Links To The Present: May 6, 2010
2010-05-06
“It felt good today,” said James, wearing a shorter black sleeve on the elbow than the longer, heavily padded one he has been wearing. “I was able to go through the whole practice and it didn’t flare up at all. That’s a good sign.” [LeBron James from Mary Schmitt Boyer’s Article]
Brian Windhorst’s Cavs Diary is excellent. I wish he compiled something like this after every game. Who knows, maybe he has and he’s waiting to see if the Cavs win the Championship so he can turn it into a book.
Not surprisingly, “fans” are still arguing over LeBron’s Jump Stop. I have decided that over 90% of people that complain about LeBron just don’t like him and want to be contrarian or whatever. The guy was given 90 Million dollars as an 18 year old and has almost uniformly been a good teammate, a good role model, and a good representative of the NBA. Despite that, he might be the most “hated” player in the league.
There are two ways to look at Game 2:
1) Boston was sort of fortunate to win; they turned the ball over 17 times, Cleveland, the 2nd-best three-point shooting team in the NBA, missed 17 of 21 three-pointers, and the C’s hit 9-of-19 from deep. You can’t reasonably expect that kind of three-point disparity again;
2) Boston turned the ball over 17 times and still won by 18 points on the road. And, sure, they were hot from three-point range and Cleveland was cold, but what are the chances Cleveland attempts 20 more foul shots than the C’s once the series moves to the Garden? [Zach Lowe – CelticsHub]
“One time, a guy had a wide-open layup,” the Cavaliers’ Jamario Moon said. “It was just him. I don’t even think LeBron could have gotten to it and blocked it. He was dribbling down the right wing and saw LeBron coming and he dribbled all the way through the baseline and brought it back up. That’s scary. If you can’t dunk it, I guess you might as well pull it out. Because when he does that, he can demoralize a team. It’s never just a little tap block; he tries to put the ball through the backboard.” [Jonathan Abrams – NYT]
“I have no idea what LeBron is going to do,” Rodriguez said. “There’s one thing clear… He’s on a championship-type team, where he has played the Finals, conference finals… I don’t know if he’s going to New York. I’d love for him to sign there because it’s on the Knicks’ best interests, but it’s going to be difficult because he’s on a championship team that has been totally built around him. And besides, he’s from Cleveland.” [Jorge Sierra – HoopsHype]
Tweets To The Present: (f0llow me @tompestak)
Austin Carr must have found somebody else’s ballot laying around and filled it out. RT @WayneEmbrysKids Mo Williams got an All-NBA vote! [Dan Labbe]
@noamschiller Yes. Cavs dealt with Rose, have to figure out how to deal with Rondo, and when they’re done with him, Jameer! Yay! [OutsidetheNBA]
LeBron’s Elbow responded to my facebook message:
“Did LeBron say if he would let you dunk tonight?”
“I will try to throw the hammer down.”
I’m just glad there is a game tonight. Sick of waiting and wondering and worrying. Bad time for a long layoff for Cavs fans, though probably good for Lebron, which is of course more important.
Isaac I don’t mean to pessimistic and I’m really not being. I thought my post was rather optimistic. There was little to no doubt that after the first two rounds were complete last year, Cleveland looked like the best team and by quite a bit. Orlando had played 13 games against a bad team and a very injured team combined. Lakers had just went to 7 games against a Houston squad that didn’t have it’s very best player and because of that lacked any size whatsoever. A couple of times the Lakers just got ran. The Cavs looked like the… Read more »
Honest prediction, no wishful thinking. I reckon they win game 3, then win the home games and lose away games. Cavs in 7.
Am I the only one a little disconcerted by the fact that we are potentially heading towards a post season that may be described by the Cleveland sports fan familiar article-noun combination? The Fumble. The Shot. The Drive. For the love of zod, let’s not have The Elbow sum up this year.
That being said, I’m reserving all true worry until I see what they look like these next two games. I’m really hoping we get a repeat of that game 4 Bulls performance.
Eh, you don’t play poorly and sweep a series. Playoff games are going to be close and if you manage to beat ateam 4 straight times w/o losing to them once, you have done something right.
the only people who hate Lebron are Orlando fans and media…and Faker fans and media…NY loves him Chicago loves him for obvious reasons….it is true that if a player is hated they are doing something good…it happens in any sport on any level. But being a superstar everything gets magnified and overblown into a controversy and a negative…just gets annoying…at times its weird having to defend a superstar in Cleveland when thats wasnt the case a mere decade ago haha
I don’t understand the Lebron as the most hated guy in the league comment. Seriously, amongst fellow Celtics fans, there is widespread respect and I know of no one who hates the guy. Are there complaints about preferential treatment – Yes. Are there complaints about the “crab dribble” and getting away with extra steps – Yes. But, realistically, that goes with being a superstar in the NBA…you get the calls. It has been that way for a long, long time and Lebron is just another beneficiary. That being said, my review of the non-call the other night is that it… Read more »
Everyone keeps talking about last seasons sweeps through the first two rounds and winning every game by 10+ points. The way I remember it, the Cavs did the bare minimum to win those games and actually played poorly. Something about the post season…
I have a feeling Lebron has already packed his bags. At least Cleveland has the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.
What’s the line from U-571? “‘I don’t know’ will sink a submarine faster than any torpedo.”
Here’s what the Sports Guy said about Steve Nash, “Steve Nash isn’t wired that way. He’s loyal. He’s Canadian. He’s old-school. He believes in things like, ‘I am the leader of this team, so as soon as I say that I might want to leave, I can’t lead anymore.'” LeBron needs to learn that lesson. Even if he’s lying, he needs to say he’s staying in order to lead this team.
@Rich, I find your lack of faith disturbing.
(Star Wars references FTW!)
Look, there is little to no doubt that the Magic look like the best team. If I’m bettting today, I’m betting on the Magic to win the title. BUT, do we forget last year? The Magic had to go to 6 games with the so-so sixers, which included dropping a home game. They then went 7 with Boston, who had no KG, in which they dropped yet another game at home. Cleveland however, had swept right through the first two rounds. Do you remember how many people were out there saying Clevelan was going to just roll right over the… Read more »
Rich, let’s just concede the season. Whatta ya say buddy? Magic Champs. You in?
I like the Nelson matchup is better than the Rose or Rondo matchup. You can force Nelson intothe paint. He isn’t nearly as athletic as the other two guys and can’t hurt you in their like they can. Imo, it is athletic point guards that give us the most problems.
Of course, getting to Nelson is going to be a struggle so who even cares at this point.
If you got haters, you’re doing something right.
Re: travel
I agree 100% with everything in that paragraph.