The Sports Page 7.18.2010: On "The Decision" Part II
The Facebook Migration Series, Volume XV
Originally written July 18, 2010
5. LEBRON AND WADE WILL BE ABLE TO CO-EXIST IF THE LEBRON THE HEAT IS GETTING IS NOT THE CLEVELAND VERSION OF LEBRON. Let's face it. The way Mike Brown ran Cleveland's offense was beyond atrocious. It was like watching a chair trying to make love to a wall. The basis of their offense, especially in the clutch, was nothing more than LeBron at the top of the key either jacking up a 20-footer, driving for a finish, or driving to set up a teammate. No creativity once so ever.
In Cleveland, LeBron was the offense. Whenever someone is great, we are so eager to name that guy the next Michael. LeBron is such a contrasting player to Jordan. From the beginning, I always though of LeBron as a more athletic, better scoring version of Magic Johnson, but not as good a passer obviously. I never though he was the Jordan, Kobe, Wade, Melo, Durant assassin type offense of player. He is more of a floor general than a pure scorer like the aforementioned.
LeBron does not even come close to being as offensively skilled (emphasis on SKILLED) as Jordan, Kobe, or even Melo or Durant. However, his size, length, strength, speed, agility, and leaping ability makes him literally unguardable. He can just about always get any shot he wants when he wants. With not much help in Cleveland, he had to leave his natural Magic-like role and become more of a scorer than facilitator.
With all sorts of help, with Wade, Bosh, Miller alone, he will not have to score 40 a night to beat elite teams in the playoffs. I was nervous at first because the Cleveland LeBron and Wade is the same kind of player. They were slashing-type scorers that killed mostly with their ridiculous athleticism. I think Cleveland LeBron and Wade would have trouble because it would be like Allen Iverson and Kobe being teammates. However, I think Cleveland LeBron was left in Cleveland, and we will see more of the LeBron we saw at the Olympics.
6. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHEN EXACTLY CHRISTOPHER BOSH BECAME TIM DUNCAN OR SOMETHING? I like Bosh as a supporting cast member, but Bosh is not a huge impact in determining wins. All big men need at least good guards to thrive in this NBA, and he will have them. However, how good is he when he isn't scoring? Big men more than guards need to make a serious impact on the game when they are not scoring by rebounding, defending the paint and rim, being good passers for outlets, and getting offensive rebounds. Is Bosh good at all those things, because they won't need his scoring as much as Toronto needed? He will definitely need some serious help in the front court to contend with the gargantuan front lines of Boston (Baby Davis, Garnett, Perkins, Jermaine O'neal), Los Angeles (Odom, Bynum, Gasol), Dallas (Dirk, Haywood), or Orlando (Howard, Gortat, not Lewis though). Ilgauskas is washed up to me, so we are going to see what happens. But Bosh is a nice player, but not a force such as a Shaq, Duncan, or maybe even a Gasol (who is underrated).
7. WITH LEBRON LEAVING THEM, CLEVELAND SHOULD BE CRUSHED, AND THEY SHOULD ACT HOW THEY WANT TO ACT TOWARDS LEBRON THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE HARASSMENT OR VIOLENCE. People will say that Cleveland should be thankful for the seven years LeBron gave them and forget that he left them. That's so hard for even me to understand, however. Cleveland is referred to as being part of the notorious Rust Belt. Though I have not been to Cleveland, many, including my boy Joakim Noah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN0WqSeCKW8), do not have much good to say about the city. Given a spot in the Rust Belt, they also had to deal with sports misery. They haven't had a title since the '64 Browns won the NFL Championship. To add insult to injury, their '64 title came a couple years before the NFL and AFL merged to form the then AFL-NFL World Championship, which would become later known as the Super Bowl. So their '64 title is not viewed as being as prestigious as a Super Bowl title. Also, who the hell was around for that? Not many of Cleveland's current fans were around for that.
They could have been on their way to a Super Bowl in the 80s before The Fumble, which was followed by [John Elway's] The Drive. The Cleveland Indians should have beaten the Florida Marlins in the World Series, but Jose Mesa, who was outstanding the whole year, blew the save in the bottom of the 9th in game seven. We all know the image of Jordan's buzzer-beater over Craig Ehlo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5WUOnTxwPw). I mean Cleveland played outstanding defense on him too. Poor bastards.
When we hear people or cities self-loath, it is usually unwarranted. However, in Cleveland's case, they have the right to be bitter, angry, and riled up over not only LeBron leaving, but how he left, which leads to the next point.
8. WHILE UNDERSTANDABLE, CAVS OWNER DAN GILBERT NEEDED TO REMEMBER THAT HE WAS NOT A FAN AN NOT SAY THOSE THINGS ABOUT LEBRON PUBLICLY. Hey, Gilbert said what he said because that is what he thought at the time. Nothing wrong with that...if you are some fan in on a message board or something. As an owner, you have to remember that you will want to have a great team. For a great team, you need players more than anything. Dumping on your star player will scare away agents and subsequently players from ever joining the Cavs.
If this was handled better by LeBron's camp, Gilbert probably does not come out the way he does. He came out like that for two reasons. First, he felt like he was jilted by LeBron. If this was handed in a better way, Gilbert does not come out like that and respectfully and begrudgingly moves on and probably gives a polite statement.
This leads to the second point, which is that Gilbert felt double jilted by the "goings on" with LeBron in Cleveland. While I do not have access, I hear rumblings from people within that are hearing numerous stories about LeBron and what has been done and covered up for him. And this is not for just LeBron, it is his crew also. I know there is one story about how owners in the league actually swap seat for when their team goes on the road and they have have a place to sit courtside. Story has it that Gilbert would give up his seats to LeBron's people to accommodate them. Also, something happened. I don't know what, but something happened in the Cleveland clubhouse that cause a sudden rift during the Conference Semis against Boston. Nobody will report it probably because it cannot be confirmed or something, but there are so many things that goes on behind closed doors that the public does not know about.
9. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE LANDSCAPE OF THE NBA? Will suddenly all the NBA stars just gather up and form new Superteams? I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but what if!? Could you imagine Melo calling Paul and Durant and saying, hey, lets all go to the Lakers when Kobe retires. Or Howard calling Dirk and Deron Williams to join him in Orlando? Good lord. I'm getting weirded out by thinking about it.
While this new Superteam will generate huge interest, a consolidation of stars to fewer teams will kill markets around the league. Just think about Cleveland's viability with LeBron. It is not like Cleveland as an organization was a cash cow. They were not making money with LeBron, and now they don't have the only marketable figure they had. This could happen to more teams around the league, and could lead to a contraction of teams, which has not been seen since the mid 20th century in any sport. I don't think it will happen because one player has made me optimistic or hopeful (and I did one day say that hope is the final refuge of the helpless).
10. THERE IS ONE PLAYER THAT I REALLY DIDN'T CARE FOR TOO MUCH, BUT I FIND MYSELF FINDING HIM FAR MORE LIKABLE. In the days leading up to The Decision, there was a subtle blurp on Twitter.
"Exstension for 5 more years wit the #thunder … God is Great, me and my family came a long way … I love yall man forreal, this is a blessing!" is what Kevin Durant said on Twitter, announcing his resigning with the Thunder.
Apparently, my boy isn't big on spelling, but that's alright. At least I know it is most likely him updating his Twitter rather than a publicist or something. He wanted no part in the fanfare and just inked his deal quietly.
With women, I am literally turned off by those "fly" women. You know, the ones that got all this stuff going on. The accessories, the make up, the bags, the shoes, the dress or whatever weird pieces of clothing she is sporting, and the ugly, bulky shades. They do (almost) nothing for me because all that interferes with my vision into her soul. I always fall for the woman that does not try to be noticed, but yet stands out like Suge Knight at a Berry Manilow concert. Durant in all this has gained my personal respect because he is a guy that is purely concerned about being a basketball player and a star second. I know most people will flock to LeBron (fly girl) over Durant (noticeable), but Durant just made a new fan.
Originally written July 18, 2010
In Cleveland, LeBron was the offense. Whenever someone is great, we are so eager to name that guy the next Michael. LeBron is such a contrasting player to Jordan. From the beginning, I always though of LeBron as a more athletic, better scoring version of Magic Johnson, but not as good a passer obviously. I never though he was the Jordan, Kobe, Wade, Melo, Durant assassin type offense of player. He is more of a floor general than a pure scorer like the aforementioned.
LeBron does not even come close to being as offensively skilled (emphasis on SKILLED) as Jordan, Kobe, or even Melo or Durant. However, his size, length, strength, speed, agility, and leaping ability makes him literally unguardable. He can just about always get any shot he wants when he wants. With not much help in Cleveland, he had to leave his natural Magic-like role and become more of a scorer than facilitator.
With all sorts of help, with Wade, Bosh, Miller alone, he will not have to score 40 a night to beat elite teams in the playoffs. I was nervous at first because the Cleveland LeBron and Wade is the same kind of player. They were slashing-type scorers that killed mostly with their ridiculous athleticism. I think Cleveland LeBron and Wade would have trouble because it would be like Allen Iverson and Kobe being teammates. However, I think Cleveland LeBron was left in Cleveland, and we will see more of the LeBron we saw at the Olympics.
6. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHEN EXACTLY CHRISTOPHER BOSH BECAME TIM DUNCAN OR SOMETHING? I like Bosh as a supporting cast member, but Bosh is not a huge impact in determining wins. All big men need at least good guards to thrive in this NBA, and he will have them. However, how good is he when he isn't scoring? Big men more than guards need to make a serious impact on the game when they are not scoring by rebounding, defending the paint and rim, being good passers for outlets, and getting offensive rebounds. Is Bosh good at all those things, because they won't need his scoring as much as Toronto needed? He will definitely need some serious help in the front court to contend with the gargantuan front lines of Boston (Baby Davis, Garnett, Perkins, Jermaine O'neal), Los Angeles (Odom, Bynum, Gasol), Dallas (Dirk, Haywood), or Orlando (Howard, Gortat, not Lewis though). Ilgauskas is washed up to me, so we are going to see what happens. But Bosh is a nice player, but not a force such as a Shaq, Duncan, or maybe even a Gasol (who is underrated).
7. WITH LEBRON LEAVING THEM, CLEVELAND SHOULD BE CRUSHED, AND THEY SHOULD ACT HOW THEY WANT TO ACT TOWARDS LEBRON THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE HARASSMENT OR VIOLENCE. People will say that Cleveland should be thankful for the seven years LeBron gave them and forget that he left them. That's so hard for even me to understand, however. Cleveland is referred to as being part of the notorious Rust Belt. Though I have not been to Cleveland, many, including my boy Joakim Noah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN0WqSeCKW8), do not have much good to say about the city. Given a spot in the Rust Belt, they also had to deal with sports misery. They haven't had a title since the '64 Browns won the NFL Championship. To add insult to injury, their '64 title came a couple years before the NFL and AFL merged to form the then AFL-NFL World Championship, which would become later known as the Super Bowl. So their '64 title is not viewed as being as prestigious as a Super Bowl title. Also, who the hell was around for that? Not many of Cleveland's current fans were around for that.
They could have been on their way to a Super Bowl in the 80s before The Fumble, which was followed by [John Elway's] The Drive. The Cleveland Indians should have beaten the Florida Marlins in the World Series, but Jose Mesa, who was outstanding the whole year, blew the save in the bottom of the 9th in game seven. We all know the image of Jordan's buzzer-beater over Craig Ehlo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5WUOnTxwPw). I mean Cleveland played outstanding defense on him too. Poor bastards.
When we hear people or cities self-loath, it is usually unwarranted. However, in Cleveland's case, they have the right to be bitter, angry, and riled up over not only LeBron leaving, but how he left, which leads to the next point.
8. WHILE UNDERSTANDABLE, CAVS OWNER DAN GILBERT NEEDED TO REMEMBER THAT HE WAS NOT A FAN AN NOT SAY THOSE THINGS ABOUT LEBRON PUBLICLY. Hey, Gilbert said what he said because that is what he thought at the time. Nothing wrong with that...if you are some fan in on a message board or something. As an owner, you have to remember that you will want to have a great team. For a great team, you need players more than anything. Dumping on your star player will scare away agents and subsequently players from ever joining the Cavs.
If this was handled better by LeBron's camp, Gilbert probably does not come out the way he does. He came out like that for two reasons. First, he felt like he was jilted by LeBron. If this was handed in a better way, Gilbert does not come out like that and respectfully and begrudgingly moves on and probably gives a polite statement.
This leads to the second point, which is that Gilbert felt double jilted by the "goings on" with LeBron in Cleveland. While I do not have access, I hear rumblings from people within that are hearing numerous stories about LeBron and what has been done and covered up for him. And this is not for just LeBron, it is his crew also. I know there is one story about how owners in the league actually swap seat for when their team goes on the road and they have have a place to sit courtside. Story has it that Gilbert would give up his seats to LeBron's people to accommodate them. Also, something happened. I don't know what, but something happened in the Cleveland clubhouse that cause a sudden rift during the Conference Semis against Boston. Nobody will report it probably because it cannot be confirmed or something, but there are so many things that goes on behind closed doors that the public does not know about.
9. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE LANDSCAPE OF THE NBA? Will suddenly all the NBA stars just gather up and form new Superteams? I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but what if!? Could you imagine Melo calling Paul and Durant and saying, hey, lets all go to the Lakers when Kobe retires. Or Howard calling Dirk and Deron Williams to join him in Orlando? Good lord. I'm getting weirded out by thinking about it.
While this new Superteam will generate huge interest, a consolidation of stars to fewer teams will kill markets around the league. Just think about Cleveland's viability with LeBron. It is not like Cleveland as an organization was a cash cow. They were not making money with LeBron, and now they don't have the only marketable figure they had. This could happen to more teams around the league, and could lead to a contraction of teams, which has not been seen since the mid 20th century in any sport. I don't think it will happen because one player has made me optimistic or hopeful (and I did one day say that hope is the final refuge of the helpless).
10. THERE IS ONE PLAYER THAT I REALLY DIDN'T CARE FOR TOO MUCH, BUT I FIND MYSELF FINDING HIM FAR MORE LIKABLE. In the days leading up to The Decision, there was a subtle blurp on Twitter.
"Exstension for 5 more years wit the #thunder … God is Great, me and my family came a long way … I love yall man forreal, this is a blessing!" is what Kevin Durant said on Twitter, announcing his resigning with the Thunder.
Apparently, my boy isn't big on spelling, but that's alright. At least I know it is most likely him updating his Twitter rather than a publicist or something. He wanted no part in the fanfare and just inked his deal quietly.
With women, I am literally turned off by those "fly" women. You know, the ones that got all this stuff going on. The accessories, the make up, the bags, the shoes, the dress or whatever weird pieces of clothing she is sporting, and the ugly, bulky shades. They do (almost) nothing for me because all that interferes with my vision into her soul. I always fall for the woman that does not try to be noticed, but yet stands out like Suge Knight at a Berry Manilow concert. Durant in all this has gained my personal respect because he is a guy that is purely concerned about being a basketball player and a star second. I know most people will flock to LeBron (fly girl) over Durant (noticeable), but Durant just made a new fan.
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