Cavs Defense Might Need A Legitimate Center.

It is no secret that the NBA is going small.

In the 60’s and 70’s, it was thought that you couldn’t win in the league without a dominant big man.

The Celtics were led by Bill Russell, and the only man who could challenge him in those days was Wilt Chamberlain. Then came Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Even in the late 70’s when the Washington Bullets and Seattle Supersonics were exchanging titles, the Bullets had Wes Unseld and the Sonics had Jack Sikma.

The only anomaly was 1975 when the Warriors led by Rick Barry won the title.

Yes, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird dominated the 80’s, but those teams still had Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish manning the middle. And the Isiah Thomas led Pistons had a very good center in Bill Laimbeer.

It wasn’t until Michael Jordan won with the Bulls was the center not a factor, but the Rockets won with Hakeem Olajuwon, and after Jordan retired, Shaquille O’Neal was the dominant force in the sport.

Despite all this history, the Cavs seem to have no desire to have a true center on the roster.

Even Golden State, the poster boys for today’s NBA have centers on the roster with Zaza Pachulia starting and JeVale McGee backing him up.

Cleveland has no seven footer on the roster. Their tallest players are 6’11” Channing Frye, who is really a stretch four, and rookie Ante Zizic, who has garnered just 21 minutes on the season, mostly in mop up roles.

Tristan Thompson plays a lot of center, but he is just 6’9″ and not really a shot blocker. Kevin Love, ideally a power forward, also gets some time in the pivot.

By contrast, Pachulia and McGee log about 22 minutes per night for the Warriors.

The other elite teams in the NBA also have centers. Houston has Nene (6’11”) and Clint Capela (6’10”) who averages 1.6 blocks per night in 24 minutes.

Oklahoma City has seven footer Steven Adams, and in the East, the Wizards have Marcin Gortat and Toronto has Jonas Valenciunas.

And we haven’t mentioned Marc Gasol (Memphis) and Pau Gasol (San Antonio).

When Timofey Mozgov departed via free agency after the 2015-16 championship season, so did any interior defensive force Tyronn Lue had at his disposal.

To be fair, the Cavs did sign Chris Andersen and Andrew Bogut a year ago to play that role, but both were injured shortly after arriving in town.

We understand Lue wants his squad to play with pace and be able to spread the floor to open up driving lanes for LeBron James, Derrick Rose, and Dwyane Wade.

That seems to negate the need for a traditional center, however, there are times when you have to put a legitimate rim protector on the floor.

Right now, opposing teams know there is no penalty in getting to the basket against Cleveland.

We know James is a master at the chase down block, and Wade is a very good shot blocker for a guard, but it’s not quite the same.

If there is one thing that should be on GM Koby Altman’s “to do” list, it should be to get a legitimate inside defensive force.

Thompson is more known for his ability to defend away from the basket on pick and rolls, and his offensive rebounding ability than as an interior defender, and Lue doesn’t seem to want to develop Zizic.

The Cavs need to improve their defensive schemes and principals for sure, but getting someone who can clog the middle and discourage a parade to the rim for the opponents in needed too.

The wine and gold seem to have forgotten that fact.

It’s Not LeBron, It’s the Heat

As we wait for Game 7 of the NBA Finals, we had a revelation.

We really don’t care if LeBron James wins a second title with Miami tonight, but the thought of the people in south Florida celebrating a second consecutive title is down right nauseating.

First of all, Miami is a terrible sports city when you come right down to it. And the fact that a bunch of people left game six early speaks directly to that. They don’t share the passion for sports that midwestern cities like Cleveland have. To them, it’s just a thing to do, a place to go.

That’s just the fans. The reason for rooting against the Heat have more to do with the franchise, and the way the team was put together.

It starts with Pat Riley, who is most famous for coaching the “Showtime” Lakers of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, but we remember that he was a central figure in the era that almost killed basketball, when he was coaching the New York Knicks.

Those Knicks teams forced the league to re-examine the rules about illegal defense, and they played thug basketball, with Riley instructing his squad to foul on pretty much every possession, and daring the referees to call it every time down the floor.

Of course, they didn’t because games would have lasted four hours, so “Riles” got away with one, although the Knicks never won a title.

Riley did finally win another title as coach, with the Heat, but did so forcing out Stan Van Gundy as coach, and taking over a team led by an aging Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade.

And although the league has never acknowledged it, there was tampering involved in putting the current Heat team together with Riley allegedly contacting LeBron James during the season before he became a free agent.

Sure, the players themselves (James, Wade, and Chris Bosh) probably talked about it during their time together in the 2008 Olympics, but many feel Riley was checking on the players during the season.

Then there is Wade, who is right now a broken down version of the great player he once was, but is a guy who for whatever reason gets the benefit of the doubt from officials on a regular basis.

When James was with the Cavs, there was a game the Heat won late because the refs continually sent Wade to the line even though in many cases, he created contact or a Cleveland player was called for a foul when he was getting out-of-the-way.

If Miami wins tonight, Wade will preen around the court like he is the guy responsible for the crown, much like he did after the Eastern Conference title. He should have been reminded that he played one good game in the series.

And then there is Bosh, a player much highly regarded than he should be. He disappears within the game on a regular basis.

Then you have Shane Battier, who may be falling down instinctively right now. Ray Allen, who turned his back on his compadre in Boston to chase another ring, and Eric Spoelstra, who the NBA butt kissing media would have you believe is a great coach.

If the Heat fail tonight, the blame should be placed on Riley, who didn’t put a strong enough team around James, much like Danny Ferry didn’t in Cleveland.

Instead, James will be skewered, and that’s not fair.

And this is coming from someone who still can’t forget the knife he put in the backs of Clevelanders a few years ago.

Even With 4 MVPs, James Doesn’t Compare With Jordan

We understand that currently, the state of sports is based on the present and the recent past.

Many football fans think the NFL started when the Super Bowl did in the mid 1960’s. A lot of basketball fans think the NBA started when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird came into the league.

Baseball may be the one sport that still embraces its past, but most records today are compared with those of post World War II.

At least that goes back 60 years.

That’s why it is amazing to me that many hoops fans want to anoint LeBron James as the greatest to ever play the game.

For the early time since we remember, Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest player ever. Just look at the raw numbers, the man averaged 50 points per game for a full season. Today, a 50 point game is looked at as extraordinary.

Yes, Bill Russell had more rings, but he also had a better supporting cast, players like Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones, and John Havlicek.

Wilt the Stilt wound up with two rings, both with teams ranked amongst the NBA’s best ever, the 1966-67 76ers and the 1971-72 Lakers.

Then Michael Jordan came along.

Perhaps possessing the greatest will to win ever, Jordan won six NBA titles and the next best player on any of those teams was Scottie Pippen, who in our opinion is considered a great player because he played with Jordan.

There were solid players on those teams, but no other superstar talents.

Meanwhile, Jordan never played with anyone as good as Dwyane Wade, a legitimate superstar player who led the Heat to a title with Shaquille O’Neal. Wade was the best player on that team.

Yes, Jordan won only four MVPs, but the perception at the time was the writers were tired of voting for His Airness every year.

There was no doubt who the best player in the NBA was, and at that time there were players like Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon in the league. All of those guys were superstar players.

James is recognized as the best player in the league now, universally. Does today’s talent compare to the guys who competed against Jordan?

Most basketball experts would agree that Kevin Durant is the next best talent, but who’s third? Or the next five best players?

James can’t control who is playing today, but the league doesn’t have the same amount of great players in the game, as there were when Jordan was in his heyday.

While the Heat are the favorites to win this year’s NBA title and make it two straight crowns, they haven’t won it yet. And even if they do, that would give LBJ two rings to MJ’s six.

You don’t need “The Diff” on the scoreboard at Quicken Loans Arena to know that James needs four more titles to tie Jordan as leaders in the “modern era” of the game.

Heck, Kobe Bryant has five rings, although he wasn’t the best player on all five of those Laker squads.

Note: You can’t hold guys who weren’t key players on their teams who have won a similar amount of rings, like Robert Horry or Steve Kerr.

When James gets to four, then start the conversation. Until then, shut up. Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever.

That’s not a slight to James, but let’s slow down the temptation to put him on the top of the heap.

James May Win, But NBA Needs Likeable Stars

The folks at ESPN have to be giddy today with their chosen franchise, the Miami Heat, just one win from the title the network so wanted them to win last season.

The “Heat Index”, the site crafted by the four letter network, will be glowing in neon colors after the team that superstars put together hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Isn’t it odd that when the Lakers had two of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, ESPN didn’t have a website dedicated to them?

And with the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a very young team, you may be looking at the only title LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh get in Miami. With the experience gained in this year’s playoffs, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and crew could be a tough out in the post season for the next few years.

However, the commish, David Stern, has been a little surly lately. When Jim Rome asked him about the draft lottery being rigged, Stern was angry, asking the broadcaster when he “stopped beating his wife”, the question no acceptable response can be given.

Rome simply asked what many people believe, which, of course, is why he asked.

What is odd to us is Stern’s cavalier attitude (no pun intended) about these opinions. You would think that if a small percentage of fans thought the outcome of the sport was predetermined, the man who runs the league would be upset, and address those concerns. Stern doesn’t seem to care.

This is not to say games are rigged. It would take a whole lot of cooperation from players and officials to make that happen. But the commissioner doesn’t take opportunities to allay the fears of the fans.

For example, many basketball fans suggest official Joey Crawford is a tad overzealous in calls for the favored team. Would it kill Stern to cut back on his slate in the playoffs? He shows up at all the big games, game sevens, etc., and therefore his calls are magnified.

The referees don’t help Stern either. There are many fans who believe the Thunder are getting the short end of the stick from the zebras. And it’s not just people in Cleveland either.

Especially when you have a situation last night when Westbrook went to the basket several times, yet shot just three free throws. In the meantime, James went to the line after pushing James Harden out-of-the-way.

The Thunder may not win this season, but they will be among the favorites next season. The San Antonio Spurs have won four championships in the last 15 years. Stern will tell you this is proof that small markets can compete in today’s NBA.

However, ask fans in Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Denver if they think their teams will ever have a chance to be a team that matters in the NBA. They would sadly answer no.

That’s bad for the league.

In football, despite the troubles of the Browns, every team has a chance to win the Super Bowl with good talent evaluation and some luck. In the past few years, we’ve seen downtrodden franchises like the Saints and Cardinals get to the championship game.

Even baseball has seen more parity. Yes, the Yankees make the playoff in most seasons, but have only won one World Series since 2000. That’s the nature of the sport, the best team can lose a series to the worst team at any time during the season.

Stern believes in the power of superstars. He’s marketed the game around them since the time of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. However, he needs them to be likeable stars, which Bird, Magic, and Michael Jordan were.

The Heat trio are hated by most fans throughout the country, it’s not just a Cleveland thing.

Does David Stern realize this? He needs guys like Durant, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and others to pick up the mantle of great players who most fans like.

They may have to save the league again from the me-first guys on the Heat.