This Lebron/Kidd thing has gotten ridiculous

Published
by
Bob
on August 28, 2008
in Lebron, Olympics and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

So it’s no secret Lebron James loves Jason Kidd.  Last year, James lobbied for him to be traded to the Cavs, and considering the ridiculous size of Kidd’s contract, you’d have to have a healthy appreciation for his abilities in order to advocate handcuffing a team’s payroll with an aging point guard making in excess of 20 million dollars.  Well the Olympics brought a whole new level of man love as Lebron and Kidd played their ways to a gold medal performance for Team USA.  After the Olympics, Kidd had the following to say:

“I’m undefeated,” Kidd, 35, said. “I told them I can retire now from international ball, but LeBron [James] threw out something I didn’t like. He said he won’t play in 2012 unless I’m there.”

I could pretend I’m writing this because I’m interested in talking about Kidd and Lebron playing together someday, or how ridiculous it is that Jason Kidd is giving his gold medal to the wife of Las Vegas Casino owner Steve Wynn, or even Lebron’s claims of not playing in 2012 without Kidd, but I’ll leave that to others who do it better (Waiting for Next Year spoke on this subject earlier today even).  I really just wanted to throw my hat in the photoshop arena and combine a few of the creepier images that have emerged since the Olympics concluded.  

First there was this image of Jason Kidd taken after Team USA won gold.

He looks like a pedophile.  There’s a part of me that believes that he’s giving the medal away as a way to rid himself of any incriminating evidence (”the man with the giant gold medal and huge head touched me!”). But then while reading Ball Don’t Lie, I came upon this image of Lebron James at Morton’s upon returning to Cleveland.  

And now….. I give you the uncanny similarity.

I’ve available for freelance work.  I know my photoshop skills are tremendous.

 

 

Zydrunas Ilgauskas: Headed for the rafters?

Published
by
Bob
on August 26, 2008
in Lebron, NBA News and Olympics
. 4 Comments

Prepare to be ballwashed Mr. Ilgauskas.  There couldn’t be less news going on if we lived in China so I’ve decided that you’ve earned a look back at your achievements in the NBA, and a look towards your post-career legacy.

Certain statistics get brought up all the time during FSN Ohio Cavalier broadcasts.  Things like Lebron James’s 4th quarter scoring average, the NBA’s “youngest to” stats, or where James’s season statistics rank against the greats like Magic, Oscar Robertson, and Larry Bird are plastered all over Cavs telecasts.  The graphics are ready to go and are used as frequently as the dump button for microphones within 20 feet of Kevin Garnett during an NBA game.

But last year, during one of the Cavaliers regular season match-ups with the Celtics, FSN pulled out a new statistic that I had to let sink in.  

At that time, Zydrunas Ilgauskas trailed only Paul Pierce as the NBA player with the longest tenure on one team yet to win a championship (642 games for Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Pierce’s 732).  He now sits atop that statistic, for better or worse, as the one stable component to Cavaliers’ basketball for the last decade.  

He has played in 642 games for the Cavaliers during his 11 year career, and the his most celebrated moment was quite possibly when he was the recipient of a hug from Lebron James after winning the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.  

Look at the photo.  His face is shielded from view, and when time passes and future generations unfamiliar with his game reflect upon Z’s contributions, that photo gives the impression that he was riding the pine (thanks to the warmups).  Z has had plenty of on-court triumphs, but none on the NBA’s biggest stage, and it’d be a shame if the most viewed video of Big Z on YouTube turns out to be this one:

 

Don’t worry.  There’s competition (such as directly below), but generally speaking, if you’re YouTube highlight video contains footage of making regular season free throws and starts with you missing your first attempt, you’re game wasn’t one that translates well to the YouTube generation.

 

But as much as I kid about his awkward motion on the court, or his less than exciting midrange and free throw proficiency, Z is taken for granted by too many.

For the better part of 10 years, Cavs fans have had an upper echelon center when the rest of the team has been in constant flux. While he’s only made two All-Star appearances (2003 and 2005), a look at his numbers shows a tremendous level of consistency. While other centers have fallen off considerably after the age of 30, Z is still going strong and has developed the strengths in his game that will remain in tact irrespective of age (i.e. his shooting touch, his ability to hit free throws).

His 2007-2008 season brought his best year for rebounding (9.3 per game), his 4th most productive scoring year (at 14.1 points per game), and a third consecutive season of shooting north of 80% on his free throw attempts.  He also logged more than 70 games for the 6th straight season.

Six names grace the retired numbers list of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are as follows:

7 - Bingo Smith, F, 1970-79 (12.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 720 games as a Cavalier)
22 - Larry Nance, F, 1988-94 (16.8 ppg, 8.22 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 433 games as a Cavalier)
25 - Mark Price, G, 1986-95 (16.4 ppg, 7.2 apg, 90.4 FT%, 582 games as a Cavalier)
34 - Austin Carr, G, 1971-80 (16.1 ppg, 81 FT%, 635 games as a Cavalier)
42 - Nate Thurmond, C, 1975-77 (5.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 114 games as a Cavalier)
43 - Brad Daugherty, C, 1986-94 (19.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 548 games as a Cavalier)

Add Zydrunas to the mix and you wouldn’t raise many eyebrows from a numbers standpoint.  Sure he presided over some of the Cavaliers worst teams following the departure of Mark Price, but one man does not make a team.  Three of the Cavaliers greats (Price, Nance, and Daugherty) won so much because they happened to be on the team simultaneously, and one of the remaining three (Nate Thurmond) barely played with the Cavs.  Z’s numbers nestle in there seamlessly:

11 - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C, 1997-? (14.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 642 games as a Cavalier)

Now we’ll likely see those career numbers dip, but if Ilgauskas logs just 79 more games over the remainder of the two years left on his contract, he’ll be atop the list amongst Cavalier greats for the longest time wearing the Wine & Gold (or putrid lightning bolt accented white, black, and light blue…those uniforms never happened).

Every Cavs fan knows about Z’s character.  They know about his resiliency, bouncing back from devastating early career foot injuries to become one of the Cavs lynchpins.  They know about his personal hardships, having to suffer through some tragic events during what was the Cavaliers best season in team history.  They know about how professionally he’s handled the Cavs decision not to allow him to compete in the Olympics due to injury concerns (a decision that despite my love for the Cavs I wish they would have reconsidered).  

And hopefully, when Z walks away, future generations will know him as the last player in Cavalier history to wear #11 and the second to hoist a championship trophy (right after Lebron gets to touch it).

Will Big Z have his number retired?

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Patrick McManamon: Shhhhh…. You’re gonna ruin it

Published
by
Bob
on August 25, 2008
in Free Agency, Lebron, NBA News and Signings
. 3 Comments

If you’re an optimistic Cavs fan you’ve undoubtedly thought about the idea of Lebron James being joined in Cleveland by a player of Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh’s stature.  It’s a possibility that we’ve discussed as the Cavs approach the Summer of 2010, but after watching the Olympics, the Plains Dealer’s Patrick McManamon can’t help but consider the possibility of adding another superstar alongside Lebron James when that summer arrives.  Here’s some of what he had to say (click here to read the whole article).

The vision — and it’s not a pipe dream — has James staying and playing on the same team as Dwyane Wade. Or Chris Bosh. Or Josh Howard. Or Amare Stoudamire. Or any of the other big-name NBA guys who can become a free agent in the summer of 2010.

Don’t laugh.

There is only one NBA team positioned to sign two superstars in 2010, and that’s the Cavaliers.

That’s because there’s only one team with a superstar and the cap room to sign another.

Everyone has been focusing on the cap space of the New Jersey Nets or the New York Knicks or Athens, Greece, but the Cavs quietly have manipulated themselves to the point that they have more salary-cap room than anyone for that offseason.

The Cavs have almost $30 million in cap space — and that counts James’ salary, which will go away when he opts out of his final year.

It should be noted that there will be other teams attempting to carve out cap space that could attempt the same thing as the Cavs.  But it’s dependent upon them already possessing one of those NBA superstars and being able to open up enough space for an additional max deal.  While it’s a rarity that things work out when trying to coordinate two massive signings (i.e. Clippers), this summer certainly brought together some key players in how teams will plan for and spend their money.  You have imagine some hypothetical “wouldn’t it be nice to play together” conversations happened.

There is also consideration that must be given to what the Cavs will do with their expiring contracts between now and then.  On a team so desperately trying to get a title, it’s going to take a lot of restraint by Danny Ferry not to move any of these attractive expiring deals and instead keep them for the cap relief that would be needed to execute a two-star summer of 2010 like Patrick alludes to in his article. 

If any of those deals get moved this year or during the 2009-2010 season, the Cavs would likely be taking back longer contracts in order to upgrade the talent around Lebron.  That’s the value in the expiring deal, hence why teams give up better players to accumulate them.  It will be a calculated measure of “win now” versus “how big of a splash can the Cavs make in the Summer of 2010″ that determines the roster moves over the next two years.

Just something to dream about in afterglow of American gold.

A little more Olympic follow up

Published
by
Bob
on August 25, 2008
in Lebron and Olympics
. 0 Comments

Team USA is back on top, and now that the Olympics are over, it will be back to NBA related stories, but it’s worth taking a follow up look to tie up some loose ends.  After the game, it was mostly Wade and Kobe but here’s some of what Lebron had to say about the American’s return to the top of the basketball world.

From the Plain Dealer:

“Much respect to Spain, but the U.S. is back on top again,” Cavaliers superstar and Akron native LeBron James said.

“We were asked if we wanted to make a commitment to this,” said James, who had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. “To do something we have never done before — win a gold medal.”

“We had a game plan, and they countered everything we tried,” James said. “Every possession counted. It will probably go down in history as one of the greatest Olympics games ever.”

“If it wasn’t for the determination and the willpower we had, we would not have gotten this win,” James said. “The biggest thing is that U.S. is back on top again.”

Anyone who missed the game, missed an amazing showing from Rudy Fernandez, just another reason for Blazers fans to be excited about an incoming rookie.

Watch Rudy’s Dunk on Dwight Howard here.

I can help but feel great for Carmelo Anthony.  The guy has constantly been chastised as a player who would never reach his full potential because of his character, or because of the seemingly lethargic way he glides around the court.  He was in Larry Brown’s doghouse in 2004.

But he was absolutely huge in the final two games of this Olympics.  Wade and Kobe are getting the press, but Carmelo took a lot of physical post assignments seriously, and made his baskets at key points to curb the opponents momentum.  This video features Lebron, but Melo seems like the one who is the most spontaneously happy about winning gold.

The NBA has a lot to be excited about.  If anything this year’s Olympics games will just increase the intensity with which these guy’s compete against one another during the NBA season.  Dwayne Wade came away as the real hero, but Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Chris Bosh all had brilliant stretches that left me in awe of their talents. 

From the foreign perspective, it showcased a lot of current or NBA talent flourishing when playing in more traditional team settings instead of the individual showcases that many NBA games tend to become.  I’m excited for the Blazers and the Grizzlies with Fernandez and Marc Gasol coming over, and seeing Juan Carlos Navarro in action made me wonder what might have been.  He certainly looked like much more than just a shooter in the gold medal game.

As for Chris Kaman, I’m glad his Olympic experience ended with bowing out after a woeful showing.  The exuberance you see in the video above is hard to imagine coming from Kaman even if the Germans had won a gold.  How would that be fulfilling to Kaman considering he essentially played the role of a freakishly tall mercenary who signed on last minute?  Team triumphed here, and the Germans saw a little of what contributed to American let downs in previous years firsthand.

Redemption! Team USA wins the Gold.

Published
by
Bob
on August 24, 2008
in Lebron, Olympics and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

I have to admit.  The beginning of this game had me worried.  Team USA seemed far to anxious to blow this game open.  A couple quick fouls on Lebron and then one by Kobe on a three point attempt saw both players sent to the bench only 4 minutes into the game.   

But the second unit deserve a ton of credit for coming in and calming the team down on offense while keeping up the defensive intensity. Chris Paul immediately made two huge plays on “and ones”, Bosh fought tirelessly for boards and offensive position, and Dwayne Wade made some timely steals and forced the Spaniards to foul.  By the end of the first quarter, the unit of Paul, Bosh, Deron Williams, Dwayne Wade, and Tayshaun Prince took control putting the Americans back up 38-31. Wade had 13 first quarter points.

The second quarter saw the first unit return much more keyed in.  Their shooting continued to be hot from outside, and despite the fact that Carmelo Anthony’s face has been a landing pad for elbows throughout the medal rounds, he kept his composure, and the Americans slowly but surely stopped turning the ball over, fouled less frequently and starting getting some transition buckets off of steals themselves (with Wade, Lebron, and Kobe all getting in on the act).  With four minutes left in the second quarter, Team USA was firmly in control up by 14.

Rudy Fernandez, the Blazers rookie, looked great in the first half going 4 for 5 from the floor, including a perfect 3-3 showing from downtown. Largely due to his play, Spain was able to cut the lead to 8 by halftime trailing 69-61.  As for Dwayne Wade’s statline at half…yeah, nothing spectacular…just 21 points on 7-9 shooting (one of which was a last second heave at the buzzer).  Did I mention 4 steals?

Coming out of the locker room at halftime, I’m always worried.  It has nothing to do with America.  I’ve been trained watching basketball to dread the third.  The Cavs are notorious for choking away leads in the third quarter forcing Lebron to put the team on his back in the fourth.  James made a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers right away, Kobe got tagged with a travel, and next thing you know the Spanish team is down by 4 with Dwight Howard on the foul line.  Not exactly a sure thing.  Those of us watching on the internet feed got to enjoy a string of profanities from Coach K about shitty team defense.

From their we saw a lot of back and forth baskets.  There were some Americans lapses on the defensive end as Juan Carlos Navarro hit some runners, but Carmelo kept Team USA in front forcing a turnover which he converted as well as following up the inevitable Howard missed free throws I referenced above with a putback.  Lebron made two straight big baskets at one point and Wade continues to slash to the rim.  With two minutes left in the third, the Americans led by 10 (86-76).  Carmelo may not dominate the box score tonight, but his baskets came at crucial times.  He hit another three late in the shot clock to get the Americans an 11 point lead.  As the third quarter ended, Navarro hit a runner to cut the margin to 9 and that brought him to 15 points on the night at the end of the third.  The score was 91-82.

The fourth quarter did not start well.  Rudy Fernandez has come out absolutely destroying the USA defense.  He continues to hit his outside shots, and that set up some slashing pick and rolls, one of which ended in a Pau Gasol crush.  With 9 minutes remaining, the lead was 91-89 for Team USA.  Lebron picked up a fourth foul, and the Americans found themselves desperately trying to hold off the Spanish rally.  

Big bucket by Kobe.  Big three by Deron Williams.  Big dunk by Dwight Howard! Don’t look now.  The Americans are back up by nine with 6:30 left.  As Kobe dropped in yet another three pointer (making it 11-22 for Team USA at that point), you could feel it coming.  USA needed to drive a nail into the coffin.  Lebron missed, got his own board and puts it back in.  Was that it?  Nope.  Rudy Fernandez threw a dunk down on Dwight Howard and got the foul.

But the dagger would come, courtesy of Kobe Bryant.  And it came with a pose.  Rudy Fernandez fouled out as Kobe Bryant got him in the air, nailed a three and tagged Fernandez for his fifth foul.  Bryant put a sole finger to his lips as if to hush the crowd.  With three minutes left, Team USA led 108-99 looking like a gold medal is moments away.  Two straight baskets by Spain cut the lead to 4, but Lebron drives the lane  and kicks it to Wade, who hits a three with a scowl on his face.  Points 25…26… and 27.

USA! USA!  The chants started.  The obligatory David Beckham cutaways began.  Gasol was forced to foul Chris Paul in the backcourt.  And then it was just a matter of moments.  Rudy Fernandez was spectacular.  Juan Carlos Navarro had something to prove.  Pau didn’t play soft.  Marc Gasol is a brute who I can’t wait to see in NBA action.   But the best team in the world is once again the United States of America.

As for the statlines, it almost seems wrong to even spend time on this, but Lebron finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Kobe scored 20 with 6 assists.  Chris Paul added 13 points and 5 assists, and Melo scored 13.  The three-point shooting that past incarnations of Team USA had lived and died by?  Well USA shot 46% from 3 (13-28), while Spain shot 47% (8-17).  This was a great game, and with FIBA making changes that will bring international ball more in line with American basketball, don’t be surprised to see USA repeat in 2012.

Update:  This picture is great.  If I didn’t know better, I’d think Lebron James had a lazy eye.