Rubik's Cube or Bad Analogy Time...

well, obviously last night was just about as good a game as the cavs had had all year, really. LBJ was at his multi-talented best and at least for one game, should shut up the doubters who do not think he should be the primary ballhandler (to that point, wade is the primary ballhandler for the heat yet i rarely read in the national press any criticism of him for that. certainly not anywhere near the same amount as LBJ gets. of course, wade cannot lead his team to an above .500 record either and seemingly suffers nary a bit for it in the eyes of the nba media. curious, no?) for the team.

in fact, last night was manna from heaven for those of us who have dreamed of a team with 3 guys like LBJ, sasha and hughes all playing interchangeable roles and displaying their many skills all at the same time. it was truly wonderful to see. last night showed the potential of the versatility of this roster.

so, to my "rubik's cube" analogy. the point is that i believe that gibson and sasha have allowed the cavs to "figure out" the puzzle that has been their rotation for all of this year and even goin' back to last year. the effect is really quite amazing. the fact that gibson can shoot and help push the tempo has changed everything, really. and does anyone, even the most staunchest of snow defenders, not agree that he is playing his best basketball of the season OFF THE BENCH? he gives that second unit a bit of stablilty and then sasha gives you "LBJ lite" off the bench as well! it so that now instead of hoping that we maintain a lead when the startes go out, we are actually extending that lead.

as for those defensive-minded fans amongst us, well you must be giddy as you watched hughes, sasha and LBJ ALL guard wade at some point during last night's game and all do a pretty damn good job. esp. sasha and LBJ.

last night could be the turning point we've been waiting for. the effect of sasha and gibson has been like that of a trade. it really has. and the best part to me is that LBJ is 22, gibson is 20, sahsa is 23, andy is 24, drew is what? 25? shannon brown is 22...even hughes is still in his 20's! this team can really be special esp. as the pistons and heat will implode next year. the cavs can be the dominant eastern conference team in the next year and half if last night is anything to go by. for once, it seems like the cavs have figured out what the future of basketball is and it is having versatile, multi-talented players on the floor at the same time doing multiple things.

oh, i am also for benching Z for andy. after seeing how the benching of snow has lit a fire under him, i think Z is the next candidate for this "treatment." his play last night was just short of embarrassing. he did absolutely nothing on offense and his D was almost as bad. his only saving grace is that he did rebound the ball reasonably well. my friend remarked again how Z seems to play with no passion at all. i concur and even wonder if benching him would have any effect on him! but i shouldn't complain too much after that game last night. so, bring on kobe and phil...

LBJ's "lack" of improvement

henry over at truehoop hi-lighted this espn insider post by david thorpe about LBJ's "lack" of improvement this year over last. now, the article does do a nice job on giving some perspective on the season LBJ is having this year. thorpe points out how truly great LBJ's season was last historically ( let me just say that it should be evident to all that LBJ should've won the MVP last year over nash. nash is clearly the MVP this year but probably won't get it due to the writers not wanting to give him 3 in a row. but it is the writers who didn't give it to LBJ last year because, i think, they thought that LBJ would win it plenty of times in the future. which is pure garbage. he deserved it and shoulda got it) and how he's still having a great year this year and then spends the rest of the article "scouting" LBJ's game.

the interesting thing to me as a cavs fan is this little tidbit:

First, James appears unwilling to take (and sometimes unable to make) the midrange shots that are available to him.
Second, he's forcing the drive. He often seems locked in on getting to the rim, going up against three or four defenders in traffic. He is rushing his right hand drives and going right into the web that his opponents have spun for him, with no angle to the basket and several tall players to contest his shots.
In watching him closely, I'm amazed at the number of off-balance runners he has tossed up to the rim, mostly hoping for foul calls, which rarely come from this type of shot.
Of course, when he is able to get by the defense and get his shoulders to the rim, he is an incredibly explosive finisher, and he is known for his ability to score on "and ones." But scoring consistently against three or more defenders is too much to ask, even for James.

now this analysis, from an outside observer, flies right in the face of the complaints of fans and cleveland media types, most esp., it must be said, mr. "i hate the jump shot" windhorst. we hear time and again both in our newspapers and in blog posts and comments how LBJ mustn't "settle" for jumpshots and that he must "always" look to drive to the hole. well, here's an "expert" saying that is not the secret to success for LBJ!

LBJ faces that same conundrum MJ did early in his career. he has to learn how to consistently make a jump shot. simple and oh, so true, despite the naysayers. jumpshots will win you games. what is jordan's most remembered clutch moment? a dunk? nope, a jump shot to beat utah for his 6th championship...

the other problem for LBJ, not mentioned in this article, is that james' teamates have not learned yet, save for maybe varejo, how to dive to the hoop when LBJ commands the triple team in the lane that he so often does. then his great vision could lead to easy lay-ups off the dish, IMHO...

Welcome

ok, so i've had the idea about doin' a blog for a while now and so, here it is! this is an obvious outgrowth of my commenting on both brian windhorst's blog and truehoop. a lot of people there said they enjoyed my comments (and others didn't!), so that, coupled with a dearth of good cavs blogs, IMHO, has lead me to this. i hope this will turn into a lively area for intelligent debate about the cavs. i also hope that we don't get a lot of people who either say "the cavs can do no wrong" or it's more insidious brother (particular to cleveland sports fans) "the cavs suck no matter what!"

i look forward to having a lot of comments to my posts and i will actively engage in the comments section as well.

so, let's talk cavs basketball, eh?