At one point during Cleveland's series-clinching game six vs. Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James was barking at Daniel Gibson. But it wasn't for a mistake the Texas rookie made. It was because he caught fire in the last quarter and a half of the game on his way to 31 points on nine shots.
Gibson doesn't have to dominate the ball a la Larry Hughes or Lamar Odom. His performance the last three games of the ECF should help keep LeBron in Cleveland for the remainder of his career. Once injured rookie Shannon Brown gets healthy, Cleveland could have the League's scariest perimeter trio.
Either Brown, Gibson or James can handle the ball on a break. Either of the three could spot up anywhere on the floor and drain a shot. And any of the three can finish at the cup.
2. A shakeup is needed in Detroit.
There is a way for the Pistons to rebound from this loss and remain contenders for the next five, six years.
What Detroit needs to do is sign "that guy." That guy is a player who can get a team on the brink over the hump.
The Pistons have been defeated by a "that guy" prototype the past two playoff runs. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James both took over close games vs. Detroit and helped their teams advance to the finals.
Here's what Joe Dumars must do to keep his team on the map and in the title hunt:
Seriously look into a deal that would send Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant. No matter how much ESPN and NBA analysts want to give the League to Wade and James, those in the know recognize Bryant as the League's best player.
Dumars should also draft Texas point guard Acie Law IV and Pitt big man Aaron Gray with the 15th and 27th picks, respectively, in this month's draft. Billups, who did not earn a max deal with his performance in the Cleveland series, could serve as Law's mentor and you can't teach Gray's 7'2" frame.
Pairing Bryant with Tayshaun Prince, a great perimeter defender in his own right, would give Detroit something similar to what the Bulls used to employ with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen: one of the two would be on the floor at all times, to guard the opposing team's best perimeter player, and for the offense to run through either of them. I fully give Prince a pass for shooting under 30 percent during the Cleveland series since he had to put so much of his energy into defending James. But if you could switch Bryant and Prince off of James, and Wade, for example, neither would be so tuckered out on the other end of the floor that they couldn't get their points.
3. Leave Flip alone.
I still don't understand why Jason Maxiell barely saw action in five of the six games this series after scoring 15 points in game two. And I have no idea why Billups and Hamilton were put at the point of the zone Detroit employed. But I do believe that the Pistons' performance this series was not entirely the fault of their head coach.
Saunders could have called for quicker double teams of James at times, where the double could have came before James received the ball, but Saunders wasn't the one on the court looking for foul calls late in games. Neither was he the one pointing the finger at teammates at times.
If this were college, the brunt of the blame would be reserved for Flip. But this is the NBA. "A player's league," where the coach doesn't matter as much. Give Flip "that guy," and a core that doesn't play when it feels up to it, especially in the playoffs, and Saunders already has two finals appearances under his belt.
During one of those “18/58” updates on ESPN Sunday, I saw something that startled me: “Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade will attempt to practice Monday for the first time since his shoulder injury Feb. 21.”
Yes, the dislocation of Wade’s right (shooting) shoulder was serious. Yes, it put a snag in any back-to-back talk in South Beach. But it’s not like this is the first time this injury has hampered an NBA uber-star, even though you’d think it is with all the cov-erage Wade has garnered.
Kobe Bryant suffered a similar injury during the 2002-03 playoffs and re-injured the joint the following year, which caused Bryant to miss 17 games that season. Sure, there was coverage of the damage, but not to the level of attention Wade has received.
This injury has been mainstream news since it occurred in a Heat loss at Houston in February. Wade, who returned to practice Monday, added to the drama by draping a towel over his head and lap after the injury took place. Not to mention needing a wheelchair for an arm injury!
I’ve heard everything from, “he shouldn’t risk fur-ther injury by coming back,” to, “if Wade returns, it’s amazing.”
When Kobe re-injured his shooting shoulder against Cleveland in January 2004, there was no wheelchair, no crocodile tears, nothing — just Bryant vowing to return to aid his team. The love Wade, the 2006 Finals MVP, has been shown the last six weeks is unbelievable. But do you think people in the sports world would be fawning over the Heat guard if he was the polarizing, lone wolf Bryant is portrayed as being?
This has done nothing but reaffirm my belief that Kobe can do nothing to make people “love” him. He can’t become a better teammate, which he has; he can’t do things for children, which he has. Kobe’s stuck.
This is a country of people who give everyone a second chance. Where’s Kobe’s second chance with the media? The people have spoken. Bryant’s number 24 jersey is the No. 1 seller in the League. Fans at Staples Center and abroad chant “M-V-P” when they witness his scoring exploits. This even happened in Boston of all places! Kevin McHale must be spinning in his grave.
Ask anyone in the know and they’ll tell you Bryant is the League’s premier player. No mention of his 40 ppg March is needed, although that scoring barrage catapulted Bryant from fourth in scoring to the top of the heap (31 ppg). Bryant recently followed up a 53-point effort in an overtime loss to Houston with an all-around effort (19 points, 13 dimes) in a 126-103 rout of Sacramento.
Kobe won’t win the MVP award this year. Hell, I’m almost convinced he’ll never receive the honor after last season, where he took a team of career underachievers (Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom) and youngsters (Luke Walton and Andrew Bynum) to the playoffs, while posting the highest scoring average (35.4) in nearly two decades.
Kobe finished fourth in MVP voting last season. How is that possible? Bryant should have won the award hands down. But voters of the award don’t like Bryant.
Isn’t that title supposed to be bestowed upon the best on court performer? And, if the rape charge is a reason behind that dislike, people fail to remember no jury convicted Bryant of anything. Steve Nash is an amazing talent, but he wouldn’t have finished in the top 10 of the voting 15 years ago. Jason Kidd has no MVPs to Nash’s two, but Kidd has two Finals appearances to Nash’s zero. Does that mean Kidd should have beat out Tim Duncan for the award during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons? No, because Duncan was the best player those two years, as Kobe has been the last two.
What does Kobe have to do to get some love from the mainstream? Cure cancer? I don’t think we’ll ever know.
The only thing we’ll know is that Bryant is one of the greatest of all time. We don’t need anyone to tell us that.
I know the title of this is corny, but corny works sometimes, so kiss my $ss.
Tonight's the night.
Two playoff rematches kick off the new NBA season as the Heat host the Bulls and the Suns travel to L.A. to take on the Lakers.
Although only four teams are in action tonight, a number of players on each sqaud could win several league awards this season. And three of them have a realistic chance to win the '07 title.
What follows is a list of 2006-07 award winners. I'm not the guy from Crossing Over, but I could see a number of these hunches turning into reality.
I considered a number of candidates for this award-J.R. Smith, Smush Parker and Desagana Diop to name a few. But the three I chose are all being asked to bust out this season. Livingston has replaced vet Sam Cassell in the Clippers starting line-up after Cassell captained a team that was a game away from the West Finals. Darko, thought to be the biggest bust since Sam Bowie, couldn't get off the oak in Motown, but will be asked to form a solid young post combo with manchild Dwight Howard. Chandler was expendible and not dependable in Chicago, now he's expected to keep up with Chris Paul for 82 games. Three guys selected in the top five of their respective draft classes. Three guys who've shown flashes at times are now being asked to show some consistency.
Winner: Milicic
When he left purgatory for the Magic Kingdom, Milicic more than tripled his scoring and rebounding averages. Yea, that only translated to 7.6 and 4.1, respectively over 30 games, but it showed why Pistons exec Joe Dumars saw so much potential in the Serbian. If Darko can up his numbers to, say, 13 and 8 with 2 blocks, couple that with the development of point guard Jameer Nelson, Howard's ability and the (presumed) health of Grant Hill, Orlando could sneak into the eighth spot in the playoffs.
Sixth Man of the Year
Nominees: Sam Cassell, Clippers G; Anthony Johnson, Mavericks G; Matt Harpring, Jazz F
It's rare that three girzzled veterans get considered for this award, but with all the changes to these playoff-bound teams, each of these guys will play important minutes off the bench. This will mark the first time Cassell has come off the bench since his Houston days, which is when he won two rings. He knows he's on his last legs and that Livingston needs to be thrown into the fire to show what he's got, so he'll be a team player, accept his role and thrive in it. Johnson, on his sixth team in 10 seasons, will bring verteran savviness to a Mavericks team that had energetic but young Devin Harris backing up Jason Terry last season. He'll be a tough match-up for some of the smaller guards out West, as he outweighs Harris and Terry by an average of 17.5 pounds. If one of those two gets fatigued or in foul trouble, Johnson can play starter's minutes as he showed in the Pacers first round series against New Jersey. Johnson averaged 40.2 minutes and 20 ppg per game over that six-game series. Harpring has put in 13 points and six boards a night over his eight-year career. He can provide toughness and scoring from both forward positions and he shoots a high percentage (.478 for his career).
Winner: Cassell
I know he is essentially being demoted for a younger, more spry player, but Cassell will still get good minutes and he'll be on the floor, and have the ball, in clutch situations.
I also considered Rajon Rondo and Marcus Williams for this award. Con####uous by his absence is Randy Foye, who everybody was ready to hand the award to following Villanova's run in the NCAA Tournament. Foye played well in summer league games, but fell off once the preseason started. It's fairly simple why I chose two of the three guys I selected. Roye and #### are on bad teams. Portland is young and Pau Gasol's foot injury will hurt Memphis. Roy will be able to showcase his all-around skills (he was the only player in the NCAA to average 20 points, six boards and five assists a night last season). And #### will be able to put the "lazy, disinterested" tag he earned in two years at UCONN behind him. It's funny that people gave him that label simply because he didn't take over games. He didn't have to. That Huskies team was stacked and produced four first round draft picks. #### was the only player in the country to average 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and 1.5 blocks. You call that lazy? Thomas is an interesting choice because he goes into a situation where his team is ready to win now. He could have ended up on the Knicks, but was selected by Chicago due to the Eddy Curry deal. Thomas wasn't a starter for much of his one and only season at LSU. In 25 minutes a night, he put up 12.3 points, 9.2 boards and 3.1 blocks. Starter stats in bench minutes. Thomas has the ability to #### and displayed a decent mid-range J during the Tigers run to the '06 Final Four. His work ethic will help him crack Scott Skiles' rotation and I think he'll play several minutes alongside Wallace this season to add to the Bulls interior defense.
There's always a guy who comes into the League with something to prove. Memphis won't win much this season, but #### will have the chance to show he can dominate a given game. Plus, how can you not love a guy named Rudy?
Defensive Player of the Year
Nominees: Ben Wallace, Bulls F/C; Ron Artest, Kings F; Kobe Bryant, Lakers G
No Bruce Bowen because age and the new rules will catch up to him this year. No Andrei Kirilenko because, although he could swat a dunk from halfcourt, he's not mentioned in the list of "lockdown defenders." Wallace already has four DPOY trophies, but I think he'll show renewed intensity with his new team and push for a fifth. Artest won the award in 2004 and is consistently talked about as one of the best perimeter defenders in the League. Bryant is the only player on the list who hasn't won the award, but he has made a few all-defensive teams, and is the only player in the League who can dominate on both ends of the floor.
Winner: Bryant
There are some questions about his health following off-season knee surgery, but Kobe has played through injury before. Bryant can affford to sacrifice a few points agme (he averaged 35.4 last season) to put more of an emphasis on locking down the opponents best perimeter player.
Most Valuable Player
Nominees: Bryant; LeBron James, Cavaliers G/F; Dwyane Wade, Heat G
I'll admit: I love Kobe Bryant. He's not a role model or anything like that, even though I did get choked up during that Make-A-Wish segment on SportsCenter this past summer. I think he is the most talented, hardest working player in the game today. No, he's not Michael Jordan. If he'd realize that he could realize his true greatness. I think this will be the season that sinks into his head. James is the posterboy of the League. I love "The LeBron's." He has no ceiling, is a freak of nature and is a cross between Magic and Dominique Wilkins. Again, no Jordan comparison. Jordan was a killer. LeBron's too nice. When he develops a killer instinct, similar to what Kobe has, the League will be his. I never thought a team with Shaquille O'Neal would have someone else listed as an MVP candidate. Until last June. Wade dominated that Finals series. He singlehandedly got Shaq and Riles their fourth and fifth rings, respectively. If he puts more emphasis on defense this year and develops a decent long-range shot, it's O-V-E-R. This is tough, but I'm gonna go with...
Winner: Bryant. Question. It's late in the fourth quarter. Your team is down a point and you have the ball coming out of a TO. Who do you want with the ball? Here's another one. It's late in the game. Your team's up one and the opposition has the ball coming out of a break. Who do you want ON the ball? Same guy for both answers, huh?
Before I get to the final ten teams in my preview and my award, division and playoff winners, here's some quick hits, things I'm looking forward to and questions about the upcoming NBA season.
-The Bulls will be perimeter oriented, similar to how Jersey was when they got to the finals, minus K-Mart. I wanna see how far they can get with no post presence. -The slide of the Pacers. Best record in 03-04, 46 wins in 04-05, .500 last season, Yes, I know key guys were injured last year, but this team needs to be blown up because their door closed the night of the brawl. Don't forget, they beat the Pistons by 15 that night, were 7-2 and Artest was averaging something like 24, 8, 6, and 2 steals -How tough and exciting the Pacific division will be this season -Can T-Mac and Yao stay healthy and can Bonzi be content coming off the bench -When will the Isiah suicide watch start? -When will Doc Rivers be fired? -How will Miami's seed in the playoffs be affected with Shaq playing 50-55 games during the regular season? -Will Rasheed stop shooting eight threes a game? -How much zone will the Pistons play since they don't have a help defender anymore? -Can Dallas rebound after losing a 2-0 lead in the finals?-Will D-Wade be satisfied with one ring
-Will we see Kobe from games 1-5 of the Phoenix series, or Kobe from games six and seven?
-If Miami goes back to back, does Shaq call it a career?
-How the shift from Shaq/Kobe will switch to Wade/Kobe
-How quickly Chris Paul will ascend to best point guard in the L status
Ok, we got the lottery teams out of the way, along with a few teams who have shots to make the playoffs, but won't for whatever reason.
Next, we delve into a group of teams that should play past mid-April unless their star suffers a career-ending injury or shoots up a strip club or gets a knee broken from owing his online poker lone shark.
15. Denver Nuggets: The Mile High crew won the Northwest division last season with 44 wins. I see a similar amount being enough to take that divison this year, too. But I don't see the Nuggets taking home back-to-back division titles. Carmelo Anthony will continue to blossom, and finally earn his first All-Star appearance come February. His performances in the World Championships showed me that he's ready to take The Leap and be mentioned in the same breath as Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade. Yes, i see a playoff berth for Denver, but what have they done to get past the first round? Kiki Vandewedge traded for high-schooler J.R. Smith, who couldn't get burn on a young New Orleans team. Now he's being asked to put out effort on a playoff squad. Kenyon Martin-12.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg in 56 games-is a malcontent and is injury prone. So is Marcus Camby-one of the better shot-blockers in the game. Camby has averaged 50 games over the last five seasons. They have toughness up front with Reggie Evans and Eduardo Najera, but not much else. I still don't know what the big deal is about Nene.
14. Indiana Pacers: Three seasons ago, the Pacers had the best record in the league-61-21-and were the only team that won 60-plus games. Two seasons ago, they started out 7-2 and Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal looked like the best combo in the League. Then "The Palace Brawl" happened. Indy went 35-36 the rest of the way and finished at .500 last season, putting them sixth in the East both times. Yes, I know Jermaine O'Neal missed 31 games due to injury last year. Yes, I know they brought in Al Harrington to presumably "revitalize" the franchise. But I also know Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird brought in 10 new players, none of whom piqued my interest. The door's closed for the Pacers title chances. It's sad that the ugliest event in basketball history locked it.
13. Utah Jazz: Jerry Sloan will retire before his squad misses the postseason for a fourth straight year. Utah is my pick to take the Northwest division and lock up the three seed out west. Not because they have eye-popping talent, but because I think they're the best of a bad bunch. The Jazz do have talent, though, and have gotten younger since Stockton to Malone left. Andrei Kirilenko is becoming a quadruple-double threat every night. Mehmet Okur is relishing his starting role after his days in Detroit-15.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg in two seasons with the Jazz. Newly acquired Derek Fisher won't start-second-year guard Deron Williams has the point spot on lock in Salt Lake City-but he'll provide stability and a championship pedigree to a relatively youthful group. Veteran Matt Harpring--13 ppg, 5.9 rpg over his eight-year career-provides scoring puch and toughness off the bench. Look for rookie Ronnie Brewer (Arkansas) to crack the starting lineup by the New Year.
12. Los Angeles Lakers: Hate their point guard situation. There, that's out of the way. But I know how Phil Jackson drools over big guards, so I guess I've have to live with a guy named Smush starting in the League. Jackson is putting his stamp on this group in the second year of his second stint in La La land. They have a number of guys who can play multiple positions (Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, Maurice Evans, Vladimir Radmanovic and Brian Cook). The 6'10" Radmanovic gives L.A. the ability to stretch the floor with his range-41 percent from three in 05-06. Kwame Brown was serviceable in the playoffs last year (12.9 ppg, 6.6 boards in seven games against Phoenix). If this young group limits mistakes and keeps its head in games, L.A. could make some noise next spring. I know they lost in the first round, but I honestly think they can build on having a 3-1 lead on one of the best team's in the league. Oh, and they have that Kobe guy, too. Hopefully he's not rusty after the long layoff due to knee surgery. From what happened for most of the Phoenix series last May, I see Kobe becoming more of a team player and leader. No he won't average 35.4 again, but that will mean he doesn't have to. That could translate into increased confidence in teammates, an increased number of wins, an increase in playoff TV appearances and an MVP award.
11. Washington Wizards: Losing Jared Jeffries won't hurt as much if Washington has a healthy Jarvis Hayes (21 games in 05-06). Hayes can provide scoring off the bench from both wing positions, which could take some pressure off Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas. I've been perplexed by Brendan Haywood since his days on Chapel Hill. The guy's huge. A "space eater" if you will. But he averages 7 points and 5 boards a night for his career. I think he's missing a set, if you know what I mean. If healthy, Darius Songalia could be a nice pick up, since I have no faith in Antawn Jamison starting at power forward. Gilbert Arenas is a beast. I shouldn't have to say anything else about him. The biggest question is can Eddie Jordan get this bunch to play on both ends of the floor. Washington gave up nearly 100 points a game last season. Not good. They're not Phoenix. I don't think the Wizards can outscore teams like that. Play some zone. Have Calvin Booth be your "goon." Do somethin.'
My name is Jason Carmel Davis, and I am a graduate of the Michigan State University School of Journalism. Yes, we do go to class in East Lansing, not just to bars and the liquor store.
I'm almost positive I had an SI with me in the womb, checking out Ralph Wiley. He's the main reason I ever decided to pursue a career in sportswriting .
I even remember the first highlight I ever saw on SportsCenter. I don't remember who was reading it, but it was Michael Jordan's 63-point game against the Celtics in the Garden in the 86 Playoffs. I've been hooked ever since.
