Legacy Of LeBron Vs. Jordan

It is almost universally recognized that Michael Jordan is the greatest professional basketball player ever because of the six titles he won with the Chicago Bulls in eight years.

There are some who consider Bill Russell because of the Celtics’ dominance in the 60’s, and others who will name Oscar Robertson’s all-around game, Wilt Chamberlain’s unbelievable numbers, and those who will talk about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as well.

Jordan’s rep comes from elevating those teams to championships without other great players on his team. Yes, Scottie Pippen was a perfect compliment to him, but if let’s say Larry Nance replaced Pippen on those teams, would they still have won? We would say yes.

This brings us to LeBron James. Can James pass Jordan as the greatest player ever?

Right now, James has been in seven Finals, one more than His Airness. The difference, of course, is that the Bulls never lost when they got that far, while James’ teams have suffered four defeats, two each with the Cavaliers and Heat.

One argument used against Jordan is he never defeated another great team in The Finals. The Bulls first title was against a Laker team on its last legs. They didn’t win the Western Conference again with this group, led by Magic Johnson and James Worthy.

Probably the closest foe to Chicago were the Utah teams they won their last two titles against. The Jazz were led by two all-time greats in Karl Malone and John Stockton and repeating elevates that squad.

James’ team lost twice to the Spurs dynasty team (’07 with the Cavs, ’14 with the Heat) led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. They also defeated that same group in 2013.

And, of course, LeBron led the Cavs over the team with the all-time best regular season record this past summer, beating the 73 win Golden State team.

So, let’s say James takes the Cavaliers back to the Finals the next three seasons. That will give him ten appearances in the championship series. The most by any player who never played for the Celtics or Lakers (Bill Russell played in 12, Magic and Jerry West played in 9), and second most all-time.

And let’s say he wins two of those seasons, giving him five titles. Could we then say he surpasses Jordan? We say yes.

The main reason is the victory over the Warriors in June, and we presume one of those other wins will also come against Golden State, the 73 win team that also added another at least top 25 player of all-time in Kevin Durant.

As for Russell, the playoffs weren’t as tough then. Basically, if the Celtics defeated Chamberlain’s team they were in the championship round. Like Russell, James is surrounded by better talent than Jordan was with the Bulls, but getting to the title round four more times would tilt the scales in James’ direction in our opinion.

So, that’s what James is chasing now. He’s universally recognized as a top ten player in NBA history, probably top five.

Can he get to #1? Getting to more Finals will insure that chance, as well as moving up the lists in scoring and assists. He may very well be the all-time leading scorer or be second by the time he hangs up his sneakers.

The fact he has help from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love doesn’t hurt his chances one bit.

Once Again, Ignore The Warriors Until Next June.

Last year, when all the hullabaloo from the national media was going on about the Golden State Warriors, we said we would escape the noise until if or when the Cavaliers had to play them in the NBA Finals.

Now that they have signed Kevin Durant as a free agent, we will comment about them now, and then ignore them again until if or when the wine and gold have to play them in a playoff situation, which, of course would be the rubber match between the two franchises for an NBA Championship.

Many national pundits are conceding the 2016-17 title to the Warriors while wondering if they can go 82-0.

Basketball doesn’t work that way. It will be interesting to see who’s game or shots are altered by Durant’s arrival, and how it affects the player who will get less looks.

Since Stephen Curry is the two time MVP, our guess is that Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will have to change the way they currently play, and how will that play out.

And to fit Durant’s salary in, the Warriors will have to sacrifice the roster depth they’ve had over the past two seasons. This means more minutes for the starters.

We saw how the extra playoff minutes took a toll on Curry during The Finals, and will it take a toll on the remaining squad if all of them have to play two to three minutes per game over an 82 game season.

And don’t forget, an injury could derail the best laid plans of Golden State too.

What should the Cavs do to combat the Warriors move?

There isn’t much they can do, because of salary cap constraints, but with the limited resources they do have, we would look for another wing defender (preferably someone 6’7″ or 6’8″) who can have shooting range.

Kind of a smaller version of Channing Frye.

Remember that there are players on bad teams, non-playoff teams that when used in the right situation can be a perfect fit on a club with championship aspirations.

Before LeBron James came back to Cleveland, people were upset with Tristan Thompson, because at that point, he was the second best player on the team, and was limited offensively.

But when the Cavs became a title contender, Thompson’s skills of being able to defend smaller players out on the floor, and his ability to get offensive rebounds were invaluable to the wine and gold.

So, now that Thompson is the fourth or fifth best player on the roster, he is regarded as a very good player.

The same is true with Matthew Dellavedova, who parlayed his contributions the last two seasons into a $38 million contract with Milwaukee.

When he was a rookie, we wondered aloud why Mike Brown kept putting him into games. He was a solid defender, but at that point didn’t have a reliable jump shot and wasn’t a particularly good ball handler.

However, on the James-led Cavs, Delly’s defensive skills and gritty play earned him minutes. He improved his jump shot too, and became a solid threat from beyond the arc.

It will be interesting to see how he plays with a team that will probably be in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference next season.

So, there are guys in the league who could come here and be very productive in the Cavaliers’ situation.

We trust in GM David Griffin’s ability to find those guys.

As for the Warriors, they will be the story in the regular season, much like they were this year.

We know how it all turned out in the end.

Cavs Live To Fight Another Day

The Cleveland Cavaliers live to fight another day.

It took two virtuoso performances, one from LeBron James, the other from Kyrie Irving to get it done, but there will be a Game 6 of The NBA Finals on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Some people will pooh-pooh the win, because of the absence of Draymond Green due to suspension, but the wine and gold got it done, basically because two of their stars carried them to this point.

And one last comment on Green. He was not suspended for the altercation with James on Friday night, he was out last night because of repeated incidents throughout the playoffs. Whether it is fair or not, those were the rules set forth by the NBA.

Now, back to the game.

The Cavs played a lot of isolation basketball last night, and it worked because they were making shots. When Irving makes 17 out of 24 attempts, then playing that way works. The problem is, when he shoots 8 for 20, it doesn’t look good.

Tyronn Lue’s squad was tied at halftime at 61, but we had a good feeling because they survived an onslaught of three point shots by Klay Thompson, who scored 25 points in the first half.

Even though Thompson was on fire, Cleveland didn’t allow any of the 12-1 or 16-2 runs that Golden State is famous for putting on its opponents. For every Thompson make, either Irving or James answered.

As for the officiating, Golden State still shot more free throws for the game, hitting 19 of 26 compared to the Cavaliers’ 14 of 23, and when you consider six of those attempts came from the deliberate fouling of Tristan Thompson in the third quarter, you can see the Warriors still received the benefit of the doubt from the refs.

As hot as the home team was in the first half from behind the arc, they were cold after halftime, winding up making 14 of 42 for 33%. Green’s absence could be a reason for that because he is such a good passer, and can also make threes. Our guess is the Warriors will shoot better on Thursday.

With Green returning for Game 6, the Cavs are going to need contributions from others. JR Smith was the only other Cleveland player to reach double digits last night, with 10 points.

Lue will need one of these three players, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, and/or Channing Frye to step up and make some shots on Friday.

Frye didn’t play last night, and the other two combined for just six points. There is no doubt Steve Kerr is going to attempt to stop the two guys who hurt his team last night, so someone needs to step up.

Although Love will be hammered today in the media (because that’s what they do, he’s the whipping boy), he was plus 18 last night, so even though he didn’t have a big game, he didn’t screw anything up either.

We understand that’s setting the bar low, but the fact is Love isn’t a good match up against the defending champs. However, he is a major contributor against everyone else.

This is redundant, but the Cavs will need to lift their game to an even higher level to win Thursday and force a game seven in Oakland. Fortunately, they will have two full days of rest before the next game.

No team has ever come back from down 3-1 in The Finals. That doesn’t mean it is never going to happen. That’s what the Cavaliers have to hold on to.

Frustration, Secondary Options Killing The Cavs

The good news is the Cleveland Cavaliers have done an outstanding job defending Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, holding them to a total of 55 points combined in the first two games of the NBA Finals.

The bad news is everyone else wearing a Golden State uniform seems to be scoring at will.

Shaun Livingston has made all but three of the 14 shots he has taken. Leandro Barbosa? He has hit 10 of 12 shots from the floor.

Draymond Green, a career 34% shooter from three point range, although he did hit 39% this season, has made exactly half of his 14 attempts from beyond the arc in this series.

Despite the “Splash Brothers” hitting just 21 of their 51 field goal attempts (41.2%), the Warriors have knocked down 52% of their shots from the field.

That means everyone else is incredibly hot.

It probably won’t continue, but then again, neither will the struggles of the Western Conference champions top two scorers.

To compound Cleveland’s issues containing Golden State’s offense, the red hot shooting the Cavs showed throughout the playoffs has disappeared, with the wine and gold hitting just 37% from the floor.

That’s a good recipe for being down 0-2 in a seven game series.

On the other hand, it’s a seven game series, not three, so it’s not over yet, and if Tyronn Lue’s bunch can somehow defend their home court, it would be a best of three affair.

The lack of fouls called on the Warriors seems to have frustrated Cleveland, which sounds ridiculous because the Cavs have out shot their opponents in this series at the line, getting 44 attempts vs. 20 for Steve Kerr’s crew.

There are two issues with this.

First, Cleveland isn’t playing close enough defense on anyone to draw a foul.

Second, we believe that the Warriors are taking a page out of history, drawing on the mid-90’s New York Knicks, coached by Pat Riley, for their defensive philosophy.

Our observation is that if you bring the ball into the paint against Golden State, you will get fouled. The philosophy is the officials will not call every foul, or the games will last four hours, so if you hit someone every time, it simply won’t be called.

We have been watching basketball for a long time, and there is no way that every time the ball comes free inside that it is a clean play.

There was a picture that appeared on social media from Sports Illustrated’s web site showing Kevin Love being defended by Green, whose hand is clearly on Love’s wrist.

We don’t care how “tough” you are, it is virtually impossible to make an offensive move with the ball in your hand and your wrist in someone else’s.

Why the NBA is overlooking this? We have no answer. But that is why we don’t believe the Cavs “quit” on Sunday, it was simply frustration.

Think about playing a game where you are constantly fouled. You get mad and it’s tough to play.

This isn’t to say the Warriors aren’t a good defensive team. Their quickness at pretty much every position allows them to protect the paint and recover to cover shooters.

They are given some liberties in terms of reaching, grabbing, and slapping, particularly inside and near the basket.

There is no question the Cavs need to play better and shoot better. And they have to overcome the frustration with the lack of calls they are getting when they attack the basket.

A loss tomorrow night virtually ends the season. Lue and James will make sure everyone else knows that.

The Ultimate Challenge For Cavs

Earlier in the year, when both the national media and local scribes and broadcasters seemed obsessed with the Golden State Warriors, we told people to stop comparing the Cleveland Cavaliers with the defending champs, because they were doing something off the charts.

Our opinion was that the only time Cavs’ fans needed to think about the Warriors was if and when the wine and gold meet Golden State in the NBA Finals.

That day is now here. The Cavaliers will be in Oakland Thursday night to begin The Finals after the Warriors eliminated Oklahoma City in a hard fought seven game series.

As you would imagine for a team that won a league record 73 regular season games, the Warriors don’t have any glaring weaknesses.

They are the top three point shooting team in the NBA, the top shooting team regardless of distance, and are in the top five (4th) in rebounding.

Defensively, they rank 1st in defensive field goal percentage against the three point shot, and third in all shots.

Perhaps a reason for that is many teams trying to play the Warriors game, something we don’t believe will work in the long run. We understand Tyronn Lue wants the Cavs to play with pace, but we think the wine and gold will play faster than last year, but they will want to control the tempo.

One thing the Cavaliers have to do defensively is not leave Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson alone. The players defending those two can absolutely not leave them to play help defense.

That duo take 19.3 three point shots per game. And for all the hype about Golden State’s reliance on the long range shot, those two are the only players who average more than 3.5 threes per game.

Cleveland has five such players (JR Smith, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Channing Frye, and LeBron James), meaning Golden State has to honor the long range shooting of many, not just a few.

When the Cavs defeated the Warriors last season in the regular season at The Q, then coach David Blatt said they knew Golden State was going to take three point shots, but they wanted them to be taken by players other than Curry and Thompson.

It didn’t work in The Finals because Andre Iguodala shot the long ball like he never has in his life.

However, we would still try to chase Golden State shooters off of the line and force them to come inside and take two point shots.

As for the “Splash Brothers”, you have to pick them up as soon as they cross half-court, and hope either Draymond Green and/or Andrew Bogut don’t set one of their famed moving screens to get either player free.

We believe Lue may have to forsake his mantra about not complaining about officials to draw attention to this tactic that was used last year in the championship round, and now most coaches see the same thing.

Golden State’s defensive rankings are very good, but it helps if you can put pressure defensively on Curry, and Kyrie Irving can do that.

However, in saying that, we don’t want to see the one-on-one play that comes when Irving is play iso-ball.

Cleveland needs to move the ball, and when Irving gets it with Curry guarding him, he has to attack.

The Cavs also have to exploit the Warriors lack of size when they go to their small lineup. None of those players can handle LeBron James in the post, so Cleveland needs to go to him to force Steve Kerr’s hand.

There is no question this is the toughest test yet for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have to go through the defending champs, and they will have to win at least one game on the road to bring home a title.

Let the series begin on Thursday!

Cavs Played A Bad Game Monday, Nothing More

Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Brooklyn Nets to raise their record to 29-11 for the season, the best record in the Eastern Conference and 4th best overall in the NBA.

You wouldn’t know that by the conversation in town after Monday night’s beatdown of the wine and gold by the defending champion Golden State Warriors, 132-98 at Quicken Loans Arena.

In fact, until the Cavs beat either the Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs, some people won’t give them any credit for the rest of the season.

That’s ridiculous.

It was one game, and that’s all it was.

It is funny to us because the loss to the Warriors is also getting lumped in with the defeat by the Spurs a week ago, even though David Blatt’s team lost that game by four points, on the road, and led the game for most of the first three quarters.

Talk about overreaction.

The reality is it was one colossally bad game. Even Draymond Green, the Warriors’ antagonist, said after the game that they pretty much did everything right, while the wine and gold did everything wrong.

Golden State shot 54.1% from the floor, including an incredible 19 of 40 from behind the three point line. That equals shooting 65% from the field. They normally have a 56% efficiency rating on shooting. So, they were hot.

If your opponent shoots that percentage for an entire game, you are going to lose.

Conversely, the Cavs’ “Big Three”, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love combined to make just 11 of 32 shots, which is 34%. Those guys were cold.

If you combine hot shooting from your opponent, and the Cavs normally allow their opponents to shoot 44%, and poor shooting from your best players, you are probably going to get blown out.

And that’s what happened.

Also, keep in mind Cleveland played the Warriors on Christmas Day in Oakland, and lost by six. We were encouraged by this game because the wine and gold again demonstrated the ability to control the tempo, which is needed vs. Steph Curry and his crew.

On Monday, the Cavs started the game missing shots which allowed the Warriors to get out in transition and they made early threes, mostly by Klay Thompson, who Cleveland has kept in check since last year’s Finals.

We believe that Blatt and his team know they have to control the tempo, which means some isolation plays, in order to defeat the Warriors.

As for the criticism about the Spurs, yes, the Cavs did get away from what got them the lead, and they paid for it. Hopefully, they will learn from their mistake.

Fans and media alike also have to remember that if Cleveland makes The Finals, they will only have to play one of these two teams. They will not have to defeat both.

And could the wine and gold beat either team in a seven game series? Of course. We have always maintained that in the playoffs, coaches can game plan specifically against what the opposition does well.

In the regular season, there isn’t time to do that.

Also, remember that a year ago, the Cavs were a .500 team and they made a couple of trades, and were one of the final two teams playing.

The point is there is a long, long time to get things together and correct the problems, which are few, that this squad has.

The sky is not falling. The Cavs played a bad game on Monday night. They are still one of the league’s best teams. So, relax…

Some Warriors Envy Grips Cavs’ Fans

We believe there is a divide among older professional basketball fans and those under the age of 30 years old, and it concerns the Golden State Warriors.

Older fans think the wide open, shoot the three point shot at all costs way is a fad, and teams that do this on a regular basis won’t be able to win consistently.

Younger fans love Stephan Curry and his style of play, which included pulling up on fast breaks to shoot threes instead of taking the ball to the basket.

The latter’s opinion has been buoyed by the Warriors triumph over a depleted Cavaliers’ team in last year’s Finals, and by Golden State’s 14-0 start this season.

First of all, there isn’t as much difference between the two teams as you think. While the Warriors rank 2nd in the NBA in three point shots attempted (actually Houston is first proving that it is the players, not the system), the Cavs are 5th in the league.

The difference is Golden State is making 41% of those shots thus far. And they made 40% a year ago.

The more experienced fans (of which group we belong to), would love to see opposing teams get physical with Curry, Klay Thompson, and the other Warriors.

But Golden State is a very good defensive team too, holding their opponents to an NBA low .458 field goal percentage against.

We believe this is because other teams try to play the Warriors’ game against them, and they simply aren’t as good. This results in bad shots for opponents.

In last year’s championship series, the wine and gold did not fall into that trap. They pounded the ball inside, and while the Warriors are long, they don’t have a lot of bulk, so you can attack them at the rim.

And let’s not forget that Steve Kerr’s crew did have some luck in the playoffs, getting wins over New Orleans (without Jrue Holliday), Memphis (Mike Conley was hurt), Houston (no Patrick Beverley to harass Curry), and of course, Cleveland without Kevin Love for the entire series, and Kyrie Irving for the last five games.

That’s not to minimize the title, but it is pointing out the facts.

Our point is the NBA season is about a month in and already we are hearing how the Cavaliers should do things like the Warriors.

Especially, when it comes down to handling minutes.

LeBron James is averaging 36.2 minutes per game, but some of that is because of the double overtime game vs. Milwaukee where James logged a season high 45 minutes.

In reality, of the 13 games Cleveland has played, James has totaled 36 or more minutes just six times.

In the Warriors’ 14 games, Curry has been on the floor 36 or more minutes nine times.

Curry is averaging 35.6 minutes per night, and has taken the most shots in the NBA this season. Will that take its toll as the season goes on?

Look, the Warriors are very good. They are the defending champions. And they are about to tie an NBA record for the best start ever if they win their next game to go 15-0.

Meanwhile, the Cavs have gotten off to a great start too at 10-3, and last night they easily defeated their opponent in the Eastern Conference finals a year ago, without Irving, Iman Shumpert, Mo Williams, and Timofey Mozgov.

Three of those players were starters in the conference finals a year ago.

So, don’t envy the Warriors, but instead, respect what the Cavs are doing despite playing all season without two of their top ten players, and now they won’t have four of those guys for the next couple of games.

Being the best team in November and December doesn’t get you anything.

David Blatt, LeBron James, and the Cavaliers are using the San Antonio model. It is better to be playing well in March and April.

That doesn’t mean Golden State can’t sustain it, but we will say if they can, they may be the greatest team of all time.

A Look at The Numbers–Cavs and Warriors.

Thursday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers start the last leg on the road to a possible NBA championship when they take on the Golden State Warriors in The Finals.

The Warriors, led by league MVP Stephen Curry, had the league’s best record at 67-15. They led the league in scoring at 110 points per contest, and also were the league’s best in terms of the most meaningful defensive statistic, opponents field goal percentage, holding teams to a 42.8% figure.

As a comparison, the Cavs ranked 8th in scoring at 103.1 each time they took the floor, but they were eighth worst in the NBA in defensive field goal percent, allowing their opponents to hit 45.6% from the floor.

Based on this, you would think David Blatt’s team doesn’t have a shot.

However, in the playoffs, the Warriors have dropped to 104.3 points offensively, a drop of over five points per game. Their opponents have shot relatively the same, making 43.1% of their attempts.

The Cavs’ offensive output is about the same, scoring 101.4 points, a decline of less than two points. The big difference is on defense, where Cleveland has held the Celtics, Bulls, and Hawks to 41.2% shooting, more than four points better than in the regular season.

As a matter of comparison, the wine and gold’s three opponents ranked 10th (Hawks), 13th (Celtics) and 15th (Bulls) in scoring during the 82 game schedule. In terms of field goal percentage only Atlanta (4th) was in the top 20.

But it isn’t like the Warriors stopped the Showtime Lakers in the playoffs either, as only Houston (6th) was in the top ten in scoring. New Orleans was 16th and Memphis was 20th. However, the Grizzlies and Pelicans were in the top ten in field goal percentage, while the Rockets were 20th.

The Warriors can shoot, make no mistake about that. Curry and his Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, are likely to pull up and shoot long-range three-point shots from anywhere and in any situation.

Cleveland shoots the three ball well too, but it is more likely to occur from penetration and then a kick out to a shooter spotting up.

Can the Cavs bring home a title?

It will no doubt be difficult. The Warriors seem like a finesse team, but they are solid defensively, and in Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala, they have some grit.

Golden State has the home court, so really, if the Cavaliers lose the first two games, it is no reason to panic. They have to come back to Cleveland for a chance to make it a best of three series.

Remember in 2007, the Cavs lost the first two games in the Eastern Conference finals on the road in Detroit, before roaring back to win the last four games.

The pressure is on the Warriors for at least those games. They are the favorite, and they need to keep the home court advantage as the series heads back to Cleveland.

If the Cavs can stop Curry and Thompson from going crazy, they can win the series. Yes, the Warriors have some depth, but if you can keep the Splash Brothers under 50 points for the night, you have a pretty good chance for victory.

Steve Kerr will have to figure out a way to contain LeBron James, if he double teams him, LBJ will find one of his cast of shooters from the perimeter. If Golden State plays him one on one, he might score over 40 points.

The difference for LeBron is these playoffs is his constant attacking of the basket. He is posting up more than ever in a Cavs’ uniform, making himself close to unstoppable.

It will be a great series. That’s the only prediction we are willing to make.