Cavaliers - Celtics & Kobe's MVP

Cavaliers – Celtics Game #1
LJ just had a bad game. It’s as simple as that. He got enough help from Z and Wally, but when your best player goes 2-for-18 and turns it over 10x, you won’t win –especially on the road against a very good team.

Part of the problem dates back to what we observed well over a year ago – James needed to spend the bulk of the off-season working on his post-up game for contests such as these. He obviously didn’t and it cost them in game #1 against the Celtics.

When your perimeter shot isn’t falling, why not go down on the block and give the defense a different look?

Mike Brown hasn’t posted James up all season long. Yesterday, would have been the perfect time to tell 23 to get his $#@ down low and force the Celtics to double down.

Obviously, James isn’t comfortable in the block. That’s too bad. As we said in the past – he should be the best post-up player in the game. He’s too big and strong at 6-8/250 for players his size or smaller and too quick and athletic for legitimate post players to cover him down there.

When you go 2-for-18, you need to try something different. He didn’t and the coaching staff (all six of them by my count) didn’t make any adjustments.

Last Possession
On the Celtics last possession, when Kevin Garnett took Joe Smith to the hole, the Cavaliers were caught without the right defenders on the floor. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. They were playing offense-defense down the stretch with personnel and got caught with Joe Smith covering Garnett while Ben Wallace was on the bench. Had a timeout been called before that possession, Brown would have made the switch and gotten his best defensive team on the floor. Give the Celtics credit for working the right match-up and Garnett kudos for converting in the clutch.


Screen & Role
Whether it was by accident or called from the bench, we were happy to see the Cavaliers run two screen & roles with LJ & Gibson down the stretch. That combination is a much tougher cover for a defense than running it with LJ either Wallace or Andy – as we have said many times in the past.

Glass Half Full & Empty
Some will look at game #1 and claim the Cavaliers are in good shape since their best player had a horrible game and yet they were within one three-pointer of winning in Boston. Others will note two of the Celtics’ three best players never showed up (Paul Pierce & Ray Allen) and that isn’t likely to happen again.

In reality, this was a physical, defensive oriented Eastern Conference game with one team’s best player (Garnett) making two huge buckets down the stretch to win in. His 16 footer from the wing with the Cavaliers up two with about a minute to play was arguably as important as his game-winner.

Congratulations to Garnett for coming up big in game #1.

Sam I AM
I am a big fan of veteran players - especialy in big games. Sam Cassell made a pair of huge threes in the fourth quarter for Boston. That's why he was brought in - to make plays in the clutch come playoff time. Wally Z and company were brought in by Danny Ferry for the same reason. We shall see if they deliver.

Different Look
A piece of advice for coach Brown and his staff. If he (23) is incapable of posting up, once in a while, please have James coming off screen and finishing plays instead of initiating them all the time. Charles Barkley and other objective observers have harped on this time and time again.

The bottom line is this – give the opposition different looks, making it as difficult as possible to defend your best player – especially when plan A isn’t working (i.e, 2-for-18).

Kobe Gets MVP
What a difference a few months make. Kobe Bryant, team sports most selfish player, whined all off-season he wanted out of LA. This isn’t the first time he showed his selfish side – see Kobe/Shak Era.

Most in the media hammered Bryant back in October. Now the same media are applauding and gushing over Kobe for winning his first MVP award. Not me – I have a long memory.

Kobe earned the MVP award mainly because the Lakers’ organization added real talent this past season – including the mid-season Memphis gift P. Gasol.

Yes, Bryant played well – no one has ever questioned his talent level. But he also played on a team with one of the toughest front court covers in the league – Lamar Odom – who is a walking triple double when he feels like playing, Gasol and his 18/10every night and high basketball IQ, and one of the league's deepest benches.

Kobe, contrary to current media spin, has not suddenly turned into a “terrific team player” as some have asserted. Nothing has changed in Kobe’s approach. What has changed is the talent level around him.

Now, you can say Kobe going public with his constant “trade me” threats the past two years forced the organization to make moves to improve the roster dramatically to keep him happy and in LA. We will not argue that point.

But let’s not try to rewrite history. It’s time for a real world timeline now.

Bryant helped facilitate Shak’s departure from LA when the pair had three championship rings and looking for more. That's a first and an extremely selfish act.

His coach, Phil Jackson, then proceeded to rip Bryant in his book basically reinforcing the image that Bryant was extremely difficult to coach.

This was followed by Kobe spending the better part of the past two years ripping the organization for not surrounding him with enough talent.

Now we are expected to believe Kobe is really a team player who “loves” his teammates. Right.

We congratulate Bryant for winning his first MVP award, but we also want it on record as to how he got there.