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A Therapy Post

May 10th, 2010

I did some research the last few days in the hopes of calming my nerves during the Celtics-Cavaliers series, now tied at 2-2 going into game five at the Q. What is not calming me is seeing how my second favorite team, the Phoenix Suns, are running through teams because they trust their bench and have established a clear identity on what they can do. Can they beat the Lakers? Eh, maybe, maybe not. There’s not really that much pressure. When I watch the Suns play, I get the feeling that everyone on that team is having a hell of a good time. The Cavaliers were like that, last year, in those first two rounds when the wind was at their backs.

Okay…that didn’t help.

Here’s what did…slightly. Again, if you are a Cleveland fan, there is no therapy for us. There is only reality, and a highlight reel that twirls in your head of The Drive, Byner’s fumble, Jordan’s Shot, Parts 1 and 2, Craig Counsel’s sacrifice fly, or Edgar Renteria’s single. But I’ve decided to fight against my natural state. Yes, I grew up in Ohio, but I refuse to think like a victim!

Ever since the NBA Playoffs expanded to 7 games in the 1st round in 2003, these are the playoff records of each NBA champion.

2003- 16-8 (San Antonio)

2004- 16-7 (Detroit)

2005- 16-7 (San Antonio)

2006- 16-7 (Miami)

2007- 16-4 (San Antonio…against Cleveland)

2008- 16-10 (Boston)

2009- 16-7 (Los Angeles)

Not exactly unblemished, right? You can actually go back through each year and see some interesting things. For example, in 2003, New Jersey swept through the Conference Semi-Finals and the Conference Finals…only to lose to San Antonio in 6.

With the exception of the 2007 Finals (pulls at collar…gulp), you can see that teams lose, usually, at least 7 games before winning the championship. This made me feel better for one reason. Struggle.

The 2009 Cavaliers played the first two rounds with a run and gun, no pressure style that, in my opinion, hurt them in the long run when it came to close games against the Magic. Struggle brings about Experience, and the 2010 Cavaliers are indeed struggling right now. But the harder this series is, the better off the Cavaliers will be against the Magic.

Don’t listen to the experts who say, “the Magic are looking like the class of the East”. No…that’s not true, they just got our 2009 schedule the first two rounds. They played a Bobcats team who couldn’t score…(cough cough old, washed up 2009 Pistons cough cough), and now they have the spineless Atlanta Hawks, who look like they’re going to wet the bed every time they enter a pressure 4th quarter. Can’t we remember a year ago? We destroyed the Hawks last year as well. Sure, the Magic have de-double-dawg destroyed them this year, but that’s because Joe Johnson has stopped believing in his team, and the Hawks have stopped believing in Mike Woodson.

For further proof that this epic 2nd round struggle is a good thing, here are two more recent examples from last year. The Los Angeles Lakers went 7 games with a fundamentally tough, well-coached, motivated Houston Rockets team. In retrospect, the Rockets sharpened the Lakers, and their confidence only grew against the Nuggets the next round. The other example? Boston and Orlando…last year. That series went 7 games. It was rough, and it damn near went Boston’s way. But Orlando learned how to bounce back when down…something they did effortlessly against the 09 Cavaliers in the first halves of games 1 and 2.

There has been a lot of criticism connected to the Cavaliers lacking intensity and focus for the full forty-eight minutes. It’s justified…however, it has been the identity of the team the entire year. They only answer to direct, in-your-face challenges, much like the 2004 Pistons were known for. If there’s one thing that’s impressed me about this team, it’s their ability to fight themselves out of a corner. I’m not sure how this identity evolved. After all, the 09 Cavaliers played with a lot more looseness and carefree energy than this team. Perhaps the only way Lebron can get motivated anymore is when everyone starts to doubt him.

Game 4 was a mystery. Was it lack of aggression? No. Was it Boston baiting Lebron into taking jump shots, who then proceeded to drive into the heart of the lane and pass off to teammates, who were waiting for him to take over? Maybe more of that. It was a noble, passive-aggressive game for Lebron. I think, deep down, he believes he left his teammates behind in the 09 playoffs. By that I mean he feels like they need to feel even more involved in the offense.

As Brian Windhorst mentioned, the team still has chemistry issues. Mo Williams, who gets criticized far too much, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. To start with, he’s wondering if Lebron is going to be a point guard one play, and on the other, he knows he needs to get Jamison involved when he does have the ball. Talk about an identity crisis. What is Mo Williams to this team? Just tell him what he’ll be, and things will go a whole lot better.

I’m getting back into panic mode. All I wish is that Lebron decide his role, because this whole ‘sometimes I play point, sometimes not’ is confusing the role players.

Not that I have any say in the matter, but I have to feel this situation would be just fine and dandy:

(Lebron brings the ball up, calls the play. Mo runs off screens set by Parker and Shaq. Jamison does a pick and roll with Lebron. Jamison goes to the basket, and takes a player with him. If Jamison’s not available, you’ve got Mo coming off a large Shaq screen. If he isn’t open, you’ve got Shaq posting up, with Parker perched in the corner. Options, options, options.)

The Cavaliers do this…a lot. But there are times when I see Mo close to the top of the key, waiting on what he’s supposed to do. The above situation is unstoppable with Lebron at the point. Tell Mo he is a shooting guard, and will always be a shooting guard, and you’ll see improvement in his shooting.

God I’m nervous about Game 5…

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Shaq, Nate the Great, and Legacies

April 19th, 2010

As the playoffs rage on, and a slimmer Shaq continues to dominate players, I couldn’t help but marvel at his transformation. The man knows how to flip the switch. Seeing him play now, diving for loose balls, after watching him play himself into shape during the regular season, I wondered who else in Cavalier history Shaq might resemble.

I’m starting to see Shaq as having a Cleveland career similar to another former Cavalier legend: Nate Thurmond.

Between 1975-1977, the legend Nate Thurmond played a grand total of 114 games for the Cavaliers. His statistics, in contrast to his incredible career, were nothing to party about. He played around 19 minutes a game, had a field goal percentage hovering around 41 percent, and made just over 50% of his free throws. All in all, Nate the Great averaged five points and six rebounds in a Cleveland uniform.

Yet, if you attend a Cavaliers home game and look up at the rafters, there you’ll see his number 42 hanging on a curtain of immortality. The Cleveland Cavaliers retired his number in 1977. And why’s that? For 5 points and 6 rebounds a game?

To start with, you can just hear someone say: ‘He’s Nate fricking Thurmond. Of course his number should be retired’. Very true. Thurmond did produce some of the most insane point-rebound averages in NBA history. The man averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds for his entire career. Almost all of that production came with the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors. And, rightfully so, they retired his number 42 as well. So, with that idea gone…what compelled the Cleveland Cavaliers to reward a two-season bench player?

After a 6-11 start to the 75-76 season, Thurmond helped turn the Cavs into a more well-rounded force, giving the team a quality 20 minutes a game. That season they ended up 49-33, and defeated the Washington Bullets in ‘The Miracle of Richfield’. (Watch that video and marvel at how much the crowd got into it).

I cannot express the immensity of that series. Before TMOR, the Cavaliers had not been able to put a ‘success story’ into their history books. They were jesters in a league of knights and kings. But Thurmond, along with Bobby Bingo Smith, Austin Carr, Jim Chones, and Dick Snyder, gave the city of Cleveland something to smile about.

Enter Shaq.

The man has already established himself as a legend, much like Nate Thurmond. His very presence alters the psyche of the other team. Although he starts over Z , they share the same position—slightly similar to the way Thurmond complemented Jim Chones.

Shaqtus has burned a few bridges in Orlando (leaving for bigger money), Los Angeles (an ego feud with Kobe Bryant), Miami (coaching issues?) and Phoenix (team chemistry). But with Cleveland, Shaq could end his career on a high, giving a city a championship they’ve been wanting for over forty years. All it takes is one miracle season (hopefully this one), the ability to compromise his stats for the greater good, and Shaq could see his 33 retired, and a city that unconditionally loves him.

Nate Thurmond, a native of Akron, knows the feeling well.

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Playoffs: Round 1

April 16th, 2010

Playoff Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers (61-21) vs. Chicago Bulls (41-41)

TV Times:

Game 1—Saturday, 3p.m. (Eastern) on ABC

Game 2—Monday, 8p.m. (Eastern) on TNT

Game 3—Thursday, 7p.m. (Eastern) on TNT

The Journey Begins

Like a group of bears who have been hibernating, the Cavaliers will attempt to shake off the slumber of the last week and a half and rejuvenate the chemistry they found throughout the season.

The Chicago Bulls, meanwhile, have absolutely nothing to lose, and that goes for Del Negro too. It’s a very dangerous mindset to face, because anomalies can arise anywhere and everywhere.

To start with, Del Negro has to like where he’s at. He has survived a titanic losing streak early in the season, a humiliating, record-breaking loss to the Sacramento Kings where they were up by 35 points and still blew the game. He’s even survived a frustrated and fighting VP named John Paxson, who became maniacal after Del Negro didn’t use Joakim Noah wisely after an injury. Yet, here he is, and here they are, the Chicago Bulls, after a ridiculously dramatic season, 41-41, scars and all, ready to try anything to win.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are, quite literally, sleeping giants at the moment. Mike Brown has locked down Lebron James, Shaq, and at times Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison, to the point that I worry about their ability to gel quickly once they are on the floor together.

The Cavaliers have played like a chameleon throughout this season, and succeeded brilliantly. No Mo Williams? Whatever, let’s go 11-0. No Shaq? Ah well, let’s speed the game up and blow people out like we did last year. It seems, thanks to Lebron’s steady hand at the point-forward position (and a hugely underrated Delonte West steadying the back-ups) that the Cavaliers can have practically any combination on the floor and still find a way to win.

Here is the matchup breakdown for the series:

PG- Mo Williams vs. Derrick Rose

I fully expect Mike Brown to switch Anthony Parker onto Derrick Rose in order to nullify Rose’s drives to the lane, which open up jump shots for Hinrich and Deng. If Parker takes on Rose, that will give Mo a better chance to create on the offensive end, perhaps sliding to a corner for a three, or pushing the tempo in order to keep Rose and Hinrich honest. If the Bulls keep Rose on Mo, it would be wise to run Mo off screens and make Rose work on the defensive end as much as possible. In the epic Boston-Chicago first round series last year, Rose had a field day with Rondo, and vice versa. Parker needs to turn Rose into a mid-range shooter, and Mo needs to look for his shot every chance he gets.

SG-Anthony Parker vs. Kirk Hinrich

To get ten points a game out of Parker would be equivalent to me winning the Pick 3. Brown uses him for three reasons, and three alone. 1) He’s a solid on the ball defender. 2) He’s taller and can annoy smaller guards. 3) He keeps his turnovers down and sets excellent screens to get other players open. In short, he’s the under-the-radar guy (UTRG).

Hinrich, meanwhile, might enjoy it when Mo is guarding him. He can shoot over him, and he’ll let Rose do more of the dribbling so he can perhaps exhaust Mo on the defensive end. With this being said, I don’t have much fear when it comes to Hinrich. He’s a good shooter, great passer and defender,  but with Rose being the focus, I’ve seen Hinrich lose focus. They are, essentially, two point guards, so the ebb and flow between Rose and Hinrich should favor Parker and Williams, as long as the Cavs work together on screens and pick and rolls.

SF- Lebron James vs. Luol Deng

Deng can enter grooves that are hard to stop, but as long as he has someone bigger and taller on him, I don’t see him being a true threat in any game. Lebron will do his thing offensively, meaning obliterate and abuse anyone who tries to guard him. But it will be his fourth-quarter lockdowns on Chicago’s purest shooter that will ultimately decide how close these games will be. Deng, at least from what I’ve watched, seems to stand as a modest, polite scorer. He’ll give you a quiet fifteen points a night at a high percentage.

Lebron, meanwhile, should take some time this series to make sure everyone is getting some touches. Against the Bulls, he could, if he wanted, score 40 a game, but that would set the tone for a more difficult 2nd round series. Even if he has to sacrifice a game to do it, I think Lebron has to make sure everyone realizes how important they are. That starts with Round One.

PF- Antawn Jamison vs. Taj Gibson

This matchup is getting touted as one to watch, but I think it will be pretty one-sided. Jamison is one of the most awkwardly successful scorers in NBA history, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to make Gibson’s head explode at least three times a game with his under the basket loop-de-loops and cannonball threes. Gibson, meanwhile, doesn’t really have the game to exhaust Jamison on the defensive end. Personally, I see Jamison scoring 20 a game in this series easily. Let’s just hope he’s prayed to the Free Throw Shooting Gods enough. The percentage drop is due, in my opinion, to a personal realization of how close he is to a lifelong goal: A championship. In other words, ‘Success Pressure’.

C-Shaquille O’Neal vs. Joakim Noah

Ignore the stats on this one. Noah doesn’t have enough post moves to get Shaq into foul trouble, and that’s pretty much the only way you stop Shaq. That or you foul him, and watch him shoot free throws the same way Andre the Giant threw rocks at Wesley in The Princess Bride. Look for Brown to run some post patterns for Shaq early in the first and third quarters. Then, check and see if he’s getting doubled. If he doesn’t get doubled, he’ll get fouled. If he does get doubled, he’ll dish off and the Cavs will go around the horn looking for threes or open lanes to the basket. This is why Shaq gets the ball early in quarters. Either way, something good will happen: Open looks, or Chicago will get into foul trouble.

Bench: CAVALIERS: J.J. Hickson, Delonte West, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, Jawad Williams, Jamario Moon, hopefully Daniel Gibson

BULLS: Brad Miller, Flip Murray, James Johnson, Jannero Pargo, and some other players the Cavs can’t properly prepare for because there’s nothing to see.

As we’ve realized during his injury, Varejao is the secret weapon to any meaningful Cavaliers victory. Like Parker, he does three things incredibly well. 1) He will set ‘real’ picks and screens, not those touch picks you see from J.J. from time to time. 2) He cuts to the basket exactly when he’s supposed to. Varejao runs on momentum, as does Lebron and Mo. And 3) He’s a stupendous annoyance on any player slightly confused about his own team’s spacing around the basket.

Which leads me to the most important thing that must happen in this series.

X-Factor: Anderson Varejao must school Joakim Noah.

You see it. I know you do. Joakim Noah is Varejao’s evil cousin who got beat up one too many times in school and ended up liking paintball too much. They do the same things. Here’s the only difference: Noah doesn’t know subtlety. And that’s what Varejao needs to do in order for the Cavs to earn a sweep. Varejao, off the bench, needs to quietly steal Noah’s ability to sneak around players for rebounds. No Noah rebounding, no 2nd chance points for the Bulls.

Prediction

As much as I loved the first two rounds last year, and how we destroyed the Pistons and the Hawks, I’ll be watching for synchronicity, togetherness, and, most of all, patience. I don’t need a sweep in this series. It’d be nice, but I’m finding it hard to believe that the Cavaliers, after the long layoff and the reorganizing of the starting five, can win the first three games of this series. I see game 1 as an absolute pile-drive of energy, enthusiasm, and dunks. Lots of dunks. Lots of J.J. hanging on the rim, and a lot of fast breaks. I see game 2′s first half as a struggle, and then a refocusing in the 2nd half and a tougher than anticipated win. However, with the series in control at 2-0, I see the Cavs experimenting slightly with their playbook, defensive sets, and that will allow Chicago to have their ‘Giggle Game’.

A Giggle Game can only be explained through an example. Remember when you were young, on a playground, shooting hoops, when this one kid comes from out of nowhere and starts hitting shot after shot. Of course, you’re the king of the playground, so you say: “Are you serious. Please. Try that again.” And then they do, and it works, over and over, until you’ve machoed yourself out of a chance of winning the game. After that, other kids say to you. “You might be awesome, but that kid beat you that one time.” That’s what is called a Giggle Game. And it’s going to happen to the Lakers in the first round after Durant goes for 50 one night (I’ll predict game 2).

The Cavaliers shouldn’t fear the Giggle Game. All they should fear is hubris. They avoid that, they’re in good shape.

Cavs in 5.

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Before the Fame

April 10th, 2010

“You have to know the past to understand the present.” –Carl Sagan

Before the playoffs start, and Lebron begin playing like a superhuman, I thought it would be a good idea to perhaps share with fans some ‘highlights’ of who he was before the 40-8-8 stat lines. Lebron had a childhood, and he was good enough to share a fair portion of it in his book Shooting Stars, co-authored with Buzz Bissinger.

It’s a great read, and if you’re from the area of Akron, you’ll enjoy imagining the spots in the city mentioned in the book. Plus, you’ll find a few facts that humanize Lebron and, as a result, bring him to life more.

Here are a few:

–In order to raise enough money to travel to Salt Lake City with his 12 and under AAU team, Lebron and the rest of the team sold duct tape door to door. That’s right, not boxes of candy. Duct tape. I had a hard enough time selling Reese’s Cups, but they were able to pull together enough money to go to the national tournament.

–That trip to Utah was Lebron’s first time on a plane in his entire life. According to the book, he “cried like there was no tomorrow, scared out of my wits, my ears an impacted mess because of the altitude.”

–In order to get away from the craziness of his team’s ever-growing popularity, Lebron would hang out in Coach Dru’s basement and play NBA Live with his teammates for hours. His favorite team? The Bulls.

–His favorite burger joint was Swensons, where he’d sometimes get “a burger (with everything), fries, and Cherry Coke on a tray that was attached to the window of your car by a goofy-looking teenager still dealing with acne.”

–The man loved Akron, and wanted to someday make it famous. “With a population of about 225,000 when I was growing up, it was still small enough to feel intimate, a place you could put your arms around, a place that would put its arms around you.”

–His first high school game as a member of St. V was against Cuyahoga Falls, where I graduated high school a year before Lebron started. They ripped us 76-40, and Lebron had 15 points and 8 rebounds. The beginning of a journey.

So, as we watch these playoffs, and we see Lebron—now a twenty-five year old father of two, at peak physical condition, and the team leader of the best team in basketball—dominating games, perhaps knowing a few of these tidbits might enhance what we are trying to fathom. Sometimes we forget that our heroes had pasts somewhat similar to our own, and that, by forgetting, we risk losing a connection to the players we love.

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Z’s Karma

March 25th, 2010

With the re-arrival of Big Z, the Cavaliers have officially returned from the land of bad karma. That is, if you believe in the idea of karma. Lebron certainly does:

“As you can probably tell by now, I look for karma. I believe that things happen for a reason or don’t happen for a reason.” –From Shooting Stars.

This reversal of fortune of Z coming back to the team after being traded causes me to reflect on if the Cleveland Indians could have gotten back Rocky Colavito through some trade loophole. Can a possible curse be reversed? Or has the damage been done?

Z is still, ever since he was drafted in 1996, one of my favorite players to watch. He’s unassuming, modest, and easy to like. My wife and I call him ‘Relaxed Guy’, because no matter the situation, his face never contorts into someone of great suffering. Of course, there are rare, awesome moments, such as his epic, tall white-dude fight with Greg Ostertag (50 seconds into the video) that remind me how passionate he is about the game.

Z doesn’t jump when he shoots. When he’s interviewed, he shrugs off any kind of compliment. He is the definition of humility, and players like that (unless you’re a 7’3’’ sweet-shooting center) almost never make it to the NBA.

I don’t think it can be overstated enough how much it means to Lebron that Z is back on the team. Think about Z’s career arc.  Foot surgeries, the star player on several coma-inducing teams, and yet he has remained a Cavalier. His example has to be something Lebron considers, especially this summer, when he will choose whether to reinvent himself with another team or establish his identity as a life-long Cavalier. The fact that Z was traded without a doubt reminded Lebron how the NBA is just a business, and that loyalty is seasonal. Yet, with Z back in the locker room, Lebron can now again see how much fans can truly love someone.

Although Cavs fans love Lebron and respect his abilities, Z, at least to me, is on a higher wavelength of admiration. When Z comes back in his first home game since being traded (Sunday against the Kings), I’m going to get goose bumps. The fact that he wasn’t offended by the trade enough to return, that he loved Cleveland enough to return, says so much about him as a person. Heck, maybe Dan Gilbert should pass out bald caps to all the fans and set a new record for ‘largest crowd pretending to be bald’…or perhaps that would look a bit too ‘Alien Nation’.

And, while I sit in awe every game watching Lebron play, he is still flirting with the idea of leaving. His reasons are of course rational, professional, and justified, but he is years away from getting the ovation Z will get on Sunday. At the moment, Lebron actually has two mirrors in the locker room, two possible career arcs. He can be like Z, who has been through so much,  yet is worshipped by one city, or he can go the way of Shaq, who is well-liked by America but, at the moment, is worshipped  (and when I mean worshipped, I mean ‘part of a family’) by no one.

Perhaps to Lebron, Z’s situation is a kind of karma. Whether the trade loophole absolves the Cavaliers from any wrongdoing, or ‘curse’, can only be determined in time. Coming from a fan who has watched Z his entire career, there’s one thing I know for sure: He deserves a championship.

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