Cleveland is the team to beat in the East
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:09 am
Hear me out...
I think that Detroit and Boston are both regular season teams. They both will have better records, primarily because they have better overall talent and Cleveland's offensive coaching is not good enough to give them easy wins. However I have noticed that Cleveland plays very good playoff basketball. Just look at what they have been able to do the last 2 years, especially against the Detroit Pistons. I think that is because in a 7 game series, Cleveland is able to get down and play gritty defense and rebound very well. Don't tell me that Detroit lost focus because that stuff doesn't go down in a best of 7 series, especially 2 years in a row.
Now looking at this year, I think Cleveland has a much better supporting cast. Matter of fact, this is easily the best supporting cast that LeBron has had. Cleveland now has FOUR honest 3-point shooters to put around LeBron. West and Wally will really help Cleveland's offense. West gives Cleveland a combo-guard that can actually hit an open jumper, and that is something that Larry Hughes could not do. Wally is a guy that can come off the bench and average 14ppg and provide some dead-eye 3-point shooting. Those are 2 things that this team SORELY lacked before the deal.
Cleveland also got a much needed 4th big man in Joe Smith. Smith is having a pretty good season and his game is similar to Drew Gooden except Smith is more consistent. With the injury to Varejao, Cleveland was using Dwayne Jones (who?) during regular minutes. Ben Wallace is Ben Wallace. You have no idea what you will get from him. I do think he will be more motivated, which means better defensive energy and better rebounding output. Even if he boosts his numbers by 2 points and 3 rebounds per game, that still would put him at 7 and 12 per game. Cleveland doesn't need him to score, and with their depth they don't need him to play a bunch of minutes. Cleveland doesn't even need Ben Wallace to rebound 15-20 times per game. What they need him to do is play good defense and give Cleveland that shot-blocking threat that they never have had.
Now I haven't even mentioned James. I think LeBron is just playing amazing basketball. This is as good of an individual effort as I have ever seen during the course of a year. You are talking about a guy who averages 31-9-8. That is damn near a triple-double while still putting up 31 a game. Check the history books...how many players have had numbers like that? What is even more impressive is how he has started to take games over in the 4th quarter. He is cold-blooded in the final quarter. In a best of 7 series, a player like James can take it upon him self to win a few games.
The bottom line is that Cleveland will be really tough to beat in a best of 7 series. They can rebound very well and with Ben Wallace they will be tough on defense. Now they have outside shooters to compliment LeBron James. I also don't think anyone in the East has a single defender like Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest to contain LeBron. That will be a HUGE problem for Boston. Paul Pierce is an ok defender but he can't come close to checking LeBron. Prince for Detroit can do a better job, but after last year I think it is clear that LeBron can abuse him on a nightly basis.
I think that Detroit and Boston are both regular season teams. They both will have better records, primarily because they have better overall talent and Cleveland's offensive coaching is not good enough to give them easy wins. However I have noticed that Cleveland plays very good playoff basketball. Just look at what they have been able to do the last 2 years, especially against the Detroit Pistons. I think that is because in a 7 game series, Cleveland is able to get down and play gritty defense and rebound very well. Don't tell me that Detroit lost focus because that stuff doesn't go down in a best of 7 series, especially 2 years in a row.
Now looking at this year, I think Cleveland has a much better supporting cast. Matter of fact, this is easily the best supporting cast that LeBron has had. Cleveland now has FOUR honest 3-point shooters to put around LeBron. West and Wally will really help Cleveland's offense. West gives Cleveland a combo-guard that can actually hit an open jumper, and that is something that Larry Hughes could not do. Wally is a guy that can come off the bench and average 14ppg and provide some dead-eye 3-point shooting. Those are 2 things that this team SORELY lacked before the deal.
Cleveland also got a much needed 4th big man in Joe Smith. Smith is having a pretty good season and his game is similar to Drew Gooden except Smith is more consistent. With the injury to Varejao, Cleveland was using Dwayne Jones (who?) during regular minutes. Ben Wallace is Ben Wallace. You have no idea what you will get from him. I do think he will be more motivated, which means better defensive energy and better rebounding output. Even if he boosts his numbers by 2 points and 3 rebounds per game, that still would put him at 7 and 12 per game. Cleveland doesn't need him to score, and with their depth they don't need him to play a bunch of minutes. Cleveland doesn't even need Ben Wallace to rebound 15-20 times per game. What they need him to do is play good defense and give Cleveland that shot-blocking threat that they never have had.
Now I haven't even mentioned James. I think LeBron is just playing amazing basketball. This is as good of an individual effort as I have ever seen during the course of a year. You are talking about a guy who averages 31-9-8. That is damn near a triple-double while still putting up 31 a game. Check the history books...how many players have had numbers like that? What is even more impressive is how he has started to take games over in the 4th quarter. He is cold-blooded in the final quarter. In a best of 7 series, a player like James can take it upon him self to win a few games.
The bottom line is that Cleveland will be really tough to beat in a best of 7 series. They can rebound very well and with Ben Wallace they will be tough on defense. Now they have outside shooters to compliment LeBron James. I also don't think anyone in the East has a single defender like Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest to contain LeBron. That will be a HUGE problem for Boston. Paul Pierce is an ok defender but he can't come close to checking LeBron. Prince for Detroit can do a better job, but after last year I think it is clear that LeBron can abuse him on a nightly basis.
