| Sorry Skip Bayless, but the Cavaliers are going to win the East Authored by Keith Berzanske - May 16, 2007 - 7:02 pm
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Now, I've been letting this go unmentioned for quite some time because I thought that Skip was one of those people, like Charley Rosen, that just simply doesn't "get it"...
Unfortunately, I've reached my limit. I don't know why journalists like Skip and Charley go out of their way to hate LeBron. Maybe it's just sensationalist journalism. At this point though, I think they are losing journalistic credibility. LeBron's greatness is obvious. It's also obvious that, barring injury, he will continue to improve , which is a scary thought considering how good he already is, and eventually be one of the ten best players to ever play in the league. Does LeBron make every play? No. But let's end the illusion that Michael Jordan made every 4th quarter play. I know it does seem like this because he made so many, and so many in prime time. But MJ had numerous failures as well. And while I am an MJ fan (undoubtedly he is the greatest player ever), I feel compelled to provide a short list of MJ failures for those that often forget:
--1989 ROUND 1 - the year Jordan hits "THE SHOT" in game 5 - people forget that the Bulls had a 2-1 series lead and had a 3 point lead late in game 4 at home when Jordan missed a late free throw that could have clinched the series. Instead, the Cavs tied and won in overtime, setting up Jordan's heroics on the road in the deciding game 5.
--1991 NBA Finals - Jordan's first Finals, he misses the shot at the end of Game 1 and the Bulls lose. This was big at the time because the Bulls had never been in the Finals before and everyone still though Magic and the Lakers would win. Jordan and the Bulls rebounded to win the next 4 games and the series.
--1985, 1986, 1987 - Bulls lose 3 first round playoff series, going 1-9 overall.
--1995 East Semis - Jordan has the ball stolen by Nick Anderson, Bulls lose to Orlando
--1998 East Finals Game 6 - JOrdan drives the lane and just falls down, Bulls lose, have to beat Pacers in tough Game 7
and so on...as many great plays as Michael Jordan made to win games, he also had numerous occasions where he came up short...missed a free throw, made a turnover, had a jumper go off the rim...this doesn't even include those last two years of college, where the Player of the Year failed to make the Final Four despite a slew of NBA teammates at his side.
Nobody's perfect...
So, Skip, instead of nitpicking every little play by LeBron, let's look at the total body of work. Bottom line, the guy is a winner. For instance, in game 4, LeBron made some poor plays in the 4th quarter. However, he made some great plays earlier in the game, and without those plays, the Cavaliers would not have been in a position to win the game at the end.
In 4 seasons, LeBron has already gotten the team to the conference finals, at bare minimum (the Cavaliers are *not* going to lose 3 straight to the Nets, Skip, sorry, and I fully expect them to take care of business tonight and move on). The team has won 50 games twice despite the ineptitude of former GM Jim Paxson, who gave away talent and draft picks. LeBron already has more than a handful of records to his credit and let's not forget he was younger than almost 75% of the league's rookies this year!!! That's astounding...
Also, for the games LeBron *has* won in the 4th quarter wiht a shot or pass or defensive play, he has gotten zero credit, like in the 3 games in the Wizards series last year, or in game 1 of the Nets series this year. LeBron is averaging 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in his playoff career, numbers unmatched by any player in the *history* of the NBA, he is 2 for 2 getting into the second round, and his team is 14-7 overall in playoff games in his career.
Sorry Skip, after the Cavaliers dispatch of the Nets(even if they somehow lose tonight, they will still win it in 6 or 7), they are going to upend the Pistons and be representing the East in the NBA Finals. Yes, I know the Pistons are good. But think back to last year. The Cavaliers had a 3-2 lead on them with a lead in the 4th quarter of Game 6. They won 3 games without Larry Hughes, and ostensibly without Sasha Pavlovic, since he barely played. The likes of Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, and Flip Murray were getting major minutes last year. Now Murray is gone and Marshall and Jones are sitting next to Scot Pollard for the most part. The Cavaliers are much better. Hughes is playing better, and Pavlovic is a huge improvement over whoever was getting minutes last year. The team has more experience and also beleives they can beat the Pistons, whereas last year it took them 5 games to figure out they has a shot. Also, the Pistons have the ultimate bad luck charm in Chris Webber. If something can go wrong, it will. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pistons lose the next 2 games and the Cavaliers end up facing the Bulls. I mean, it shouldn't happen - the Bulls don't have a player who can score inside 12 feet. I said last week that anyone who thinks they can defeat the Pistons in a series is high. If it does happen, it's only because of the Webber bad luck factor. The Bulls have no chance to reach the NBA Finals. Name me a team that made the Finals without an All-Star player, or without a player that could score insde - anyone? Didn't think so...
Skip Bayless needs to quit with his act of just trying say the most controversial things possible and needs to open his eyes. He is missing the maturing of a contender right in front of him. Yes Washington was depleted; however, the Cavaliers took care of business, and rather handily. Playoff series are not easy to win, no matter who the opponent. The Cavaliers have also suffocated a decent Nets team, one with two star players and some nice role players. They may not always be pretty, but they are getting the job done. And the two Achilles heels, the free throw shooting and the outside shooting, have both look better these past 8 games. In fact, you can go back to the lineup change when the Cavaliers were 33-25, when Sasha Pavlovic and Larry Hughes were made the starting backcourt. Since then, the Cavaliers are 24-8, and this included wins over Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Utah, Toronto, New Jersey, and Washington, all playoff teams, and also includes a 7-1 playoff mark, including 3-1 on the road. Hughes is feeling more comfortable with the ball in his hands more, and is no longer reducing himself to the role of jump shooter, which is ill-advised. Pavlovic is a revelation. I never understood why he got benched for Flip Murray last year - maybe it was his defense. But he was playing well, and the team seemed to play well when he had a good game. The amazing thing about him is that he never seems to change his facial expression, no matter what is going on. I wouldn't be surprised if he doens't even know what country he is in. He appears completely oblivious to emotion, which is somethign every team needs - the silent assassin. Pavlovic has the same look on his face when he made that gme saving block on Jason Kidd as he did when he missed 3 three point shots in a row in the next game. The only time I saw him get remotely riles up was when Mikki Moore threw him to the ground, and even then, his teammates were more agitated than he was.
Now, the Cavaliers might be the worst team to make the Finals since the Allen Iverson-led 76ers team that handed the Lakers their first title. But it's still a good team. The frontcourt is fantastic, maybe the best in the league. The backcourt is a but questionable, especially on the shooting side, but Mike Brown has been smart in tightening up his rotation, dropping dead weight like Jones, Marshall, and Wesley from significant time, and reducing Snow to a defensive specialist. But think about what an achievement it would be for LeBron James to make the Finals in his 4th season. Unreal. Especially after losing Carlos Boozer, the kind of personnel error which would set most teams back 4-5 years, losing a player of that caliber and getting nothing in return. If not for Orlando giving away Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao, the Cavaliers would be in a serious funk right now.
I feel the need to sidebar on both of those issues:
--does anyone realize how bad of a trade that was for the Magic? For starters, they got swindled by Jim Paxson, who once traded a 1st round pick for a player who was then traded for a 2nd round pick 6 months later. Consider these trades the Magic made:
Tracy McGrady for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato
Mobley for Doug Christie
Mike Miller for Drew Gooden
Gooden, Varejao, and Steven Hunter for Tony Battie
The Magic in theory, could right now be trotting out a starting 5 of Jameer Nelson, Tracy McGrady, Mike Miller, Anderson Varejao, and Dwight Howard. Think that would contend in the East? They also wasted a lottery pick on Fran Vasquez; it's still unclear if Vasquez will ever play in the NBA. I dont' understand NBA GM's, I really don't.
--the Boozer thing - couple of items here. One, Boozer has obviously become a phenomenal player and is worht all the money he signed for in Utah. It's funny to think that because of his injuries, the fans were upset with him the first couple fo years and wanted to trade him.
Now, it should be noted that while Boozer's numbers are an improvement this year, he put up similar numbers the past 2-3 seasons. But the Jazz didn't start winning until this year, and now that they are, Boozer is getting recognition. But the recognition is deserved, he is NOT the reason they are winning. Hello! It's DERON WILLIAMS! ANyoen who watches the Jazz can tell you that. WIthout Williams expertly running that team and looking like a 10 year veteran, the Jazz are on the playoff bubble, possibly on the outside looking in. A great point guard is worht that much. It's precisely the argument I made about Karl Malone and John Stockton. Malone was a good player, but Stockton made him look great, and Stockton was the reason they won 50 games every year. How people in Atlanta didn't realize this when they passed on Williams and Chris Paul for Marvin Williams is beyond me. Look, talented 6-9 forwards are really sexy picks, but those aren't the guys that win it for you, for the most part. Look at the success of teams that had guys like Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Mark Price, Sam Cassell, etc. running the show. Now look at teams whose major star was a player like Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, or if you want to go back a ways, Mitch Richmond, Alex English, or George Gervin. Which group had consistent extended playoff success? Obviously the first group.
This isn't to say that Boozer is not a stud player who's not worth his salary, because he definitely is. Look what he was able to do in back to back series - he was able to use his quickness and his ability to score with either hand to maneuver around the bigger but slower Yao Ming, but then he was able to use power and strength to dominate the undersized Golden State Warriors inside. When you compare this versatility to the inability of others to adjust to matchup problems, most recently how Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks were unable to cope with the Warriors small ball act, it's even more impressive.
Cavaliers fans are still bitter about Boozer, but what is most forgotten about the Boozer debacle is that even after he reneged on the supposed gentleman's agreement and signed the big deal with Utah - the Cavaliers could have matched the deal! They could have kept Boozer. They merely needed to move a couple of players to clear cap room. I wrote an article about this at the time and it's easiest to quote myself:
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Here was the Cavaliers' current salary cap situation at the time of the Boozer signing:
Ilgauskas $14,625,000
Snow $ 4,875,000
Battie $ 4,800,000
James $ 4,320,360
McInnis $ 3,600,000
Newble $ 2,704,350
Diop $ 2,695,164
Wagner $ 2,643,600
Jackson $ 1,818,720
Pavlovic $ 1,191,000
Total: $43,273,194
The cap was around $44,000,000 (and actually went up). Let's assume the Cavaliers needed to clear $9 million to match the Boozer contract
The players to clear were Wagner, Newble, and Battie, who were all replaceable.
I wrote:
Either Charlotte or Atlanta, who have room and are starved for talent, should be willing to take Wagner off your hands for a 2nd round pick. For the Cavs, that is addition by subtraction. (this was proven right - Wagner no longer in the NBA)
The Rockets have a 6.9 mil trade exception. If you combined that with either Reece Gaines or Bostjan Nachbar, whichever young player the Cavs prefer (I assume Nachbar, plus Gaines just got there, so he may not be able to be moved for another month), that would be enough to fetch Battie and Newble in return, 2 solid veteran backups for a tema that needs depth and is contending for an NBA title.
(I dont' think this was farfetched considering we turned Battie into Gooden and Varejao less than a month later)
Then you match the offer to Boozer. I think the situation can be diffused. Boozer is aware that just as he had the right to sign the offer, the Cavs have the right to match it.
So then this is the new team:
PG McInnis
SG James
SF Jackson
PF Boozer
C Ilgauskas
bench
Snow
Diop
Pavlovic
Nachbar
and then you still have the million dollar exception to sign a free agent, and then 2 more spots for veterans out of work or someone cut by another team. Memphis, for example, has 16 players under contract. Something has to give there...
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Now obviously, Luke Jackson did not work out (I still think it was a mistake to cut him so soon - he was injured, not inept. They may still regret this) but Pavlovic did. Also, think about all of the money the Cavaliers spent the next season on Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, and an extension for Zydrunas Ilgauskas. If I'm correct, the money spent on Jones and Marshall combined is about the same as Boozer's salary. Which would you rather have?
So while Paxson made one of his few good moves in getting Gooden and Varejao a couple of weeks after the Boozer debacle, the team still would have been better off to retain Boozer, and they could have done so. Let's not forget that.
Back to Utah - they've really put a nice team together, one that is mentally tough and can play different styles. I think they could be a tough matchup for whoever wins the Spurs/Suns series. I also liked how they didn't respond to the Warriors and their thug tactics. They just kicked their ass on the court. The Warriors shoudl be ashmaed for their playground mentality, the way they acted when they were losng, the constant cheap shots, the fouling style of defense and then the indignation when they got cfalled for anything. Matt Barnes, Baron Davis, and Stephen Jackson were the guiltiest parties. I'm not sure I understand the NBA's policies on cheap shot artists. Davis should have been suspended for at least 5 games for his intentional forearm to the classy Derek Fisher. If I am running the NBA, there is no place for that in my league. These games aren't being played in the yard at Shawshank, are they? Same goes for Jason Richardson's take down of Mehmut Okur. These teams need to learn how to win and lose with class.
Speaking of cheap shot artists, why is the NBA ignoring Bruce Bowen? Think about how many incidents Bowen has been involved in , with players such as Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Steve Nash, and Kobe Bryant, to name a few...this guy is a cheap shot artist, a marginal talent who has no place in the NBA because all he tries to do is hurt and maim more talented players but sliding under them so they can't land safely, elbowing them, kneeing them, etc. He is a menace. Had he been suspended for his knee to the groin, perhaps the situation at the end of Game 4 never owuld have escalated.
Speaking of which, the NBA missed a golden opportunity to enforce the rul and still save face. They could have done one of two things. They could have suspended Diaw and decided to accept Amare's claim that he was going to the scorer's table on any foul to chekc back into the game. This way they wouldnt' have been ignoring the rule but at the same time not completely fleecing the Suns. It's not like the Spurs could complain about such a ruling. The other thing they could have done, had they found it absolutely necessary to suspend both players, is suspend one for Game 5 and one for game 6, rather than btoh for game 5. We know there will be at least a game 6, so that should be OK. And yes, both palyers should not have left the bench, but I'm sure the Suns were on edge, especially about proteting their leader, the incredible Nash, who has let's see, been cracked in the head, kneed in the groin and checked into the scorer's table in a span of 4 games. What's next, they put a chainsaw in his torso? What's to stop the Suns from proving a point by checking little-used (and useless) Marcus Banks into the game and having him knee Parker in the groin, throw Ginobili into the scorer's table on his way out, and then make fun of Duncan's haircut in the post game press conference? I wouldn't be surprised to see some Suns expendable player give a very hard foul just to show the Spurs they won't be pushed around.
I actually think the Suns will pull together to win Game 5, and I expect Nash to show why he is the best player in the league by putitng up like 38 points and 19 assists or something ridiculous. I also expect Leandro Barbosa to finally show up and have a huge game.
Whichever way it happens, I know that I can turn on my TV tomorrow and hear Skip Bayless tell me he was right about it...somehow...
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Write Keith Berzanske at nothingbutnet44@hotmail.com |
