 47-12--clinched playoff berth
2) Detroit Pistons, 44-17
3) San Antonio, 42-17
4) L.A. Lakers, 43-18
5) New Orleans, 41-19
With a four game lead over the Pistons and the aforementioned 2-1 victory in the season series, the Celtics have all but locked up the number one seed in the East; if they go just 12-11 in their last 23 games then the Pistons have to go 16-5 to pass them. The Pistons are 6-4 in their last 10 games and the Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10, including an active six game winning streak. Out west, matters are much less clear. The Spurs and Lakers are in a virtual tie, with the Hornets just 1.5 games behind and the surging Rockets--owners of an NBA season-best 16 game winning streak--suddenly just 2.5 games behind. In case you're wondering, at the other end of the spectrum in the chase for the most Draft Lottery ping pong balls, Miami "leads" with an 11-47 record, including 2-8 in the last 10 games. Minnesota is right there, though, with a 12-48 record and a matching 2-8 mark in the last 10 games. Memphis "gained" one game by going 1-9 in the last 10 games but the Grizzlies are 2.5 games off of the pace with a 15-46 record. After Miami's 108-83 home loss to Toronto on Wednesday, Coach Pat Riley said that his team's effort was "so unprofessional it was ridiculous," adding, "I've got to ferret out the guys who really don't care. I've got to ferret them out of here and just put them on the bench and bring in a bunch of young guys...The season's over for them. That's how they're playing, some of them, anyhow." He also said that he feels like personally writing refund checks to each of the team's season ticket holders. The Raptors played without All-Star Chris Bosh, while the Heat actually had two All-Stars, though neither of them played like one (Dwyane Wade had 16 points, four assists and five turnovers, while Shawn Marion grabbed 14 rebounds but only scored five points on 2-7 field goal shooting).
Top Ten Scorers (and a few other notables)
------------------
1) LeBron James, CLE 30.6 ppg
2) Kobe Bryant, LAL 28.3 ppg
3) Allen Iverson, DEN 26.8 ppg
4) Carmelo Anthony, DEN 25.9 ppg
5) Dwyane Wade, MIA 24.4 ppg
6) Amare Stoudemire, PHX 23.9 ppg
7) Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 23.6 ppg
8) Michael Redd, MIL 23.4 ppg
9) Richard Jefferson, NJN 23.0 ppg
10) Chris Bosh, MIA 22.6 ppg
12) Yao Ming, HOU 22.0 ppg
25) Paul Pierce, BOS 20.4 ppg
33) Kevin Durant, SEA 19.5 ppg
37) Ray Allen, BOS 18.4 ppg
LeBron James pretty much has the scoring title wrapped up. He is having a marvelous season but Kobe Bryant is still a more potent threat from both three point range and the free throw line. Does anyone seriously doubt that Bryant could still average 32 ppg or more if the Lakers needed him to do so? Bryant's league-leading 35.4 ppg and 31.6 ppg efforts the past two seasons did not lead to him winning the MVP--allegedly because of his team's record--so how can James beat out Bryant this year for MVP honors when Bryant is the leading player on a team that is in the hunt for the best record in the Western Conference? Whether the MVP is judged by recent standards--best player on a team that wins 50-plus games--or the standard that I have consistently employed (the most skilled player in the league/the player who has the fewest weaknesses), Bryant should be the choice. That does not take anything away from James, who certainly is having an MVP-caliber season; in fact, he is performing at a higher level now than any of the three previous MVP winners did.
Dirk Nowitzki's scoring average has been climbing steadily and now that he has Jason Kidd feeding him the ball he may very well crack the top five on this list by the end of the season.
Kevin Durant recently asked what his critics expect from him. Here is my list:
1) Stop jacking up bad shots
2) Pay attention to aspects of defense beyond occasionally poaching in the passing lanes and getting weakside shot blocks
3) Improve your three point shot or stop taking so many of them
4) Get stronger so that you can draw more free throw attempts and grab more rebounds
5) Work on your ballhandling and passing so that you can reverse your TO/Ast ratio (which is currently 2.9/2.3, simply horrible for a shooting guard; at the very least it should be an Ast/TO ratio, not the other way around)
Top Ten Rebounders (and a few other notables)
----------------------
1) Dwight Howard, ORL 14.5 rpg
2) Marcus Camby, DEN 13.9 rpg
3) Chris Kaman, LAC 13.1 rpg
4) Tyson Chandler, NOH 12.3 rpg
5) Al Jefferson, MIN 11.7 rpg
6) Tim Duncan, SAS 11.6 rpg
7) Emeka Okafor, CHA 11.1 rpg
8) Yao Ming, Hou 10.8 rpg
9) Carlos Boozer, UTA 10.8 rpg
10) Antawn Jamison, WAS 10.3 rpg
14) Al Horford, ATL 10.0 rpg
23) Ben Wallace, CLE/CHI 8.8 rpg
26) Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 8.7 rpg
32) LeBron James, CLE 8.1 rpg
34) Jason Kidd, DAL/NJN 7.9 rpg
Dwight Howard has a good but not insurmountable lead over Marcus Camby. After a slow start, Tim Duncan may inch his way into the top five soon. The top ten has stayed the same recently, but Yao will soon drop out due to not meeting minimum requirements for rebounds or games played.
Top Ten Playmakers
----------------------
1) Steve Nash, PHX 11.4 apg
2) Chris Paul, NOH 10.8 apg
3) Jason Kidd, DAL/NJN 10.4 apg
4) Deron Williams, UTA 10.1 apg
5) Jose Calderon, TOR 8.6 apg
6) Jamaal Tinsley, IND 8.4 apg
7) Baron Davis, GSW 8.0 apg
8) LeBron James, CLE 7.5 apg
9) Allen Iverson, DEN 7.2 apg
10) Chauncey Billups, DET 7.2 apg
Although Yao will inevitably be dropped from the scoring and rebounding leaderboards, the NBA has a much lower minimum standard for the assists leaderboard (70 games or 400 assists by year end, a standard that is pro-rated for in-season leaderboards; the rebounding standard is 70 games or 800 rebounds); Jamaal Tinsley remains on the list despite only playing in 39 games so far. He obviously has no shot at playing in 70 games but he only needs 74 total assists to qualify for the year end leaderboard.
Note: All statistics are from ESPN.com
Labels: Boston Celtics, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Steve Nash
posted by David Friedman @ 6:08 AM
Nuggets Eclipse Suns, 126-113
Wednesday night's ESPN game provided a good opportunity to check out two of the most enigmatic teams in the West: the perennially underachieving Denver Nuggets and the new-look Phoenix Suns. Phoenix arrived in Denver for the second half of a back to back after beating the Blazers in Portland 97-92 on Tuesday, while the Nuggets have been off since they lost 103-89 at Houston on Sunday. You can dismiss the concept of a "scheduling loss" if you insist but one of the big differences between playoff basketball and regular season basketball is the amount of time off between games. In any case, Phoenix led by as many as eight points in the first quarter but the Nuggets took control with a 16-0 second quarter run and cruised to a 126-113 victory, dropping the Suns to 3-5 since they traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal.
Many people were skeptical of the O'Neal trade even before any games were played and now the doubters are out in full force. Before we even analyze what is happening on the court, let's do a "Woody Paige" and look at the schedule: the first loss of the Suns' Shaq era came at the hands of the Lakers, one of the hottest teams in the league; that was followed by a win against Boston--the team with the league's best record--and then a loss to Detroit, the second best team in the East at the moment. The third loss came in New Orleans in the second game of a back to back. Philadelphia delivered the fourth loss; that looks bad, because the Sixers are currently just 28-33--but the Sixers have won 10 of their last 13 (admittedly, several of those victories were against weak teams). The Nuggets, fighting for their very playoff lives in the super competitive West, provided loss number five of the Shaq era.
Before the Nuggets-Suns game, Hubie Brown assessed O'Neal's impact so far, pointing out that the Suns were the worst rebounding team in the league before acquiring Shaq but that they now have a positive rebounding differential. Brown noted that this advantage on the glass has been translated into improved fast break production. O'Neal had a season-high 18 rebounds against Denver and the Suns outrebounded the Nuggets 40-39. O'Neal also scored 12 points on 5-6 field goal shooting and looked more mobile and active than he has at any time this season. The problem for the Suns was that the Nuggets' guards and small forwards simply murdered them. J.R. Smith came off of the bench to score 20 points in 21 minutes. Allen Iverson had 31 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and 0 turnovers. Steve Nash may be a two-time MVP, but the only way he is even going to slow down Iverson is by tripping him with one of those trophies. OK, a lot of guys have problems checking Iverson and the Suns tried to "hide" Nash for most of the game by having him cover Anthony Carter--but Carter had 11 points and 11 assists, essentially canceling out Nash's production (12 points, 13 assists).
Small forward Grant Hill spent a lot of time chasing around Iverson, which left shooting guard Raja Bell to deal with Carmelo Anthony, who pushed Bell all over the court, snaring 13 rebounds--including six on the offensive glass--and scoring 30 points. At times, Anthony seemed to have a look of disbelief on his face that Bell was trying to guard him. Clearly, the Suns could have used Marion here but since the Suns no longer have him they have to take better advantage of the mismatches that are in their favor, such as O'Neal posting up much smaller defenders like Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin and Eduardo Najera. The Suns have another 21 games to get used to each other before the playoffs begin and in the postseason they will have at least a day off between games, so I still think that they can be a formidable playoff opponent. Swapping Marion for O'Neal may have cost them some regular season wins but by upgrading their size and rebounding they are better constructed for playoff basketball.
Even though the Nuggets looked great in winning this game, they may not even make the playoffs. Brown noted before the game that they are fourth in the league in scoring and have Camby--who he called the league's best defender--patrolling the paint but he stressed that the other four players must step up on defense. When Moses Malone won his first MVP largely on the strength of his offensive rebounding, he thanked his teammates for missing so many shots; Camby, who is gunning for his third straight shotblocking crown, could similarly thank his teammates for blowing so many defensive assignments. The Nuggets trail the Golden State Warriors by one game for the final playoff spot and they are just 14-17 against teams with plus-.500 records. They were obviously geared up to play a Suns team that they felt had run up the score on them earlier this season but the Nuggets are just 4-5 in their last nine games, hardly the kind of closing push that will earn a postseason berth.
The Nuggets have two All-Stars in Iverson and Anthony--and Brown said that he thought Camby should have made the team as well--but their team defense on a night in, night out basis is not good. Denver went 32-8 down the stretch in 2005 after George Karl took over as head coach and ever since then the Nuggets have fooled a lot of people into believing that they are on the verge of being legitimate contenders; they even fooled themselves, with several of their players saying before this season that they would win 60 games (they are 36-24 now, which means that 60 wins is mathematically impossible).
It is amusing to read or listen to mainstream media "experts" who have no idea what they are talking about; no one can predict everything correctly but many of these "experts" are so frequently completely wrong that they are fortunate that their salaries are not linked in any way to their statements actually making sense or being accurate. For instance, at the start of this season, Stephen A. Smith declared that the Nuggets would make it to the NBA Finals and that the Cavaliers would not even qualify for the playoffs. Here is what I wrote about the Nuggets in the 2007-08 edition of
Lindy's Pro Basketball: "Each year we hear that this is the season that Denver will emerge as a legitimate title contender, but the Nuggets have consistently been a lower echelon playoff team for four straight years, winning between 43 and 49 games and losing in the first round of the playoffs each time." In my
Western Conference Preview, I ranked the Nuggets seventh and wrote, "Carmelo Anthony is well on his way toward stringing together a Kevin Garnett-like run of first round playoff losses."
In order to win consistently in the NBA, you must rebound and defend. Those things are not glamorous but, as Pat Riley said decades ago, "No rebounds, no rings." Rebounding and defense are why the Spurs are always a very good team and why the Cavaliers' Finals run last year was not a fluke; rebounding and defense are why the Nash-era Suns have never made it to the Finals and why the Anthony-era Nuggets' playoff runs always end in the first round. To get over the top, a team usually also needs a star player who can create offense for himself and his teammates but Denver is proving that you can have two guys like that and still not be a great team if you don't also have a collective commitment to playing defense.
Labels: Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen A. Smith
posted by David Friedman @ 4:25 AM
Larry Hughes: The Real Story
Larry Hughes has caught a lot of flak for his shot selection and for being injured frequently. Now, a big deal is being made out of Hughes saying that he was not happy in Cleveland--even though the team made the Finals last season--because he did not have the freedom to play his game; the funny thing about the latter "controversy" is that Hughes is simply publicly acknowledging what critics of the Cavs have said for quite some time: the Cavs played Hughes out of position at point guard.
I have always maintained that Hughes was an important part of Cleveland's success. The record shows that the Cavs performed best when he was in the starting lineup, even when he was not 100% healthy. The Cavs are absolutely going to miss his perimeter defense during the playoffs and they will have to make up for that by utilizing advantages in other areas (perhaps three point shooting or frontcourt depth) in order to return to the NBA Finals.
Here is a link to an excellent article by Melissa Isaacson of the
Chicago Tribune that reveals another side of Larry Hughes:
Well -Traveled Larry Hughes Has Grown UpLabels: Larry Hughes
posted by David Friedman @ 2:18 PM
NBA Coast to Coast Crew's MVP Choice? Kobe, Kobe, Kobe
During Tuesday's telecast, three members of ESPN's NBA Coast to Coast crew offered their takes on this year's exciting MVP race. All of them unhesitatingly chose Kobe Bryant as MVP.
Tim Legler said that Bryant has no weaknesses offensively and that on a nightly basis he guards the opponent's toughest player. Legler added that it is "unfathomable" that Bryant has not yet won an MVP but he expects that oversight to be corrected this season. Legler echoed points that I have made here on many occasions. The fact that Bryant has no weaknesses is very significant. Even LeBron James, as great as he is, has weaknesses: he is a below average free throw shooter, a poor perimeter shooter and not yet a consistently good defensive player. During last year's Finals, the Spurs contained James by cutting off all driving lanes and forcing him to shoot jumpers. That resulted in James shooting a poor percentage and committing a lot of turnovers. That kind of defensive strategy would simply not work against Bryant. In my post titled
Why Blogging is Booming and Newspapers Are Scrambling to Catch Up, I listed several specific areas that I mean when I say that Bryant does not have any weaknesses (this list is meant to be suggestive, not exhaustive; there could be further, more specific subcategories in several of these areas):
- Finishes at the hoop with either hand
- Dribbles well with either hand
- Has excellent post moves and footwork
- Draws fouls and shoots FTs very well
- Has three point range
- Can get off a good shot attempt even against good defense
- Rebounds well for his position
- Reads double-teams well and makes the correct passes, which don't always lead to assists for two reasons: the second pass out of the trap often leads to the assist and it is not possible for anyone to get an assist if the shot is not made
- Excellent defender, as acknowledged by the league's head coaches in All-Defensive Team voting
- Tremendous inner drive and will to win
Greg Anthony boldly suggested that James may be the most talented player in the history of the NBA but quickly added, "He is not the most skilled or the most valuable," two distinctions that Anthony bestowed upon Bryant. Anthony also emphasized that Bryant has no weaknesses.
Jamal Mashburn said that Bryant "is playing with passion, purpose and intensity." He also referred to Bryant's "pursuit of perfection," which is the same phrase applied to the New England Patriots during their unprecedented 16-0 season.
Notice how these analysts--each of whom played in the NBA--emphasize the importance of the fact that Bryant has no weaknesses. Determining who is the best player is not just a matter of crunching numbers or ranking who has racked up the most SportsCenter highlights. What we see with elite athletes in many sports--from the Patriots to Tiger Woods to Bryant--is that mastery of the "little things" (the fundamentals) leads to the ability to be a dominant performer. Look at how Bryant scored his 52 points against Dallas: three pointers, hard drives into the paint, a hook shot over 7-footer Dirk Nowitzki, an offensive rebound of a missed free throw, turnaround shots off of postup moves, pullup jumpers, drives after splitting double teams. Those things require a host of different fundamental skills, ranging from ballhandling to shooting to various kinds of footwork. Scoring 52 points does not prove that you are the best player in the NBA--but the skills that Bryant displayed while scoring those 52 points, not to mention that 30 of those points came in the fourth quarter and overtime, against a good Western Conference team, provide a snapshot of why Bryant is such unique player. It also should not be forgotten that while Bryant put his full scoring repertoire on display he also rebounded, passed and defended at a very high level.
While the Coast to Coast crew unanimously chose Bryant, over on NBA TV "Tuesday Night With Ahmad" played off of the presidential election theme and had Frank Isola "debate" Rick Mahorn about the merits of Kobe Bryant versus LeBron James for MVP. Isola argued for Kobe, while Mahorn took LeBron's side. To be perfectly honest, neither guy made the best possible case for his player but the most interesting thing about the whole segment is what Isola and Mahorn admitted after it was over: the "debate" was basically a sham, because both of them think that Kobe is the MVP. Mahorn joked that he "took one for the team" because Isola cried and whined to have the opportunity to present Kobe's case.
While it is heartening that people are belatedly figuring out that Kobe Bryant is not only the best player in the NBA but also in fact the MVP, it is amusing to hear how Bryant has supposedly changed or evolved this season. Bryant is not playing differently this year than he has for the past several years. The difference is that he has better teammates, players who catch his passes and then finish plays. It is so laughable to suggest that Bryant has suddenly learned how to share the ball. Do people really not remember that he was the leading playmaker on three championship teams? The funniest thing about the "Kobe Bryant has transformed" stories is that they are evergreen: the media plows this same ground every year whenever there is a portion of the season when Bryant's teammates play well. For example, last year Jackie MacMullan wrote a piece titled
"The Transformation of Kobe Bryant." Her article is actually pretty good but the "transformation" theme is forced. Obviously, people evolve over time but Bryant did not suddenly "transform" into a team player. Bryant even mentioned to MacMullan how he had to sublimate his ability to score during the championship seasons in order to get other players involved, a statement that refutes the whole "transformation" theme; Bryant's smooth on court chemistry now with Pau Gasol is an outgrowth of playmaking skills that Bryant mastered years ago--and Bryant did not "transform" back into something else against Dallas when he scored those 52 points: he just read the defense and responded accordingly.
Labels: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James
posted by David Friedman @ 3:59 AM
Kobe Drops 52 as Lakers Beat Mavs in Overtime Thriller
LeBron James looked very much like the best player in the NBA as he put up 37 points, six rebounds and six assists
in Cleveland's 95-86 win over Chicago--and then Kobe Bryant took the court in L.A. and showed once again why he should finally capture his first MVP, scoring 52 points--including 30 in the fourth quarter and overtime--as his L.A. Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 108-104 in overtime. Bryant also had 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and one steal. He shot 15-27 from the field and 20-27 from the free throw line; Bryant inexplicably connected on just three of his first 10 free throws, all in the first half, before draining his final 17 in a row. Bryant's effort is the highest scoring game in the NBA this season, eclipsing 51 point games by James and Allen Iverson. Bryant ranks third on the all-time list with 22 50-point games; the Lakers are 16-6 in those contests. He also ranks third on the all-time list with 91 40-point games, during which the Lakers have gone 63-28, including 4-2 this season. Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan rank 1-2 in both 40-point games and 50-point games; Chamberlain had 271 and 118 respectively, while Jordan had 173 and 31. The last time someone scored more than 52 points on March 2 is 1962, when Chamberlain had his famous 100 point game.
Pau Gasol added 17 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots but he shot just 5-14 from the field and did not make a shot in the last three quarters and overtime after scoring 12 points on 5-7 shooting in the first quarter. Dirk Nowitzki got off to a slow start but made several big shots down the stretch and finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals, though he shot just 10-26 from the field. Jason Kidd also shot poorly (6-17 from the field) but he played an excellent floor game (15 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, four steals, just one turnover). Erick Dampier made all seven of his shots en route to a strong double double (16 points, 17 rebounds).
The Mavericks took a 7-0 lead after Kidd made a three pointer and picked up assists by feeding Josh Howard for a jumper and Dampier for a dunk. The Lakers missed their first three shots but got on the board after Luke Walton made two free throws. Bryant did not score until his dunk made the score 9-9 at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter. Throughout the telecast, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy made some interesting observations. One thing that they both noted is the immediate effect that Kidd has on a team; players run harder because Kidd looks to pass, sees openings that other players don't and is able to deliver the ball on time and on target. Dampier in particular seems to have already developed good chemistry with Kidd, who you could call the anti-Arenas; I think that one of the reasons that the Wizards have played well without Gilbert Arenas (at least until Caron Butler's injury) is that players play harder at both ends of the court when they think that it is more likely that they will touch the ball. Arenas' propensity for jacking up shots from all angles and his indifference to playing sound defense lead to poor court balance and hardly inspire the kind of extra effort that you already see from Dallas' players just a few games after Kidd joined the team.
The Lakers recovered nicely from their slow start to lead 29-23 by the end of the first quarter. Although Gasol did most of the scoring damage, Dallas Coach Avery Johnson explained to ABC's Michele Tafoya exactly where the Mavs' defense broke down: "He's been unstoppable because we haven't been able to guard penetration. Kobe's penetrating, (Derek) Fisher's penetrating and he's gotten a lot of easy buckets because of it." The significance of this quote is that the whole "making players better" business works both ways. Yes, Gasol makes the Lakers better because he is a skilled big man who can catch, finish, pass, rebound and block shots--but Bryant (and even Fisher) also help make Gasol better (or, more precisely, make the game easier for him) by breaking down the defense via dribble penetration.
Mark Jackson offered this opinion about why the Lakers have been playing so well recently: "What really separates them as a team is Kobe Bryant on the defensive end. He's guarding the other team's best perimeter player and locking him down." Jackson added that Bryant is the best player in the NBA, saying "This is his year" to finally win the MVP. Jackson ranks Chris Paul second in the MVP race. Van Gundy said that the MVP should go to someone who makes others better, so his choice is the Memphis organization for essentially giving Gasol to the Lakers. On a more serious note, he added that his MVP is Paul, followed by Bryant, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James. Strangely, Van Gundy also said that Bryant is the best player in the NBA and has been for several years; he never explained why someone who has been the best player for several years and is the leading player on the team with the best record in the tough Western Conference should not be the MVP.
Despite his poor first half free throw shooting, Bryant scored 14 points and the Lakers led 50-47 at halftime. The Mavericks began the third quarter just like they started the game, with a 7-0 run. Bryant answered with two drives and an assist to Walton for a layup to put L.A. back on top, 56-54, but by the end of the quarter Dallas was up 68-65.
Bryant played the first 41 minutes of the game without a break but Coach Phil Jackson rested him for about a minute and a half in the fourth quarter. The Lakers trailed by four when Bryant sat and were still down four when he returned. Within the next minute, they tied the score at 79 after Bryant made four free throws and Gasol sank a pair. Nowitzki's jumper put Dallas up 81-79 with 5:50 remaining and the rest of the game turned into an entertaining duel between last year's MVP and the player who should win this year's MVP, with Bryant netting 22 points and Nowitzki putting up 19 points in the next 10:50 (the balance of the fourth quarter plus the overtime). Bryant made a three pointer and a pullup jumper to give the Lakers an 84-81 lead but Nowitzki tied the score by making a hook shot and then splitting a pair of free throws after the Lakers came up dry a couple possessions in a row.
Bryant scored nine points in the last 2:25 of regulation, while Nowitzki had seven points, including the three pointer that forced overtime. Bryant gave the Lakers a 91-88 lead with a three point play at the 1:19 mark, fouling out Dampier in the process. During those final moments the Lakers repeatedly gave Bryant the ball at the top of the key, spaced the floor and let him go to work. The Mavericks first used Jerry Stackhouse to guard him, then put Kidd on him and also tried various double teams; nothing worked, as Coach Johnson ruefully noted after the game: "We gave him a single look, then we double-teamed him, then we gave him a triple-team and he split the triple-team and scored. We tried to zone him, we tried to funnel him in the trap for a zone and he went the other way. He didn't cooperate on any of our defenses. Obviously he milked the free throw line on us and he just had it all going. He's a great player. He has these (games). Lots of these."
Jason Terry's jumper pulled the Mavs to within 91-90 and they had a chance to win after Bryant drove to the hoop, drew a triple team and passed to Gasol, who lost the ball (Bryant was charged with a turnover on the play). A wild sequence ensued on the next possession: Bryant knocked the ball away from Nowitzki but the Mavs recovered and swung the ball to Stackhouse, whose corner three pointer was blocked by Gasol. Lamar Odom got the rebound and Stackhouse promptly fouled him. Odom finished with 10 rebounds but he scored just six points on 2-8 field goal shooting and 2-6 free throw shooting; fortunately, with Bryant capable of scoring 40 at any time and Gasol usually putting up solid numbers, the Lakers are no longer dependent on Odom's erratic shooting touch.
As the players lined up before Odom's two free throw attempts, Van Gundy made a very prescient observation: "I don't like Brandon Bass matching up against Kobe, who is a great offensive free throw rebounder." That is something that I wrote about in my post titled
The Best the Game Offers: Kobe Versus LeBron, when I noted that in the two Lakers-Cavs games this year Bryant beat James to free throw rebounds several times, forcing James to actually face guard him at one point. This is an excellent example of why I don't rate players solely based on statistics; numbers tell part of the story but you have to watch players with an informed eye and really understand their skill sets in order to accurately rank them. James averages more rebounds than Bryant because James plays forward and has different offensive and defensive responsibilities but that does not mean that he is a better rebounder than Bryant, as shown by the fact that the smaller Bryant repeatedly got free throw rebounds versus James despite James having inside position. Maybe most fans don't pay attention to "little things" like footwork and free throw rebounds but this is another example of how complete Bryant is as a player.
Sure enough, just as Van Gundy suspected, after Odom missed both free throws, Bryant slipped around Bass and grabbed the offensive rebound. Kidd fouled Bryant, who made both free throws to put L.A. up 93-90. With Dallas set to inbound the ball with six seconds left, Van Gundy talked about the Lakers' defensive strategy in such situations. Van Gundy believes that the defending team should foul, forcing the trailing team to make a free throw, miss a free throw on purpose, grab the rebound and then score but he added that based on his experiences coaching against Phil Jackson he knows that Jackson does not believe in fouling. Once again, Van Gundy was right on the mark: the Lakers did not foul and Nowitzki tied the score by making a three pointer. Odom's defense on this play was horrible. Nowitzki inbounded the ball to Kidd, who was inside the three point arc when he caught the ball. Obviously, the plan was for Kidd to pass the ball, most likely right back to Nowitzki. Odom foolishly went under a screen, leaving Nowitzki open.
During a timeout in the overtime, the subject of the anniversary of Chamberlain's 100 point game came up. Second place in the record book belongs to Bryant's 81 point game a couple years ago but Van Gundy said, "81 against today's superior defense and coaching is a bigger achievement than 100 by Wilt." I'm not sure if I agree with that reasoning but one significant difference between Chamberlain's big game and Bryant's is that Chamberlain's team was winning by a big margin for most of the game; the opponents kept fouling his teammates so Chamberlain would not get the ball and then Chamberlain's team retaliated by fouling to get the ball back. The end of the game was a bit of a sideshow, though 100 points is obviously a great accomplishment. Bryant's 81 points came in the context of a game in which the Lakers were losing by double digits and rallied to win because of his outburst; there were no shenanigans by either team in terms of intentional fouls.
Bryant scored eight of the Lakers' 15 points in overtime and at one point Van Gundy joked about Dallas' futile efforts to guard him, quipping, "They should go into a box and one--put the box on Kobe and the one on everyone else." Nowitzki also had eight points in the extra session and after Bryant's two free throws put the Lakers up 107-104 with nine seconds left it was "deja vu all over again," with the Mavs again inbounding the ball and needing a three pointer to tie. True to form, the Lakers did not foul and this time Nowitzki missed the shot. Odom split a pair of free throws to ice the win.
On ESPN's NBA Shootaround, Jalen Rose said that the Lakers are a very skilled team but he still does not consider them the favorites to win the championship, mentioning their lack of playoff experience together as a group and citing the absence of a "big body enforcer" to deal with Dampier, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal. Rose noted that Dampier put a few hard fouls on Bryant and he asked rhetorically why no Laker big men confronted Dampier. Rose concluded that the Spurs still should be considered the favorite to win the championship. I agree with Rose. The Lakers no doubt pose a viable threat to the Spurs but it is far from certain that they can beat San Antonio four times in a playoff series.
Labels: Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Pau Gasol
posted by David Friedman @ 2:46 AM
Trading Places: LeBron Scores 37 as the "New" Cavs Beat the "New" Bulls
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls recently took part in one of the largest trades in NBA history but Cleveland's 95-86 home victory over Chicago on Sunday once again showed that the biggest difference between the squads is one player who was not dealt: LeBron James had 37 points, six rebounds and six assists, including six points and one assist in the final 3:10. Former Cav Larry Hughes led the Bulls in scoring (23 points) and assists (four) while also grabbing five rebounds. Former Cav Drew Gooden also had a good game (11 points, 10 rebounds). Newly acquired Cav Wally Szczerbiak, who arrived in Cleveland from Seattle along with Delonte West as part of the Cleveland-Chicago trade, was the only Cav other than James to reach double figures in points (17). Due to a scheduling quirk, the two division rivals had yet to meet this season and will face each other four times in a 41 day stretch (including Sunday's game), with the next game happening on Thursday in Chicago.
It is difficult to gauge the impact of the trade at this point because the Cavaliers have yet to be at full strength since the deal took place. Starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed Sunday's game due to a back injury and Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic also sat out due to injuries. West had nine points, five rebounds and four assists, ex-Bull Ben Wallace had seven points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots and ex-Bull Joe Smith had eight points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals. Smith scored in double figures in each of his first two games with Cleveland but he has only scored 19 points in the next three games.
Cleveland got off to a quick start and led 24-17 after the first quarter, with James (13 points) doing most of the damage. As Cleveland Coach Mike Brown noted in an interview during a timeout, the Cavaliers tend to get complacent when they have leads, which results in sloppy play. Sure enough, the Bulls cut the lead to 42-39 by halftime and were up 68-65 after three quarters. At times, Hughes looked like the best player on the court, playing good defense, shooting the ball well and even serving up a lob pass to Tyrus Thomas for a dunk near the end of the third quarter. Chicago led 76-68 with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter after Hughes drained a jumper but there was no way that James was going to let Hughes return to his old stomping grounds and be the hero. Hughes did not score again, missing his last five field goal attempts of the game (he shot 8-20 overall).
James made the big plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter, starting with a finger roll at the 3:10 mark that put the Cavs up 85-83. Then he drove to the hoop and had a sensational dunk during which he jumped so high that he appeared to be looking down at the rim. When he flies to the hoop like that with his right arm fully extended over his head he looks like Dr. J dunking over Bill Walton in the 1977 NBA Finals. James followed up the dunk by faking Andres Nocioni out of his shoes and draining a pullup jumper to make the score 89-83. As James said after the game, the dunk and the jumper broke Chicago's heart. The Bulls simply crumbled, turning the ball over, committing offensive fouls and using poor shot selection. All year long they have played like a team that is very weak mentally, folding at the first sign of adversity. A big problem for the Bulls is that they do not have a bona fide star--or even simply a solid decision maker--to run the show in crucial situations.
During this game, Hubie Brown once again demonstrated that he is the best NBA television analyst (I'd put Jeff Van Gundy and Doug Collins in a tie for second). Brown explains clearly, concisely and without condescension the strategic concepts that are used by NBA coaches. I cringe whenever I read or hear someone suggest that college basketball is a "coaches' game" and that the NBA consists of nothing but one on one play. As Brown
said to me when I interviewed him in 2006, "I don’t want everybody out there thinking that these guys just met at 6:00 and are playing at 7:30. Why do people say that football and baseball are so strategic and that they’re more strategic than basketball? That’s a naive person talking. They have no idea what goes into the continuities presented by the great teams in basketball."
During this game there was an interesting exchange between Brown and play by play announcer Mike Tirico about play calls in the NBA; Brown explained how play calls are handled differently by different teams and pointed out that when players switch teams they basically have to learn a new language on the fly. Brown said that some NBA teams call plays by shouting out numbers. The first number--say, 50--is the set (the way that the players are aligned on the court at the start of the play) and the next number is the action that they are supposed to run. So, out of a "50" set there could be five plays (which could be numbered 51-55). Brown said that certain teams use hand signals to call plays, while other teams call out a "dummy" number while at the same time calling the actual play with a hand signal to thwart teams that try to steal their calls. Brown added that when he coached each of his plays had three or four options because the good defensive teams will stop the first and second options. One point worth mentioning here that Brown did not bring up is that, as Cavs assistant coach Hank Egan
told me, "the (shot) clock is the monster"; in other words, if a defensive team gets the offensive team out of rhythm (with a full court press, by deflecting a pass, etc.) then the offense really has to work against the clock just to get a decent shot attempt.
Brown's take on the Cleveland-Chicago-Seattle deal is that the Cavaliers have improved their frontcourt depth by pairing Wallace and Smith with Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. Brown said that now the Cavaliers can withstand an injury to one of those players. He also pointed out one downside: Wallace and Varejao are only able to score by either getting feeds from James for layups or by getting offensive rebounds. Brown added that West's ballhandling and passing skills should help the Cavaliers in the open court, while Szczerbiak's shooting ability spaces the court. I agree with everything that Brown said but the Ilgauskas-Gooden-Varejao frontcourt (with cameos by Donyell Marshall) worked out pretty well in last year's playoffs and I think that Cleveland will have trouble defending against top shooting guards without Hughes. The funny thing about this trade is that Hughes and Wallace were each considered overpaid underachievers by their previous teams but they could each fit in better with their new teams due to different expectations and different systems.
I can see the possibilities that intrigued Cleveland General Manager Danny Ferry enough to pull the trigger on this deal but I still say that it is a risky move to get rid of six players (including two starters) from a team that made it to the NBA Finals. Before the playoffs begin, the Cavaliers must get healthy and then figure out how to play in a way that maximizes the strengths of their key players and minimizes their weaknesses.
Labels: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Hubie Brown, Larry Hughes, LeBron James
posted by David Friedman @ 12:31 AM
My Least Favorite NBA Announcer
I am turning this post into an interactive quiz. I will list some things that my least favorite NBA announcer recently said and see how many readers can figure out who I am talking about; you can make your guesses in the comments section. My theory is that most people who closely follow the NBA will be able to pretty quickly figure out who is the subject of this post. Here are some of his "greatest hits":
1) Sometimes announcers have to "fill" (kill time) at the end of a show. The best announcers do this so well that you hardly even notice that they are doing it. This guy recently started killing time in the middle of a show--and actually said out loud that he was killing time, though it was not at all obvious why it should be necessary to do so at that point. For some inexplicable reason he informed viewers that virtually every member of his family was born in March, including his kindergarten girlfriend. When you run out of constructive things to say less than 15 minutes into a 30 minute show you might be in the wrong business. To be fair, some of the responsibility for this must also be shouldered by the producer and the director. Did they not have any meetings that day to discuss which basketball topics would be covered during the broadcast?
2) "In the history of the NBA, no 50 win team has never not made the playoffs." (I felt a vague sense of dizziness after hearing that one; to his credit, the announcer did immediately acknowledge that he might have thrown a few too many double negatives in there. Isn't that why scripts and teleprompters were invented?)
3) "Stan Van Gundy is one of those coaches, you impress me, you do what I want you to do in practice, you'll be playing." (Are there any coaches who do not play the players who do well in practice and instead elect to go with the players who practice poorly?)
4) Shortly after the above waste of airtime, the announcer tried to paraphrase something that Orlando guard Keyon Dooling told him about Coach Van Gundy: "We're trying to be professional because we know he'll call our perspective numbers." ("respective" is the correct word)
5) This announcer often makes mistakes regarding the nuts and bolts of his job: he consistently misidentifies players during highlights and he often appears to be incapable of accurately reading the boxscore data that his network displays on the TV screen for viewers to see. Sometimes he'll say that a game was played in a certain city but as soon as the highlight runs it is very obvious that the game was not played there. OK, maybe that could happen to anyone once or twice but it happens to him a lot. The pathetic thing is that this mistake is unnecessary in so many ways. If you are that confused about where games are being played, then don't try to give extra information; just read the scripted highlight package and be done with it. Yet, for some reason, this guy feels compelled to constantly try to show how much he thinks that he knows. At times, he turned "Making the Call With Ronnie Nunn"--a good series that the NBA should not have canceled--into an unintentional comedy show with his rambling introductions before highlights; he invariably was wrong about numerous details concerning the play in question. As the saying goes, it is better for people to think that you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. He had the simplest job in the world--all he had to do is say, "Ronnie, this next play deals with the always tough block/charge call." Instead, we got something like, "This play features Motown's finest, Chauncey Billups going against the Milwaukee Bucks." Then the clip rolls and we find out that it was Lindsey Hunter going against the Celtics or something.
6) For a brief period, his favorite question was, "Is team x the kind of team that will be concerned whether they are up 10 or down 10 at halftime?" When he asked that question to the studio analysts they looked as perplexed as I am when I type those words. What the hell is he talking about? Instead of pondering before the game what one team might do if they are up 10 or down 10 by halftime why not ask the analysts about a key matchup or strategy that viewers should monitor during the game? Again, I fault the director and producer here as well, because by this point in time they should realize that their guy needs some help in terms of scripting good questions to ask the studio analysts. Leaving him to his own devices is like abandoning a blind person to cross a busy street without a guide dog or any form of assistance.
7) His favorite phrase is "in a big, big way." For example, he will say something like "Tim Duncan scored 31 points and that is getting it done in a big, big way." Maybe this actually goes back to example one and he is simply killing time because he has nothing informative to say. This is not the biggest broadcasting sin in the world, of course, but it does become annoying after a while, particularly in concert with the numerous gaffes that this guy makes.
I understand that being a TV or radio announcer is not easy; a director or producer is constantly talking in your ear, sometimes there are technical problems and if you are on the air live then you simply have to move forward no matter what. I also understand that even a great announcer will make mistakes now and then--but the above examples represent how this guy typically performs. He washed out at one big network but he has been given a lot of responsibilities by his current employer. My hope is that now that TNT has gained control over NBA TV that there will be a thinning out of the ranks and that we will see more of Ernie Johnson and less of the subject of this post.
posted by David Friedman @ 2:26 AM
Taking Care of Business: Cavs Tame Timberwolves, 92-84
It was not particularly pretty and--except for a few sensational dunks by LeBron James--it was not particularly exciting but Cleveland played solid defense to earn a 92-84 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. James finished with 30 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds; he sprained his ankle in a 92-87 loss at Boston on Wednesday but seemed to have plenty of spring in his step versus Minnesota. After the game, James said that his ankle is fine, but he soaked both of his feet in a bucket of ice water while he spoke with the media. James banged his right thumb on the rim during one of his dunks, reaggravating an injury from earlier in the season; he joked that he will have to try to not dunk the ball so hard the next time. Al Jefferson led Minnesota with 22 points and 10 rebounds but he had just four points and three rebounds in the second half as the Cavaliers aggressively trapped him and forced other players to shoulder the offensive load. Cleveland battled Minnesota to a 40-40 tie in rebounds, overcoming a 26-20 first half disadvantage in that category. The Cavaliers enjoyed significant edges in points in the paint (50-38) and fast break points (15-5).
This was my first opportunity to see the "new" Cavs in person but I can't really make any sweeping judgments for several reasons. First and foremost, Minnesota is a bad team; the Cavs did not trade away half of their roster, including two starters, to beat the Timberwolves. Second, Wally Szczerbiak was not with the team because his wife is expecting a child. Third, key rotation players Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic did not play due to injuries. Of the three newcomers who did play, Ben Wallace (eight points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots) and Delonte West (12 points, five assists) had solid games, while Joe Smith struggled (two points, three rebounds). Before the game, Smith talked about how the terminology in Cleveland is completely different from what he was used to in Chicago, where he was arguably the Bulls' most consistent player this season. Presumably, when he becomes acclimated to Cleveland's system he will once again be productive. The best sign so far for Cleveland is that Wallace has been very active on the glass and as a shotblocker. In this game, the Cavs also tried to refute the myth that Wallace is just as effective stopping his own team's offense; a couple key fourth quarter sequences involved plays that culminated in Wallace setting screens and then diving to the hoop to receive passes from James that he converted into a layup and a dunk. Just because Wallace cannot make a shot outside of the paint does not mean that he is a bad offensive player. In fact, he is a good screener, a decent passer and a fine offensive rebounder. While James runs pick and pop plays with Smith or starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, he can also run traditional pick and roll plays with Wallace or backup center/forward Anderson Varejao; teams dare not blitz James on such plays because he will hit Wallace or Varejao with pinpoint passes that they will turn into easy scoring opportunities. The two Wallace plays versus Minnesota were nice because they involved a lot of player movement and screening, almost like the sleight of hand a magician uses to distract his audience. Cleveland does not have to run 20 of these a game, either; just a handful will be enough to keep the defense off balance (and keep Wallace content with his touches, which has been an issue at times when he was with Detroit and Chicago).
All of this looks good and sounds good but Minnesota fell to 12-45 after this loss, so for all we know a pick and roll play with LeBron James and comedian George Wallace might also be effective against them. Until we see Cleveland's complete current roster in action against good teams it is impossible to really know if the big trade helped, hurt or is simply a wash. That is why
my initial reaction to this trade was lukewarm; I believe that the previous nucleus, when healthy, was good enough to make a return trip to the Finals. Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry has publicly stated that he thought that the team was not good enough, so it will be interesting to see how his intended upgrade pans out. It may very well work but I would have been hesitant to put my team through such upheaval shortly before the playoffs begin without bringing in a bonafide All-Star (perhaps Wallace will be able to once again play at that level).
In his postgame standup, Cleveland Coach Mike Brown said, "The last couple games we've had some breakdowns defensively. Against Milwaukee in transition defense we broke down quite a bit...I thought that against Boston our pick and roll defense was not good at all. They really exposed us...I thought that tonight we were better in both of those areas and also as a team defensively. Al Jefferson had 18 at the half, so we decided to turn up our aggressiveness on him and double him quicker. We did that as a team and then guys covered for one another in our rotations and on the back side. We limited them on the glass in the second half." Brown also liked his team's activity level defensively in the paint, with either Wallace challenging shots and Ilgauskas (10 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots) providing support or vice versa.
I acknowledged that it is early but I asked Coach Brown what one area he is most pleased with regarding his "new" team and what is the one area where he would most like to see some improvement. He replied, "We have to just keep playing with one another because it is not necessarily just one area. Obviously, you end up talking about both sides of the ball. Offensively, for us, when we face certain teams if a team does something that we have not worked on then we are going to struggle a little bit. One of the things that Boston did against us is get up into us and deny us (passing angles) and they really pressured us. We hadn't worked on any (specific) counters, so we just kind of played basketball. Memphis tried to press us and I hadn't said one word about our press break (strategy), so we just had to kind of improvise. On the flip side, defensively, we haven't talked about transition defense and those rules, so we got exposed. Our pick and roll (defense) is a continuing conversation; we got exposed against Boston. So there are a lot of areas, not just one specific area, that we have to try to continue to work hard to clean up and we have to use these games as some of our practices. We have to kind of coach and teach and figure things out on the fly."
Just to be clear, Brown is not saying that the Cavs have no plans about these things; on the contrary, those plans were put into place in training camp. The issue now is that half of his roster has been swapped out, so principles and philosophies that he taught to players not just in training camp but over the past two years have to be taught to the new players as the season winds down. That challenge prompted my next question: How concerned is he about being able to get the new players up to speed before the playoffs so that a postseason opponent is not able to catch the Cavaliers by surprise with a press or some other tactic? Brown answered, "I think that all of the bases will be covered come playoff time. We just have to make sure that we try to do them at a high level. With this team, with the intelligence of the guys that we have and that we feel that they have for the game of basketball, I think that that will be there."
I also asked James what he is most pleased with about his "new" team and what area he would like to see improved before playoff time. He responded, "We are only going to improve with time, with games and with practices. Early, we are looking pretty good. Defensively we are very active, especially on our interior. Those guys are clamping down on the interior and we are just trying to make teams beat us with outside shots. It's been pretty good, so I am looking forward to what we have in store later on in this season and going into the postseason."
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Notes From Courtside:
Just prior to the start of the game, Ferry presented a plaque to James in honor of James becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score 10,000 career points. James reached that milestone after 368 games, which makes him the ninth fastest player to accomplish this. He is the second fastest player to accumulate 10,000 points, 2500 rebounds and 2000 assists, trailing only Oscar Robertson, who did that in 334 games. Looking ahead, James reached the 10,000 point plateau in fewer games than six of the top 10 scorers in NBA history, though three of the top four scorers of all-time beat James' pace (#1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored his first 10,000 points in 319 games, #3 Michael Jordan needed 303 games and #4 Wilt Chamberlain raced to 10,000 points in just 236 games). Julius Erving played the first five years of his career in the ABA and ranks fifth on the career scoring list if his ABA points are included; I do not know exactly when Erving scored his 10,000th career point, but based on his annual scoring averages in those early seasons he likely did so in approximately the 350th game of his career, narrowly edging James.
***
James' game is about a lot more than just scoring, of course. He won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for games played from February 19-24, the third time this season and 13th time in his career that he has received this honor. James set a career-high by having double doubles in four straight games and he became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain (March 16-20, 1968) to average at least 28.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg and 10.5 apg in a four game span. James had at least 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in each of the first three games of that week; only Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson have ever reached those each of those levels in three consecutive games. James had triple doubles on February 19 versus Houston and on February 20 at Indiana. That is the second time this season that James has had triple doubles on consecutive days, the first time anyone has done that since Magic Johnson (1988). James now has 16 career triple doubles; he is the third youngest player to record 15 triple doubles, trailing only Robertson and Johnson.
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How quickly do things change in the NBA? When I covered
Cleveland's 95-79 win over Seattle on January 8, I noted how thrilled Cavs reserve Shannon Brown was about being pictured on the cover of the game day program. Of course, he was traded away as part of the big deal that netted Wallace, Smith, Szczerbiak and West, who were each pictured on the cover of the program for the Minnesota game under the tagline, "Welcome to the Family."
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This was Cleveland's 22nd sellout in 28 home games but it might have had the fewest media members in attendance of any NBA game that I have covered; I think that a lot of the local Cleveland media are covering the Browns' moves as the free agent market opens and the dreadful Timberwolves obviously do not have a lot of writers and broadcasters documenting their first post-Kevin Garnett season.
Labels: Al Jefferson, Ben Wallace, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Minnesota Timberwolves
posted by David Friedman @ 6:43 AM
