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Cavs Recap Madness Game #2: In Which We Set A Blueprint for making The Leap

Published
by
John Krolik
on October 30, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

First things first: I am not Bob. My name is John Krolik. I’ve been around the internets a little bit, notably my now-defunct blog Truth In A Bullet Fedora and the one and only Freedarko.com (buy their book!), but these days I’m squeezing most of the juice from my mind-grapes over at SLAM Online, as well as doing some moonlighting here. I’m 19, a sophomore at USC, and a Cavs fan. Additional information available on request, I suppose.

But anyways, let’s talk Cavs, because the Wine and Gold looked just fantastic tonight.

Talking Point #1: When was the last time you remember the Cavs winning a game this comfortably? I honestly cannot think of the last time LeBron got to watch the end of the game off the top of my head. The Cavs are an enigma in that their extremely slow pace of play and erratic offense, as well as their penchant for preferring dramatic 5-point or less finishes and occasional over-reliance in their ability to pull wins out by the skin of their teeth, made the Cavs a team that can as often as not beat any team in the league but never really flexed their dominance against the league’s lesser teams. Tonight, we were clearly the dominant team all night, save that ugly third quarter.

On a macro level, we did this because our increased speed allowed for us to use full-court pressure and quick-hitting double teams to exploit Charlotte for easy points while sticking with the boring fundamentals that make Mike Brown’s unit one of the league’s best defensive teams, our 2nd unit didn’t allow the other team back in the game, and we found other sources of scoring. More Specifically:

Talking Point #2: MO WILLIAMS. Yes, it’s one game. Yes, it was against the Bobcats. Yes, 17/4/7 isn’t exactly blowing the doors off the place. But there was nothing tonight that didn’t suggest that this guy isn’t the best offensive player who’s ever played with LeBron James in the NBA. Other than an itchy trigger finger from deep (1-6 on threes), Mo shot 6-8 from inside the arc on a combination of drives to the basket, easy jumpers off curls, and pretty little pull-ups off of screens-he’s like the player Larry Hughes thinks he is. Normally, I don’t like over-relying on the mid-range game, but Mo was maybe the best mid-range shooter in the league last year, and seeing how comfortable his stroke and moves are from that range, I’m breathing easy. And his stroke from deep is making me think he’ll make teams pay for leaving him unguarded more often than not.

AND DID I MENTION HE’S ACTUALLY A POINT GUARD? Here’s Mo, pushing the ball at absolutely every opportunity. Here’s Mo using his handle to set up angles and then feeding the big man inside. Here’s Mo, finding a counter-cutting LeBron for an early stuff. (I was moist after the 1st few possessions). Here’s Mo, who absolutely has the ball on a string. 1 turnover. And for those of you worried about D, Ray Felton went 1-10 from the field and Augustin went 3-8, and Mo looked to be denying them the corner and even drew some nice offensive fouls. And with the 2nd unit, we actually look like a functional basketball team thanks to Mo’s playmaking abilities. It should tell you something about what’s happened with LeBron’s past sidekicks that I was convinced Mo was going to sprain his ankle in the 4th quarter. I’m still not committing all the way to Mo. But I’m getting there.

Talking Point #3: BOOBIE. When he doesn’t miss shots, he’s really good. That’s some top-notch analysis. With Mo out there as another playmaker to free up Boobie, he’s getting a lot more of those feet-set looks he’ll kill you with, and he made all 5 of those extended-elbow turnaround catch-and-shoot Js off pin-down screens he seems to have added this off-season tonight. And he’s got the Reggie Miller 3-ball flop down pat. You can’t expect this every night, but Boobie is looking like Ben Gordon with social skills and seems to be the clubhouse leader for the crunch-time guy out of our harem of 2-guards right now.

Talking Point #4: When was the last time you saw LeBron this far down on the list of talking points? He put up a 22/9/9 tonight in 30 minutes, and he honestly didn’t play that well. The disturbing thing tonight is that LeBron hit literally nothing from outside of the paint, missing all 8 of his jumpers, making him 2-18 on jump shots so far this season. His usually shoots about 40% eFG on his jump shots during the season, but of course outside shooting was still an area of his game that could improve. His >50% 3-point shooting in the pre-season and lights-out display overseas suggest the stroke is there, so hopefully that’ll come around, although I’d still like to see him shooting more from the 10-15 foot range off pull-ups than the 15-20 footers he seems to settle for with the ball in his hands-all his jump shots were from more than 14 feet away. And he still left points at the line, going 8-12 and giving Cavs fans everywhere ulcers.

But onto the good news-LeBron got easy buckets tonight, the type he’s only gotten for team USA in the past. Fast-break feeds from Mo Williams, catches in the low-post for baskets (!), put-back buckets, points off cutters-all of these are making LeBron even better and giving him a dimension he didn’t have before. If he can combine the type of buckets he got tonight with the scoring off iso and pick-and-rolls with the ball in his hands that got him 30 points per game last year, as well as get some kind of perimeter game going, this could get downright freaky. And we may well see that when we get into the type of game where LeBron’s playing 40+ minutes and we’re not just working on getting the new, dynamic offensive elements of the offense worked in.

Talking Point #5: The big-man situation is still up in the air. Big Z’s still doing Big Z things, holding the paint down phenominally and rebounding like a beast, but I’m not sure where he fits in the new offense. His passing from the high-post is keeping him passable, but that 18-foot set shot is just not an effective option now that we have guys like Mo and Boobie to create better shots, and our offense noticeably stagnates when he goes to work on the blocks.

Oddly, the new offense suits Ben Wallace’s talents A LOT better. Ben’s actually quite good at making good, quick passes to the open man when he has the ball and moving without it in order to get easy points, and when the ball’s moving crisply like it was tonight, that means he can use those sills to keep it being a 5 on 4 game on the offensive end. When the offense stagnates, he’s still horrifyingly and revoltingly terrible on offense. And he actually does seem springier, which 10 boards (2 offensive) and 5 blocks with only one foul in 24 minutes helped to show-when healthy, he really does make the advertised impact inside on defense and on the boards. Andy wasn’t the bright spot he was in Boston, but he still looked great, providing energy, getting all the way out to deny corners on pick-and-rolls, finding lanes, getting loose balls, and NOT DOING STUPID CRAP ON OFFENSE.

JJ Hickson-Dayumn. I think his wingspan is approximately eleventy feet long, and he’s got straight-up pogo sticks, and he is absolutely unafraid to mix it up and go up strong, as well as try to stuff the ever-loving poopy out of anyone who tries to go at him on defense. And then there’s this flush on Emeka (snuff-film quality): notice not only the athletic ability and sheer ballsiness but that where he caught it is where Big Z and Drew Gooden settled for mid-range jumpers for the last three years. I am hoping against hope that this guy can get some pick-and-roll synergy with LeBron-this could be the East’s answer to Nash-Amare or Paul-Chandler. I am serious. The kid has that much realness.

Notes and Errata:

Wally Z appears completely and utterly worthless. I still haven’t seen Kinsey play, but if my life depended on a game I’d probably rather have Kinsey in the rotation right now. I’m hoping his contract brings in a big fish, but even with more ball movement and a faster place, Wally appears completely over-matched. Delonte still looks like he’s catching up from missing pre-season (best wishes for his recovery), and he should get it going pretty soon. Sasha Pavs didn’t do that bad, but is still making those stupid over-agressive mental slips on both ends of the floor.

I’m still pumped about Hickson’s slam.

Watching LeBron try to adjust to being the screener looked like Austin Carr trying to give a reading of Pynchon, but that could be very dangerous.

It’s always fun watching Larry Brown lose.

Linton Johnson was 1 foul away from a 10 quadrillion. I honestly did not notice him on the court. Larry Brown is hilarious.

On the flip side, no Lorenzen Wright tonight until garbage time. No offense to the guy, but thank God. I want more JJ. I believe that amazingly mediocre veterans should be hidden from coaches with young, talented players like you hide cigarettes from someone who says he’s trying to quit smoking.

Well, I’ve probably written enough. Peace and celebration.

The Worst Offseason Moves of 2008

Published
by
Bob
on September 22, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Well, with the season still a month away roughly, it’s time to start putting making some predictions and getting on my soapbox.  So I give you my first “The Worst Offseason Moves of (insert year)” piece. 

1.) The Nuggets trade Marcus Camby for a second-round pick:

Fine. You don’t want to pay the guy. I wish the Cavs didn’t have to pay Wallace or Wally either. But Camby is far more productive than the Cavaliers dead weight, and he makes nearly half of what those two do. There had to be a better option out there then to deal him for a second round pick, even if it’s not out there before the season.

At the trade deadline, when teams are trying to add that one piece (see Kurt Thomas to the Spurs) the Nuggets probably could have gotten a first-round choice, or at least some promising prospect who wasn’t going to be playing much with a contender (like a Donte Greene). Sure, they would have had to pay the luxury tax for one more year, but I think that’s a far better alternative.

Couple that with the fact that Camby’s deal is actually pretty reasonable ($8 million this season, $7.65 million next), and I’m completely underwhelmed by the “salary dump” that Denver found in the Clippers. When looking for a team with enough cap space to take on $8 million dollars, their choices were limited. But sometimes, if the party is full of fat chicks, you should just go home alone.

2.) The Knicks sign Chris Duhon for 2 years, $11 million:

I want to just write “it’s the Knicks” and move on, but here goes.

This deal is a bad deal. It’s yet another midlevel deal doled out to yet another career backup by the New Yorks Knicks.  If there is any team in the last five years who has so woefully misused their midlevel, it would be the New York Knicks. 

But to the Knicks credit, at least they didn’t give him a long, bad deal. In two years, if Duhon proves to be overpaid, they can wash their hands of him. They’re just reaching that point with Jared Jeffries and Jerome James, two of their other midlevel mistakes. They’re showing improvement in that respect.

When deciding between deals, Duhon was considering the Magic and Knicks, but the Knicks came to the table with a lot more money in offering 2 years at roughly $5.5 million per. Put that in perspective with West’s 3 years at roughly $4 million per with a third year team option, and you have to think they might have overspent a little on a position where they already have $21 million dollars invested in a lunatic (Marbury).

Speaking of bad deals for average role player talent….

3.) Kwame Brown to the Pistons for 2 years, $8 million:

I have a general rule. It’s an infrequently cited rule, but here goes.

If a team signs a player who has spent the last three years of his career with the Lakers, a storied franchise…. and if said player is cited as “former Washington Wizard Kwame Brown” in the adjoining article in the local rag announcing his acquisition, then said player must have sucked with the Lakers.

2 years, $8 million dollars… How Brown keeps getting money when he’s been an injury prone, inconsistent, baby-handed disappointment his whole career is beyond me. It just goes to show you that if you can fill out a uniform and are taller then 6’10” somebody will pay you.  $4 million dollars is not a ton of money for a big man (Ronny Turiaf who played less then Kwame in LA when Kwame was healthy got $4.5 per season), but it’s too much for a guy who can’t stay in the lineup for any long stretch of time of plays like he’s not in it even when he is.

The Pistons should have just taken 20 million dollars, mashed it up into a basketball shaped wad, and offered to let Kwame keep it all if he could catch it. I guarantee you Kwame would be playing for free.

4.) Joe Alexander taken with the 8th overall choice for the Milwaukee Bucks:

I didn’t get this at the time, and I still don’t understand it now. A poor summer league showing by Alexander only solidifies my belief that taking him with the 8th overall pick was the wrong move for the Bucks. It screams Luke Jackson revisited.

They moved Yi and Simmons to acquire Jefferson. They appear to be trying to “win now”. But then they turned around and drafted a guy with the number 8 pick who is not going to be able to significantly contribute being buried behind Jefferson. They lack interior bangers and when they dealt Mason in the Mo Williams deal, not only did they knowingly deal away the most talented player in the deal (Williams), but they failed to get back any big men.

The Alexander choice can’t be looked out without the context of the surrounding moves. But when you do consider the Bucks other maneuvers, it sticks out like a sore thumb. One that you’ll want to amputate from your hand later on.

5.) Corey Maggette signed to a 50 million dollar deal:

Maggette had little to no leverage when he inked his deal. The money on the free agent market had largely dried up. The Clippers has spent “Maggette’s money” on Baron Davis and still were under the impression they’d be resigning Brand. The Grizzlies weren’t going to spend their money period.

Nobody on the market was offering Magette the kind of money he felt he was worth ($10 million per season) mainly because nobody had that kind of money available. And in swooped the Warriors, bidding against themselves to get Maggette. It’s like taking a prostitute to a nice steak dinner. Completely unnecessary. You could have sex with her in your car, and not even share the Del Taco.

Now he’s not a bad player. Quite the opposite, but when you’ve got two free agents to resign (Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins) who both eventually cost more than $10 million per season, a little financial responsibility would have been nice to see. Who was going to outbid the Warriors if they’d only offered $8 million per year, or $8.5?

Lebron Don’t Do Radio: LA Radio Hosts denied by the King

Published
by
Bob
on September 3, 2008
in Lebron and Uncategorized
. 11 Comments

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I work in radio.  That being said, that doesn’t mean I’m proud of it.

75% of the “sports jocks” you hear on the radio are blowhards.  I’m not the exception to that rule.  In radio, I found a career that allowed me to receive a paycheck for making sweeping generalizations about “what men want”.  I’m still milking that to this day.

The worst qualities of any blowhard are simply enhanced by being given a microphone, a dump button, the ability to hang up on people and free reign to act like an asshole anonymously with no fear of having their teeth kicked in. The worst qualities of Stephen A. Smith transcend time and space and don’t require a microphone or an audience.

All that on-air bloviation comes without that burden of “credibility” or “professionalism” that people in TV are expected to have (although A.C. Slater and ESPN Hollywood pretty much put an end to that).  Radio, much like the world of blogs according to Buzz Bissinger, is full of anonymous, lazy character assassination.

Again though, I’m doing it.

I’m turning a post about Lebron James into a manifesto about the life and times of Bob.  Why worry about what my audience is here to read when I can ramble about me?

The point I was attempting to make when I started this post was that Lebron James apparently recognizes all of the above as true, and despite his meticulously maintained public persona, even he won’t concern himself with playing the PR game to the radio medium. 

In Southern California for a collector’s show and autograph event, Lebron was asked (or rather assailed) to appear on local radio at AM 570 KLAC in Los Angeles with Petros & Money.  According to the show’s producer, he agreed initially, but when given to the phone to do the interview, he had a change of heart.  The booker for the sports station, one which regularly trumpets the merits of Kobe Bryant and the deficiencies of Lebron James, had his dreams shattered of climbing the corporate ladder with four simple words (repeated three times):

“I don’t do radio, I don’t do radio, I don’t do radio…”

And with that…. poof….. interview over.

Well said Lebron.  I’m awarding you extra points for sticking it to the spoiled Lakers fans (and radio producers) who are so used to getting what they want.

What followed the denial of an interview by Lebron?  Well talk of raping his McFarlane’s action figure with a Mikita cordless drill of course.  I have to give it to Petros Papadakis (the one with the lispy speech impediment). His vivid description of Tommy Lasorda 69-ing Minnie Minoso in front of Eric Gagne was pretty funny.

And that wasted introduction was a work of art.

Check out the audio below:

 
icon for podpress  Lebron Don't Do Radio: LA Talk Radio Station denied by King James: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

 

 

Redemption! Team USA wins the Gold.

Published
by
Bob
on August 24, 2008
in Lebron, Olympics and Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

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.