Checked the score because I was going to post something, this, on the "Cavaliers"...My mind is fucking blown away...
Stephen Curry had this to say anticipating his return to Cleveland:
"Obviously, walking in the locker room, it'll be good memories. Hopefully, it still smells a little bit like champagne."
Has 21 points at the half, the smarmy little MVP does.
Stephen Curry had this to say anticipating his return to Cleveland:
"Obviously, walking in the locker room, it'll be good memories. Hopefully, it still smells a little bit like champagne."
Which unnamed Cleveland players took exception to. Which is understandable. Smarmy thing for the smarmy little shit to say.
Has 21 points at the half, the smarmy little MVP does.
LeBron James said something like it's stupid to be talking about June in January. He also said to reporters after his press conference today or yesterday that he was surprised one of them hadn't asked him about Curry's comment because he had an answer for it. Evidently that answer was not his play tonight.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The original sin of basketball, according to the most successful active coach in the NBA, San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, is when the ball "sticks."
It is the victory of the individual over the group. It is the price paid for leaving the paradise of basketball as a team game.
The cerebral Spurs -- the only team to beat the Cavaliers on their seven-game road trip, the team that, at 36-6, is on the heels of defending champion Golden State's 37-4 start -- will be an unseen presence as the Cavs and Golden State meet here Monday night.
Then, there is this article by Bill Livingston of mistakebythelake.com. I have read Mr. Livingston and the other Cleveland sports writers pretty consistently since LeBron James took his mistakes back to the Lake. I didn't like Mr. Livingston's writing, I didn't think it was good, I thought he was a mediocrity among mediocrities, sports writers. This column however is serious, the tone is serious, which Livingston's columns too infrequently were, insightful and thoughtful, ditto. I had to look up to the byline to make sure I was reading Livingston.
It is the victory of the individual over the group. It is the price paid for leaving the paradise of basketball as a team game.
The cerebral Spurs -- the only team to beat the Cavaliers on their seven-game road trip, the team that, at 36-6, is on the heels of defending champion Golden State's 37-4 start -- will be an unseen presence as the Cavs and Golden State meet here Monday night.
["The cerebral Spurs," Popovich will get a kick out of that. This is an insight by Bill Livingston. To see San Antonio in the background in tonight's game is insightful.]
It's the first meeting at the Q since the Warriors closed out the crippled Cavs in June in the sixth game of the NBA Finals.
The almost inescapable flaw
The great flaw of the Cavs is that the five-man basketball of coach David Blatt's whiteboard often becomes solo performances by LeBron James and, to a lesser extent, Kyrie Irving. They become separate and unequal acts, particularly against the good teams, especially in the critical moments. Two soloists are not a choir.
It's the first meeting at the Q since the Warriors closed out the crippled Cavs in June in the sixth game of the NBA Finals.
The almost inescapable flaw
The great flaw of the Cavs is that the five-man basketball of coach David Blatt's whiteboard often becomes solo performances by LeBron James and, to a lesser extent, Kyrie Irving. They become separate and unequal acts, particularly against the good teams, especially in the critical moments. Two soloists are not a choir.
[Strong words, "the great flaw."]
The LeBron stoppers
Andre Iguodala, not NBA Most Valuable Player Steph Curry, was the Most Valuable Player of the Finals for his defensive job on James in the clutch and for his ability to make wide-open jump shots as a lesser Cavs' defensive emphasis.
Charles Barkley, always good for controversy on TNT cable, makes the argument that the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard, 24, is the best player in basketball now, forget the King and Curry both. It is almost entirely due to Leonard's play against James.
Stoppers
In the Finals, a player usually faces a team with a much better shutdown defender than any other time. It was Bruce Bowen in the James-led Cavs' 2007 trip to the Finals, a sweep at the hands of the Spurs.
Leonard, as he had done in the 2013 Finals, a five-game Miami loss with James, kept the Cavs' star from getting to his favorite spots at crucial times in the Spurs' 99-95 victory last week.
The LeBron stoppers
Andre Iguodala, not NBA Most Valuable Player Steph Curry, was the Most Valuable Player of the Finals for his defensive job on James in the clutch and for his ability to make wide-open jump shots as a lesser Cavs' defensive emphasis.
Charles Barkley, always good for controversy on TNT cable, makes the argument that the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard, 24, is the best player in basketball now, forget the King and Curry both. It is almost entirely due to Leonard's play against James.
Stoppers
In the Finals, a player usually faces a team with a much better shutdown defender than any other time. It was Bruce Bowen in the James-led Cavs' 2007 trip to the Finals, a sweep at the hands of the Spurs.
Leonard, as he had done in the 2013 Finals, a five-game Miami loss with James, kept the Cavs' star from getting to his favorite spots at crucial times in the Spurs' 99-95 victory last week.
[That too is an insight, it is watching the game-within-the-game. Denying a player his favorite spots on the floor-no common fan sees that.]
The clutch shooting contradiction
["The clutch shooting contradiction."]
The clutch shooting contradiction
["The clutch shooting contradiction."]
The NBA defines clutch shooting as a shot taken in the last five minutes of regulation or in overtime with the score within five points.
[The devil is in the details and man, Livingston is delving into the details here. I didn't even know there was an official definition.]
Critics charge the stagnant offense is a microcosm of the me-me-me world outside the lines.
As much as James has done for the Cavs, with nearly a triple-double average in the Finals against Golden State, he faltered in the clutch because the team became so predictable then.
Critics charge the stagnant offense is a microcosm of the me-me-me world outside the lines.
As much as James has done for the Cavs, with nearly a triple-double average in the Finals against Golden State, he faltered in the clutch because the team became so predictable then.
["Outside the lines": what is he getting at here? Something off the court? That is what outside the lines means in sports jargon.]
James missed 14 of 17 shots defined as clutch in the Finals, including potential game-winners in the first two games. He did not even get a good shot in the first game on a step-back jumper against Iguodala and missed a driving layup against him in the second.
In the current regular season, however, James is fifth in clutch shooting. He can still dominate most players. The best, not so much.
Both the ball and the buck stop at No. 23
[Strong.]
James missed 14 of 17 shots defined as clutch in the Finals, including potential game-winners in the first two games. He did not even get a good shot in the first game on a step-back jumper against Iguodala and missed a driving layup against him in the second.
In the current regular season, however, James is fifth in clutch shooting. He can still dominate most players. The best, not so much.
Both the ball and the buck stop at No. 23
[Strong.]
The difference is not just defensively, however.
While Curry has the ball a great deal, the Warriors move it much more crisply than the Cavaliers.
In San Antonio, the principles are so Old School that Norman Dale of "Hoosiers" might be coaching the Spurs and making them dribble a slalom course around folding chairs in practice while enforcing a four-pass offense.
James has been frozen in his current role ever since the first game of the 2007 conference finals. He did not attempt a game-tying driving layup late against Detroit, but passed to "stretch" forward Donyell Marshall.
While Curry has the ball a great deal, the Warriors move it much more crisply than the Cavaliers.
In San Antonio, the principles are so Old School that Norman Dale of "Hoosiers" might be coaching the Spurs and making them dribble a slalom course around folding chairs in practice while enforcing a four-pass offense.
James has been frozen in his current role ever since the first game of the 2007 conference finals. He did not attempt a game-tying driving layup late against Detroit, but passed to "stretch" forward Donyell Marshall.
[How is that "me-me-me?"]
Spotted up in his sweet spot in the corner, Marshall had made a half-dozen threes in the close-out game two days earlier against New Jersey. But he missed that one against the Pistons.
James was vilified for that and for his passive play in Miami's loss in the 2011 Finals to Dallas.
Since then, he has grown into a player capable of dominating performances in elimination games and on the game's biggest stage. The old blanket criticism doesn't apply except in the no-nuance world of ESPN's "First Take."
After the 2014 Finals loss, however, is something darker at work in James' monopoly of the ball?
["Darker?"]
Spotted up in his sweet spot in the corner, Marshall had made a half-dozen threes in the close-out game two days earlier against New Jersey. But he missed that one against the Pistons.
James was vilified for that and for his passive play in Miami's loss in the 2011 Finals to Dallas.
Since then, he has grown into a player capable of dominating performances in elimination games and on the game's biggest stage. The old blanket criticism doesn't apply except in the no-nuance world of ESPN's "First Take."
After the 2014 Finals loss, however, is something darker at work in James' monopoly of the ball?
["Darker?"]
His critics charge the stagnant offense, with four players standing and watching James dribble, is a microcosm of the "me-me-me" world outside the lines.
[What is he talking about, "outside the lines?" I don't understand and I badly want to.]
It is harsh, given the injury situation last June. But it comes with the territory of trying to be the best ever.
The Hollywood ending
Dreamers want the perfect ending.
Michael Jordan got the benefit of the doubt from the referees with a push-off of Utah's Bryon Russell in the close-out game of the 1998 Finals.
In the movies, Woody Harrelson refuted the "White Men Can't Jump" title with a decisive dunk.
In "Hoosiers," Jimmy Chitwood drained the game-winner out of a pure isolation set.
Real life isn't a movie, though. The "23 Solo" play doesn't work often enough in its LeBron incarnation.
It is harsh, given the injury situation last June. But it comes with the territory of trying to be the best ever.
The Hollywood ending
Dreamers want the perfect ending.
Michael Jordan got the benefit of the doubt from the referees with a push-off of Utah's Bryon Russell in the close-out game of the 1998 Finals.
In the movies, Woody Harrelson refuted the "White Men Can't Jump" title with a decisive dunk.
In "Hoosiers," Jimmy Chitwood drained the game-winner out of a pure isolation set.
Real life isn't a movie, though. The "23 Solo" play doesn't work often enough in its LeBron incarnation.
He never explains his "outside the lines" comments. Great article though.
