duncan228
02-07-2009, 10:23 PM
Current Cavs good, but are they the best? (http://www.ohio.com/sports/39267057.html)
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
CLEVELAND: Here's what we know: The Cavaliers, with a 39-9 record, are in a virtual dead heat with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the NBA this season. And they get another shot at the Lakers Sunday.
Here's what we can debate: Is this the best Cavs team ever?
History shows that teams from two previous eras, which didn't have LeBron James, were thought to be title contenders.
The ''Miracle of Richfield'' team (49-33) in 1975-76 rocked the Big House on the Prairie, better known as the Coliseum.
The arrival of veteran Nate Thurmond, who knew how to win, boosted a group that didn't realize how good it was.
The second team to get to the Eastern Conference finals from 1991-92, featuring Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, John ''Hot Rod'' Williams and Larry Nance, played precision basketball and had a 57-25 record.
Longtime radio voice of the Cavaliers Joe Tait sees a lot of promise in this year's team.
''This one is still on its way to the top,'' Tait said. ''It is a bit premature to start to make comparisons, but I would say that this team has the potential to be the best Cavalier team ever.''
With team and individual records falling, this year's Cavaliers have carved out a place among the best in franchise history.
And they aren't finished, yet.
''Things unfolded fairly well for that group,'' Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry said of the 1991-92 team, for whom he played. '' that was the ceiling for that group. Hopefully, this group can go beyond that.''
[B]Defensively speaking
The stats say the sky is the limit for this season's team. The Cavs are tied for first with the Celtics in field-goal percentage allowed in the league, a stat that sits at the top of Cavs coach Mike Brown's list. They rank fourth in 3-point percentage allowed and first in point differential at plus 10.31.
Those numbers far outpace either of the previous two teams.
They rank 10th offensively in the league.
The 1975-76 team compares with this year's team defensively, ranking No. 2 in the then-18-team league, but was just 17th offensively. The 1991-92 team ranked 10th defensively and seventh offensively in a 28-team league.
Call it a return to the '70s, but Brown has made the unattractive completely sexy to this group of Cavs, including James, who has evolved into one of the better defensive players in the now 30-team league.
The Cavs can shoot the lights out on a given night, but if they don't play defense, Brown doesn't hesitate to let them know it.
When the Cavs got into a shootout in a 117-110 win over the Sacramento Kings and point guard Mo Williams scored 43 points, the locker room had the air of a loss.
The mood was subdued, and Brown was disappointed because they didn't play ''Cleveland Cavaliers basketball,'' which begins on defense.
They are the product of an era when the NBA is less high-flying and more defensive minded, a philosophy gaining favor in the league.
Hoops science
How do you craft the perfect basketball team? Some would argue that you cannot.
If you look at most of the NBA champions of the past 30 years, a couple of things stand out: They usually have a superstar or two and a slew of role players — the one exception to that observation being the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons.
But you can follow that recipe — as the Denver Nuggets did by pairing Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson — and still come up short. The missing ingredient overall: chemistry — something these three Cavs teams have in common.
''You can't just try to continue to put a square peg in a round hole; it just doesn't work,'' former Cavs point guard and current TV analyst Austin Carr said. ''Chemistry just happens. We just eliminated all the malcontent guys and we started getting guys to follow the system and winning was the most important thing. We liked each other. We did things together. That's what brings that on.''
Sound familiar? It's a formula that Ferry believes can work.
He witnessed it on the Cavs teams for which he played and with the San Antonio Spurs, where he played and served as director of basketball operations. He won championships as a player and a member of the front office with the Spurs.
''Mark, Brad, Larry, Craig [Ehlo] and the rest were good people. [Former Cavs GM] Wayne Embry firmly believed in a team built with people and players of character,'' Ferry said. ''[Spurs coach] Gregg Popovich has always felt that way also. We are trying to build off a similar platform — with good guys that love to compete and play basketball.''
Reality of The One
Even with all of that, being the best as a team sometimes comes down to just a single individual. Carr and Tait know this all too well.
Just before the Eastern Conference finals in 1976, center Jim Chones landed on a teammate's foot and broke his own in the process. Carr said Chones was the key that opened the door to their championship, primarily because he could play tough against Celtics big men Paul Silas and Dave Cowens.
''With Chones, there's no doubt in my mind that we would have beaten Boston in the conference finals and beaten Phoenix in the NBA championship round,'' Tait said. ''Back then, we beat Boston 4-of-6 during the regular season and had taken the Phoenix home-and-home.''
And, of course, Price knows all too well what one player can do to or for a team's championship aspirations.
''It's pretty easy. A guy named Michael Jordan had something to do with it. There's really no other reason. We were as good a team as there was in the league,'' Price said by phone from Atlanta. ''We just weren't able to overcome, arguably, the best player to play the game.''
The Cavs might not have to worry about that now because they have one of the best, if not the best, in James.
Carr said today's Cavs share a lot of similarities with the team on which he played, depth and chemistry being just two.
''The one edge that this team has on us is LeBron. We were all just good players,'' he said.
Tait said the only thing that could hurt the current team is an injury to a key player, much like what happened to Chones.
But with nearly four months to go until the NBA Finals and a possible championship, the debate can continue.
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
CLEVELAND: Here's what we know: The Cavaliers, with a 39-9 record, are in a virtual dead heat with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the NBA this season. And they get another shot at the Lakers Sunday.
Here's what we can debate: Is this the best Cavs team ever?
History shows that teams from two previous eras, which didn't have LeBron James, were thought to be title contenders.
The ''Miracle of Richfield'' team (49-33) in 1975-76 rocked the Big House on the Prairie, better known as the Coliseum.
The arrival of veteran Nate Thurmond, who knew how to win, boosted a group that didn't realize how good it was.
The second team to get to the Eastern Conference finals from 1991-92, featuring Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, John ''Hot Rod'' Williams and Larry Nance, played precision basketball and had a 57-25 record.
Longtime radio voice of the Cavaliers Joe Tait sees a lot of promise in this year's team.
''This one is still on its way to the top,'' Tait said. ''It is a bit premature to start to make comparisons, but I would say that this team has the potential to be the best Cavalier team ever.''
With team and individual records falling, this year's Cavaliers have carved out a place among the best in franchise history.
And they aren't finished, yet.
''Things unfolded fairly well for that group,'' Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry said of the 1991-92 team, for whom he played. '' that was the ceiling for that group. Hopefully, this group can go beyond that.''
[B]Defensively speaking
The stats say the sky is the limit for this season's team. The Cavs are tied for first with the Celtics in field-goal percentage allowed in the league, a stat that sits at the top of Cavs coach Mike Brown's list. They rank fourth in 3-point percentage allowed and first in point differential at plus 10.31.
Those numbers far outpace either of the previous two teams.
They rank 10th offensively in the league.
The 1975-76 team compares with this year's team defensively, ranking No. 2 in the then-18-team league, but was just 17th offensively. The 1991-92 team ranked 10th defensively and seventh offensively in a 28-team league.
Call it a return to the '70s, but Brown has made the unattractive completely sexy to this group of Cavs, including James, who has evolved into one of the better defensive players in the now 30-team league.
The Cavs can shoot the lights out on a given night, but if they don't play defense, Brown doesn't hesitate to let them know it.
When the Cavs got into a shootout in a 117-110 win over the Sacramento Kings and point guard Mo Williams scored 43 points, the locker room had the air of a loss.
The mood was subdued, and Brown was disappointed because they didn't play ''Cleveland Cavaliers basketball,'' which begins on defense.
They are the product of an era when the NBA is less high-flying and more defensive minded, a philosophy gaining favor in the league.
Hoops science
How do you craft the perfect basketball team? Some would argue that you cannot.
If you look at most of the NBA champions of the past 30 years, a couple of things stand out: They usually have a superstar or two and a slew of role players — the one exception to that observation being the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons.
But you can follow that recipe — as the Denver Nuggets did by pairing Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson — and still come up short. The missing ingredient overall: chemistry — something these three Cavs teams have in common.
''You can't just try to continue to put a square peg in a round hole; it just doesn't work,'' former Cavs point guard and current TV analyst Austin Carr said. ''Chemistry just happens. We just eliminated all the malcontent guys and we started getting guys to follow the system and winning was the most important thing. We liked each other. We did things together. That's what brings that on.''
Sound familiar? It's a formula that Ferry believes can work.
He witnessed it on the Cavs teams for which he played and with the San Antonio Spurs, where he played and served as director of basketball operations. He won championships as a player and a member of the front office with the Spurs.
''Mark, Brad, Larry, Craig [Ehlo] and the rest were good people. [Former Cavs GM] Wayne Embry firmly believed in a team built with people and players of character,'' Ferry said. ''[Spurs coach] Gregg Popovich has always felt that way also. We are trying to build off a similar platform — with good guys that love to compete and play basketball.''
Reality of The One
Even with all of that, being the best as a team sometimes comes down to just a single individual. Carr and Tait know this all too well.
Just before the Eastern Conference finals in 1976, center Jim Chones landed on a teammate's foot and broke his own in the process. Carr said Chones was the key that opened the door to their championship, primarily because he could play tough against Celtics big men Paul Silas and Dave Cowens.
''With Chones, there's no doubt in my mind that we would have beaten Boston in the conference finals and beaten Phoenix in the NBA championship round,'' Tait said. ''Back then, we beat Boston 4-of-6 during the regular season and had taken the Phoenix home-and-home.''
And, of course, Price knows all too well what one player can do to or for a team's championship aspirations.
''It's pretty easy. A guy named Michael Jordan had something to do with it. There's really no other reason. We were as good a team as there was in the league,'' Price said by phone from Atlanta. ''We just weren't able to overcome, arguably, the best player to play the game.''
The Cavs might not have to worry about that now because they have one of the best, if not the best, in James.
Carr said today's Cavs share a lot of similarities with the team on which he played, depth and chemistry being just two.
''The one edge that this team has on us is LeBron. We were all just good players,'' he said.
Tait said the only thing that could hurt the current team is an injury to a key player, much like what happened to Chones.
But with nearly four months to go until the NBA Finals and a possible championship, the debate can continue.