James, Cavaliers Short Of Final (NBA) Frontier
Harold Wilson covers sports for the Tyler Paper.
Shoot or pass.
Win now, or let more time pass.
On their quest in trying to become the Eastern Conference's premier team, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves under the pressure-cooker.
James and the Cavaliers came up on the short end twice in the first two games to fall behind 2-0 to the more-seasoned Detroit Pistons.
At the center of the blame: the one called King James himself after he failed to convert in the clutch of a pair of 79-76 losses.
In Game 1, with Cleveland behind 78-76, a driving James - instead of going for the tying shot - dished off to Donyell Marshall, who missed the go-ahead 3-point attempt from the right corner in the waning seconds.
In Game 2, with Detroit ahead, 77-76, James drove to the lane and pulled up - only to miss, watch two other teammates fail on putback attempts then complain about the no-call on his shot in which Tayshaun Prince draped him.
So who bears the brunt of the blame - James or his teammates?
Instead of passing, like James did in Game 1, I prefer to shoot, better yet point, the finger at both.
Until James learns to impose his will on defenses on a regular basis, via scoring, Cleveland will continue struggling to close out great teams. Contrary to popular opinion, scorers factor into the game more than anything else - after all, the team with the most points win.
Great passers depend on others to put the ball in the hole. Great scorers take over games, get to the free throw line and create open shots for everyone else.
What separates the Detroit's and San Antonio's from Cleveland boils down to finishers, not their ability to stop teams - San Antonio led the NBA during the regular season in scoring defense (90.0) while Detroit and Cleveland are tied for first in the playoffs allowing just 85.7.
The top two playoff scorers for Detroit and San Antonio and two of the last three NBA Finals MVPs - Chauncey Billups and Tim Duncan - both raised their games to the next level starting in the playoffs. Billups added two whole points to his regular season scoring average, pacing the Pistons in the playoffs at 19.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Duncan averaged 20.0 points per game in the regular season, a number since bumped to 24.2 in the postseason.
In James' case, the reverse occurred, with the Cleveland star going from posting 27.3 points and 6.0 assists per game in the regular season to averages of 24.0 points and 8.1 assists per game in the playoffs.
For Cleveland to truly soar, James needs to score more....and get more help as well.
As great as Michael Jordan's one-man show excited fans in his first six seasons, when he averaged well over 30 points per game, he never won a title until the emergence of Scottie Pippen as a bona-fide, all-star level sidekick, and the arrival of great spot up shooters like John Paxson, Craig Hodges and Steve Kerr.
James' backcourt mate, Larry Hughes, who has put up Pippen-like numbers in the past, has yet to be that great tag-team partner on the regular - scoring just 17 points and shooting 27 percent from the field in the first two games. And the other Cavaliers haven't proven to be Paxson or Kerr-like in the clutch.
Not only did Marshall miss the potential game-winner in Game 1, in Game 2 Hughes followed James' miss with an even easier misfire from point-blank range off an offensive rebound.
So for now, James must wait, like recent NBA history suggests you must do you when you go straight to being the man on a team ala Jordan to the Bulls.
Duncan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant captured titles quicker - all before turning 24 - thanks to having dominant big men already in place like David Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal.
The 22-year old James hopes to do the same, although time is running out - but not just on him. With the exception of Prince, Detroit's starting five is all over 30. The other premier team in the East, Miami, could be in Cleveland's situation soon with Dwayne Wade being the lone superstar left as 35-year old O'Neal continues to gain miles on his Diesel.
So perhaps 2007 won't be the year of the cavalier. But more than likely - after a little more seasoning and the passing of another season or so - that year is near.
Win now, or let more time pass.
On their quest in trying to become the Eastern Conference's premier team, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves under the pressure-cooker.
James and the Cavaliers came up on the short end twice in the first two games to fall behind 2-0 to the more-seasoned Detroit Pistons.
At the center of the blame: the one called King James himself after he failed to convert in the clutch of a pair of 79-76 losses.
In Game 1, with Cleveland behind 78-76, a driving James - instead of going for the tying shot - dished off to Donyell Marshall, who missed the go-ahead 3-point attempt from the right corner in the waning seconds.
In Game 2, with Detroit ahead, 77-76, James drove to the lane and pulled up - only to miss, watch two other teammates fail on putback attempts then complain about the no-call on his shot in which Tayshaun Prince draped him.
So who bears the brunt of the blame - James or his teammates?
Instead of passing, like James did in Game 1, I prefer to shoot, better yet point, the finger at both.
Until James learns to impose his will on defenses on a regular basis, via scoring, Cleveland will continue struggling to close out great teams. Contrary to popular opinion, scorers factor into the game more than anything else - after all, the team with the most points win.
Great passers depend on others to put the ball in the hole. Great scorers take over games, get to the free throw line and create open shots for everyone else.
What separates the Detroit's and San Antonio's from Cleveland boils down to finishers, not their ability to stop teams - San Antonio led the NBA during the regular season in scoring defense (90.0) while Detroit and Cleveland are tied for first in the playoffs allowing just 85.7.
The top two playoff scorers for Detroit and San Antonio and two of the last three NBA Finals MVPs - Chauncey Billups and Tim Duncan - both raised their games to the next level starting in the playoffs. Billups added two whole points to his regular season scoring average, pacing the Pistons in the playoffs at 19.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Duncan averaged 20.0 points per game in the regular season, a number since bumped to 24.2 in the postseason.
In James' case, the reverse occurred, with the Cleveland star going from posting 27.3 points and 6.0 assists per game in the regular season to averages of 24.0 points and 8.1 assists per game in the playoffs.
For Cleveland to truly soar, James needs to score more....and get more help as well.
As great as Michael Jordan's one-man show excited fans in his first six seasons, when he averaged well over 30 points per game, he never won a title until the emergence of Scottie Pippen as a bona-fide, all-star level sidekick, and the arrival of great spot up shooters like John Paxson, Craig Hodges and Steve Kerr.
James' backcourt mate, Larry Hughes, who has put up Pippen-like numbers in the past, has yet to be that great tag-team partner on the regular - scoring just 17 points and shooting 27 percent from the field in the first two games. And the other Cavaliers haven't proven to be Paxson or Kerr-like in the clutch.
Not only did Marshall miss the potential game-winner in Game 1, in Game 2 Hughes followed James' miss with an even easier misfire from point-blank range off an offensive rebound.
So for now, James must wait, like recent NBA history suggests you must do you when you go straight to being the man on a team ala Jordan to the Bulls.
Duncan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant captured titles quicker - all before turning 24 - thanks to having dominant big men already in place like David Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal.
The 22-year old James hopes to do the same, although time is running out - but not just on him. With the exception of Prince, Detroit's starting five is all over 30. The other premier team in the East, Miami, could be in Cleveland's situation soon with Dwayne Wade being the lone superstar left as 35-year old O'Neal continues to gain miles on his Diesel.
So perhaps 2007 won't be the year of the cavalier. But more than likely - after a little more seasoning and the passing of another season or so - that year is near.
Harold Wilson covers sports. He can be reached at 903.596.6293. e-mail: sports@tylerpaper.com
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