LeBron James

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 6) Kobe Bryant inspires a lot of strong responses from the media and fans. You were his teammate for the first three seasons of your NBA career. Describe Kobe 's leadership style as you experienced it as a young player. The whole situation is both amusing--conjuring up images of an overbooked Turiaf fighting off media hordes who are ignoring Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in order to besiege him with questions--and pathetic. Is Ronny Turiaf really so busy that he cannot answer a few questions? If so, why is his representative soliciting interviews on his behalf? Does Turiaf understand that when he hires people who are incompetent and/or inconsiderate ultimately this reflects badly on him?   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 1) Wilt Chamberlain (1960-65) 18,837 points (40.6 ppg) 2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1970-75) 14,211 points (30.4 ppg) 3) Michael Jordan (1985-90) 14,016 points (32.8 ppg) 4) Oscar Robertson (1961-66) 13,998 points (30.4 ppg) 5) Julius Erving (1972-77) 13,432 points (27.5 ppg) 6) LeBron James (2004-09) 12,993 points (27.5 ppg) 3) James and Robertson are both renowned as great passers--all six players on the above list are excellent passers--but they both are also exceptional scorers. As I noted after Cleveland's 2009 playoff run, "LeBron James’ floor game is admirable and his ability and willingness to pass the ball are rightly held in high regard but he has already established himself in the record book as a tremendous scorer."   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) The Boston Celtics held the Cleveland Cavaliers to 29-70 field goal shooting (.414), overcame an early 14 point deficit to build a 15 point second half lead and then staved off a late Cleveland rally to topple the Cavaliers 95-89 in the season opener for both teams. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds in his first game since March 25, while new Celtics Rasheed Wallace (12 points, 3-6 three point field goal shooting) and Marquis Daniels (seven points, game-high +11 plus/minus rating) helped the Celtics to enjoy a 26-10 advantage in bench points, but the big star for Boston on this night was Paul Pierce, who led the way with 23 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Pierce scored 10 fourth quarter points, including six points in the f...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 6) Denver Nuggets: Reasons for hope: The Nuggets have made the playoffs for six straight years and last season they took advantage of the injury travails suffered by the Spurs, Jazz, Hornets and Mavericks to finish second in the West in the regular season before advancing to the Western Conference Finals. Energetic reserve Chris Andersen ranked second in the NBA in blocked shots (2.5 bpg) and helped the Nuggets to become a much stingier defensive team. Chauncey Billups averaged nearly nine fewer ppg than his predecessor Allen Iverson did in 2007-08 when the Nuggets won 50 games but Billups received a lot of credit for helping the Nuggets to become a more mature, disciplined squad.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 1) Cleveland Cavaliers: Reasons for hope: The Cavaliers posted the best regular season record in the NBA in 2009 and followed up that effort by making a series of personnel moves which essentially resulted in them swapping Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic for Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon; the Cavaliers also acquired Leon Powe, who is trying to recover from a serious knee injury but may be available in time for the 2010 playoffs. The Cavaliers have built their success in recent years on three pillars: defense, rebounding and the brilliance of LeBron James, the 2009 regular season MVP. There are no signs of cracks in any of those pillars. A fourth pillar for the Cavaliers is depth; last year, each of the 10 Cavaliers who ave...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) While Wade, Bryant and Duncan already have championship resumes, LeBron James made his postseason debut in 2006. He made a big splash right from the start, putting up 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists while playing all 48 minutes in a 97-86 win over Washington. James is the second youngest player to have a postseason triple-double and just the third player to have one in his first playoff game. His fingerprints were all over Cleveland's six game series win over the Wizards—35.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.7 apg—and the Cavaliers' surprisingly competitive seven game series loss to defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit. James averaged 26.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 6.0 apg versus the Pistons and delivered the best quote of the playoffs when he said "They'r...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) Hall of Famer Pete Carril won 525 games and 13 Ivy League championships during his 30 year collegiate coaching career. His Princeton teams ranked first in the NCAA in scoring defense 14 times and in 1975 he led the Tigers to the NIT Championship, the only time that an Ivy League team has won that title. Carril joined the Sacramento Kings' coaching staff before the 1996-97 season. His book The Smart Take from the Strong bursts with pithy insights about basketball, coaching and leadership. Before the Kings blew out the Cleveland Cavaliers 128-109 on April 1, 2005, Coach Carril discussed the difference between coaching in college and in the pros and what the Kings need to do to advance in the NBA playoffs.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) I wrote three team previews for Lindy's Pro Basketball 2009-10: Cleveland Cavaliers (second year in a row), Phoenix Suns (third year in a row) and Dallas Mavericks (first time). The Cavs signed Leon Powe after the article submission deadline, so I did not write the parenthetical comments about Powe in the Cleveland preview and I disagree with the suggestion that the Cavs will play him at all at small forward; assuming that he recovers from knee surgery in time to play during the regular season--the Cavs really brought him in to hopefully provide frontcourt depth for the playoffs--Powe will get minutes at power forward and center.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) This article was originally published in the December 2003 issue of Basketball Digest. This was even truer in 1957-58, when the Detroit Pistons' George Yardley founded the 2000 point club during a 72 game NBA season. He led the NBA with 2001 points, averaging 27.8 ppg. Yardley never again passed the 2000 point barrier and Bob Pettit broke his record in 1958-59, scoring 2105 points (29.2 ppg ) to win his second NBA scoring title. The Hawks' Hall of Famer posted four more seasons of 2000-plus points, including a career high 2429 points in 1961-62. 5 ABA/2 NBA Most Single Season Rookie Points ABA Most Single Season Points   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) This summer, Sprite has held a series of Slam Dunk Showdowns around the country; the top competitor from each of the eight cities that Sprite visited--plus two additional dunkers selected by LeBron James--are now vying for the opportunity to win a $10,000 grand prize and be involved with the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend. Fan voting will determine the winners, with the top four dunkers advancing. You can get more information--and cast your vote--by clicking on this link: Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) A prime example of the media's never-ending quest to completely misunderstand how basketball games are won and lost is the sudden elevation of Trevor Ariza to "elite" status. I've lost track of how many different outlets have recently slapped that title on Ariza, who averaged 8.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg last season as the L.A. Lakers' starting small forward; Ariza would not have started for most of the championship teams of the past two decades and, by any objective reckoning--either using a skill set based evaluation or even the "advanced basketball statistics" that are so popular in some quarters--he is at best an average starting small forward. Ariza is a good finisher in the open court, he can make open three pointers and he is a good defender but h...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Everyone understands that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Knicks is LeBron James--but James knows that ultimately his legacy will be determined by whether or not he wins multiple championships and James also knows that you have to play team defense to win championships. Anyone who thinks that James will go to a team that does not have a defensive mindset is more "mentally damaged" than Marbury is. The Knicks have one year to prove that they are putting together the type of program that can annually contend for titles; otherwise, even if James leaves Cleveland he will certainly not go to New York, because the last thing that James wants is to be on the list of the greatest players who never won a championship.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Vlosich displayed several of his Etch a Sketch works—including depictions of Tracy McGrady, John Wooden, Cal Ripken and non-sports subjects such as The Andy Griffith Show and the movie Gangs of New York—at the 25th National Sports Collectors Convention held July 21-25, 2004 at the International Exhibition Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Here is a photo of the Vlosich brothers and their father at the home of legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden, plus photos of the Cleveland Force uniform George designed, George's Etches of LeBron James, Allen Iverson and John Wooden and a painting of Tracy McGrady by George's brother Greg.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) There is no question that the Cavs have upgraded themselves from a talent standpoint. O'Neal is not nearly the player he once was but he made the All-NBA Third Team last season--the same honor accorded to the Lakers' Pau Gasol and 2007 Finals MVP Tony Parker--and O'Neal shared All-Star Game MVP honors with Kobe Bryant. The Cavs won an NBA-best 66 games last season and now have added O'Neal without giving up a core member of their rotation; Wallace ranked seventh on the team in regular season mpg (23.5) but only played in 56 regular season games, while Pavlovic ranked 10th on the team in regular season mpg (16.0) while playing in 66 regular season games--and both players had their minutes slashed in the playoffs (12.6 mpg for Wallace, 8.3 mpg for Pa...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) My favorite player is Julius Erving, not Kobe Bryant, but I am able to write objectively about Erving, Bryant and all other NBA players because I take my craft seriously. I don't think that Krolik is "worthless" as a human being. His article about the significance of the Lakers-Rockets game seven is very poorly thought out and very poorly written. I also wonder what value the editors of ESPN and SlamOnline see in such work. The fact that Kobe Bryant is the subject of Krolik's piece is irrelevant to my assessment. I have criticized various publications for sloppy/unprofessional articles about players ranging from LeBron James to Dave DeBusschere to Daequan Cook. If Krolik had said that LeBron James' career will be defined by the number one see...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Although Krolik is focused on the drama of one game or one moment, the truth is that players demonstrate their ability to perform under pressure by being consistent for a sustained period of time. Bryant was the leading playmaker for the Lakers' 2000-02 championship teams. During that time, he made the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams and progressed from 12th to ninth to fifth in MVP voting. In the 2001 playoffs he dropped 48 points and 16 rebounds on the Kings in a closeout game on the road and then in his next game--the series opener on the road versus the Spurs--he had 45 points and 10 rebounds. Bryant shot 15-29 from the field (.517) in the first game and 19-35 (.543) in the second one.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Consider the "New and Improved Slam 2009 Top 50," a feature story--consisting of Slam's ranking of the NBA's 50 all-time greatest players plus thumbnail articles about each player--that appears in the issue of Slam cover dated August 2009. Making such a list is a difficult and somewhat subjective task but Slam's rankings are not terribly off base; Shaquille O'Neal is too high (fourth) and Julius Erving is too low (15th) but Slam's rankings for Kobe Bryant (12th) and Scottie Pippen (27th) are solid and the overall list is not bad. However, for such a list to have credibility it has to be made by people who know basketball history and possess above average writing skills. Otherwise, even if most of the rankings are unobjectionable the final...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Bryant's Finals MVP caps off an extraordinary season in a special career: last summer, Bryant's clutch fourth quarter scoring carried Team USA to an Olympic gold medal, in February he shared the All-Star MVP with Shaquille O'Neal and then Bryant finished second to James in regular season MVP voting after leading the Lakers to the best record in the West for the second year in a row. Only Willis Reed (1970), Michael Jordan (1996, 1998) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000) won the regular season MVP, the All-Star MVP and the Finals MVP in the same season, so Bryant's second place finish and two first place finishes in voting for those three awards in 2009 are impressive. Bryant is also on a very short and distinguished list of NBA players who have won at...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Couch potato coaches have been calling for Derek Fisher's head throughout the playoffs but the much maligned 34 year old point guard drained two clutch three pointers--one to force overtime and the second to give the L.A. Lakers the lead for good--as the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-91 in overtime, taking a 3-1 lead and all but clinching the 2009 NBA Championship. Fisher missed the first five three pointers that he attempted but Kobe Bryant repeatedly tells his teammates that you cannot make big shots if you afraid to take them and Fisher proved that he is confident while also justifying the confidence that Coach Phil Jackson has demonstrated in Fisher. Bryant led the Lakers with a game-high 32 points and a game-high eight assists,...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) I generally shy away from making the cliched Michael Jordan-Kobe Bryant comparisons: Jordan clearly had more career accomplishments--though Bryant may have enough time left to match Jordan, assuming Bryant goes on a late career championship splurge like Jordan did--and Jordan was physically stronger, better on the post and possessed bigger hands that gave him more ballhandling options; I don't think that Jordan was much better than Bryant but I don't see the need to continually compare them, either, particularly when it is much more interesting and relevant to compare Bryant with the great players he is actually competing against.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Kobe Bryant scored 69 points and had 16 assists in the first two games of the Finals. The last four players who reached both of those marks in the first two games of the Finals--Michael Jordan in 1997, 1992 and 1991 and Jerry West in 1969--won the Finals MVP, though of course West's Lakers lost the Finals in seven games to the Celtics despite his triple double (42 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) in the last contest. Bryant produced 31 points, eight assists and three rebounds in game three--and became just the third player to amass 100 points and 24 assists in the first three games of an NBA Finals series--but he shot 11-25 from the field and just 5-10 from the free throw line. When the Lakers win, their talent and depth receive high praise but when t...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Rashard Lewis led the Magic with a game-high 34 points, setting a playoff career-high and establishing a new franchise record for most points scored in a Finals game. He also had 11 rebounds and a playoff career-high seven assists while shooting 12-21 from the field, including 6-12 from three point range. Hedo Turkoglu added 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. After Mickael Pietrus fouled out, Turkoglu played very solid defense on Bryant, using his length to contest Bryant's shots and even forcing a few turnovers by stripping the ball from Bryant or getting Bryant off balance by using his size. Dwight Howard had a very unusual stat line: 17 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four steals, four blocked shots, seven turnovers. The only...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers did not parlay their great regular season into a championship run but that does not change the fact that James authored one of the greatest single season playoff performances in pro basketball history. He is the only player to ever average at least 35 ppg, 7 rpg and 7 apg in a playoff season; that is so far ahead of the previous standard that even if you drop the requirement to 30-7-7 only three other players make the cut: Oscar Robertson (twice), George McGinnis and Michael Jordan. Check out my newest CavsNews article for a historical perspective about James' playoff performance this season and the underrated scoring prowess that he has displayed in his six year career:   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Shaquille O'Neal often says that he is the LCL (last center left) but the Cleveland Cavaliers just found out that this is definitely not true: while most of the world focused on LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the puppet commercials, Dwight Howard hopped into a souped-up DeLorean and took the NBA back to the future, reminding us all that basketball has usually been dominated by teams featuring a great big man. The critics said that Howard was too nice/fun loving and too limited offensively to lead a team to an NBA title but he averaged 25.8 ppg, 13.0 rpg and 1.2 bpg while shooting .651 from the field as his Orlando Magic defeated James' Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The only player in NBA history who matched those scoring, rebounding a...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James posted his worst performance of the series, "worst" being a relative term because 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while shooting 8-20 from the field would be a very good game for just about anyone else--but James averaged 38.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 8.0 apg in this series, so his game six numbers are indeed subpar by his lofty standards. James just did not seem to have his usual explosiveness, often settling for jump shots (he shot 2-8 from three point range). Delonte West added a playoff career-high 22 points on 9-19 field goal shooting, battling for 46 minutes despite the painful hip pointer that he suffered in game five. Mo Williams finished with 17 points on 6-12 field goal shooting but those numbers are very deceptive beca...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James added yet another chapter to his book of impressive playoff performances, authoring a huge triple double (37 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists--numbers no player has matched in the same playoff game since Oscar Robertson had 41-15-12 on March 21, 1963) and completely dominating the fourth quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 112-102 in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals. James had already compiled a triple double with more than 10 minutes remaining in the game but he only made five of his first 13 field goal attempts in the first three quarters before he scored 17 points on 6-11 field goal shooting in the final stanza, adding four rebounds and four assists and not committing a turnover while...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Kobe Bryant set a Conference Finals scoring record (which was then immediately broken by LeBron James) with 147 points in the L.A. Lakers' first four games versus the Denver Nuggets, but in the pivotal game five the Nuggets elected to aggressively trap Bryant and he made them pay with great decision making/passing as the Lakers won 103-94 to take a 3-2 lead. Bryant still finished with a team-high 22 points but he also had a game-high eight assists and five rebounds in 45 minutes; he now ranks third in Conference Finals history with 169 points in five games (trailing only Amare Stoudemire's 185 in 2005 and Hakeem Olajuwon's 173 in 1995 and just ahead of Michael Jordan's 168 in 1993), though James will easily surpass him on Thursday (James has a...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Dwight Howard scored 10 of his team-high 27 points in overtime as the Orlando Magic posted a 116-114 victory to take a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Howard led both teams in rebounds (14) and blocked shots (three) while also passing for four assists. Howard had two dunks and a layup in the first 2:13 of overtime and if the Cavs lose this series they will long rue not sending Howard--a .594 free throw shooter in the regular season who is shooting .638 in the playoffs--to the free throw line; it is highly unlikely that six points would have resulted from those free throws and therefore the Cavs would have been in a much better position to win this game, even the series at 2-2 and retake homecourt advantage. As K...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James scored 41 points, dished for nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds but he shot just 11-28 from the field--including 2-15 on perimeter shots--and he missed five fourth quarter free throws as the Orlando Magic defeated his Cleveland Cavaliers 99-89 to grab a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 24 points despite being limited to 28 minutes due to foul trouble (he eventually fouled out). Howard had nine rebounds and no blocked shots but he shot 14-19 from the free throw line, well above his normal percentage. Howard received significant help from Rafer Alston (18 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals), Mickael Pietrus (16 points, six rebounds) and Rashard Lewis (15 point...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) This is a great time to be a basketball fan, because The Best the Game Offers are both performing splendidly on the sport's biggest stage, the playoffs: LeBron James is averaging 42 ppg in the Eastern Conference Finals and just hit the biggest shot of his career to tie Cleveland's series with Orlando at 1-1, while Kobe Bryant is averaging 37.7 ppg in the Western Conference Finals and just scored 41 points as the L.A. Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 103-97 to take a 2-1 series lead. Bryant shot 12-24 from the field and 15-17 from the free throw line and also contributed six rebounds, five assists and two steals. He had just one turnover in 41 minutes and scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter, with 12 of those points coming in the final 6:46, start...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) This time, "The Shot" electrified Cleveland instead of adding yet another chapter to the star-crossed city's long history of devastating postseason disappointments: LeBron James drilled a tough, contested three pointer as time expired to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 96-95 victory over the Orlando Magic in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals. Just seconds earlier, Hedo Turkoglu had nailed a midrange jumper to apparently sink Cleveland in a 2-0 hole but Turkoglu left exactly one second on the clock and that was just enough time for James to make what has to be considered the signature play of his career thus far, a high-arcing shot launched over Turkoglu from well behind the three point line. James finished with 35 points on 1...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Friedman: "Orlando won the regular season series with Cleveland but who do you favor in this playoff matchup? Who do you think has the stronger team?" Brown: "Look, throw out the 8-0 (Cleveland playoff record), because Detroit was horrible and then Atlanta had three starters out. So this is their first legitimate competition. Now, you say, how did this team (Orlando) beat them two of out three and eight of the last 11? This team must do something right (versus Cleveland) from a defensive standpoint that nobody else is doing in the Eastern Conference; they play them better than anybody: they change up and they do a lot of things."   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James authored one of the epochal single game performances in NBA playoff history--49 points on 20-30 field goal shooting, eight assists, six rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals--but the Orlando Magic erased a 16 point lead to steal homecourt advantage with a 107-106 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs fell to 4-2 when James scores 40-plus points in a playoff game, the only other loss coming in game seven of last year's Eastern Conference semifinals versus Boston. Depth has a been a major strength for Cleveland this year but that was not the case in this game. Mo Williams had 17 points and five assists but he shot just 6-19 from the field. His backcourt partner Delonte West...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Chauncey Billups added another chapter to his fairy tale return to Denver, posting 28 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and just two turnovers as the Nuggets beat the Mavericks 124-110 to close out their second round series 4-1 and advance to the Western Conference Finals. Carmelo Anthony had a team-high 30 points, while J.R. Smith contributed 18 points off of the bench. Dirk Nowitzki had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in defeat. Anthony did not have much of a playoff resume to speak of prior to this season but he is averaging 27.0 ppg in the 2009 playoffs while shooting .480 from the field. After a shaky 13 point performance in game one versus the Hornets he scored at least 22 points in each of the next nine playoff games, including a playo...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) The official balloting largely matched my choices: I selected exactly the same First Team and the only difference with the Second Team is that I picked Gasol over Pierce, who I put on the Third Team. My Third Team also included David West instead of Anthony; choosing West over Anthony may not look correct in light of Anthony's performance in the playoffs but keep in mind that this honor is strictly based on the regular season and that West matched or increased his All-Star numbers from the 2008 season while again playing in 76 games but Anthony only played in 66 games and experienced marked drops in his scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James overcame his worst shooting game of this postseason (9-22) to finish with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 84-74 to sweep their second round series. The Cavs are the first team in NBA playoff history to win eight straight games by at least 10 points each and the first team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the 2005 Miami Heat. Delonte West added 21 points, six assists and four rebounds while hounding three-time All-Star Joe Johnson into a 7-18 shooting night. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a double double (14 points, 10 rebounds) and even though Mo Williams was quiet for most of the game (12 points, five assists) he nailed two clutch three pointers in the final...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James had 47 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers took Atlanta's best punch and then delivered a knockout blow with a 97-82 victory to take a 3-0 series lead. James and Michael Jordan are the only players in NBA playoff history to post at least 45-10-8 in a game. Cleveland's formula for success is defense, rebounding, depth and James' brilliance. In this road game the Cavs' shortened their rotation--including having James play significant fourth quarter minutes for the first time in this series--so depth was not a factor but the Cavs held Atlanta to just two field goals over a 10 minute second half stretch during which Cleveland took over the game with a 20-4 run; James scored 12 points during that game-de...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) LeBron James scored 27 points on 9-14 field goal shooting and had five assists, three rebounds and four steals in just 31 minutes as the Cleveland Cavaliers led by as many as 36 points en route to a 105-85 game two victory over the Atlanta Hawks. James enjoyed the luxury of resting for part of the second quarter and sitting out the entire fourth quarter as Cleveland's reserves made significant contributions, led by Wally Szczerbiak's 17 points on 7-9 field goal shooting in 21 minutes. Three other Cavs scored in double figures: Mo Williams (15 points, five rebounds, five assists), Delonte West (14 points, three rebounds, three assists) and Anderson Varejao (12 points, eight rebounds, playoff career-high four blocked shots). The Cavs sho...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) On Tuesday night, NBA Commissioner David Stern presented the 2009 MVP trophy to LeBron James in front of a sellout crowd of 20,562 adoring fans at Quicken Loans Arena--and then James spent the rest of the evening showing why he deserved that honor, scoring 34 points on 12-20 field goal shooting, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds and dishing off for three assists as his Cleveland Cavaliers blew out the Atlanta Hawks, 99-72. James set the tone offensively by scoring 16 first quarter points but he also made his presence felt defensively, amassing four steals and taking a momentum-shifting charge at the 7:44 mark of the third quarter; the Cavs closed out that quarter with a 21-13 run to take a 77-61 lead and they never looked back in the fourth q...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) James is a rare person who has actually not only met but exceeded all of the hype surrounding him. Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Chris Jent says that many people "just see the fantastic plays and his God-given ability. They don't understand that there were kinks in the armor and he wanted to figure them out. He wanted to straighten them out and he wanted to be better and the only way to do it is by working. When things are going good he works and when things are going bad he works harder." In the past few years, I have mentioned those "kinks in the armor"--defense, free throw shooting, midrange shooting, three point shooting--in various articles and maintained that Kobe Bryant was the best player in the NBA because he had no skill set weakness...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Cleveland Defeats Detroit, 4-0 Scoring Leader: LeBron James (CLE), 32.0 ppg Rebounding Leader: LeBron James (CLE), 11.3 rpg Assists Leader: LeBron James (CLE), 7.5 apg James averaged 32.0 ppg, 11.3 rpg and 7.5 apg, joining Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird as the only players in NBA history to average at least 30-10-7 in a playoff series. James also became the only player other than Robertson to post at least 1300 points, 400 rebounds and 350 assists in the first 50 games of his postseason career. Scoring Leader: Dwyane Wade (MIA), 27.0 ppg Rebounding Leader: Josh Smith (ATL), 9.3 rpg Assists Leader: Dwyane Wade (MIA), 6.7 apg Bryant shook his head. Bryant momentarily sighed.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) 4) When ESPN's David Thorpe declared that J.J. Redick could start for a playoff team, I don't think that what he had in mind was posting a game-worst -13 plus/minus number in just 6:17 as his team blew an 18 point lead at home in game one of the playoffs. Redick has started five regular season games in his three year career and he has scored three points in 26 minutes in four career playoff games. 5) Chauncey Billups (36 points, eight assists, no turnovers, 8-9 three point field goal shooting) essentially played a perfect game in Denver's 113-84 rout of New Orleans. His heroics more than made up for yet another subpar playoff game by Carmelo Anthony (13 points on 4-12 field goal shooting). Remember when people seriously compared LeBron James and Car...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 20 points but he shot just 7-21 from the field. Although Stuckey has shown flashes of talent as a strong, penetrating combo guard, it is difficult to understand why the Pistons apparently not only believe that he can be a worthy successor to Chauncey Billups but that he is also a more effective player right now than Allen Iverson, who averaged 26.4 ppg in 82 games for a 50 win Denver team last season while leading the NBA in minutes played (41.8 mpg) for the third year in a row and seventh time in his remarkable career. The only time that Detroit beat Cleveland in four regular season games this season is when Iverson scored a team-high 23 points on 8-16 shooting on November 19 as the Pistons won 96-89; not coinciden...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Kobe Bryant: LeBron James: James' erratic midrange jump shot still leaves him--and the Cavaliers--vulnerable against elite defensive teams that will sag off of James and force him to make that shot, something that James was not able to do versus the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals or the Celtics in the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals, the last two playoff series that the Cavs have lost. Dwyane Wade: During the 2009 All-Star Weekend, four-time MVP (1974-76 ABA, 1981 NBA) Julius Erving said of Bryant and James, "Kobe's got the torch now and LeBron is next in line." This year's playoffs may reveal whether Bryant truly passed that torch to James for good in March or if Bryant merely needed to get his second wind in order to recapture the torch du...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) MVP: Mark Jackson (ESPN/ABC), Jeff Van Gundy (ESPN/ABC), Hubie Brown (ESPN/ABC), J.A. Adande (ESPN/ABC), Avery Johnson (ESPN/ABC), Jamal Mashburn (ESPN/ABC), Ernie Johnson (TNT), Charles Barkley (TNT), Doug Collins (TNT), Kenny Smith (TNT), Chris Webber (TNT) and Chris Mannix (Sports Illustrated) all chose LeBron James. Jon Barry (ESPN/ABC) chose Dwyane Wade. Mike Wilbon (ESPN/ABC) has fluctuated between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James but at last check was leaning toward James. All-NBA First Team G Kobe Bryant G Dwyane Wade C Dwight Howard F LeBron James F Dirk Nowitzki All-NBA Third Team G Tony Parker G Chauncey Billups C Shaquille O'Neal F Paul Pierce F David West G Kobe Bryant G Dwyane Wade C Dwight Howard F LeBron James F Ron Artest   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 3) Van Gundy pointed out that the Knicks used a defensive strategy against the Magic that other teams would be wise to copy: single cover Dwight Howard in the post while the perimeter defenders stay attached to Orlando's three point shooters. Howard has yet to show that he can consistently go off for 35 or 40 points, so there is no need to double team him; Howard has only scored 35 points or more three times this season--and the Magic lost two of those games. Howard is often compared to Shaquille O'Neal but when O'Neal was a young beast he would drop 30 or more points on any team that single covered him, particularly in the playoffs; Howard has yet to score 30 points even once in his 14 game playoff career and has had fewer than 20 points in eight of tho...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) LeBron James set the tone by scoring 18 first quarter points and he finished with 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers ended their two game winning streak by beating the San Antonio Spurs 101-81. Delonte West and Mo Williams added 22 points each, mainly by draining open looks after the Spurs were forced to double team James lest he score 50 or 60 points. Only three other Cavs scored but the Cavs held the Spurs to .392 field goal shooting and won the rebounding battle 44-34. Tony Parker led the Spurs with 24 points but former Cav Drew Gooden (15 points) was the only other Spur who scored more than eight points; Tim Duncan had just six points on 2-7 field goal shooting, while Manu Ginobili scored four points on 2-9 field...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) Although I respect Morey's overall approach to statistics as described in the New York Times article, we need to completely put to rest the ideas that Shane Battier is some kind of Kobe Bryant stopper and that "advanced" statistics have given the Rockets an advantage versus Bryant. Bryant led the Lakers to a 4-0 sweep of the Rockets this season while averaging 28.3 ppg, 5.0 apg and 4.0 rpg; he shot .530 from the field and .533 from three point range but only .680 on free throws, so perhaps the Rockets have superior free throw defense--they sure did not stop him anywhere else (James averaged 24.0 ppg on .409 field goal shooting and .250 three point shooting as his Cavs split two games versus the Rockets).   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Kobe Bryant and LeBron James experience "flow" when they play basketball at a higher level than anyone else currently does--not that they are the only players who experience "flow" but they are quintessential examples of it, whether you want to cite Bryant's 81 point game or James' 48 point outburst in game five versus the Pistons in 2007. When you watch someone who is the best at his craft perform you feel like that person is doing something that he was born to do, though of course it takes an enormous amount of "effortful study" to achieve what looks like effortless greatness. Tiger Woods stalking his prey on the back nine is another great example of "flow," as was Bobby Fischer slaying top grandmasters as if they were children.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) I have now charted assists for Chris Paul in two playoff games and three regular season games; in the last two regular season games that I examined, I also charted Tony Parker's assists. The overall count in those five games shows that Paul was officially credited with 55 assists but that only 42 of those assists fit the rulebook definition (and those 42 include some borderline plays). In the two games in which I tracked Parker's assists, he was credited with 11 assists but should only have been credited with eight. The sample size with Parker is obviously small but I think that 55 official assists for Paul is a diverse enough sample of plays from which to draw at least a preliminary conclusion that he is being credited with too many assists. Paul...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) Friedman: "So that extends beyond basketball, obviously." In answer to your other question, I would be more aggressive this time chasing down stories on my own. I did some of that this past year. I chased down, for example, Sam Smith to give me a Michael Jordan story. I chased down Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News and he shared a Julius Erving story. At this point, I would chase down Terry Pluto--the Cleveland writer--to give me a LeBron James story. He covered LeBron growing up in Akron. I would chase down Bob Ryan because he is one of the world's great storytellers and I know he's got a story somewhere."   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 1) Dwyane Wade, MIA 29.9 ppg 2) LeBron James, CLE 28.7 ppg 3) Kobe Bryant, LAL 27.8 ppg 4) Kevin Durant, OKC 25.9 ppg 5) Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 25.5 ppg 6) Danny Granger, IND 24.9 ppg 7) Brandon Roy, POR 23.0 ppg 8) Chris Bosh, TOR 22.6 ppg 9) Devin Harris, NJN 22.6 ppg 10) Chris Paul, NOR 22.0 ppg 15) Shaquille O'Neal, PHX 8.6 rpg 26) Rasheed Wallace, DET 7.5 rpg 27) LeBron James, CLE 7.5 rpg 1) Chris Paul, NOH 11.0 apg 2) Deron Williams, UTA 10.5 apg 3) Steve Nash, PHX 9.7 apg 4) Jose Calderon, TOR 8.6 apg 5) Rajon Rondo, BOS 8.5 apg 6) Jason Kidd, DAL 8.4 apg 7) Baron Davis, LAC 8.1 apg 8) Dwyane Wade, MIA 7.6 apg 9) Chris Duhon, NYK 7.6 apg 10) LeBron James, CLE 7.2 apg   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were the headline acts but Mo Williams stole the show with a game-high 29 points as Cleveland beat Miami 99-89 to improve to 28-1 in the friendly confines of Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs are also an NBA-best 12-1 after a loss, as they managed to quickly put Friday night's debacle in Boston behind them. Williams shot 10-15 from the field, including 6-7 from three point range. The Cavs repeatedly involved James and Williams in screen/roll plays, forcing the Heat to pick their poison between Cleveland's two All-Stars. James struggled with his shot, making just five of his 15 field goal attempts, but he still managed to produce the 21st regular season triple double of his career (14 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds). J...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) During Tuesday night's edition of NBA Coast to Coast, Tim Legler and Jalen Rose did an on court demonstration of the defensive adjustment that the Cleveland Cavaliers used to hold Dwyane Wade to 2-8 fourth quarter shooting in Cleveland's 107-100 win on Monday. Wade still finished with 41 points on 16-30 shooting and he also had nine assists, seven rebounds and seven steals, but he made a bid for an odd (and unprecedented) quintuple double with his eight turnovers. LeBron James scored 42 points on 13-21 shooting--including 6-7 from three point range--and he contributed eight rebounds and four assists, though he also had a high number of turnovers (six).   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 22) Paul Pierce, BOS 20.1 ppg 49) Kevin Garnett, BOS 16.3 ppg Dwyane Wade has been on a tear recently, scoring a career-high 50 points two games ago and then dishing off a career-high 16 assists in his most recent game. On Thursday, though, he had a day off while his close pursuers LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were in action. 14) Kevin Garnett, BOS 8.8 rpg 15) Shaquille O'Neal, PHX 8.8 rpg 29) LeBron James, CLE 7.2 rpg 1) Chris Paul, NOH 10.8 apg 2) Deron Williams, UTA 10.3 apg 3) Steve Nash, PHX 9.7 apg 4) Jose Calderon, TOR 8.5 apg 5) Jason Kidd, DAL 8.4 apg 6) Rajon Rondo, BOS 8.4 apg 7) Baron Davis, LAC 8.0 apg 7) Chris Duhon, NYK 8.0 apg 8) Baron Davis, GSW 7.9 apg 9) Dwyane Wade, MIA 7.1 apg 10) LeBron James, CLE 7.0 apg   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) It is breathtaking to consider how quickly and completely the balance of power has shifted in the Eastern Conference. In 2006, the Pistons were coming off of an NBA Finals appearance, posted the best regular season record in the NBA and beat the Cavs in seven games in the East semis before falling to the Heat. In 2007, the Pistons had the best record in the East but lost to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. Last year, the Pistons posted the second best record in the East but could not get past the powerful Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, the Pistons rank seventh in the East and are just 1.5 games ahead of eighth seeded Milwaukee.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) Speaking of polls, Sports Illustrated asked 190 NBA players who they would want to take a last second shot and Bryant won in a landslide, taking 76% of the votes. Chauncey Billups, LeBron James and Paul Pierce received 3% each, while Dwyane Wade got 2%. I have repeatedly said that I think that last second shots are overrated as a statistical category because the sample size is small and most such shots are low percentage attempts anyway; I am much more impressed by a player who can take over a game for an extended period of time in clutch moments, such as scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter or making a series of big plays when the outcome of the game is in doubt. I am much more certain that Bryant is the best player in the NBA in that regard than I am th...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 2) Cleveland Cavaliers (41-11): The Cavs are annually underestimated by most observers, largely because they do not have "name" players other than LeBron James--but what the Cavs do have is a very deep roster and a strong commitment to rebounding and playing tough defense. I predicted that Cleveland would battle Boston for the best record in the East and that is turning out to be true. If the Cavs obtain home court advantage then they will almost certainly dethrone the Celtics but even if they don't I think that this year James will be able to lead Cleveland to at least one playoff win in Boston. The Cavs narrowly missed beating Detroit in 2006 and then in 2007 James authored an epic performance in game five and I expect that pattern to repeat it...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) I caught up with Rick Barry just after the conclusion of the NWBA All-Star Game; he served as an honorary coach for the victorious West squad. I first interviewed Barry several years ago and he told me at that time that the only basketball statistic that cannot be manipulated is free throw percentage; every other stat is either subjective to some degree and/or can easily be recorded improperly due to human error. The issue of the reliability of basketball statistics is particularly timely now in the wake of the NBA recently downgrading a highly publicized triple double by LeBron James and considering that my ongoing (albeit preliminary) research suggests that Chris Paul's record setting assist numbers are not entirely legit.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) James averaged 22.0 ppg, shot .356 from the field (including .200 from three point range) and committed 5.8 turnovers per game as the Spurs swept his Cavs in the 2007 NBA Finals; he averaged 26.7 ppg, shot .355 from the field (including .231 from three point range) and committed 5.3 turnovers per game in the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals versus the Celtics. In contrast, Bryant averaged 29.2 ppg, shot .533 from the field (including .333 from three point range) and committed just 2.4 turnovers per game as the Lakers beat the Spurs in five games in the 2008 Western Conference Finals; he averaged 25.7 ppg, shot .405 from the field (including .321 from three point range) and committed 3.8 turnovers per game versus the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals."   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) Lamar Odom produced season-highs in points (28) and rebounds (17) as the L.A. Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91. The Lakers finished their East Coast road trip with a 6-0 record and handed the Cavs their first home loss this season after a franchise-record 23 straight home wins. Kobe Bryant added 19 points, three rebounds and two assists but he was noticeably slowed by what John Black (Lakers Vice President of Public Relations) told me is "gastroenteritis," a stomach virus that caused Bryant to vomit and become dehydrated; the 2008 MVP needed IV fluids at halftime and after the game. Pau Gasol struggled a bit with his shot against the taller Zydrunas Ilgauskas (connecting on just 6 of 15 field goal attempts) but he contributed...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 3) Cleveland improved to 19-3 with a 101-93 victory at Philadelphia. The Cavs have now won 10 games in a row. Their starting power forward is Ben Wallace, who was the starting center for the Detroit Pistons when they won the 2004 NBA championship and lost in seven games in the 2005 NBA Finals. When the Pistons let him go to Chicago I said that they would have a hard time replacing his paint presence and would not likely make it back to the Finals, a prediction that has been correct so far. Wallace, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, is not the same player that he was when he played for the Pistons but it is interesting to look at the kind of production that he is giving Cleveland in just over 23 mpg (he played 34-39 mpg in his six years as a Piston): Wal...   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (David Friedman) Paul Pierce and LeBron James did their best to revive memories of the classic 1988 game seven Boston Garden showdown between Larry Bird (34 points, 20 in the fourth quarter) and Dominique Wilkins (47 points, 16 in the fourth quarter). Bird's Celtics beat Wilkins' Hawks 118-116 and the final result this time was very similar: the visiting player scored more points but the Celtics won the game. Boston advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after a 97-92 victory over Cleveland in which Pierce scored 41 points on 13-23 field goal shooting (including 4-6 from three point range) and 11-12 free throw shooting. He also had five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Sam Jones is the only Celtic who ever scored more points in a seventh game (47). Ja...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) LeBron James had 21 points, 13 assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. He shot just 7-20 from the field--and he only made two shots outside of the paint, a pair of three pointers--but James is the dominant player on the court in this series, a fact that Boston Coach Doc Rivers understands all too well. Asked after the game if he is surprised that the series is 2-2 considering that James has shot just .256 from the field, Rivers replied, "You think LeBron is struggling? He had 21 points, 13 assists, six rebounds. He probably forced 15 fouls. We don't look at LeBron as struggling. You only look at field goal percentage. We don't; we look at the way he's playing his total game and making plays. The (Daniel) Gibson threes and (shots made by...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Wally Szczerbiak scored 13 points but shot just 5-14 from the field, which was about par for the course on a night when the Cavs shot 23-75 (.307) from the field. Other than the final score, the numbers that will most be remembere...

By David Friedman Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals by relying on excellent team defense, strong rebounding and the brilliant all-around play of LeBron James. Several of the faces have changed in Cleveland--and things have not always gone smoothly since the big trade--but that tried and tested formula resulted in an 89-73 home victory over Detroit on Wednesday night. James did his part with 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists, shooting 11-19 from the field and producing a +15 plus/minus rating while playing a team-high 41 minutes. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Pistons 46-39. Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas each had eight rebounds and Anderson Varejao added six rebounds o...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman LeBron James posted his seventh triple double of the season (24 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) as the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 13 point first half deficit to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 88-80 at Quicken Loans Arena. With starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas sidelined by a back injury, the Cavaliers needed their other bigs to pick up the slack offensively, defensively and on the glass. Joe Smith finished with 18 points, five rebounds and a game-high plus/minus rating of +13. Anderson Varejao scored a season-high 16 points while also grabbing nine rebounds. Ben Wallace started at center but had five rebounds and no points in less than 16 first half minutes; at halftime, the team announced that he had back spasms and would not re...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman While the Coast to Coast crew unanimously chose Bryant, over on NBA TV "Tuesday Night With Ahmad" played off of the presidential election theme and had Frank Isola "debate" Rick Mahorn about the merits of Kobe Bryant versus LeBron James for MVP. Isola argued for Kobe, while Mahorn took LeBron's side. To be perfectly honest, neither guy made the best possible case for his player but the most interesting thing about the whole segment is what Isola and Mahorn admitted after it was over: the "debate" was basically a sham, because both of them think that Kobe is the MVP. Mahorn joked that he "took one for the team" because Isola cried and whined to have the opportunity to present Kobe's case.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman LeBron James has repeatedly said that Kobe Bryant is the league’s best player—a stance that James reiterated at Friday's media availability—but Bryant had an interesting take on who he thinks deserves the award this year, Chris Paul: “His maturity is kind of a throwback to the old school style of play. He distributes the ball and makes his teammates better. He’s a good defensive player. He’s doing two or three different jobs for his ball club. I enjoy his competitive spirit. He plays hard and he wants to win by any means necessary. Nowadays, a lot of players sugarcoat that or try to disguise or hide how competitive they are but he’s not one of them; he goes for it.”   [read the full post]

By David Friedman James leads the NBA in fourth quarter scoring and this was the 17th time this season that he scored at least 10 points in the fourth quarter. Not coincidentally, this was Cleveland's league-best 18th fourth quarter comeback (Portland led 81-70 with 4:26 left in the game). James sprained his right ankle just before halftime but still scored 24 second half points, finishing with 37 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots. The Cavs played without two key injured players: starting shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic and reserve forward/center Anderson Varejao (prior to this game, the Cavs were 14-7 with Varejao and 9-12 without him). No Cav other than James scored in double figures and Cleveland shot just .392 from the f...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman Many casual NBA viewers don't really appreciate how good Bryant is; they reflexively dislike him because they don't root for the Lakers or because they just don't watch the game analytically. However, executives, coaches, scouts and players literally speak in awed tones about Bryant. Broussard reports that a scout recently told him, "The crazy thing is that he's so far and away the league's best player. It's not even close. It's like he's playing a different game than everyone else." This scout told Broussard that Bryant is one of the top eight players in NBA history and challenged Broussard to name eight players who are better than Bryant. The only players who this scout would definitely place ahead of Bryant are Michael Jordan, Oscar Robe...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman The Pacers opened the second quarter with a quick 10-0 run as the Cavaliers missed three shots and committed another offensive foul but Indiana was not able to get closer than eight points. James and Hughes combined to score 10 points for Cleveland in less than two minutes as the Cavaliers pushed the lead back to 16 points, 51-35. Cleveland led 65-49 at halftime. It is tempting to say that James carried a bad team to the NBA Finals. Certainly, the Cavaliers roster is not perfect and James had a tremendous playoff run but it is not correct to dismiss the talents and contributions of his teammates, players who may not be able to create much on their own but have the correct skill sets to take advantage of the openings that James' presence creates. If Ja...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman The second article discussed the Detroit Pistons and tried to make the case that they are being disrespected. Huh? Consider these preseason predictions: The Sporting News picked the Pistons to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, CBS Sports.com ranked the Pistons as the third best team in the East, David DuPree of USA Today also had the Pistons third and Sports Illustrated called Detroit the second best team in the East. In addition, most of the NBA analysts on ESPN, TNT and NBA TV generally offer nothing but praise for the Pistons, even though Detroit has failed to return to the Finals since the departures of Coach Larry Brown and center Ben Wallace. I guess that the magazine in question wants to say that is it taking a "countercultural"...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman LeBron James had 32 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists, three steals and two blocked shots but Deron Williams stole the show with a last second layup that lifted his Utah Jazz to a 103-101 home victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Seconds earlier, James nailed a three pointer to tie the score at 101 but Williams received the inbounds pass, jetted upcourt past the entire Cavs' team and scored the winning basket with 1.3 seconds left. Paul Millsap scored a team-high 24 points, while Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 12 rebounds. Williams did not shoot well (4-12 from the field) and committed eight turnovers but he still managed to score 15 points and distribute 12 assists. Sasha Pavlovic had a season-high 17 points--all in the first half--most of wh...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman The Cleveland Cavaliers made it to the 2007 NBA Finals on the strength of LeBron James' brilliant play plus great team defense and rebounding. Neither of the first two elements were up to par in Cleveland's home opener, a 92-74 loss to Dallas. The evening at Quicken Loans Arena began with the unveiling of the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship banner but by halftime the fans were serenading the Cavaliers with boos and shortly after the 9:00 minute mark of the fourth quarter many of the fans began heading for the exits in disgust. James finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and five turnovers while shooting 2-11 from the field and 6-10 from the free throw line in what may very well rank as the worst performance of his young care...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman LeBron James is the clear winner as the most athletic player in the NBA, getting 46.2% of the vote. Vince Carter (11.5%) finished second, while Kobe Bryant, Shawn Marion and Gerald Wallace (7.7%) tied for third. James seems to be the obvious choice here. The GMs largely agree that point guard Nash (85.2%), shooting guard Bryant (92.6%) and small forward James (74.1%) are the best players at their respective positions; point guard Jason Kidd (14.8%) and small forward Carmelo Anthony (14.8%) are the only other players to get more than 10% of the vote at those spots. Tim Duncan wins at both power forward (48.1% to 25.9% for Kevin Garnett and 18.5% for Dirk Nowitzki) and center (48.1% to 33.3% for Yao Ming and 7.7% each for Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neal). I agr...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman Boston outscored Cleveland 43-21 in the last 15:43 of the game to post a 114-89 win in the preseason finale for both teams. Kevin Garnett not only had a triple double (21 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) but he had game-high totals in all three categories. Ray Allen added 20 points, including 11 in the third quarter; his back to back three pointers near the end of that period kicked off Boston's decisive closing run, quickly pushing Boston's lead from 71-68 to 77-68. Paul Pierce had 12 points--all in the first half--and six assists. Larry Hughes led Cleveland with 18 points but shot just 7-17 from the field. He also had four assists, four rebounds and four steals. LeBron James scored 17 points but he also had a poor shooting night: 7-18. Three things...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman Bryant returned to action at the start of the second quarter and immediately made his presence felt, getting a steal and passing ahead to James for a fast break layup. A couple possessions later, Bryant scored on a sensational reverse layup off of an inbounds play, putting Team USA up 27-10. Over the next few possessions, Bryant drove to the hoop and fed Anthony for a dunk, threw a lob to Howard for another dunk, dished to Anthony for a three pointer and sailed in for a two handed dunk made possible by a gorgeous behind the back pass from James. Bryant topped all of that off with a three pointer and Team USA led 39-16. By the time Bryant picked up his third foul at the 3:58 mark and sat for the rest of the half, Team USA had a 44-19 lead. At halftime, the score...   [read the full post]