Cavs Ready For Biggest Test Yet

[duncan228]

Cavs ready for biggest test yet (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=broussard_chris&page=MagicCavs-090520)
Confident Cavs are ready to prove they're for real against a talented Magic squad
By Chris Broussard
ESPN The Magazine

CLEVELAND -- They have looked like a juggernaut, a dynasty in the making.

While the other regular-season elites have struggled, faced elimination and suffered extended periods of brain lock and blah, the Cleveland Cavaliers have treated two playoff teams like dummy squads.

We can't believe they're really that good. You know: 8-0 good; every-win-by-double-digits good.

So we've rationalized their domination, belittling their opponents, saying they've beaten up on chumps: Detroit was old and listless; Atlanta was goofy, banged-up and just happy to be in the second round.

But the speculation stops now. The questions about whether the Cavaliers are truly of championship ilk start getting answered Wednesday night.

Orlando is here, and the Magic cannot be disparaged. They are talented, skilled, versatile, dangerous, and -- after their impressive Game 7 performance in Boston -- tested. They're the barometer that will tell us how good the Cavaliers really are.

If the Cavs prevail but are pushed by Orlando in a tough six- or seven-game series, well, the Cavs are what we thought they were: a very good team with a genuine chance of winning the championship.

But if the Magic go the way of the Pistons and the Hawks, getting swept -- or even downed in a lopsided five -- Wheaties can shoot the photo for its cereal box, President Obama can pencil in the Cavs' trip to the White House and the NBA can start engraving its jewelry.

For their part, the Cavs think this "finally-they'll-be-tested" theory is poppycock. They say Detroit was a test, Atlanta was a test. Sure, they passed with flying colors, but to them, their mettle has already been proven.

"For somebody to say you're not tested -- it's the playoffs!" LeBron James said incredulously after Tuesday's practice. "Every team makes the playoffs for a reason. They want us to lose, I guess, and then they'll say we've been tested. But we're trying to win every game."

There is, of course, another possibility in these Eastern Conference finals: an Orlando victory.

While the Cavs are the rightful favorites, a Disney World Finals wouldn't be a complete shock.

The Magic have owned Cleveland for the past three seasons, winning seven of their 10 contests by an average of 12.5 points. This season, they took two of three, including a resounding 29-point victory last month in which they led by as many as 41 points.

But that's ancient history as far as Cleveland's concerned. When James and Mo Williams spoke to the media Tuesday, confidence was seeping through their pores, as easy to read as one of their many tattoos. Williams said Orlando is making a huge mistake if it's resting its hopes on the regular-season matchups.

"Hopefully, they're comfortable; hopefully they're feeling themselves right now," he said of the Magic. "We're a different team. Trust me.

"Our mentality is at an all-time high. Our focus is at an all-time high right now. We don't need any motivation. We don't gain motivation from Charles Barkley saying they're going to beat us. We don't gain motivation from that. We're motivated to win it and we're ready to play."

Part of Cleveland's self-assurance stems from the fact that it has a history to fall back on. Under coach Mike Brown, the Cavs have always been a much stronger team in the postseason than in the regular season, a scary thought considering they won 66 games this season.

In recent years, opponents who have dominated Cleveland from November to early April have been in for a surprise come playoff time. Back in 2005-06, Washington appeared to have the Cavaliers' number, beating them three of four times by an average of 10.6 points. But in their first-round series, Cleveland took the Wizards in six.

A year later, when the Cavs made their stunning run to the Finals, a victory over the big, tough Bad Boys of Detroit seemed impossible. The Pistons had whipped Cleveland twice in the Cavs' building and taken three of four overall by a double-figure average. Yet in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavaliers won four straight games en route to a 4-2 victory.

This speaks to Brown's excellent preparation, and with nine days off to examine Orlando, the Cavs probably know the Magic's system as well as the Magic do.

"Against a team like that, you have to have a lot of time to prepare," James said. "In the regular season, like when you play the Knicks one night, then Orlando the next night, there's not a lot of time to prepare for a good team like that. Nine days and then these last four days, we've had a lot of time to prepare for this team and we're looking forward to the challenge."

It will definitely be a challenge because the problems Orlando presents for the Cavaliers are not imagined.

Defensively, the Magic put Dwight Howard on Anderson Varejao (or Ben Wallace) instead of on Zydrunas Ilgauskas. That keeps the perimeter-oriented Ilgauskas from dragging Howard away from the basket, allowing him to roam near the rim and contest the drives of James and others. And the teams that give James the most trouble are those that can put a solid perimeter defender on him backed by length around the basket. To try to keep Howard occupied, look for the Cavs to put Varejao in pick-and-rolls and in constant motion.

But James sounds like he's ready to attack the cup, whether Howard's in front of it or not. When asked Tuesday if LeBron's the only player who can stop LeBron, he responded humbly.

At first.

"Uhhh, I don't want to say that," he answered, before pausing and searching for an explanation that just wasn't there.

Then, realizing that the politically correct answer might just sound absurd, he said, "Yeah, I will say that."

On the other end, Orlando has hurt Cleveland in transition, even running off made baskets by the Cavs in their 29-point thrashing in April. We're not talking 2-on-1, 3-on-2 fast breaks, but 3-pointers early in the shot clock before the defense is set. While the Cavaliers held opponents to a league-best 33 percent shooting from behind the arc, the Magic blitzed them for more than 11 3s per game.

So unlike the series against Detroit and Atlanta, this won't be a pop quiz.

While they're clearly playing at a high level, the Cavaliers thus far have really done only what they did all season: trample on the also-rans, has-beens and pretty-goods. Against the league's other three top teams -- the Lakers, Magic and Celtics -- they were just 3-6.

Beginning Wednesday night, we'll find out which mark is the fluke: 3-6 or 8-0.

[duncan228]

Magic tricks to use against Cavs (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-090519)
Orlando won the season series with Cleveland. Do they have the secret formula?
By John Hollinger
ESPN.com

Conventional wisdom says that the lone impediment to the hypefest that would be a Kobe-versus-LeBron Finals is a possible upset of Los Angeles by Denver in the Western Conference finals. In the East, nobody is giving Orlando much of a shot against Cleveland.

I'm one of the culprits, having picked Denver in the West and Cleveland in the East. But I should point out that in one sense I'm spitting into a pretty strong headwind. I picked the Nuggets even though they've lost 10 of the past 11 times they've played the Lakers, and I'm picking the Cavs even though they have lost eight of the past 11 times they've played the Magic.

It's hard not to like the Cavs based on how well they've been playing lately, but the one story that's getting completely underplayed is the extent to which Orlando owned Cleveland in the regular season. As recently as April 3, Orlando slapped around the Cavs 116-87, and their other two meetings should also give Cavs fans pause.

Orlando beat Cleveland 99-88 in late January; I was at that game and it wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated. And even their one meeting in Cleveland -- where the Cavs have been practically invincible this year -- was hotly contested. Cleveland prevailed 97-93 thanks to a last-minute 3-pointer by LeBron James and a controversial three-second call against Orlando at the other end.

All three of those meetings were in the second half of the schedule, so they seem pertinent to this series. Some things have changed since the first game in January -- Jameer Nelson is no longer in the lineup for Orlando, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West missed that game with injuries and Joe Smith has been added since -- but the teams had their full complements of players for the final two meetings.

As a result, it's possible this will be much closer than the five-game series I've predicted.

If that happens, it will be because the Magic do the same things they did in their regular season meetings. Let's go through the list item by item:

They controlled the defensive glass.

Against every other team, the Cavs were pretty good on the offensive boards, pulling down 27.7 percent of missed shots, and in the playoffs they furthered that advantage. Thanks to bigs like Ilgauskas, Smith, Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao and their playing volleyball on the glass, Cleveland's 32.9 percent offensive rebound rate leads all playoff teams, with the destruction particularly one-sided in Games 3 and 4 against Atlanta.

Against Orlando? Not so much. The Cavs grabbed only 27 offensive rebounds in the three games, and there were a lot of misses there for the grabbing -- 136 of them, in fact. So Cleveland's 19.9 percent offensive rebound rate was more like something you'd see from the pre-Shaq Suns.

Orlando was second in defensive rebound rate in both the regular season and the playoffs, and it'll need to sustain that advantage against Cleveland.

They didn't foul.

Cleveland averaged only 18 free throws per game against Orlando, earning just 0.216 free throw attempts for every field goal attempt -- the league average this season was 0.306, and the Cavs were slightly above that mark in the regular season at 0.311.

Interestingly, LeBron still got his, shooting 26 free throws in the three games. But the other Cavs combined for a mere 28, as the likes of Ilgauskas (just 2 attempts), Williams (7) and West (0) became strictly jump-shooters.

Of course, the lack of fouls had another positive effect for the Magic. They were able to keep their starters on the court for close to 40 minutes because they weren't in foul trouble.

They let it rip.

Cleveland led the NBA in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 33.3 percent from downtown. Orlando led the NBA in 3-point frequency, taking more than a third of its field goal attempts from distance. On paper, that would seem to be an exceedingly bad combination for the Magic. The one thing they do most often is the one thing that the Cavs most excel at preventing.

But it hasn't worked out that way when they've played. Orlando shot 34-of-86 from distance in the three games, a sizzling 39.5 percent. The percentage isn't the only part that stands out -- careful observers will have already taken note of the "86" in the line above. Yes, the Magic attempted 86 3-pointers in the three games, an average of nearly 30 a contest. The 3s accounted for 35.7 percent of their shot attempts.

So when they've played Cleveland, the Magic have both taken more 3-pointers and made more than they did against other opponents, even though the Cavs overall were great at preventing 3s.

Obviously, the defense against Dwight Howard likely has a lot to do with this. He's too strong and quick for Ilgauskas, and there's nobody else for Big Z to guard. If the Cavs feel compelled to double Howard, as they did in the regular season, then 3-point looks will be available.

So let me throw out one oddball thought: What if the Cavs go small and put James on Howard? He's their strongest player, by far, and as long as he can push Howard out an extra foot he'll have done his job. It's unconventional and probably only a fourth-quarter move (they can't have James picking up fouls early), but it's worth considering if nobody else can handle Howard.

Mickael Pietrus played a ton.

LeBron is a tough cover for Hedo Turkoglu. LeBron is a tough cover for anyone, of course, but particularly for a guy whose defense has never gained much attention.

The way the Magic dealt with this in the regular season was by using Pietrus heavily off the bench. He played only 24.6 minutes per game overall in the regular season, and just 22.8 in the second half of the season when he came back from injury and all three meetings against Cleveland took place. But in those three games versus the Cavs, he played 29, 28 and 28 minutes, with the job of stopping LeBron his primary task.

Pietrus comes off a strong series against the Celtics in which he took on similar responsibilities against Paul Pierce, so he should be ready to step up to the challenge.

Their point guards played well.

If there's a weak link in Cleveland's superb defense, it's pick-and-roll D against point guards -- Mo Williams isn't a great defender and Ilgauskas isn't the most mobile big man, so together they make a promising tandem to attack.

In all three meetings, Orlando's point guards have been able to produce. In the first meeting Nelson went for 18 points and had just one turnover; Anthony Johnson added nine points off the bench. In the second game Rafer Alston scored 23 and added four assists; Johnson produced three and three off the bench and Tyronn Lue chipped in a pair of 3-pointers. And in the third meeting, Johnson scored 10 points in 15 minutes while Alston added 10 assists.

Altogether, the Magic point guards averaged 26.7 points in the three games -- this coming from a position for which the main job description in the first two playoff rounds was "just don't kill us." They also had 23 assists against nine turnovers, and were particularly deadly on 3s against Cleveland, making 14 of 26. Clearly the Cavs decided in those games to go under screens and let the Magic point guards fire away. But in this do-or-die series, they can't be so Cavalier about it. (That's the last pun of the day, I swear.)

Is it possible for all this to happen again four times in a seven-game series? The rebounding, free throw and 3-point numbers certainly seem like outliers, but perhaps there's a kernel of truth in them, too -- that with Howard patrolling the middle, the Cavs can't get the kind of shots they get against other teams, and that his presence at the offensive end forces Cleveland's defense into double-and-scramble mode.

That said, the Cavs retain the ultimate trump card -- the ability to play LeBron James all 48 minutes -- and no matter how well the Magic match up, they still face a daunting task in winning at least once in a building where the Cavs are 43-1 in games that mean something.

That's why I took the Cavs in five, and I'm sticking with that pick. But if the Magic make it interesting, those regular-season meetings hold the clue as to why.

[JoeTait75]

Tonight is Orlando's best chance to steal a game in Cleveland. Cavaliers will be rusty out of the gate and the Magic will still be on an emotional high from finishing off the C's in Boston.

Not gonna lie, boys and girls- I'm apprehensive as a motherfucker. But I'll feel a whole lot better if the Cavaliers can get the W tonight.

[Bukefal]

They will, don't worry. If there are any fans in the NBA today who should not worry about their team losing, than its you, the cav fans.

[duncan228]

For LeBron, playoffs become fun and games (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-lebron052009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)
By Adrian Wojnarowski

CLEVELAND – As everything plays out as a struggle for Kobe Bryant his spotty teammates and tenacious Western Conference tormentors and Lakers godfather speaking blasphemy the most monumental uncertainty for LeBron James has been picking out trick shots with the post-practice cameras rolling.

Hmmm. Let’s see. Behind the backboard, 20 feet? On his fanny, 3-pointer?

They all fall for LeBron James. Everything he tries works. These playoffs have been so easy for him. No drama. No challenges. He picked up his MVP trophy at his old high school, insisted that everyone knows how he hated to talk about himself, and then talked forever about … himself. They just cheered him louder.

Here comes Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday Orlando and Cleveland and everyone wonders: Does LeBron ever stop smiling on his way to the NBA Finals?

Boston loses Kevin Garnett, and Orlando loses Jameer Nelson, and no one in the Eastern Conference gets a complete crack at these Cleveland Cavaliers. They pounded the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks in eight bludgeoning games, and the most stress that ‘Bron’s had came from bowling with teammates inside his mansion.

When David Stern was probed about his personal fears of an NBA Finals without LeBron, the league’s emperor sniffed, “You mean as opposed to Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony or Kobe Bryant? None. We have nothing but stars. We should be called NBS instead of NBA…”

As much as it had to pain Kobe to hear the man who made him a Laker, Jerry West, say that James has surpassed him, he had to also loathe Stern clumping him with Howard and Anthony. What happened to Kobe’s name in the breath with Michael and Magic? It’s odd, but somehow the pressure has turned to Bryant and maybe that shouldn’t be the case. After all, he has the three championships. Of course, he’s 30, lost his MVP and there’s some wonder about how much longer he can play at the peak of his talent.

LeBron and Kobe are doing a run of commercials for Nike together, and two puppets play out Kobe teasing LeBron about the three rings in his display. You have to wonder if Kobe would’ve done those ads without the freedom to tweak LeBron that way, to use those characters to say something that he doesn’t dare himself: How does LeBron surpass me as the planet’s best player without a ring?

There’s a part of the tormented Bryant that must take a look to the Eastern Conference finals, see James, 24, and Howard, 23, and wonder if life would’ve been easier had his relentlessly fierce and unforgiving disposition been tempered with a touch of their frivolity. Bryant would’ve never made believe he was shooting photos of his teammates in warm-ups or worn a Superman’s cape and made himself a prop in a dunk contest. Kobe hates that stuff and always will.

For James and Howard, the decade’s preps-to-pros phenoms, everything comes without the anguish and angst that accompanies Bryant. He goes to such great lengths to distance himself from this younger generation, forever calling himself an “Eighties baby.” He longs for those days when no one was a buddy and everyone an enemy. He had trouble hanging out with the kids on Team USA in the Olympics, mostly disappearing on his own.

Poor Kobe allowed himself to be the subject of Spike Lee’s documentary, and somehow believed it would portray him well to the public. Lee clearly gave him free run to shape the infomercial how Bryant saw fit, and still it turned out terribly for Bryant. He was self-absorbed and overbearing and the public witnessed what a nightmare Kobe could be as a teammate. Phil Jackson couldn’t finish a sentence without Bryant interrupting him.

That’s the problem for Bryant. James has shown himself to be a more natural leader, a more blending force for his team. He’s grown into the job far sooner than Bryant ever did in the pros. Everyone sees the way these Cavs react to LeBron, and no one doubts the legitimacy for an instant. LeBron doesn’t need Spike to show everyone.

So, James comes up with the craziest H-O-R-S-E shots, always caught on camera, but those aren’t his best tricks. No, LeBron James arrives in the conference finals with no championships, and yet somehow has thrust the pressure of this postseason onto Kobe Bryant. Whoever thought he’d hit that one?

[duncan228]

LeBron may prove exception to NBA championship rule (http://www.contracostatimes.com/sports/ci_12406523?source=rss)
By Monte Poole

MICHAEL JORDAN had Scottie Pippen. Magic Johnson had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. Isiah Thomas had Joe Dumars. Tim Duncan had David Robinson, then Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Shaq had Kobe, then D-Wade.

Boston won three championships with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish — and went dry for 22 years, until Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce for the 2007-08 season.

There, we have a general rule of the post-Magic/Larry NBA: Two legitimate All-Stars is the minimum requirement for a team to win it all.

Cleveland, which opens the Eastern Conference finals tonight against Orlando, offers a threat to that conventional wisdom.

If anybody can take 11 complementary players to the top, it's LeBron James.

That's because we never, no matter the team sport, have seen or heard of anyone like him. We've seen a 6-foot-9 guard run the point with flair (Magic), seen a 6-6 swingman routinely dominate both ends (Jordan), seen a 7-foot forward take defenders off the dribble (Dirk Nowitzki) and seen a 6-foot guard take over games (Allen Iverson). We've known of titans such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, neither of whom had LeBron's handle or range. Oscar Robertson, for all his talents, couldn't dunk in a crowd — if at all.

James, however, has an unprecedented array of abilities. At 6-9 and about 260 pounds, he's bigger than 90 percent of the players in the league. To observe this cat closely is to come away convinced he is faster than 80 percent of those in the NBA and more agile than 70 percent of them. He combines the upper body of a defensive end with the legs of a ballet dancer.

Having searched hoops history for a valid comparison and come up empty, I ended up in the NFL — the NFL of 50 years ago, which tried in vain to find an answer for a hurricane named Jim Brown.

Old-timers say Brown was a handful, overpowering the quick guys, sprinting past the strong ones. What made him incredible, they say, was he also could overpower the strong guys and sprint past the quick ones.

LeBron dominated throughout the regular season, leading the Cavs to the league's best record, 66-16, and a preposterous 39-2 at home — while running away with the Most Valuable Player race.

He is, in my book, the best player in the league. Former Lakers and Grizzlies executive Jerry West, conceivably the most astute talent evaluator alive, evidently agrees.

"If I had to have somebody make a last-second shot, it would be Kobe,'' West told Bloomberg News. "But even though it's hard to be objective, because I brought Kobe to Los Angeles, I do think LeBron has surpassed Kobe as a player.''

James is maturing into the leader he wasn't quite ready to be three years ago, when while in town to play the Warriors he acknowledged wanting to be great but didn't seem as obsessed about it as a certain former Chicago Bull. He talked of trying to be a little more selfish, because it's what his teammates wanted. He said he desired a championship but could have a great career without one.

James was 21 then, hadn't felt the sting of deep postseason disappointment. That came the following season, when at 22 he reached the finals with the Cavs and was swept away by the Spurs.

We're now seeing a different LeBron. He's 24 and on a mission. He's making his teammates better, his coaches smarter. He's changing the rules.

Cleveland not only has swept its first two opponents, the Pistons and Hawks, but is the first team to win eight playoff games in a row by double digits.

"I look at Cleveland (and) say to myself, 'How many games could they win without LeBron James?' That's how great he is,'' West told Reuters. "He has a chance to become arguably the greatest player to ever play the game.''

He is eight wins away from staking that claim. That the Magic won two of three from Cleveland in the regular season suggests LeBron's quest is about to get tougher.

Winning without an All-Star sidekick is supposed to be difficult. That's why no one has done it — or even come so close, as James already is, that it's conceivable.

[DrHouse]

I think if Lebron wins this season it will be the first of many to come. The Cavs won't have any real issues replacing their role players if Lebron can deliver championships.

[iggypop123]

the key wil be FT. if lebron has 15 or more the game is over . if less than 15 the magic will win guaranteed

[RsxPiimp]

LeBron may prove exception to NBA championship rule (http://www.contracostatimes.com/sports/ci_12406523?source=rss)
By Monte Poole

MICHAEL JORDAN had Scottie Pippen. Magic Johnson had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. Isiah Thomas had Joe Dumars. Tim Duncan had David Robinson, then Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Shaq had Kobe, then D-Wade.

Boston won three championships with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish — and went dry for 22 years, until Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce for the 2007-08 season.

There, we have a general rule of the post-Magic/Larry NBA: Two legitimate All-Stars is the minimum requirement for a team to win it all.

Cleveland, which opens the Eastern Conference finals tonight against Orlando, offers a threat to that conventional wisdom.

If anybody can take 11 complementary players to the top, it's LeBron James.

That's because we never, no matter the team sport, have seen or heard of anyone like him. We've seen a 6-foot-9 guard run the point with flair (Magic), seen a 6-6 swingman routinely dominate both ends (Jordan), seen a 7-foot forward take defenders off the dribble (Dirk Nowitzki) and seen a 6-foot guard take over games (Allen Iverson). We've known of titans such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, neither of whom had LeBron's handle or range. Oscar Robertson, for all his talents, couldn't dunk in a crowd — if at all.

James, however, has an unprecedented array of abilities. At 6-9 and about 260 pounds, he's bigger than 90 percent of the players in the league. To observe this cat closely is to come away convinced he is faster than 80 percent of those in the NBA and more agile than 70 percent of them. He combines the upper body of a defensive end with the legs of a ballet dancer.

Having searched hoops history for a valid comparison and come up empty, I ended up in the NFL — the NFL of 50 years ago, which tried in vain to find an answer for a hurricane named Jim Brown.

Old-timers say Brown was a handful, overpowering the quick guys, sprinting past the strong ones. What made him incredible, they say, was he also could overpower the strong guys and sprint past the quick ones.

LeBron dominated throughout the regular season, leading the Cavs to the league's best record, 66-16, and a preposterous 39-2 at home — while running away with the Most Valuable Player race.

He is, in my book, the best player in the league. Former Lakers and Grizzlies executive Jerry West, conceivably the most astute talent evaluator alive, evidently agrees.

"If I had to have somebody make a last-second shot, it would be Kobe,'' West told Bloomberg News. "But even though it's hard to be objective, because I brought Kobe to Los Angeles, I do think LeBron has surpassed Kobe as a player.''

James is maturing into the leader he wasn't quite ready to be three years ago, when while in town to play the Warriors he acknowledged wanting to be great but didn't seem as obsessed about it as a certain former Chicago Bull. He talked of trying to be a little more selfish, because it's what his teammates wanted. He said he desired a championship but could have a great career without one.

James was 21 then, hadn't felt the sting of deep postseason disappointment. That came the following season, when at 22 he reached the finals with the Cavs and was swept away by the Spurs.

We're now seeing a different LeBron. He's 24 and on a mission. He's making his teammates better, his coaches smarter. He's changing the rules.

Cleveland not only has swept its first two opponents, the Pistons and Hawks, but is the first team to win eight playoff games in a row by double digits.

"I look at Cleveland (and) say to myself, 'How many games could they win without LeBron James?' That's how great he is,'' West told Reuters. "He has a chance to become arguably the greatest player to ever play the game.''

He is eight wins away from staking that claim. That the Magic won two of three from Cleveland in the regular season suggests LeBron's quest is about to get tougher.

Winning without an All-Star sidekick is supposed to be difficult. That's why no one has done it — or even come so close, as James already is, that it's conceivable.



thats a very homer like article. mo williams has a lot to do with clevelands success this year. discrediting his importance is a joke.

[Allanon]

What the hell kind of Homer Article is this? :downspin:

"Winning without an All-Star sidekick is supposed to be difficult. That's why no one has done it — or even come so close, as James already is, that it's conceivable."

This dude can't count? LeBron's got 1 current All-Star and 3 past All-Stars on his team.

His team's total All-Star count is a whopping 5 players (LeBron, Mo, BigZ, Ben Wallace, Wally Sczerbiak).

I don't think there's a team in the league with that many All Stars/Past All Stars on the same team.

And I don't remember 100% but I don't think there was an All-Star on the 2003 Spurs team other than Duncan?

[duncan228]

And I don't remember 100% but I don't think there was an All-Star on the 2003 Spurs team other than Duncan?

You're right, there wasn't.

[NewJerSpur]

Let's go magic!!!