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.
Stats can be very misleading sometimes, so I'm just gonna hit you with some quicks thoughts from what I saw, not what I read in a box score, from the first big night of the 2006-07 NBA season
-Chris Paul wil be the best point guard in the League by season's end
-Dwight Howard is a younger, meaner David Robinson
-I hope Kobe's paying attention to what "the others" are doing
-It was good to see Grant Hill actually look healthy against the Bulls
-Sam Cassell looks comfortable coming off the bench for the first time in almost a decade
WOW! That's all I can say after those two games last night.
The Bulls beat the Heat, 108-66, in the worst loss every for a defending champion. Almost made the ring ceremony a moot point, huh?
I had no idea Chicago would come out like that. Hinrich showed how much playing with the best in the League at the World Championships improved his game. He won't shoot like that all season, but his 26-point performance gets him off to a nice start. The Bulls ran and played with energy for a full 48 and made Miami look, well, old. Dwyane Wade, the youngest guy in the Heat rotation, was the only Miami player who looked like he wanted to be out there. Shaq looked awful in his 24 minutes of action. You'd think that, after an entire summer off, he would have come out with some zeal. Gary Payton looked slow and was killed repeated by Hinrich and Chris Duhon-20 points off the bench, inclduing 3-3 from three-point land. Ben Wallace looked solid in his Bulls' debut, pulling down 11 boards and converting his only free throw attempt. Yes, it's only the first game and Miami is supposedly built for the playoffs, but if they can't put in a good effort against a team like Chicago, visions of back-to-back titles will fade quickly.
How about them Lakers!!!
It was announced shortly before tip that Kobe was going to sit out the game and he may miss the first week of action, too. L.A. subsequently came out and gave up 41 to Phoenix in the first quarter. The Lakers gave up just 65 the rest of the way, on their way to a 114-106 win, and got a superb showing from Lamar Odom-34, 13, 6, 3 steals-and a career game from second-year man Andrew Bynum-18, 9. Maurice Evans and Luke Walton chipped in with 17 and 11 points, respectively, in what could prove to be the best win for the Lakers all season. Phoenix didn't look bad, although Amare Stoudemire didn't do much in his 12 minutes of action. Two-time MVP Steve Nash had 15 and 13 dimes and Leandro Barbosa torched L.A. for 30 off the pine. I say this was an important win for the Lakers because performances like that of Odom and Bynum could have finally shown Kobe that he can trust in his teammates to get the job done and help him out. If he's not too stuborn and pig-headed to see that, the Lake Show could see a lot of air time come the second season.
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?
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.
