duncan228
05-29-2009, 06:42 PM
James’ greatness turns simple play into big win (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=txonbasketballclevelan&prov=st&type=lgns)
By Brian Mahoney
Sometimes the toughest situations call for the simplest of plays. The kind only the most special of players can turn into a win.
Trailing in the fourth quarter of a game that could end their season, the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t wait until the buzzer for LeBron James to bail them out this time.
So they started giving him the ball on every possession in the fourth quarter, in the middle of the court, above the foul line, and spread their other players around the floor.
Same play, same spot. Basic stuff.
And with James on their side, why do anything else?
“I thought Mike Brown showed a lot of intriguing initiative to say, ‘Hey, this is simple. This is our best basketball. It might not look good, but it’s what’s going to win us the game,”’ Denver coach George Karl said.
Only because Brown had James, with his unmatched combination of size, strength and skill, to execute it.
James finished with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in Cleveland’s 112-102 victory over Orlando in Game 5 on Thursday night. He either scored or assisted on the Cavaliers’ first 29 points in the fourth quarter, possibly the MVP’s most sensational postseason performance.
Or maybe it was two years ago, when he scored Cleveland’s final 25 points and 29 of its final 30 in a 109-107 double-overtime victory at Detroit in his other Game 5 of a conference final.
Or perhaps it was just a few nights ago, when he capped a 35-point performance with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Cavs a 96-95 victory in Game 2.
And a better one could be coming Saturday in the Game 6 that he practically single-handedly forced.
“I’m always surprised obviously,” said Denver point guard Chauncey Billups, on the losing end of that game two years ago. “I’ve seen the best of him, competing against him in Detroit for so many years. He just always takes it up another notch it seems.”
James is scoring 41.2 points per game in the series, on pace to trail only Jerry West for the most in a conference final. He’s also averaging 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists, keeping the Cavs in a series in which they easily could have been swept.
James has said he could envision himself averaging a triple-double for a season, which only Oscar Robertson has done, but only if it contributed to his team winning games.
And he proved again during some key moments of his memorable fourth quarter why it’s believable he could do it.
-8:23 left. Speed.
James’ quickness is sometimes overlooked among his other gifts. In fact, it’s often better noticed on defense, where a number of times this season he chased down an opponent who seemingly had a breakaway basket and blocked the shot.
Mickael Pietrus, Orlando’s best perimeter defender, reaches to poke at James’ dribble and leaves himself off-balance for just a split second. That’s all James needs to blow by him on his way to the rim for a layup.
“The speed that he’s coming at the Magic with, I give Pietrus a lot of credit because he’s doing the best job that he can do, but LeBron is just too big and too strong,” TNT analyst Reggie Miller said following the game.
Cavs, 88-85.
-3:33 left. Shooting.
James’ jumper used to be a liability. The San Antonio Spurs’ defensive scheme in the 2007 finals depended on closing off the driving lanes and making James take it, and he clanged them repeatedly while the Cavs went down in four straight. But he went to work on it that summer, and he now makes teams pay if they play too far off him.
Having already been beaten on a drive, Pietrus takes a step back when James fakes as if he is going to drive. With the space created, James rises up and buries a jumper.
Cavs, 99-93.
-2:22 left. Strength.
James’ actual size is somewhat of a mystery around the NBA. The Cavaliers’ official Web site lists him at 6-foot-8, 250 pounds. After a game in New York last season, James said he was 6-9, 260. There are some guesses that put him closer to 270, even 275 pounds.
Whichever, he’s far bigger and stronger than most forwards, too powerful to stop from getting his shot off without a hard hit. He scores on a drive into the lane here while drawing Dwight Howard’s sixth foul, the second time in the final 6 minutes that James converts a basket while being fouled by Orlando’s muscular center.
Cavs, 102-93.
-1:07 left. Sight.
James has always preferred comparisons to Magic Johnson over Michael Jordan, because his passing skills call to mind a point guard like Johnson, and with his size he can see over defenders. He is impossible to double-team when his teammates are making shots, because if there’s an open man, he will find him.
Most of his assists in the final period have come when he drove and kicked the ball out to perimeter shooters. This time, he rifles a pass under the basket to a cutting Anderson Varejao, who lays it in while getting fouled, for his 12th assist and Cleveland’s last bucket of the game.
Cavs, 107-96.
James leaves the Magic with no easy answers going into Game 6. He can’t be defended with one man, and when his teammates are making their shots as they did Thursday, he can’t be doubled. So the Cavs may just keep running their simple play and let James turn it into something much more.
“Any time you are as dangerous as I am, or the best guys in this league, and you have a live dribble,” James said, “it makes you that much more dangerous because they don’t know what you are going to do.”
With James, count on it being something spectacular.
By Brian Mahoney
Sometimes the toughest situations call for the simplest of plays. The kind only the most special of players can turn into a win.
Trailing in the fourth quarter of a game that could end their season, the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t wait until the buzzer for LeBron James to bail them out this time.
So they started giving him the ball on every possession in the fourth quarter, in the middle of the court, above the foul line, and spread their other players around the floor.
Same play, same spot. Basic stuff.
And with James on their side, why do anything else?
“I thought Mike Brown showed a lot of intriguing initiative to say, ‘Hey, this is simple. This is our best basketball. It might not look good, but it’s what’s going to win us the game,”’ Denver coach George Karl said.
Only because Brown had James, with his unmatched combination of size, strength and skill, to execute it.
James finished with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in Cleveland’s 112-102 victory over Orlando in Game 5 on Thursday night. He either scored or assisted on the Cavaliers’ first 29 points in the fourth quarter, possibly the MVP’s most sensational postseason performance.
Or maybe it was two years ago, when he scored Cleveland’s final 25 points and 29 of its final 30 in a 109-107 double-overtime victory at Detroit in his other Game 5 of a conference final.
Or perhaps it was just a few nights ago, when he capped a 35-point performance with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Cavs a 96-95 victory in Game 2.
And a better one could be coming Saturday in the Game 6 that he practically single-handedly forced.
“I’m always surprised obviously,” said Denver point guard Chauncey Billups, on the losing end of that game two years ago. “I’ve seen the best of him, competing against him in Detroit for so many years. He just always takes it up another notch it seems.”
James is scoring 41.2 points per game in the series, on pace to trail only Jerry West for the most in a conference final. He’s also averaging 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists, keeping the Cavs in a series in which they easily could have been swept.
James has said he could envision himself averaging a triple-double for a season, which only Oscar Robertson has done, but only if it contributed to his team winning games.
And he proved again during some key moments of his memorable fourth quarter why it’s believable he could do it.
-8:23 left. Speed.
James’ quickness is sometimes overlooked among his other gifts. In fact, it’s often better noticed on defense, where a number of times this season he chased down an opponent who seemingly had a breakaway basket and blocked the shot.
Mickael Pietrus, Orlando’s best perimeter defender, reaches to poke at James’ dribble and leaves himself off-balance for just a split second. That’s all James needs to blow by him on his way to the rim for a layup.
“The speed that he’s coming at the Magic with, I give Pietrus a lot of credit because he’s doing the best job that he can do, but LeBron is just too big and too strong,” TNT analyst Reggie Miller said following the game.
Cavs, 88-85.
-3:33 left. Shooting.
James’ jumper used to be a liability. The San Antonio Spurs’ defensive scheme in the 2007 finals depended on closing off the driving lanes and making James take it, and he clanged them repeatedly while the Cavs went down in four straight. But he went to work on it that summer, and he now makes teams pay if they play too far off him.
Having already been beaten on a drive, Pietrus takes a step back when James fakes as if he is going to drive. With the space created, James rises up and buries a jumper.
Cavs, 99-93.
-2:22 left. Strength.
James’ actual size is somewhat of a mystery around the NBA. The Cavaliers’ official Web site lists him at 6-foot-8, 250 pounds. After a game in New York last season, James said he was 6-9, 260. There are some guesses that put him closer to 270, even 275 pounds.
Whichever, he’s far bigger and stronger than most forwards, too powerful to stop from getting his shot off without a hard hit. He scores on a drive into the lane here while drawing Dwight Howard’s sixth foul, the second time in the final 6 minutes that James converts a basket while being fouled by Orlando’s muscular center.
Cavs, 102-93.
-1:07 left. Sight.
James has always preferred comparisons to Magic Johnson over Michael Jordan, because his passing skills call to mind a point guard like Johnson, and with his size he can see over defenders. He is impossible to double-team when his teammates are making shots, because if there’s an open man, he will find him.
Most of his assists in the final period have come when he drove and kicked the ball out to perimeter shooters. This time, he rifles a pass under the basket to a cutting Anderson Varejao, who lays it in while getting fouled, for his 12th assist and Cleveland’s last bucket of the game.
Cavs, 107-96.
James leaves the Magic with no easy answers going into Game 6. He can’t be defended with one man, and when his teammates are making their shots as they did Thursday, he can’t be doubled. So the Cavs may just keep running their simple play and let James turn it into something much more.
“Any time you are as dangerous as I am, or the best guys in this league, and you have a live dribble,” James said, “it makes you that much more dangerous because they don’t know what you are going to do.”
With James, count on it being something spectacular.