Bowen was dog shit against him in the regular season, had NO effect on him
what do you think he's going to do against a Lebron who is becoming unstoppable in the and clutch, and now has JUMP SHOT
let's just hope Hughes doesn't come back
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Bowen was dog shit against him in the regular season, had NO effect on him
what do you think he's going to do against a Lebron who is becoming unstoppable in the and clutch, and now has JUMP SHOT
let's just hope Hughes doesn't come back
Doesn't matter... a one man team is not going to beat us. They have no answer for Duncan, Tony, or Manu.
Good god, are you schizophrenic or something? Do you have MPS?
Lebron is our mismatch. The Spurs team is theirs.
Spurs could just play zone the entire game, but if he's hitting his jump shot and 3's there is no stopping him
Oberto is much better at drawing offensive fouls than Elson. That could help.
Use Bowen as a help defender on LeBron. His man should be Hughes or Gibson. Give Bron the 3, and if he even looks to penetrate, double.
Career Playoff 3 Pt% .321
Look, it is a concern that LeBron is a mismatch for us.
But that's where the Spurs' ability to play team defense is important. I'd be a lot more worried if they didn't have that ability.
Spurs must double him at all times once he reaches the 3pt like
the only way really
I'm also worried about Cleveland's chances of slowing Parker, Ginobili and Duncan over the course of a seven game series.
Exactly! Who will stop TP? Manu? Duncan? Our outside shooters?Quote:
Originally Posted by L.I.T
The Cavs haven't won anything ... yet.
Let Lebron get his points for three quarters and show him different looks in the fourth (double team and zone defense).
Robert Horry could treat him, like he did with Nash period.
Lebron can get his 30 points per game, but he will have to work for them. Starting with Bruce and ending with Duncan at the rim. If he gets by one defender, another will be waiting... this isn't NBA Jam... he's not going to do front flips over the entire Spurs team and dunk the ball with flames coming out of his ass. He will have to work hard for those points, and his teammates will have to play better than they have all season.
The Spurs are a better team right now than they were earlier in the year. Lebron had a great game last night, and he can go Amare2005 on the Spurs and score 40 per game, and the Cavs still lose in 5.
Short answer: Team D.
Lebron was 7-17 in the game in January (Cavs still won 82-78). I remember Bowen doing a good job on him that game. Our problem was letting Hughes catch fire in the fourth, our inability to hit our own shots (including threes), and our inability to get stops in the fourth. The Spurs and Cavs have both improved since that game. The other game was the second game of the season, the Cavs won 88-81. Lebron got whatever he wanted that game, despite contested shots. Like Borosai said, we are going to have to rely on team D should we face the Cavs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spurs Dynasty 21
We couldn't exactly stop Carmelo, or Stoudamire for that matter. Trust me Pop is already probably analyzing things already. Lebron WILL NOT be able to drive to the rim at will against us. If he had another proven scorer there I may be kinda worried, but he can't beat us by himself. Detroit just layed down for him.
The key to offsetting LeBron's performance is for the Spurs to play like they did in game 5 of the Utah series.
Get up on the Cavs early and don't take your foot off their throat. It won't matter what LeBrons doing if you are always up by 15 pionts.
I don't think the Cavs have an answer for Duncan or Parker so exploit that to the tune of a big lead and stay up on them.
LeBron will only hurt you if it is a 1 or 2 possession game in the last 6 minutes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adam8065
You also have to look at how Detroit is playing. They are playing like us during our worst spurts. I mean all if that and they only won by 2. The thing that really hurts Detroit is that they were at home. Detroit doesn't have nowhere near the same swagger the 05 team had. Not even close.
For one thing the Spurs have for sure turned it up a notch the last half of the season, and another notch since the playoffs started. I really don't think the two Spurs losses in the early part of the season is any indication at all of how they will do in a 7 game series with the Cavs.
Team D: Something Labron hasn't seen so far in the playoffs. That is the simple answer. And nobody plays it better than the Spurs.
He better have those off balance high arc 3 pointers falling, or he will be lucky to put up 25 a night.
If, and that's still up in the air, the Cavs make it this far, you may see Bron calling out his teammates by the 3rd game of the series.
I don't think even he thinks he can beat the Spurs by himself. I'm sure his coach knows he can't, and I would guess the entire team knows he can't.
I for one, hope this goes to the wire in 7 games. Spurs will be rested and ready, while whoever comes in is going to be dog tired. That's the beauty of putting away the opponent early in the series.
Defending LeBron is a very tall assignment for any player. Bowen has been helpless against him. Be that as it may - one man cannot beat five
Doubling on the 3 point line? Seriously?
God Almighty, I find you annoyingly alarmist and frequently wrong.
If LeBron is taking all the shots he needs to get that many points, it means someone else isn't taking those shots, and his teammates are streaky shooters on the best days. You remove their ability to get into any kind of rhythm by letting LeBron take lots of shots early and then you force him to pass out to cold teammates who aren't great on good days.
And that is only crucial if our offense is complete crap. If our offense is going well, that's a sidenote.
Spurs > Cavs offensively (more threats)
Spurs > Cavs defensively
Spurs > Cavs period.
Look at the Suns: we couldn't stop Nash or Amare, but we still won.
Look at the Jazz: we couldn't stop Williams (when healthy), and we still won.
Lebron will get his points, Duncan, Manu and Tony will get theirs.
Spurs > Lebron
It doesn't matter who you put on Bron, so you use Finley, who's more physical in the post. You put Bowen on either Hughes or Gibson, and shut them OUT.
Anyone who doesn't realized that Dynasty is a freak hasn't been watching. If we win a game, we're the Champs for sure, and if we lose one, we're on the verge of elimination. :rolleyes
He'll be able to dominate him because the refs refuse to call the types of fouls they call in the regular season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spurs Dynasty 21
Therefore, Bowen will grab, kick, trip, and generally frustrate LeBron to nullify him.
Bowen will frustrate him in one or two games, and it's a damn certainty that Bron won't be dunking like that at the end of the 4th against the spurs.
People make is sound like Lebron was having his way with Bowen in the two regular season games this year, and the fact is that it simply was not true.
In the first game this season (Nov 3), Lebron had a very good game in which he scored 35 points on 14-26 shooting, got 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. While it is true that Lebron rarely gets that many rebounds (he got more than 10 rebounds only 4 times out of the 78 games, and exactly 10 rebounds in 8 out of the 78), he has had more than 4 assists in the season 60 times. His scoring was great, in fact, there he didn’t get as many as 35 points in 64 games in the other season, and he shot a good percentage, where he shot better in this game than 59 other games. This game was quite a bit above par, even for James.
However, in the next game, James had 19 points on 7-17 shooting, had 3 turnovers, got 5 rebounds and had 5 assists. Throughout the season, he scored less in only 11 games, had fewer turnovers in 27 games, shot better in 55 games, got more rebounds in 51 games, had more assists in 45 games. In other word, this game was definitely below par for James.
The two games essentially cancel each other out, and two games is WAY too small a sample size to draw any definitive conclusions. Fact is basketball games changes game to game, regardless of who you play. 2 games ago I was hearing how the Pistons are owning James with their defense from hacks such as Chris Sheridan, and today, I am hearing how James is destroying the Pistons and is the next Jordan from the same hack. Players get hot, and when they do, there is nothing anybody can do. Sleepy Floyd once scored 29 points in a playoff quarter against the Lakers, would I say that he owned Cooper because of that?
Lebron is going to have to play defense on the other side....something he hasn't had to do since Prince rarely gets any play calls and is shooting like 20% in the series...
that should tire him out a bit more at the other end...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Testing
Who will Lebron guard?
one game does not exactly prove that lebron now has a jumpshot. regardless, i'd rather him shooting jumpers all day than a repeat of the dallas series last year - a layup line (which is the route the pistons stupidly chose yesterday). the problem is, popovich won't play zone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadDog73
he will guard Bowen, they don't want him wasting his energy guarding someone like Manu
Do the same thing we did to Kobe when we beat LA - you let him get his and shut everyone else on the team down. Let James score 40 a game for all I care, then the front office in NY will be happy because Lebron's a star, he has some highlight dunks, and meanwhile we win the games and the title.
Where teams get into trouble is that they let Lebron set up his teammates and get them going, and it's game over. You've gotta lock down the other guys and let LJ get his.
Oh my gawd, it's all over. We surrender. Why bother playing the games, we'll just bow before LeBron and mail him the trophy, even if he has yet to clinch the ECF.
Look, he had a game for the ages. He's now a clutch player. And he stepped into legends territory.
But one game does not make a series. Have you guys forgotten the pathetic Cavs offense that was on display for 4-and-a-half games? The third quarters where they would come out and brick everything in sight and score under 10 points. That team has zero ball movement on offense, and streaky outside shooters.
And to people who say Mike Brown is the coach who can outwit Pop, you've gotta be kidding me. Mike Brown did everything in his power to poop on LeBron's coming out party, with the mismanaged timeouts and crappy plays. He has exactly two plays:
1. Cavs tozz in the ball to Z at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd quarters and watch him try and move those leaden feet. It's only because Z is being defended by an even slower Webber that he pulls off those slow, sweeping hooks
2. LeBron iso on the top of the key.
That's Mike Brown's playbook for you. Yesterday e took his last timeout when he didnt need to, the result of which was a LeBron iso and an airball from 21 feet.
The Cavs' real advantages are rebounding and defense. If the Spurs can keep up what they did on the boards vs Utah and run the sweet passing game they got going vs the Jazz, the Cavs are toast.
Everyone is counting out the Pistons now. That's the way they like it though :rolleyes :pctoss
Quote:
Originally Posted by michaelwcho
Lebron is not ready for this stage....
He will feel the weight of the world and dirk it. :lol
hughes on manu and snow on parker....i dont see any HUGE mismatches for the spurs except timmy ( but hes a mismatch for anyone)
Bowen is going to be fully rested and Lebron is going to be tired. Keep that in mind.
As AMAZING as Lebron's performance was last night, I don't fear the Cavs at all in a 7-game series. We can let Lebron get 40 and just shut every one else down. Remember when we beat Phoenix a few years ago like that? Amare got his 40 per game, but we won anyway.
Plus, the Pistons played D like pussies last night. No one challenged Lebron's drives (except for Rasheed every once in a while). Tayshaun looked like a little scared bitch every time Lebron drove.
Believe me, that is not going to be the case when (if) the Cavs face Tim Duncan and the Spurs. I think even Elson would challenge more than the Pistons did last night.
The absence of Big Ben Wallace is painfully apparent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kobulingam
he's 22, and Bowen 34 something
unless this series goes 7 and Cavs only get a day off, fatigue won't matter for Lebron
james will get his ass wipped
I killed a mosquito on my ceiling earlier today, and at this very moment, I have hideous gas escaping from my anus.
Either one of these facts is more intriguing than what will happen with Lebron in the finals.
Execute well offensively and shut his sidekicks off. If nothing helps, send James White in.
That's it in a nutshell; no need to read further. As amazing a player as he might be, he's one man.Quote:
Originally Posted by Budkin
One man teams don't win championships. I'm just hoping Detroit can pull their heads out of their asses so I can at least watch a competitive finals. I don't buy into all that Lebron hype, i'd rather watch 2 of the best defensive teams go at it or just not watch at all.
Well I only read the first half of the first page, and all I can say is Spurs Dynasty 21 is a (as Timmy would say) retard. First of all, the ECF aint even over, the Cavs aint one shit yet! Second, if CLE wins, Lebron wont need to be "doubled every time he touches the ball." Bowen has been around a long time and is the best Defender in the L. I will be very comfortable and confident with him guarding King James, one on one, the whole game, every game. Bowen is the man!
The next time Bowen comes anywhere near shutting LeBron down will be the first. LeBron is just too big for Bruce...and he's not a slow stiff that Bruce can pester, LeBron just moves him out of the way.
He's a tougher guard than Kobe, he's bigger, stronger, probably faster, and definitely a better decision and passer with the ball. And he makes a hell of a lot more of his shots than Kobe.
You can't stop a tank with a flyswatter.
LeBron is 2 inches taller and 20lbs heavier than Kobe...
Sorry but james is not faster and quicker than Kobe. You are right that James is a better passer and rebounder but Bryant is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league and James is middling on defense.Quote:
Originally Posted by whottt
Another thing to think about is James has yet to have to deal with a shot blocker of Duncans caliber these playoffs. NJ and Washington pretty much have no shotblocker and Detroit only has Rasheed who is middling.
You completely ignore the entire concept of help defense the Spurs play. All Bowen or any Spurs defender needs to do is play within the system and keep in front of him as best as possible and overplay to the middle forcing him to the baseline to allow the bigs to help on penetration.
You make it seem as if its just going to be Bowen getting posted up or beat on dribble penetration one on one over and over again.
Who he's going to have to guard? Bruce?Quote:
Originally Posted by FuzzyLumpkins
Whatever makes you feel better...Quote:
Another thing to think about is James has yet to have to deal with a shot blocker of Duncans caliber these playoffs. NJ and Washington pretty much have no shotblocker and Detroit only has Rasheed who is middling.
Quote:
You completely ignore the entire concept of help defense the Spurs play. All Bowen or any Spurs defender needs to do is play within the system and keep in front of him as best as possible and overplay to the middle forcing him to the baseline to allow the bigs to help on penetration.
You make it seem as if its just going to be Bowen getting posted up or beat on dribble penetration one on one over and over again.
Um...Bowen will get driven on, blown by, posted up, rebounded over...
You make it sound like this dude is fucking scrub...
His first game against us as a rookie he went for 35 points and like 8 rebounds and 8 assists...
He's had games of 10 boards, 10 assists, and those are some of his crappier games against us.
He's torn us up...and this was before he even fucking knew what he was doing.
I doubt Pop even tries to guard LeBron with Bruce extensively...
He's going to want to force LeBron work on D...
It's going to be Finley that guards him the most IMO...I have a feeling Pop might try Elson on him in spot minutes.
And I argue that LeBron is slower than Kobe...he's pretty damn fast.
Kobe is a better pure scorer IMO and probably a better defender(when he wants to be). But I don't think he's as good as LeBron in any other facet of the game. LeBron sets his teamates better too...he's got a point guards mentality.
We're going to lose the matchup with LeBron...the Spurs will have to win this series without shutting him down...but the Cavs do play D, not as good as the Spurs, but I think better than any other team we have faced in the post season.
It's funny but you know what might win this series for us?
LMAO FT shooting...the Cavs are a baaaaad FT shooting team.
Defensively they were the 5th best defensive team in the NBA in the regular season...
They're the best defensive team in the post season...then again, they didn't have to play the Suns, Jazz and Nuggets....all either high scoring or efficient offensive teams.
Sorry but again your being stupid.Quote:
Originally Posted by whottt
A good shot blocker that roams the middle makes all the difference in the world despite you not wanting to see it. No team that Cleveland has played these playoffs has a good shot much less one of the quality of Duncan. If you fail to realize the signigance of that then its not my fault.
And no shit Pop will switch up the defensive assignments. Assuming that it is going to be one player on him all the time is foolish but again you act like its going to be that one player against James at all times and its not. James is going to get his points but the Spurs play the best team and help defense in the league.
The second game of the season which was also a road-home back to back james went 35-10-4. We had just beat Dallas on the road the night before, and james only went 19-5-5 at home against us the second game. Again your being stupid. He made his season average in points scored against us not 'tear us up.'
i mean hell Michael Redd put up 36 on us so i guess we dont have an answer for the Miluakee Bucks either. Your logic is foolish.
Bottomline is the Cavs guards are going to have a very difficult time defending our backcourt while our guards should have very little issue with Hughes, Gibson and Pavlovic.
None of Gooden, ilgauskas or Varejao are able to defend Duncan. Ilgauskas can play the post but we have some pretty good post defenders and gooden is a jumpshooting bigman so no worries there.
Point is that its a team game and james more than likely isnt going into the zone like that again these playoffs.
It's been proven throughout the playoffs, INDIVIDUAL PLAY does NOT win championships. Who said we're playing the Cavs in the Finals. Last I checked it's 3-2 and not over.
The Lebron lovefest never ends....I am gonna laugh if detroit wins these next two.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twincam
It doesn't win championships...and the Cavs are not really a one man team...at least not on the defensive end.
Look, I just know the Cavs have given us a ton more trouble than the Suns...tons more...and the Suns series was not a strong series for us.
Not to mention the fact that the 2-3-2 format totally favors the lower seed when the lower seed has a Kobe on HGH and plays amazing at home...
Quote:
Originally Posted by whottt
c/s
they are pretty damn FT team, nice to see a change for once
but we can only hope Hughes stays playing like bum, and Verajo does guve TD problems but I see no reason why he shouldn't fol out very game against him. Plus Z would get KILLED trying to cover TD
Yeah, I think the 2-3-2 format against the Cavs would be a potentially dangerous thing for the Spurs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cant_Be_Faded
Bruce could stick his feet again and make Lebron think twice about that jumper.
And San Antonio help defense >>>>>>>> Detroit's.
James wouldnt have that much dunks, and if he did, Pop will go insane and back to CIA.
I like the way you think. :toastQuote:
Originally Posted by eisfeld
oh
my
God
here comes Lebron
Yes