Close-knit Cavaliers not just the LeBron show
By Tom Withers
Absent from any boxscore and unseen on TV highlights, the moment passed without fanfare. Earlier this year, LeBron James did something that may best define his breakthrough season with the Cavaliers.
It wasn’t a thunderous dunk or no-look pass. In the aftermath of a win, James was dissecting the game when he called Cavs point guard Mo Williams a name never uttered in Cleveland before.
“He’s my sidekick,” James said.
After a recent practice, Williams recalled James’ stamp of approval.
“That was cool,” Williams said. “Robin’s cool. Batman can’t have it all.”
In fiction and reality, there’s a long been a place for the faithful sidekick, the dependable partner that the hero can count on. Johnny Carson had Ed McMahon. The Lone Ranger had Tonto. Captain Kirk had Mr. Spock.
But until this season, it was King James without a royal court.
To be fair, this year’s MVP had a few teammates he could trust on the floor, but not enough. The Cavaliers were talented, but not as skilled as the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers or others.
But now, besides Williams, an All-Star acquired in a trade last summer, James is surrounded by a solid supporting cast. A team as tight-knit as a college fraternity, the Cavaliers had the league’s best record in the regular season and are rampaging through the playoffs, with series sweeps of Detroit and Atlanta already under their belts.
“They’ve got weapons all over the floor,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “As good as he is, and LeBron is one of the best I’ve seen in 27 years in this league, he doesn’t do it alone.”
In winning their first eight playoff games - all by double digits - the Cavaliers are an eye-popping 74-16, tying them with the 1986 Boston Celtics for the fourth-best start ever through 90 games. Only the 1996 Chicago Bulls (79-11), the 1997 Bulls (76-14) and the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers and 1972 Los Angeles Lakers (75-15) have hit the 90-game mark ahead of these Cavs, who have been unequaled in recent months.
Since the All-Star break, the Cavs, who will face either Boston or Orlando in the conference final, are 35-5 with one of the losses coming in the regular-season finale against Philadelphia when coach Mike Brown rested James and other starters. Cleveland’s reserves took the Sixers to overtime before losing.
“We got 10 or 11 guys who have started on other teams,” James said. “We got guys who know how to play significant minutes, guys who know how to play basketball. We haven’t had that in the past.”
Or anyone like Williams.
——=
“Right over there,” Williams said, pointing to a sideline area inside Cleveland’s training facility. “That’s where LeBron and I first talked about winning a championship - together. Since day one, that has been the goal.”
Williams was the missing piece. In James’ first five seasons, the Cavs didn’t have a point guard capable of consistently directing their offense. They needed someone to create shots for James, someone to take the ball out of his hands, someone to settle things down. Too often, James was a solo artist.
Ricky Davis. Larry Hughes. Jeff McInnis. Eric Snow. They all tried, but none of those guards developed into what Cleveland needed most: A complementary component for James. The Scottie Pippen to his Michael Jordan.
There is no jealousy. Williams has not only accepted his costarring role, but he relishes being part of James’ on-court entourage.
Williams can take over when he needs to, and like James, he’s able to set up teammates to score. Also like No. 23, when a big shot is needed, Williams wants the ball.
“I pick my spots,” he said. “This is a well-balanced team. At times I don’t have to be aggressive. I can space the floor. And if my man helps, I can knock down the 3. I try to affect the game in a lot of different ways.”
General manager Danny Ferry attempted to bring in an established veteran like Mike Bibby or Jason Kidd via trade, but couldn’t get a deal done. Then in August, while James was in China winning a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic Redeem Team, Ferry landed Williams, a confident 26-year-old who used to light up the Cavaliers every time he played against them with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Not knowing he would one day be Williams’ teammate and close friend, James had scouted him. He knew what Williams could bring to the internationally flavored Cavs, who have players from Lithuania, Brazil and Serbia.
“I saw the things he did against us last year in Milwaukee,” James said. “Because I’m a fan of the game, I watched him and I thought he could be a really good fit for us, and I thought he could definitely help me out on the perimeter. He has taken a lot of pressure off me as far as ballhandling and things like that. He has done that and more. He’s an unbelievable point guard. He controls the team and runs the team.”
Williams didn’t know James well before he arrived, but they bonded immediately.
“Our friendship from the jump gave us trust in each other on the court,” Williams said. “Especially him trusting me.”
—-=
Trust.
That’s it, Brown thought. While he and Ferry prepared for this season, Cleveland’s coach considered what was missing from his team. In James, Brown had arguably the game’s most dominant force. In Williams, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, guard Delonte West and forward Ben Wallace, he had proven veterans. In Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic, he had quality backups.
Brown, though, felt the Cavs’ chemistry wasn’t quite right. Early last season, an uneasiness had settled over the team, which was coming off being swept by San Antonio in the finals. Players were unhappy with their minutes and Hughes, later traded to Chicago, seemed more concerned with stealing the spotlight from James.
Brown sought harmony. So following the team’s preseason dinner, he gave a 10-minute speech on trust. He wanted his players to grow as one. He asked them to spend time together off the floor, to share their interests, to become brothers. To trust each other.
The Cavs bought in.
They wheel in birthday cakes at practice and sing “Happy Birthday” to a celebrating teammate or coach. On a trip to Los Angeles, the entire traveling party went to see “Slumdog Millionaire.” In Memphis, the Cavaliers toured the National Civil Rights Museum. This week, James had them over to his house for a playoff-watching dinner.
They have developed special handshakes and perform elaborate skits during pregame introductions. When practice ends, nobody wants to go home. The Cavs hang around and play shooting games.
“Since high school, this is the tightest team I’ve ever been on,” James said. “It’s nice. It’s not the ingredient for every team, but it is for ours. We’ve bonded.”
Wallace, a 14-year veteran, said Cleveland’s camaraderie is special.
“This team has the same chemistry we had in Detroit when we won the championship,” he said. “I’ve been on teams before where a guy would be like, ‘Hey, I’m going to such and such to eat and if anybody wants to come, you’re more than welcome.’ And nobody shows up.
“Here, the whole crew shows up.”
It all begins with the selfless James. He has a unique gift of making everyone from ball boys to team executives feel included. He can’t win a le by himself, so why try? He accepts the praise, but ever the playmaker, he shares it.
“It’s like every time he wins, we win,” Wallace said. “He wins the MVP, and he gives everyone else a gift. That’s great for building chemistry.”
The Cavaliers got it, and soon may have a le to go with it.
Bill Simmons on the Cav's chemistry:
But his relationship with his teammates continues to fascinate me; because of his character and the spirit of the players that surround him, it's like watching a more animated/funny/bombastic version of Duncan's Spurs
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...s/090513/part3
Nice read, I enjoyed this.
"Gee wilikers Lebron"
good read, thanks for posting !
The 2009 Cavaliers are not just a great team...they are truly something special...and they're going to win it all.
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