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All of that and no mention of any concern about Ginobili?
I'd just like to give you guys some perspective from the Cleveland side. First of all, I would like to appologize for the unintelligent and biased predictions by some of our Cavs fans. We are very excited to be in the finals and sometimes we get a little carried away. It's not out of disrespect but out of passion for our team. I am from Cleveland and have been a Cavs fan since I was a little kid even when we seemed to always come up short against MJ and the Bulls. Its great to be in the finals and I think we are going to make the most of this opportunity.
I am student at OSU and I can personally vouch that sometimes Ohio sports fans can get very nasty. The fact of the matter is, its been a great year in sports for us here: Buckeyes make it to the national championship in both football and basketball, the Indians are in first place, and the Browns are up and coming with our recent success in the draft and the departure of Bill Cowher. I definitely have a great amount of respect for Texas sports teams. I was fortunate to be at the OSU-Texas game 2 years ago and although we lost it was by far one of the greatest games I've seen in any sport. I hope that our series can be just as good.
I think that a lot has been made about the Lebron-MJ comparison and I think some people tend to take it the wrong way. Lebron is not Michael Jordan because he's not a score first kind of player. Nobody is but Kobe might be. Too be honest with you, Lebron is more like Magic.. He is a big, athletic and versatile player who is not purely a scorer. The diversity of skills that he brings to the table is unparalleled. What people don't understand is that Lebron does not neccessarily win games by scoring ( game 5 being the exception) rather he hurts teams most of all by his passing and his ability to involve his teammates and make everyone better.
I think Bowen is a great defender but I think he is going to have a very difficult time slowing down Lebron. Lebron is a pure athletic specimen at 6'8'', 240 and a former All-State football player in high school that assuredly would have played major college/pro football if he had chosen to go in that direction. Sometimes people fail to notice Lebrons physicallity due to his great agility and speed. I think that if Bowen or Horry or any defender for that matter tries some of the stuff that was pulled in the Suns series that those players will not get away with it. The Suns do not have any enforcer type players and are more of a finesse type team. The cavs play very physical ball and with guys like Pollard, Varejao, and even sasha, there could be a few fights in the series if the Spurs do play dirty.
I'm worried about Tony Parker. I watched some of your suns series and was very impressed with his shooting ability and dribble penetration. Duncan is a top 3 NBA player and one of the best and most consistent big men ever. These 2 will get their points, it's going to be about containing them and frustrating them. Foul trouble will definitely be an issue for both teams. Z can knock down shots and Gibson could be a difference maker off the bench. Hughes needs to play at least half as good as what we expect of him. I think sasha and gooden need to play as well as they were towards the end of the regular season.
I find it very hard to make a prediction in this series. We know what the Spurs are going to bring but the Cavs we're not so sure. From our perspective, our regular season was an underachieving time of ups and downs. We did not play defense at all and our offense was very sporadic. It seems that our guys have finally bought into Mike Browns philosophy. I think the Spurs are in the same boat though. Both of our teams had tremendous potential and fortunatly both seem to be peaking at the right time. I hope this makes for a close and exciting series.
I agree that the cavs 2 wins during the regular season does not mean that we will win the series. As I said before, both are different teams now than they were before. I do however think that the difference between the Cavs then to now is much greater than it is for the Spurs and I would not call these wins flukes either. The Cavs do have a height/size advantage with our starters which immediately presents you guys with rebound problems. Also, I think it is worth it to mention that our 2 top basketball minds (Coach-Mike Brown and GM- Ferry) are both Spurs guys. Now I don't think this presents a problem to the extent of Don Nelson and Dallas but this could pose a interesting situation. Maybe some inside info on tendencies/ schemes?
I hope that this series goes 7 games. I hope that each game is close. I hope we see both teams at each others throats. I hope that each game is decided by last second shots. This is the fun of watching compe ive basketball. I think that you are going to find that the Cavs are a pretty exciting team to watch and hope that you value the talent of a kid who basically just turned 22 years old.
Most fail to realize that before our playoff series with the Pistons last season, they were far and away the favorites to win the championship. The Cavs were blown out in the first 2 games, the games weren't even close. Something clicked however and we pushed them to 7 games and eventually beat them this year. The Cavs mentally broke the Pistons, a team whose team makeup/ style of play eerily resembles your own. Now I do not mean to say that the Spurs will overlook the Cavs because I do not think that they are unreasonably arrogant like the Pistons. I do however think some things that the Cavs will present might be suprising to you. Its an accomplished, established veteran's vs unproven, hungry youth.
As you know, the Spurs will be heavily, I mean heavily favored to win this series and win quickly. Every expert that I have seen has picked the Spurs to win. You guys should have these expectations because you have 3 rings and we have 0. The truth is though, what is supposed to happen doesn't always come true. I can't help but notice how much fun our guys seem to be having during this years playoffs. I think that's our youth showing through. Maybe we're not the most businesslike team but we sure know how to have fun which could be a good thing.
The Cavs have absolutely nothing to lose in this series, we've already far exceeded our expectations. By no means do I think we are satisfied though and the amount of exposure we are getting right now is not about us beating the Spurs, it is merely about how we handled the Pistons. Anything short of a championship for the Spurs would be an unsuccessful season.
My Prediction: Cavs split first 2, take 2 of 3 in Cleveland, then win game 7 at San Antonio. Cavs in 7. Let's enjoy the tremendous display of basketball talent by both teams. Win or lose, i hope its a great series.
All of that and no mention of any concern about Ginobili?
Very nice post, rep+ for a Cavs fan, you're the best poster we've seen so far. But as FWD said, what about Manu?
-Mars
You're the best Cavs fan I've seen yet.
This series is tailor made for Ginobili to own.
Good post. You're a rare breed of Cavs fan, that's for sure; there should be more like you.
Bravo, intelligent, bespoke Cavs fan.
I also think that the implication that the Spurs might not be prepared for physical play from Cleveland's bigs is pretty misguided. The Spurs played an extremely physical series with Denver, dealt with a bit more finesse against Phoenix but still got involved in some physical play, and dispatched a fairly physical Utah team. If the Cavs decide to mix it up, I don't think Cavs' fans should just expect the Spurs to back down or roll over.
And I wouldn't expect that any team would be able to easily break the Spurs mentally. THis bunch has experienced everything there is to experience in playoff basketball. They've overcome significant adversity; they've suffered flagrant fouls (and delivered some too); they've won and they've lost. But at no point in the last 5 years or so has any team truly been able to mentally break the Spurs.
Finally, I'm not sure that this group of Spurs is built eerily similar to the Detroit Pistons of the last couple of seasons. This group of Spurs has a definite alpha dog, it has two outstanding sidekicks who know precisely what they are to do, and, more than anything else, it has tremendous leadership from the head coach who won't stand for anything but the best effort his team can give. There are finer distinctions to make, but those three immediately make be believe that a comparison to the Pistons is inapt.
I think...I hope...I think. Long enough? WE really didn't need a peacemaker, the spurs fans have been getting the nastiest anyways. Maybe you should have went to Ohio University, CavsDak. Anyways, I agree, go cavs, hard fought series. cavs in 7. Hughes, Snow, Gibson, Pavs, and James are going to bring all the defense at the wings we need. Don't be surprised when Lebron is guarding Parker and shutting off the lane completely.
Priceless.Maybe you should have went to Ohio University
the spurs are willing to guard lebron straight up. the cavs don't have the luxury with regard to duncan. that's why the cavs have no shot at winning this series.
Last edited by itzsoweezee; 06-04-2007 at 02:24 PM.
Great post. You make some intelligent, well thought-out points.
That said, I found no mention of Ginibili a bit odd, and your assertion that the Cavs have nothing to lose struck me as strange, as well, because this is the Finals -- neither team has anything to lose at this point. One more item: the Spurs can not only handle a "physical team," they can be a physical team.
This is going to be a fun series, regardless of the outcome. Of course, I hope the Spurs take it all, and I think they will.
Good post.
Hughes/Pavs/Lebron will all take turns guarding Ginobli. They've all been playing great D., hopefully Hughes foot can get some rest though. He's ok for a few minutes, then it bothers him.
Nice post.
The Cavs day is coming assuming James stays there and they will win at least one finals.
It just won't be this year.
Spurs fans know all about plantar fascia injuries.
Cleveland will be just fine in this series. All this talk about SA being just fine playing Lebron man to man is just window dressing, when it comes time to play the game they have two options- 1)Give Lebron double and triple-teams, or 2)Get smoked. Seems like an easy choice to me. Mr. James is more focused right now than he ever has been in his entire life, give him single-coverage and the Cavs might score on every trip down the court.
Duncan doesn't scare me in this matchup because Cleveland has size and depth to combat him with, as far as matchups go I think this series is tailor-made for the Cavs because of their ability to play physical and play relentless, hounding defense. The only thing that worries me is that Ginobli and Parker will get their usual bad call fouls, I'm not even worried about them making their shots so much as these guys going to the line every trip down the floor, take away even some of those and both of these guys aren't that great. Obviously, there are going to be alot of people who think I am crazy, however I am not going to be one of those jerks who say "CLEVELAND IN 4, CLEVELAND in 5, CLEVELAND IN 6, etc etc." What I am going to say is that Cleveland plays great defense and they have the best player in the NBA, so you absolutely cannot count them out of this one.
I like that, after a single impressive game, LeBron is suddenly a great scorer on par with prime Jordan. He's not even on Kobe or AI's level yet, and the Spurs have managed those guys.
one game doesn't make him the best player in the nba. sorry to break it to you.
no . People seem to forget that the SPurs have already handled the 2nd leading scorer, leading assist, defensive player of the year, Amare, A.I., Boozer and Williams. All of those guys had much better teams than the Cavs, yet LeBron will beat the Spurs by himself, right
Aside from unrealistically dissing two guys who have legitimately made all-star teams (and one who has won championships at every level on which he's ever played), the thing that strikes me as most bizarre about this comment is the notion that Parker usually gets bad foul calls.
I can't think of a player who spends as much time in the paint as Parker while getting to the line as infrequently as Parker does. That guy gets put on his ass repeatedly without getting to the line -- and he keeps coming back for more and more. He may occasionally get a bad call in his favor, but most nights, Parker spends way more time getting off the floor on drives than he does at the line. At least he's fearless.
Replace the word "Lebron" with "Amare" and "Cavs" with "Suns."1)Give Lebron double and triple-teams, or 2)Get smoked. Seems like an easy choice to me. Mr. James is more focused right now than he ever has been in his entire life, give him single-coverage and the Cavs might score on every trip down the court.
Replace the word "Cleveland" with "Denver" and "Cavs" with "Nuggets."Duncan doesn't scare me in this matchup because Cleveland has size and depth to combat him with, as far as matchups go I think this series is tailor-made for the Cavs.
Replace the word "Cleveland" with "San Antonio."What I am going to say is that Cleveland plays great defense and they have the best player in the NBA, so you absolutely cannot count them out of this one.
BWJ just got destroyed
You are right, he is way above AI's level. AI isn't even an elite player any longer in my book, he is a selfish player who doesn't think pass-first and his body has shown signs of wear and tear for awhile now. He is above Kobe's level - when did Kobe ever set his teammates up for the winning basket, tell me that? When did Kobe ever carry his team deep into the playoffs?
Once again, you want to throw out all these dumb comparisons of Lebron to Michael, but that is all you. However, to say that after one game he is garnering these comparisons is crazy, Lebron has been in the league for four years now and he has been an MVP-type player for two of those seasons. However, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, the last two MVP's this league has had could only dream of carrying their team the way that Lebron does on an everyday basis.
So you think a team that went 20-21 on the road is going to beat the team with the third best home record in the league, twice?
Hmmm...
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