-For everyone who thinks Mike Brown has held LeBron back: would you rather the Cavs play like the Nuggets? They don’t have their coach, and they still might win this series against Utah. But even when Karl’s been on the bench, that team clearly hasn’t played up to their talent level. Maybe they’re “fun to watch” for some folks. Me personally, it hurts to see a team with that many good players go out in the playoffs year after year because they don’t play defense or execute like they should on offense.
-When the Lakers are on, they’re scary good. They’re the Western team I wouldn’t want to see in the finals, in spite of everything. The only reason I’d want the Lakers to play the Cavs in the finals is because my “NBA Finals 2010: this time, Cleveland’s going to set the Lake on fire” t-shirt idea might take off.
-Really, Atlanta? You can’t take care of the Bucks at home? If the Hawks can’t win their next two games, the East is going to look a lot different next season.
-From reader Joshua re: LeBron’s elbow — “I had a similar condition, nothing structually wrong but I felt pain in my elbow. Acupuncture cleared it right up and it hasn’t bothered me since. If there is anyway you could relay this to the Cavs medical staff, millions of Witnesses would be in your debt.” This is the best I can do, Joshua.
-I don’t have much tonight, so I want to direct credit to those who deserve it. First of all, I just want to say how thrilled I am that Eddy Rivera of Magic Basketball is now on the TrueHoop network. Him and Ben Q. Rock have had one of the best team blogs out there for a while. It became clear a while ago that Eddy was more than good enough to have his own blog; him and Ben on one blog was just unfair.
Now Eddy has his own site, but he’s no less excellent. As much as I’m scared of the Magic, I’m glad that the Cavs’ biggest conference rival has such excellent coverage. Orlando Pinstriped Post was a daily read for me because of the consistent quality; now Magic Basketball is as well. Welcome aboard, Eddy. If the Cavs have to lose to any team, I’m glad it’s your favorite one. (The same goes to Zach Lowe and co. at CelticsHub, another of the best team blogs out there.)
-And while things are relatively quiet, I’d like to take a moment to recognize what Tom Pestak has done for this website over the past few months. Links editor can be a thankless job, and Tom had to apply for it. His application blew me away, and he was already one of the site’s best commenters to boot. He’s gone ahead and exceeded my high expectations of him. His work has been timely, done on a daily basis, and excellent. With my NBC job and class, there’s no way I’d have been able to do an afternoon post. Not only has Tom filled that void, but his links have been much better than mine and as good as anybody’s. He’s done it every day, he’s done everything I’ve asked of him and more, and his enthusiasm has been much appreciated. It hasn’t been that long, but I already can’t imagine this site without him.
-While we’re at it, give props to Mark Cameron, who’s brought a statistical element to this site that didn’t exist before.
-That’s all for tonight. Until tomorrow, campers.
I look at that Denver team and I just don’t see all of this talent that people keep talking about. After Anothony and Billups, you have……..um………..Nene? I mean what has Nene done in his career to show that he has some great talent? That he can be relied upon? I’m not sure how we ever arrived at the notion that Nene is actually a good player. And after that it just gets worse. The Bench is terrible. Afflalo is your average 2 guard. Personally, I think Denver is beyond the 8-ball in terms of talent level. When healthy (which they aren’t) I easily feel Utah has more talent overall. Off the bench they hav 3 if not 4 fairly reliable players in Korver, Millsap, Price, and Miles.
I agree, Tom is doing on awesome job with those links. I am consistently impressed with the stuff he is able to find and package. Same goes for Mark and his great pieces. This is definitely my favorite team blog!
This witness would prefer LBJ/the Cavs don’t waste time and resources on treatments that don’t work beyond the placebo effect.
I actually think MB is coaching better than he ever has. He’s not sticking with players in the lineup who aren’t playing well. If AP is not playing well, then MB is sitting him. Same with Z, same with Shaq. I thought his use of Shaq in game 5 was masterful: significant minutes, got the Cavs into the bonus in the 4th, and then he sat so they couldn’t Hack-A-Shaq. Great substitution in game 4 with Jamison at center. Also, good offense/defense substitutions at the ends of each half. Best of all: no Jawad Williams. He just needs to tell Mo to be aggressive, because when Mo’s not, he’s a liability.
I’ve been watching the Nuggets for 2 years on NBA Ticket.
To say they don’t play D is nonsense. Karl pushed it for years, and when Chauncy got there most or the team emphasized D, and they started winning. The only guy on there that skates on D is J.R. Smith. Arron Afflalo was brought over because he is a defensive player. Nene and martin are ferocious on the front line and teams such as the Lakers have trouble with them. And Carmelo – who I couldn’t stand for years because all he did was try to score – became committed to defense after playing on the Olympic team and seeing what Kobe, Lebron and others were doing.
I’m not from Cleveland originally. But I’ve got to tell you, the level of understanding of basketball here is awful. It seem as if a player doesn’t block other guys shots or intercept passes, then they’re not playing D. I love it how people write comments on the blogs about how bad the Cavs bigs play D because they just let the little guys run by them…..well, yes, often they do. It’s the guards job to stop the other teams guards from penetrating, and they don’t do that (Parker is an NBA average defender, Delonte is radically overrated – guys get past him all the time, Boobie is healthy and has improved so now he’s just bad, and Mo is awful – all the good teams run their offense right through whoever Mo is guarding). Teams get by the Cavs guards easily, in their team/help defense the bigs have to move up to help on the other teams guards, which opens up the floor for interior passes/shots. If the Cavs bigs challenged all the quick guards that get past the first layer of D, they would all be fouling out by the 3rd quarter, and the opposing teams guards would be shooting a bunch of and-one’s.
Assuming Lebron stays, the Cavs need to get at least one, and probably two guards that can play on-bll D next year.
The Nuggets are fine. Yes, the miss George Karl and his in-game adjustments. George came through Dean Smith at NC, and has been coaching and playing for over 40 years in the NBA. He is one of the most experienced and best coaches in the league. So he got sick and it’s hard to replace him. Doesn’t mean the Nuggets can’t (and don’t) play D. Dumb ass flippant comment.
Rich, Nene has led the league in TS% for 2 years in a row. He’s a good passer, cutter, and interior defender. Nene is very good at playing center.
Seriously, Nene was probably their most consistent player all year.
Carmelo was terrible after the All-Star break, and Chauncey spent 2 months in a shooting slump. Nene leading the league in TS% for 2 years is a pretty indication that he is a very efficient offensive player, which coincides with top 5 finishes in offense for the Nuggets for 2 years. He does a lot of good things without stopping the ball.
What an ignorant thing to say. To come on an NBA related blog and speak nonsense about good players. I don’t even know what you could knock about him? He’s a pretty average rebounder, but he makes up for it everywhere else.
The Bucks have been a superior team throughout the 2nd half of the season.
It’s amazing that they’re doing this with their center out, but Salmon’s has been a godsend to that team. he is a sensational defender, and fits right in with what Scott Skiles sets up. When he was with Sacramento Salmon’s was the toughest defender Kobe played against in the West. Last night he help Joe Johnson to 13 points, and fouled him out of the game. For 2 years I was hoping the Cavs would get him. had he been on the Cavs last year, the Magic series would have been far, far different.
Does anyone elses comments just disappear sometimes? I didnt say anything offensive, just that I wasnt worried about anyone from the west nearly so much as Orlando, posted it, saw it had appeared, and left. Then a couple hours later, *puff of smoke*, no comment. Can’t imagine it got removed so… JK, maybe something up with the blog? I dont know, anyway.
Howard….the Bucks are impressive to me as well…not only Salmons but Jennings is playing very well for a rookie…all the hoopla on Evans and Curry and Jennings has quietly done well on a better team but has really stepped up in the playoffs…something thats not easy for a rook..thank god Salmons was released by the Bulls last year…he made them better and he did the same with the Kings and now Bucks…I see the ‘Deer’ beating the Hawks and advancing to face Orlando…
Tom’s links have been phenomenal!
Isaac,
I have had similar problems in the past. I’ll post a response and it will say, “You already posted that!” yet my post never appears and it takes a full day or so before I can post again.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/lebron-james%E2%80%99-%E2%80%9Cinjured%E2%80%9D-elbow-an-attention-ploy
Just, wow, at the drivel people come up with to fling crap at LeBron.
Thanks Tom for carrying the coveted burden of managing “Links to the Present!”
All of these mini-controversies are brilliant for LeBron. He is a marketing genius. No matter what kind of spin the media puts on it, the simple fact that they ARE spinning him means he has mastered marketing. People don’t realize that LeBron James is not just a person–it is a brand. And LeBron does not care at all what form of negativity is being thrown his way so long as the attention is constantly being validated. I wonder if Shaq has given him any pointers this year on how to increase his brand?
Tom does an amazing job with Links to the Present! It’s great to have such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guy keeping Cavs fans informed!
Tom’s been great. However, in recent weeks some of the commentary here has been unbearable.
OMG. That T Shirt idea. I think it’s going to make me laugh all day. That’s friggin’ outstanding. I want those finals to happen. I want to set the Lake on fire.
Yea Tom!
Part of me thinks that in about two weeks, I’ll think back and chuckle at my anxiety about the Celtics series. Then again, part of me thinks this worry is justified.
I think in two weeks, we’ll be at about game 3.
um, Rich… you forgot to mention JR Smith — better offensively than any bench player the Cavs have.
Me thinks after the way Rich got schooled in this thread, he goes back to strictly complaing about Andy like he has always done. As annoying as that is too. Stick to what you are best at Rich I suppose.
LeBron continues to be the biggest crybaby in the NBA…..
http://whybedumb.com/index.php/2010/04/lebrons-elbow-please-stop-your-whining/
@BradleyH – I didn’t do any research, it was just a subjective list. however, based on watching Rose play in the Cavs/Bulls series and watchin Rondo often, I would give Rose a slight edge in finishing ability, although Rondo is great too. There is something to be said for sample size too, although I’m not sure what it is since, again, I haven’t looked.
@Rich – Denver has a ton of talent. Melo, Billups, Kenyon Martin, JR Smith, Nene – those are 5 guys that can put the ball into the hoop. 4 of those guys can create their own shot. However, the Nuggets play as the sum of their parts, and as Chris Webber said, stay in iso too much.
@Everyone – thanks for the kind comments and support! John has been very easy (and fun) to work for and I really enjoy doing LTTP!
Glee?
GLEE?????
Just because the placebo effect doesn’t physically do anything doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, by the way.
Now only if the Bucks can knock off Orlandhahaha hahahahahahahaha hahahah
I love it. I ‘ve complained about Andy all of this series, and people act like it’s all I do. I’ll leave Nene alone. I know his numbers look nice, but I just don’t ever watch a Nuggets game and say “man, Nene really made a huge impact out there.” However, I can admit I’m wrong and say that Nene is probably better than I give him credit for. Still waiting for Brad to maybe admit the same about Jamison?
J.R. Smith is shooting a superb 37% from the field this series. Maybe at times he is a great offensive player (he is) but at the same time he can also straight shoot his team right out of game.
And facts are facts. The nuggets are 16th in league in defensive efficiency. That isn’t terrible, but it isn’t great. If Afflalo is a good defender, and Nene and Martin are ferocious, and Carmelo is dedicated to defense (all like Howard said)….then how in the world are they ranked in the middle of the league?
Anyway, I dunno why we can’t have a simple discussion here w/o getting so upset. I mean comments about me getting “owned” in a thread in which I had made one comment in is kind of funny, but kind of out of place, no? State your opinion, I will read it, and as you can see, I’ll admit when I’m wrong. This doesn’t really seem like the best place for all the extra stuff, but w/e.
As far as Atlanta is concerned, I dunno what to say about them. I stated a few games ago that Mike Woodson is probably the worst of the playoff coaches, and it’s showing up. Everytime I see Horford switch to Jennings, I just laguh. To do it 5 games in a row….is astounding. Mike Woodson literally hasn’t made a single defensive adjustment. Not one. The offense is just as bad. Rosen stated that last night they ran 41 isos. Think about that. In a low scoring game , to have 41 isos is amazing. The Bucks only ran 17. If that Atlanta isn’t forcing turnovers so they can run, they are fairly average in the half-court offense and that is only because of hte talent level. Give Mike Woodson the players on the Bucks, and you have a half-court offensive disaster.
If every member of the Cavs is so bad at defense, why have we been close to the top of the league in defense for the past few years? Somebody’s gotta be doing something right, and it’s not just LeBron.
And another attaboy to Tom! It’s great following you on Twitter too.
Hey, Jason using the other side of the arguement to combat Howard that I forgot to bring up. Well done.
Man I’m still waiting for a response from Howard on how he thinks saying Denver is lazy on defense is wrong. Oh well.