‘The Cavs’ planned countermeasures are secret, for the moment. But there certain adjustments that may be able to slow Rondo down.”[Brian Windhorst]
“For example, they have been saying they need to come out with the sense of urgency and then play aggressively for 48 minutes. But they have only done that about 25 percent of the time. Therefore, it is difficult to predict how they will play in Game 5 based on what they say before games.” [Brian Windhorst's Pre-Game Blog]
“If this season doesn’t end with them playing the Lakers or Suns in the finals, Brown figures to be in serious jeopardy. If they lose to Boston, everything else is, too.” [Bud Shaw on Mike Brown's Future]
Spike Lee pulling for the Celtics, because *surprise* he thinks LeBron will leave Cleveland if the Celtics pull off the upset.
“As a result, Boston finds itself 6-3 in the postseason and with a real chance of stunning top-seeded Cleveland in the second round. To get to the conference finals, the Celtics willl need to ward off their pronounced regular-season fading pattern for at least two more games.” [John Hollinger on the Celtics as Front Runners]
‘But with his team threatened by the Celtics this time around, James’ averages have dipped from his regular-season averages, and his inconsistent effort has driven Cavs fans crazy. And no one is quite sure what to expect in Game 5 or Game 6, which is something seldom said before about the MVP. That’s especially troublesome for Cleveland, because his teammates almost always follow his lead.” [Brian Windhorst on LeBron]
Joe Tait to receive an award from the HoF
“In the games that we’ve won, our mindset has been to attack. In games we’ve lost, we’ve let them off the hook. Yesterday, I think they played four guys with at least four fouls in the fourth quarter and only one fouled out.” [Austin Carr on the Cavs intensity issues]
If the Cavs had put up consistent effort throughout this series I honestly dont think everybody would be all gloom and doom.
SHELTON “Spike” Lee is from Atlanta for god’s sake. He needs to STFU as usual. I’m in Denver now but I still bleed Brown, Orange, Wine and Gold…
Be honest. After the game 2 loss would you have taken a split in Boston?
Tom Pestak,
You are obviously a well informed basketball fan, but unfortunately, basketball is more than just stats. If basketball were only about stats, the Cavs would be going for a threepeat this year. Stats win MVPs, but the REAL MVPs show up in the playoffs. Real MVPs make their teammates better in the playoffs.
I specifically mentioned that Lebron is GREAT at making his teammates better in the REGULAR SEASON, but he FAILS to do so in the PLAYOFFS, which is where great players become all-time greats. You respond by providing irrelevant regular season stats (i.e. Mo, Gasol, etc.), and IGNORE my main point that Lebron has yet to make his teammates better in the playoffs, as Kobe has consistently done, yet Lebron is the one with the reputation of making his teammates better. I find that odd, don’t you?
You also bring up Lebron’s teammates when the Cavs went to the finals and ignore how historically pathetic the East was that year, and how improved the East is today (although still inferior to the West). Do you seriously think that a team with Sasha and Gooden starting has the talent to make it to the finals in 2010? I know you know the answer to that question.
You bring up Ira Newble (who did get minutes with the Lakers by the way), but fail to mention that Shannon Brown, who is a big part of the Lakers’ bench, couldn’t even get minutes with the deep Cavs roster (even before the Cavs signed Parker, Shaq and Moon). What does that say about the Cavs depth, compared to the Lakers’? My example is from the CURRENT team, not from several years ago.
You point out that Jamison’s FG% has gone up with Lebron, but you fail to mention that Jamison, who has the ability score 20 points in his sleep, struggles to hit double figures alongside Lebron, and is being underused. At this rate, Jamison will never be an all-star again while playing with Lebron, while Gasol will make the all-star team every year from here on out, playing with Kobe. Again, both Jamison and Gasol were occasional all-stars before teaming up with a superstar.
You site Gasol’s PER, but ignore the bigger point, which is that Gasol could not win a single playoff game, NOT ONE, in twelve tries, before teaming up with Kobe. When Pau was in Memphis, he was considered a choker, who’s game went down the tubes whenever the playoffs started. I would guess that his PER during the twelve playoff games in Memphis were much lower than the 22 that you sited. Again, stats can be deceiving, do you agree?
The fact that the Lakers blew a lead against the Celtics, does not tarnish the fact that Kobe has 4 rings, going on 5, and is a proven champion, unlike you know who.
Finally, my main point is that Lebron has good teammates, no matter how hard Cavs fans try to scapegoat Verejao, Mo, Shaq or whoever else. There are no excuses. The elbow was a good, but silly try, at an excuse. If Lebron wants to be an all-time great, like Kobe, than he has to will this team, he has to get more out of his teammates, and fans have to stop blaming everyone but Lebron.
Cavalier Truth –
I’m a little on edge right now, so if I came across as being a jerk in my last post I’m sorry.
I completely disagree with you on a number of fronts but i respect your right to post on CavsTheBlog and your right to believe that things like “making teammates better” is an argument FOR KOBE and AGAINST LeBron.
I also concede that the Cavs supporting cast has been less than stellar on the offensive end in the playoffs in the LeBron era. Saying this is BECAUSE of LeBron is very difficult to prove. You can try to prove causation but at the end of the day there is not enough evidence for that.
Right now Pau Gasol is the MVP of the Lakers. Of Kobe’s 4 rings, he has been the best player on the team once.
He’s a great player, but I certainly wouldn’t use him as the standard of individual excellence. And just about everyone outside of lakerland would hesitate to say he “makes his teammates better” especially when Pau gasol, a timid, team-first player, has had plenty to say about “touches” during his time in LA and many writers have taken exception to Kobe’s shoot first ask questions later mentality.
But I digress – here is a sample of LeBron making his teammates better. of course, to set up your teammates, they still have to make the shots. I was at this game. And all of this was set up by LeBron.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KQKG-G95s
However, much like Gibson in this game, he was open on the weakside so often because of the attention paid to Lebron in this game.
Gasol and Kobe have the same effect on each other. It is natural that both saw their FG%s rise after becoming teammates as gasol was no longer the only legit scoring option on his team and Kobe was no longer the only legit scoring option on his team.