LeBron James had an amazing dunk at the end of the All Star game and nearly dropped a triple double. He was MVP. Here is a review of his performance on Yahoo! Sports.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-lebronallstar021808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Unfortunately, like most people around the world who follow the NBA this writer and fans who respond to articles like these, decided to pound home the point that the Cavs are overmatched in the JV East and LeBron has no supporting cast around him. Last year's appearance in the NBA Finals were a result of "smoke and mirrors" as Adrian Wojnarowski puts it.
Did he watch the Detroit series? Cleveland played better than the Pistons even in the games they lost. There were no "smoke and mirrors." That was a legitimate series victory.
Is anyone ever going to give Daniel "Boobie" Gibson some love? He drilled 11 three pointers in the rookie game. He finished second in the 3-point shootout. He stepped up in the playoffs last year in a major way. He has had a solid season this year.
How soon has everybody forgotten the run the Cavs were on this very season once this supposed weak supporting cast was playing together? The Cavs went from 4 games under .500 to 8 games above .500 once the team was back together. They have beaten the mighty Celtics two out of three times this season. Don't give me this without Garnett garbage either. The Cavs didn't have LeBron for the one game they lost. They have beaten mighty Kobe and the Lakers in Los Angeles. They beat The Spurs in San Antonio and the Mavs in Dallas.
Look, I'll be the first to admit the Cavs need more. They need a point guard in particular. Larry Hughes has not lived up to the hype. There is no "Scottie Pippen" on this team. I get that. But Danny Ferry has busted his rear end to improve this team. Paxson left him with a mess. But he has drafted Gibson. He traded Mike Wilkes for Flip Murray in a masterful move. He got Larry Hughes who was close behind Redd in that offseason Free Agent crop. It is not his fault Hughes has had personal trauma and has let the team down in performance.
What this team did last year against Detroit and what I see this year shows me much more than the played out, old excuse that James is all by himself here. He knows we need more. He also knows Gibson and Z are important contributors and Hughes just needs to get kick started.
You heard it hear first (and again if you read my old blogs), the Cavs are better than they are getting credit for. The supporting cast is not as bad as everybody wants them to be. Look a little deeper. These guys bring their own strengths to the table.
And one more thing. If Dwayne Wade is so much better than LeBron, why isn't he having the same success in Miami with his supporting cast as James? Don't tell me his supporting cast isn't good enough. Because apparently either is James but the Cavs have been in the playoffs several seasons in a row now and they are 28-23 now. And don't tell me the conference is affecting it. Both teams are in the East. Don't tell me injuries have hurt the Heat, the Cavs have had four of their top seven players out at the same tim. And three of them for an extended stretch.
3 comments:
Huey John,
GREATEST BLOG EVER! HA I hope so bad and would love to see the Cavs get to the playoffs, in whatever way, and win the East again. THEN, it'd be very tough but, win it all. In the playoffs, we'll have to face the Pistons in the 2nd round and then the Celtics for the championship or vice versa. That's a little brutal. Not as brutal as the West though but still tough. One team we won't see though is the HEAT. Who have, in my mind, the same supporting cast for there superstar as us and maybe a better coach. And they're not going anywhere. The only person I worry about is LeBron. He is the only person we need to make sure understands everything and is happy. I don't know if he is pissed we haven't made a move or not. 3 points gaurds (Bibby, Staudamire, Kidd) have all been shipped around and not to us. I know LeBron said he wanted Kidd. I love gibson. Personally, I want to keep Gibson. And Varejeo. Dwayne Jones is no Varejeo. The second half the season is upon us and we gotta take it one game at a time. Let's get healthy, get some chemistry and do just like we did last season... Cept win it all. Thanks Huey John. And Paxson did leave it messed up. That is something those teenagers and some fans don't know or factor in. People think trades and sports business is like trading baseball cards for bubble gum or something.
Man, it is so good to hear someone else sees my point. I 100% agree that we LeBron needs to stay happy. And I do hear some scary quotes from him about how he wants the front office to make the team better. But I also hear him say good things about who we have right now. I remember how happy he was for Z last year after we beat Detroit. Remember that hug right after the horn when they knew they won it? He also pumped Boobie up a ton last year when he started coming on. James' play on the court also shows he is unselfish. I just don't think he is a Kobe type. But he is a competitor. The type of competitor that you need to be to be successful in the pros. So naturally he is going to want to win titles. The passing of PGs with nothing to the Cavs is disheartening but I just don't want to give up 7 guys like Dallas did. Boston and Detroit will be tough, but like you said, if the team is all together and clicking....look out.
I've been telling people not to be surprised if the Cavs make the Finals again. They have last year's experience and they've still got LeBron, who is proving to be better at an earlier age than Jordan. If they get past the Pistons, I think they'll beat the Celtics with ease. The problem is that none of the Eastern teams stand a chance against the Western champ, no matter who it ends up being. Ferry has done an alright job, but he missed his chance at getting a point guard. The Cavs win the Finals if they have Kidd at the point.
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