One Down, Two to Go

Another out-of-this-world performance by LeBron James allowed Cavs fans to exhale Thursday night as Cleveland topped Orlando 112-102, to stay alive in the Eastern Conference Finals. This ridiculous stat line: 37 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists.

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith cautioned on the TNT postgame show that LeBron can't possibly do that every game; it will simply wear him down. In the fourth quarter, he scored or assisted in 32 of the team's 34 points. But as James said to Craig Sager after the game, losing just wasn't an option.

So it's back to Orlando for Game Six on Saturday night. If you're the Cavs, you know you did what you had to do, battling out a win. If you're Orlando, you feel confident knowing you're going home with a chance to close it out.

You have to pay attention to what Barkley, Smith and Reggie Miller said after the game, however. They played in the NBA and know first-hand the rigors of the pro game. Their concern: Have you ever seen anyone do what James did -- dominate the fourth quarter completely and control every offensive play in the period -- for three straight games?

Miller added a great observation about Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak and Mo Williams: Is their game going to travel? Will they be able to contribute in a do-or-die game against a hot team on the road?

Williams, in particular, was superb Thursday night, with 24 points, including six three-pointers. Can he do it again Saturday? Gibson tossed in three triples. Can he do the same in a hostile arena? If so, the Cavs have a chance. If not, it may be too much to expect James to hoist the team onto his shoulders yet another time.

Speaking of Gibson, it was great to see him finally resemble the player he was supposed to be this whole season. So is it really necessary for him to mug with the three-finger salute and grin on his face after making his shots? Really? We've all gone from expecting him to hit those shots, to holding our breath when he pulls the trigger. He's as relieved as we are when they go in. So, ditch the mugging, Daniel. Win this series first, OK?

And as for Barkley, Smith and Miller on TNT; when you stop and think, they're a living, breathing illustration of how hard it is to win an NBA championship. Guess which one of the three did it? Kenny Smith. Look again. Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller, as great as they were, never won a title. It's not an easy thing to do, and individual greatness only goes so far in such a team sport.

The Indians: Remember Them?

It's been too easy to ignore the Cleveland Indians thus far this spring. A terrible start has had them languishing in the A.L. Central cellar since Opening Day. However, they just completed a four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, including an improbable ninth-inning comeback in an 11-10 win on Memorial Day. They're still in last place, but a sweep's a sweep, and they're showing signs of life. Still, it's a little depressing to think about the prospect of the Cavs bowing out right now and our having to endure a long, hot summer with the suddenly feeble Tribe.

Go Cavs. Please.

The Stuff of Legend -- Maybe

It was an amazing shot.

It literally saved the Cavs' season.

It added to the Legend that is LeBron James. Perhaps.

Look, I was as stunned as anyone when LBJ lifted Cavs fans from their funk, and his team from the brink of what would have been a long summer, by nailing a mind-bending, desperation, fadeaway three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, winning Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

It was one of those legend-defining moments, forever etched in the annals of league history. It will be shown on replays over and over and over again.

If the Cavs go on to win the series, it will erase Cavs' fans memories of The Shot, plain and simple.

But that's the catch. Michael Jordan's shot in 1989 won a series. LeBron's simply saved this one.

So there is much more to do before this shot ranks as high.

Yes, it was just as dramatic, just as sensational, and even more improbable than Michael's. But again, Jordan's buzzer-beater drove the final nail into the coffin of Cleveland's Cinderella season.

So here's hoping the Cavaliers can ride the crest of this wave and get at least one win in Orlando, then close things out and advance to the NBA Finals.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how this affects the Magic. There's no question they pose serious matchup problems for the Cavs' defense. Wednesday night, Cleveland led by 17 and lost. In Game Two, they led by 23, and almost lost. That's not good. It's clear that this is a series Orlando can win.

But will the dagger of LeBron's miraculous shot drain the life out of them? If so, that one play may well be remembered as the moment of LeBron's career, the moment that propelled his team to the next level, and his status to one of truly legendary proportions.

Nothing he does surprises anyone anymore. It will be fun to watch the drama of this series, and this wonder child's career, continue to unfold.

But, for one moment: Wow.

(The photos are Getty Images.)

Bored with the Playoffs? Try...Cavs vs. Cavs

Former Cavaliers center Brad Daugherty, now a NASCAR analyst on ESPN, stirred the pot this week when he suggested that his Cavs team of the late 1980s and early ’90s could beat the current version.

Did I say stirred the pot? Seems like he was smokin’ it, actually.

Daugherty’s teams were exceptional. There was a sense, in 1989, that they were about to be championship caliber. Daugherty. Price. Nance. Williams. Harper. It was an exciting young team. Magic Johnson called them “the team of the ’90s.” Few disagreed.

But a guy named Michael Jordan had other plans, and the rest is history.

Daugherty joked in an article on ESPN’s “Water Cooler” website that his team would win by “20 or 30” – before admitting that it would be much closer than that. But he still claimed his group would win.

Key reasons:

1. While he admitted there’s no denying LeBron James’ greatness, he suggested that former Cavs Larry Nance and Hot Rod Williams could alter some of LeBron’s shots and thereby affect his game. (My take: Could be. But from what I’ve seen, you can alter one of LeBron’s shots one moment, then be watching as he dashes away from you on an unobstructed path to the basket for a monster dunk the next. In other words, the guy simply keeps coming at you until you break.)

2. Daugherty believes the pick-and-roll play he ran with point guard Mark Price would have given Zydrunas Ilgauskas fits. “If you don’t guard Mark coming off the screen, he shoots a 3-pointer instead of just pulling up and shooting a two or passing the basketball, so that would put a lot of pressure on them,” he said. (My take: Okay, but who would guard Ilgauskas at the other end? Let’s not overlook Z’s ability to step out and hit 15-to-20-footers with ease. I think Ilgauskas would give as good as he got.)

3. Ron Harper. “Ron was a very, very difficult opponent for anyone,” he said. “You can ask Michael Jordan. When we traded Ron, Michael said that’s the best thing we could have ever done for the Bulls. Ron was very good at moving and defending the basketball, he was a good rebounder, and he could score at different angles, outside or inside.” (My take: He’s right about this. I was always a Harper fan, and think things would have been different had he stayed with the team.)

To be fair, Daugherty acknowledged that it’s easy to sit where he does now and claim his team would win. He’s obviously having fun with it. And you can’t blame him for taking pride in that team and believing they could win.

Had Jordan not hit “The Shot,” there’s no telling how history might have treated that Cavaliers team.

But he DID hit the shot, and that’s an important part of this debate. Sometimes, one player makes a difference.

I wrote last time about why LeBron James matters. It’s because he’s a bonafide superstar. He has the same larger-than-life persona that Jordan did.

And that’s what would make the difference if the current Cavs played the team of Daugherty’s era.

I have to admit, I wonder to this day what might have been had Wayne Embry not traded Harper away in 1990. Harper made the All-Rookie team in 1987 and was a 20-points-per-game scorer. Some even called him “Baby Jordan,” because his game so resembled MJ’s.

But he wasn’t LeBron. Nobody on that team was.

LeBron James would give those guys fits the same way he does every team today. His breathtaking combination of speed, strength and court vision more than makes up for any deficiencies in his game. Yes, he has off nights. But he imposes his will on each and every game in which he plays.

And to suggest the overall cast in the ’90s was better, as Daugherty and ESPN’s Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy recently did, is to overlook the quality of the current Cavs team.

Think about it. Daugherty’s Cavs were outplayed in the 1990s by Bulls teams that sported Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley at center. I used to scratch my head over that one. How could the Bulls win championship after championship with guys like that in the post?

Michael Jordan, that’s how.

Likewise, the current Cavs have LeBron James. And that’s why they would beat the Cavs of old.

Why LeBron Matters

With today’s announcement that LeBron James finally won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, it’s worth reflecting on why he is such an important figure, particularly on the Cleveland sports scene.

I remember back in the late ‘90s, when my friend Bob Dezso was a volunteer assistant on Keith Dambrot’s coaching staff at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Bob coached the JV team in addition to assisting with the varsity, and he told me about a freshman playing for the Irish who had catapulted past everyone to become the standout player at the school. “His name is LeBron James,” Bob told me. “Remember it, because he’s the real deal. Best I’ve ever seen.”

Within two years, James was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Within two more, he was the number one pick in the NBA draft, the much-anticipated savior of the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers.

In his first game as a pro, LeBron exceeded expectations. Nervous? Forget about it. Intimidated? Hardly. And, for six consecutive seasons since then, he’s continued to silence the naysayers and redefine excellence on the basketball court. In so doing he has single-handedly made the Cavaliers relevant in Cleveland, no small task in a town so devoted -- for so many generations -- to the Browns and Indians.

That devotion is understandable, given the fact that in the 1940s and 1950s, both teams were perennial championship contenders. But Cleveland and Northeast Ohio have never had an athlete to match LeBron’s stature.

Mind you, Jim Brown was as good as it gets as a fullback for the Browns in the ’50s and ‘60s, and is still widely regarded as the best running back in the history of the sport. Before him there was Otto Graham, who deserves a mention of his own in the “best-ever” arguments at quarterback.

But theirs was a different era, a simpler, more romantic time in our nation’s history. And neither Brown nor Graham was called upon to do what LeBron has been asked, even expected, to do: Lift a franchise and, for that matter, an entire city, on his shoulders, and take them to the promised land.

It’s a role he has embraced. Lead the team? Check. Strive to be the best in the game? Check. Accept the challenge of becoming the best ever? Why not -- check. Whether he earns that status or not isn’t the issue. The fact that he’s willing to go for it fascinates us. And the fact that he rarely disappoints amazes us.

A few weeks ago, on an NBA telecast, ABC’s Mark Jackson said that the Cavs teams of Mark Price, Brad Daugherty and company -- the teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s -- were better overall than this year’s model. Boothmate Jeff Van Gundy agreed. As I heard that, I thought, “Wha-a-a-a-a-t?”

Jackson argued that the Price-led Cavs were deeper, and better at every position -- except LeBron’s, of course. But that’s precisely the point. They didn’t have anyone close to him in ability. Nobody does. And that ability alone tips the scales in the current team's favor.

He still has holes in his game, but they are becoming increasingly few. James is like a runaway train, physically overpowering his opponents with strength and speed. He has the look of a man on a mission. His teammates are on board, and so are we.

Anything can happen on the way to the NBA Finals, and in sports, as Yogi Berra once famously intoned, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” The Cavs dare not look past the Atlanta Hawks -- their second round opponent -- or anyone else. But the stage is set for something dramatic to happen this year, and smart money is on LeBron James making it so.

There’s simply never been anyone like him on the Cleveland sports scene, and there may never be anyone like him again. We should enjoy it while we can, and expect the best. Because you just get the feeling that, of all the great ones, The Chosen One will finally be the one to deliver.

Rondo May Not Be Dirty, But His Play Was

Look, I played basketball, OK?

I don't care if it's school ball, travel ball, YMCA ball, playground ball, college ball or pro ball. When you've played, you know the difference.

In Tuesday night's NBA playoff game between Boston and Chicago, Rajon Rondo got away with a mugging. Big-time. And it changed the game, and, perhaps, the series, in Boston's favor.

With Boston leading by two, Chicago's Brad Miller took an in-bounds pass near the end of overtime and drove down a ridiculously wide-open lane toward the basket. As he rose to take the shot, Rondo swept his hand across Miller's face, altering the momentum of the 290-pounder and sending him crumbling to the floor, his shot suddenly an afterthought as it fell harmlessly to the floor.

Miller's upper lip swelled to the size of Angelina Jolie's, and he appeared dazed and in pain as he stepped to the free throw line and proceeded to miss the all-important first shot.


As the Boston faithful cheered and jeered wildly, Miller (shown at left in an AP photo, trying to stop the bleeding after Rondo's right cross) tried to miss the second shot intentionally, with the hope of Chicago grabbing the rebound and putting in the tying shot. But he missed the rim completely, resulting in a turnover, which all but sealed the win for the Celtics.

"I'm a little guy, so I had to go for the foul hard," said Rondo after the game. "I wasn't trying to go for his head, but I think he went up with his right hand and I tried to make sure he couldn't finish or get an and-one. It's as simple as that. I think I hit him in the head or something, but I went through his arm first, trying to get to the ball."

"I think I hit him in the head or something." OK, whatever. Except there was no chance for Rondo to get the ball. None. It was obvious when the foul occurred in real time, and far more evident once the replays were shown.

What the referees working the game saw from those replays, logical people will never know. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro protested that Rondo's foul was flagrant -- which it was -- which would have given the Bulls the foul shots plus the ball. Replay after replay confirmed that Rondo whacked Miller across the face in a last-ditch, desperate attempt to prevent the easy shot.

But there's no way he went for the ball. Like I said, anybody who has ever played the game knows the difference. Doesn't take a genius.

It was the second time at that Rondo got away with robbery at a crucial point down the stretch.

At the end of regulation, as Chicago's Derrick Rose blew past him down the left side of the lane in an attempt to convert what might have been a game-winning shot, Rondo stuck his knee, ever so subtly, into Rose's thigh, sending Rose sprawling toward the end line. The ball rolled out of bounds, and the intermittently blind NBA refs ("Wait, who's the home team?") rewarded it to the Celts.

OK, that was a small thing, and Rondo pulled it off. But the clobbering that he got away with at the end of overtime never should have been allowed. His team is now up, three games to two, in this hard-fought series.

Playground players know what happened. The NBA needs officials who know it, too.

Where Bad Shooting Happens

OK, back from another prolonged break. These things aren't planned, they just happen.

The Cavaliers opened the new season in ho-hum fashion Tuesday night in Boston, after another Oscar-worthy performance in the pregame ceremony by an over-the-top, tearful Paul "Where's my Wheelchair?" Pierce. Once things tipped off, it was more of the same on the part of the Cavs -- meaning bizzare-o offense, featuring a shocking unfamiliarity with the concept of shooting.

For one thing, you don't win a championship in today's NBA with an aging Ben Wallace in your starting lineup. It's tempting fate enough to field an aging Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who can at least still hold up his end. But Z and Ben, side-by-side?

In the opening minutes of last night's game, Wallace took a feed at the high post and started a dribble drive, when suddenly he looked lost and passed off, despite having a clear path to the hoop. C'mon, Ben, just lay it in, for crying out loud.

From there we were treated to an assortment of offensive hijinks by the Cavs, and the obligatory postgame CYA comments about how "we played well enough to win" and needed to "get stops" and "just didn't put the ball in the basket." Blah, blah, blah.

Professional basketball players who can't shoot are hypocrites. Give me a break. You make millions, have all the time you need during the offseason, and are provided with every amenity and comfort in palatial new practice facilities -- and you can't shoot a ball? It's criminal.

LeBron James is in his sixth season in the NBA. His physical talents are breathtaking. But if I'm an opposing team, I foul him repeatedly at the end of a close game. It's almost guaranteed that he'll brick nearly half of his free throws in those situations. He did it again down the stretch Tuesday night.

What is that?

Ridiculous, that's what. I'm in his corner, and I'm a Cavs fan all the way. But it's indefensible, not just on his part, but for any player at the professional level. Every year we hear from LeBron how he's more dedicated, he's stepped up his game, etc.

Prove it. Make the damn shots. That's all. Just make them.

"Basketball" is so named because the primary object is to put the ball in the basket. The secret to doing that is proper shot selection. If you're a lousy three-point shooter, lay off the three-pointers. If you're a lousy shooter, take a seat. But if you're a lousy free throw shooter, the only answer is to practice and practice and practice until you can't miss. And then you practice some more. (See: Larry Bird.)

I coached kids (at all age levels) for years, and regularly repeated a simple offensive philosophy: Take shots you can make, and make the shots you take.

Good grief. Not another year of this. Please.