Well said Kevin. King James was dethroned by Superman's Magic. How many people had Cleveland as a lock to make the Finals? I'm guessing the number is around 90% of NBA followers. And yes, I was one of them. I thought they were a lock thanks to KG being out for the Celtics. I didn't trust the Magic at all, but it turns out that the Cavs could not handle them one bit (more on the Magic coming soon). LeBron couldn't handle it to the point that after the thorough demolition from the Magic in the series clincher, he walked off the court without shaking hands with his opponents or acknowledging their accomplishment and avoided the post game press conference as well. You stay classy King James. So much for the Chosen One. What does this mean for LeBron and the Cavs? I'm glad I asked. (You know you were thinking it too)
First, it is the ulitmate proof that Bron-Bron's supporting cast is nowhere near as good as people thought they were. Start with his frontcourt, where his bigs are Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, and Joe Smith. Aside from Varejao, who would not be starting for any other team in the league, the other 3 are all 33 years of age or older, well past the prime for big men. None of them can play big minutes anymore, nor can they provide much interior defense (unless you call Varejao's flops defense). Wallace and Varejao are two of the most offensively challenged big men in the league, while the ability for Ilgauskas or Smith to get their own shot has diminished so much that they resorted to spotting up behind the 3-point line to get looks. Don't get me wrong, they both have nice outside touches, but do you really want Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Joe Smith shooting mulitple threes for you? Is that a good offense? Ask Mike Brown, reigning coach of the year. (Yes, that was meant to be sarcastic) On to the wings, where Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic reside. They combined to provide 11.6 points per game on the season in about 37 combined minutes. Is that the production you want to provide your superstar with? While they have the ability to knock down open threes, which opposing wings can they defend? The answer isn't Hedo Turkoglu, Mikhael Pietrus, Courtney Lee, or anyone on the Magic...except maybe JJ Redick. Maybe. Chances are they're giving up waaaay more than the 11.6 points they get you in their 37 minutes of action. As for the guards, Cleveland's Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Daniel Gibson have an average height of 6-2. Needless to say this causes matchup problems when the Magic have 6-10 Hedo Turkoglu running the point in crunch time. Again, these guys can hit open shots, but who can they check? Aside from West, they are below average defenders. Gibson's nickname is "Booby" which is all that needs to be said there. West didn't even start for a horrendous Celtics team 2 years ago and said European teams had large contracts on the table for him when negotiating a new deal with the Cavs this past summer, only news broke that no European team was even considering signing him. Keep it real Delonte. And Mo Williams, the gem that Cleveland stole from the Bucks prior to the season? It is an absolute crime that he is an all star guard. (Though he was a third injury replacement that they had to force in because Cleveland's record was so good) Williams is not even one of the top 20 guards in the league. Here are some other point guards: Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Derrick Rose, Baron Davis, Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo, Jameer Nelson, Jose Calderon, Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, Andre Miller. Would you take Mo Williams as your starting point guard over any of those 12 guys? And yet, he was an all star. Replace him with Kirk Hinrich (who didn't even start for a Bulls team that finished 25 games behind Cleveland) and I doubt the Cavs are any worse off. In fact, they're probably better off because Hinrich can actually defend. Williams went from vastly underrated to vastly overrated in about a nanosecond after the Cavs took off. Sure he can knock down open threes but what else can he do? A point guard who barely gets 4 assists a game and can't stop the likes of Rafer Alston shouldn't be running a championship team. Cleveland's lack of a supporting cast was their downfall, as the Magic just had more talent spread over their entire rotation. The Cavs' lack of playoff experience also showed. For Williams and West, this was their first trip to a conference finals and they struggled to hit wide open three pointers that they drained with regularity during the regular season. With a little pressure on, the Cavs wilted, one miracle LeBron shot away from being swept. Their coach of the year had no answers for the Master of Panic himself and guys 2-12 on their roster were exposed.
Second, could this seal LeBron's departure in the summer of 2010? It seemed almost a foregone conclusion at the start of the season. With free agency looming, the lure of New York City would be too much for LeBron to resist. The Knicks were shedding payroll like they were getting ready to pay him A-Rod money, Mike D'Antoni took over and implemented a system that could turn lebron into a statistical monster, and there was no hope of a title in Cleveland with the mighty Celtics and Lakers looking set to dominate the next couple of years. Then came a season that Cleveland fans could hardly dream about. The Cavs land Mo Williams for nothing. Now LeBron finally has all the help he needs. He leads them to the best record in the NBA, securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs. He makes commercials where he plays for the hometown Cleveland Browns (though he chilled with the Dallas Cowboys when they came to play the Browns). He says all the right things and appears ready to rid Cleveland of their championship woes once and for all. The Chosen One. A hometown hero who would save an entire city by himself. The youngest MVP in nearly 4 decades. The playoffs began with back-to-back sweeps with all wins coming by double digit points and 15 point halftime lead in game 1 of the conference finals. Then it all came crashing down. The Magic come back and beat them on their home floor where they had won 43 of their 45 games during the year. Next thing you know, LeBron is blowing off his opponents and the media on his way home for the summer. Will it be the last he spends in Cleveland? The lure of New York is still there, and it may be even more enticing after the realization that this Cavs team cannot win it all. That much is clear. LeBron still does not have the supporting cast he needs to win. The Cavs went just 3-8 against the two teams participating in the NBA Finals. Can the Cavs give him what he needs to win a championship next season and stay in Cleveland? They wasted an excellent opportunity to acquire a top player via a trade with Wally Szczerbiak's nearly $14 million expiring contract. Replace Wally with Vince Carter, Michael Redd, or Shaquille O'Neal and maybe this Cavs team is still undefeated in the postseason. Even with Wally's ridiculous contract coming off the books, the Cavs are still more than $10 million dollars over the cap (and the cap may be going backwards next year). With the economy in its present state, will the Cavs be willing to spend big money on a top free agent? The perfect fit for this team would be the best free agent to be Carlos Boozer, but he would not be welcome back on the team he ditched a few years ago. Do you overpay for Hedo Turkoglu or Shawn Marion, both of whom have already reached their peaks and are starting their declines? Tonight's loss may have already made up James' mind. If he leaves after next season, the Cavs will see him go without getting anything back in return, while their team will be mired with bad contracts and minimal talent. Will the Cavs do the unthinkable and trade LeBron before next season's trade deadline, hoping to get back at least 20 cents on the dollar for him? Cleveland shall suffer from its championship drought for at least another year (unless you believe in Brady Quinn).
Thirdly, and most importantly, what about these fantastic Nike Basketball ads featuring Kobe Bryant and LeBron James puppets? Who knows how many of these commercials they made in preparation for a seemingly inevitable Kobe-Lebron finals matchup. I for one am sad to see it end so soon. Is it too late to sign Dwight Howard to Nike and give him a puppet? Maybe LeBron overdoses on chalk...errr...i mean...moves to New York in search of his own championship rings and Dwight moves in with Kobe. They should at least have one final one featuring LeBron with headphones on trying to ignore Kobe's questions that the media would have asked him had he not blown them off. Please Nike, do it for the fans.
The Cavs was not over matched even though they was one shot from being swept like you said. They was too cocky during season and first two rounds. Maybe too many pregame activities. Or maybe they was just taking pictures to remember their fabulous season.
ReplyDeleteAhh yes, good point on the cockiness. They were pretty cocky after their regular season and back-to-back sweeps. It showed when they blew 15 and 23 point leads in the first two games of the Orlando series and in Mo Williams guaranteeing the series after being down 2-1. As my boy Idraq put it, they were "flamboyantly arrogant" throughout the season, and that certainly had an impact on that series. Good insight.
ReplyDelete