View Full Version : James Confident Cavs Would Compete In These Finals
duncan228
03-27-2009, 03:18 PM
James confident Cavs would compete in these finals (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/wires/03/27/2030.ap.bkn.nba.notes.adv28.1435/)
SI.com
Two things were obvious after Cleveland's first NBA finals appearance: LeBron James had to get better, and the Cavaliers had to get better around him.
With both accomplished, James is confident the Cavs would be in a fair fight this time if they can follow the best regular season in franchise history by returning to the finals.
"Absolutely,'' James said. "I don't think there's one team in our league that's just clear-cut better than another team.''
The San Antonio Spurs were clearly better than the Cavaliers in the 2007 finals, sweeping a Cleveland team that played some of the ugliest basketball that had ever been seen in the championship round. The Cavs managed just 322 points, easily a record low.
"Obviously they were in the finals for a reason. Whatever the case was, they didn't get it done,'' point guard Mo Williams said. "We're confident this year that we have everything we need to be the favorite and be the team that comes out on top.''
Williams is one of the reasons, acquired last summer and becoming the best guard James has teamed with in the NBA. He gave the Cavs additional outside shooting, and since those finals they've also added depth to their front line with Ben Wallace and Joe Smith.
New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank, whose Nets lost to the Cavs in the '07 playoffs and twice this week, has seen the improvements in James and his team.
"Not only is he getting better, they've surrounded him with shooting,'' Frank said. "You think about Cleveland's model, they've done a great job. They have a great, great player, they've surrounded him with 3-point shooting and size.''
James knew it wasn't only his supporting cast that needed work. He shot just 36 percent against the Spurs, who shut off his path to the lane and forced him to take jumpers that he repeatedly missed. He went to work that summer building a reliable outside shot while playing with the U.S. national team, one that's consistent enough now that San Antonio's defensive strategy wouldn't be as effective.
"That series made me a better player, who I am today, because I knew I had a lot to learn,'' James said. "I knew I had a lot to improve on, me as an individual, so I'm a much better player now because of that.''
lefty
03-27-2009, 03:19 PM
Lebron is a funny guy
There is NO way they would beat the Lakers or the Spurs in the Finals
Ghazi
03-27-2009, 03:24 PM
Lebron is a funny guy
There is NO way they would beat the Lakers or the Spurs in the Finals
:lol
djohn2oo8
03-27-2009, 03:26 PM
:lol
Wouldn't laugh too hard, they'll get a ring before the mavs
lefty
03-27-2009, 03:35 PM
:lol
Laugh all you want, but you and other Mavs fans thought we were fucked in 2007 :flag:
Who won the title: Spurs
Who got humilated in the 1st round: you gay ass team :lmao
Thunder Dan
03-27-2009, 03:45 PM
Lebron is a funny guy
There is NO way they would beat the Lakers or the Spurs in the Finals
I didn't know if you got the memo or not, but the Spurs suck this year man. I normally try to not bash the Spurs on here, but they just aren't that good.
Ghazi
03-27-2009, 03:46 PM
Only difference is Spurs were actually good that year.
TheMACHINE
03-27-2009, 03:48 PM
based on his record vs the elite teams...its pretty clear to me
que Joetait ;)
JoeTait75
03-27-2009, 03:48 PM
Lebron is a funny guy
There is NO way they would beat the Lakers or the Spurs in the Finals
I have a LOT of respect for the Spurs, Lefty. But they'd have their work cut out for them if they played the Cavaliers in the Finals.
FromWayDowntown
03-27-2009, 03:50 PM
I didn't know if you got the memo or not, but the Spurs suck this year man. I normally try to not bash the Spurs on here, but they just aren't that good.
Yeah, I'm not sure that a team that's going to win somewhere around 55 games despite a rash of injuries to its best players is a team that "sucks" or "just isn't that good."
They might not be as good as the Cavaliers -- and I doubt the Spurs would beat the Cavs in a Finals series this year -- but the fact that the Spurs aren't as good as the Cavs is a pretty far cry from saying that the Spurs "suck this year" and "just aren't that good."
The Wizards suck this year. The Kings suck this year. The Pacers just aren't that good. The Suns just aren't that good.
Thunder Dan
03-27-2009, 03:53 PM
Yeah, I'm not sure that a team that's going to win somewhere around 55 games despite a rash of injuries to its best players is a team that "sucks" or "just isn't that good."
They might not be as good as the Cavaliers -- and I doubt the Spurs would beat the Cavs in a Finals series this year -- but the fact that the Spurs aren't as good as the Cavs is a pretty far cry from saying that the Spurs "suck this year" and "just aren't that good."
The Wizards suck this year. The Kings suck this year. The Pacers just aren't that good. The Suns just aren't that good.
I guess I shouldn't say they suck, but there is no reason to think that if they got in the Finals the Cavs couldn't win a game or 2. I meant it in the context of "There is NO way they would beat the Lakers or the Spurs in the Finals"...that's a crazy comment. The Spurs haven't shown anything this year that would lead us to believe they would actually make the Finals, let alone sweeping the Cavs if they meet there
DeadlyDynasty
03-27-2009, 03:57 PM
I don't know how anyone could pick SA over Cleveland at this point
RedsLakers24
03-27-2009, 04:01 PM
I don't know how anyone could pick SA over Cleveland at this point
I would as long as Tim is with the spurs and Manu is healthy they have a great chance, Pop>Brown, and the spurs have already shown how to stop lebron
Spursfan092120
03-27-2009, 04:16 PM
I didn't know if you got the memo or not, but the Spurs suck this year man. I normally try to not bash the Spurs on here, but they just aren't that good.
Dan..you're better than that man...almost all year we've been without at least one of our big 3..our main players...All three guys could easily be our best player. Take Lebron off the Cavs and what do you have? If all 3 are playing good ball, we're a different team, and after 2007, your team should know just as well as anyone
Spursfan092120
03-27-2009, 04:16 PM
I don't know how anyone could pick SA over Cleveland at this point
Easily...like this
Spurs>Cleveland
Bob Lanier
03-27-2009, 04:20 PM
confident Cavs would compete in these finals
What is that even supposed to mean? Has ESPN fired all their copyeditors?
I didn't know if you got the memo or not, but the Spurs suck this year man. I normally try to not bash the Spurs on here, but they just aren't that good.
You're pretty out of touch. They haven't had their big 3 healthy, just wait till the playoffs man you don't know how dead wrong you are..
gaKNOW!blee
03-27-2009, 04:29 PM
It's easy...slow down King Nothing and you win....los Spurs have done it before. The Cavs play in the weak east too, so that helps their record.
They're 23-4 against the west.
I dont get it, you call him King Nothing but then say if you shut him down his team is nothing. Which means the fact that he has his team at 58 wins in quite remarkable.
Thunder Dan needs to stop letting ESPN give him his opinion...he isn't very smart obviously. What's next? The Spurs are too old...wait they are too boring....wait asterik! HAHA! Dumb fucks.
I gave up thinking about the "too old" excuse like 4 yrs ago because you hear it every year and it doesn't amount to anything
I am too, man you have no idea. That's what most anti-Spurs fans say when they can't think of a comeback.
yup, which is why most people automatically ignore it.
Besides what King James said, any one care to check his shooting % vs elite teams? This isn't the regular season, in the playoffs, in a 7 game series, teams
WILL ADJUST and will have plenty of time to to the opposing team. This is why
the one man team philosophy almost never works. Mo Wil is great but he
wouldn't be the guy to count on in the post season. Speaking of Post...the
cavs have NO legitimate post presence. Big Z has a great midrange jumper
he is not the guy you can feed it to late into games to keep the defense
guessing like the spurs do with TD
Ghazi
03-27-2009, 04:42 PM
Legitimate post presences are overrated. Erick Dampier won a championship as a starting center in 2006, and Kendrick Perkins won a championship as a starting center in 2008. The Pistons didn't have much interior OFFENSE in 2004 either.
JoeTait75
03-27-2009, 04:43 PM
Besides what King James said, any one care to check his shooting % vs elite teams? This isn't the regular season, in the playoffs, in a 7 game series, teams WILL ADJUST and will have plenty of time to to the opposing team. This is why the one man team philosophy almost never works.
That's a double-edged sword. In a seven-game series, LeBron will able to adjust and figure out new ways to attack. Look at the history- even in series where he's been shut down at the outset (2007 ECF vs. Detroit; 2008 ECSF vs. Boston) LeBron has come back to have huge games in the later stages of the series. The only exception was the 2007 Finals, and in that case the Spurs never gave him the opportunity to adjust, because the series was over too quickly.
Cavaliers also play very good defense in the Playoffs, because MB can adjust to what opponents are doing offensively over the course of a series.
gaKNOW!blee
03-27-2009, 04:50 PM
I call him King Nothing cuz he hasn't won jack...to be a King you have to conquer someone or something...look it up. 58 wins is great, but means nothing. Ask the 2006-07 67 win Mavs team. It's remarkable yes, but to say that they would beat the Spurs, Lakers or even the Rockets in a 7 game series is a stretch. I'd be more afraid of Orlando or Boston.
Why would you be more afraid of Orlando? Atleast the Cavs have gotten to the finals.
I dont know, if the Spurs would play the Cavs in the finals I would be VERY worried...this is a much different team than in 2007.
JoeTait75
03-27-2009, 04:56 PM
Part of our problem in 2007- and this is not to detract from the wholesale ass-whupping San Antonio laid on us- was that we were in "happy to be there" mode. All that season the Cavaliers had geared themselves to beat Detroit. They expended a tremendous amount of effort and energy to do that, and when they did, they and the town celebrated as if there was no tomorrow.
But there was a tomorrow. And when that tomorrow came, everyone woke up hung over from the triumph over Detroit, blinked, and said, "Wait- we have to play another series? Against THOSE guys?"
Plain and simple, the Cavaliers weren't ready, from a talent standpoint and from a psychological standpoint, to compete with a team like San Antonio on the sport's biggest stage. But this team is different. Better in terms of talent, more mature, more experienced. They have a better idea of what it takes to win a World Championship in this league. The expectations have changed.
IronMexican
03-27-2009, 04:58 PM
Legitimate post presences are overrated. Erick Dampier won a championship as a starting center in 2006, and Kendrick Perkins won a championship as a starting center in 2008. The Pistons didn't have much interior OFFENSE in 2004 either.
8 of the last 10 titles are from Shaq and Duncan. Post presence is underrated,
Legitimate post presences are overrated. Erick Dampier won a championship as a starting center in 2006, and Kendrick Perkins won a championship as a starting center in 2008. The Pistons didn't have much interior OFFENSE in 2004 either.
If this is in response to my post, you are an idiot.
djohn2oo8
03-27-2009, 05:02 PM
Legitimate post presences are overrated. Erick Dampier won a championship as a starting center in 2006, and Kendrick Perkins won a championship as a starting center in 2008. The Pistons didn't have much interior OFFENSE in 2004 either.
So I guess when you look up at the rafters, you see a nba championship banner?
Ghazi
03-27-2009, 05:09 PM
8 of the last 10 titles are from Shaq and Duncan. Post presence is underrated,
7 of the last 10 title*
duncan228
03-27-2009, 05:10 PM
If the Spurs 1999 Title has an asterick, what does the Mavs 2006 Title have? :lmao
Ghazi
03-27-2009, 05:12 PM
I'm asterisking Shaq's 4th title with the Cheat since it doesn't count :).
Post presences are not necessary when you have a transcendent player like Lebron, same reason Jordan won 6 in 8 with mediocre front lines.
Greg Oden
03-27-2009, 05:35 PM
Being obsessed with one particular person is not healthy. Does it cut into your personal life?
Tradition
03-27-2009, 05:48 PM
If the Spurs make it to the finals, they are winning it. If there is one thing I have seen from the Spurs, they will NOT go home empty handed if they make it to the finals. They just wont. Cavs/Celts/Magic it wont matter. Now they would all give the spurs a tough hard fought series but I just dont see the Spurs getting that far and going home empty handed.
Thomas82
03-27-2009, 10:53 PM
If the Spurs make it to the finals, they are winning it. If there is one thing I have seen from the Spurs, they will NOT go home empty handed if they make it to the finals. They just wont. Cavs/Celts/Magic it wont matter. Now they would all give the spurs a tough hard fought series but I just dont see the Spurs getting that far and going home empty handed.
Best post in this thread.
wijayas
03-28-2009, 02:30 AM
Wouldn't laugh too hard, they'll get a ring before the mavs
:lol :toast It takes the second coming of Dirk to hang on to Mavs playoff hope, let alone to beat the Lakers in the first round.
Allanon
03-28-2009, 04:52 AM
If the Spurs make it to the finals, they are winning it. If there is one thing I have seen from the Spurs, they will NOT go home empty handed if they make it to the finals. They just wont. Cavs/Celts/Magic it wont matter. Now they would all give the spurs a tough hard fought series but I just dont see the Spurs getting that far and going home empty handed.
Absolutely agree. If the Spurs get past the Lakers, the title is theirs.
Cavs strengths: great perimter scoring and perimeter D
Cavs weakness: interior scoring and interior D
Spurs strengths: great perimter scoring and perimeter D
Spurs weakness: interior scoring and interior D
The Cavs are like the Spurs of the East without the experience.
Conversely, both team's weaknesses are the Lakers strength.
Obstructed_View
03-28-2009, 05:21 AM
I'm not surprised that SI.com is undervaluing the job that Bruce Bowen did against the Cavs in the finals, but I'm a bit shocked that so many Spurs fans seem to have forgotten already. Bowen hasn't shown so far this year that he's the same player he was two years ago, and unless he shows up, the teams with a superstar scorer are going to be much more successful against the Spurs than they have been for the last several years.
21_Blessings
03-28-2009, 05:25 AM
Let's see SA get out of the 2nd round before we start talking about them winning the title, let alone the WCF. They don't look championship caliber this season at all, especially with Duncan gimping around down the court.
Ghazi
03-28-2009, 09:28 AM
Let's see SA get out of the 2nd round before we start talking about them winning the title, let alone the WCF. They don't look championship caliber this season at all, especially with Duncan gimping around down the court.
And anyone else besides the Lakers in the West does? :lol
Who would beat them in the 2nd round, Rockets maybe that's it.
Spursmania
03-28-2009, 11:45 AM
If the Spurs make it to the finals, they are winning it. If there is one thing I have seen from the Spurs, they will NOT go home empty handed if they make it to the finals. They just wont. Cavs/Celts/Magic it wont matter. Now they would all give the spurs a tough hard fought series but I just dont see the Spurs getting that far and going home empty handed.
I agree. TheLakers are clearly the frontrunners and picked to win it all, but for this conversation, if SA gets past the Lakers, the Cavs are done. Spurs aren't going to go past Bryant and the Lakers just to lose it to Lebron. Oh, Hell no...:lol:lol
Ghazi
03-28-2009, 11:53 AM
If the Spurs make it to the finals, they are winning it. If there is one thing I have seen from the Spurs, they will NOT go home empty handed if they make it to the finals. They just wont. Cavs/Celts/Magic it wont matter. Now they would all give the spurs a tough hard fought series but I just dont see the Spurs getting that far and going home empty handed.
Only difference is the Celtics and Cavs are actually good, the Nets, Pistons, Cavs, and fucking Knicks were nowhere near the caliber of this years Cavs/Celtics.
circles_eternal
03-28-2009, 12:12 PM
that's a funny title to an article...
hitmanyr2k
03-28-2009, 03:03 PM
I don't really care what Laker fans say because they're idiots to begin but some of the Spurs homers in this thread are out of their damn minds :lol The Cavs would throttle this current Spurs team. It's not like San Antonio was smoking the Cavs back in the 2007 Finals. The majority of that series you guys were pulling out those games in crunchtime. And that was a Cavs team with freakin Boobie Gibson and Larry "scrub" Hughes in the starting lineup :lol This Cavs team is so much better than the 2007 team it's ridiculous. Lebron is better than 2 years ago, Mo Williams is a HUGE upgrade to Larry Hughes. Delonte West has Gibson on the bench where he belongs. And the Cavs defense is a hell of a lot better. People saying this Spurs team would beat the Cavs has their heads in the sand.
hitmanyr2k
03-28-2009, 03:16 PM
Yeah that's called a championship team...scoring when they need to score and D-ing up when they need to. Why don't you stop worrying about what Spurs fans are saying about the Cavs and worry about how the Bulls will get out of the first round this year.
I'll respond to whatever I want. If you don't like what I say that's too fuckin bad. And this current Spurs squad is no championship team by any stretch. 2007 is history. Anyone thinking this Spurs team is just going to roll over the Current Cavs team is delusional.
Allanon
03-28-2009, 04:46 PM
I don't really care what Laker fans say because they're idiots to begin
Cavs got blown out twice this year by the Lakers. Lebron shot a combined 30%.
i like spurs chances against the cavs or anyone out of the east. its just the lakers that are our nemesis
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