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Interesting article from a Chicago Tribune writer....
If LeBron pays mind to 'D,' he may matter
LeBron James is brilliant on offense, but Cavs need more from superstar
December 21, 2005
This was to be the year LeBron James made the jump into rarefied air.
But instead of looking like the next Michael Jordan, James looks more like the next Kevin Garnett.
Not bad, mind you, but the players who truly matter in pro sports count championships, not All-Star Game appearances.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers visit Thursday to play the Bulls, it will be a matchup of the bottom teams in the division.
Not exactly the stuff of legend, especially since James proclaimed before the season he finally had the pieces to be a serious playoff competitor. Nevertheless, three coaches, two general managers and a new owner later, the Cavs have the identical record (14-9) they had a year ago after 23 games.
They are one of the league's poorest defensive teams, 20th in points allowed, 27th in opponent's shooting percentage and last in three-point percentage allowed, a staggering rate of 40.2 percent. Plus, they're in the bottom third in the league in assists and in assists by their opponents, suggesting they don't move the ball particularly well and don't keep their opponents from doing so.
This despite new coach Mike Brown being considered a defensive specialist. In fact, Brown this week criticized the play of offense-oriented teams like the Suns and Kings.
"That's not winning basketball," Brown told the Akron Beacon Journal. "It looks pretty for the fans, and its fun to talk about, but when it comes to winning in the playoffs, you're not."
As opposed to the Cavs, of course.
Maybe Brown—and James—should worry more about just getting to the playoffs, where third-year pro James has yet to go. Perhaps Brown should consider the team's personnel, including James, which is not known for playing both ends of the court. Too many square pegs have trouble rotating on defense.
This is not to say the end of the court James does play isn't awfully impressive.
In fact, there never has been an athletic specimen like James. He's the guard version of Shaquille O'Neal. James is the size of an NFL linebacker with the grace, speed and leaping ability of a gymnast.
He's third in the league in scoring at a Jordan-like 30.7 points per game. He gets to the free-throw line 10.1 times per game, also Jordan-like. He's 22nd in steals and 23rd in three-point attempts. But we'll excuse him that latter excess in an era where shooting the three-pointer is too common. He also gets almost six rebounds and just more than five assists per game.
So why does his team lose to the Hawks and Nets at home, like it did last week, and give up more than 100 points in seven of the last 10 games?
We tend to be an instant-gratification society, so perhaps we can't expect James, going through so many personnel and management changes in two seasons, to reach the ultimate success so quickly. Jordan didn't win any NBA titles until his seventh year and had heard for years he didn't make teammates better, was a selfish scorer and was too involved in marketing himself.
James, though, does seem to have goals.
He told the Associated Press last month: "In the next 15 or 20 years, I hope I'll be the richest man in the world. That's one of my goals. I want to be a billionaire."
Hey, Michael wanted to sell a lot of shoes and soft drinks. No harm there.
But what few have seen yet from James is that subtle ability to make a team better than its parts.
With center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, guard Larry Hughes and forwards Drew Gooden and Donyell Marshall, the Cavaliers have enough talent to be where they are without James. A truly great player has the ability to lift a team beyond its talent level, to not only make the great shot but the big defensive play, the vital pass, the crucial difference.
Garnett rarely does that. When his sidekicks aren't good, his teams aren't good. He wows 'em at All-Star Games and the Olympics, but his teams don't always make the playoffs, and then rarely go far once they are in.
James may be the best offensive talent in the game today. Challenged for his poor shooting, he has become a competent, sometimes exceptional, shooter. He's an excellent 50 percent overall and a satisfactory 35 percent on threes. Sometimes it seems he has fallen in love with his newly discovered ability to make a jump shot or the media's desire to get him an MVP award. For someone with the rare innate ability to see the floor and pass, he goes off on fanciful scoring binges too often. When he does, the Cavs usually lose.
There's a different standard when you are willing to stand up and contend for the torch of league excellence. You have to play the entire game, which James doesn't consistently, and you have to make the difference in games. James hasn't yet, but the time is coming when we find out whether he's great or merely exciting.
sasmith@tribune.com
If LeBron pays mind to 'D,' he may matter
LeBron James is brilliant on offense, but Cavs need more from superstar
December 21, 2005
This was to be the year LeBron James made the jump into rarefied air.
But instead of looking like the next Michael Jordan, James looks more like the next Kevin Garnett.
Not bad, mind you, but the players who truly matter in pro sports count championships, not All-Star Game appearances.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers visit Thursday to play the Bulls, it will be a matchup of the bottom teams in the division.
Not exactly the stuff of legend, especially since James proclaimed before the season he finally had the pieces to be a serious playoff competitor. Nevertheless, three coaches, two general managers and a new owner later, the Cavs have the identical record (14-9) they had a year ago after 23 games.
They are one of the league's poorest defensive teams, 20th in points allowed, 27th in opponent's shooting percentage and last in three-point percentage allowed, a staggering rate of 40.2 percent. Plus, they're in the bottom third in the league in assists and in assists by their opponents, suggesting they don't move the ball particularly well and don't keep their opponents from doing so.
This despite new coach Mike Brown being considered a defensive specialist. In fact, Brown this week criticized the play of offense-oriented teams like the Suns and Kings.
"That's not winning basketball," Brown told the Akron Beacon Journal. "It looks pretty for the fans, and its fun to talk about, but when it comes to winning in the playoffs, you're not."
As opposed to the Cavs, of course.
Maybe Brown—and James—should worry more about just getting to the playoffs, where third-year pro James has yet to go. Perhaps Brown should consider the team's personnel, including James, which is not known for playing both ends of the court. Too many square pegs have trouble rotating on defense.
This is not to say the end of the court James does play isn't awfully impressive.
In fact, there never has been an athletic specimen like James. He's the guard version of Shaquille O'Neal. James is the size of an NFL linebacker with the grace, speed and leaping ability of a gymnast.
He's third in the league in scoring at a Jordan-like 30.7 points per game. He gets to the free-throw line 10.1 times per game, also Jordan-like. He's 22nd in steals and 23rd in three-point attempts. But we'll excuse him that latter excess in an era where shooting the three-pointer is too common. He also gets almost six rebounds and just more than five assists per game.
So why does his team lose to the Hawks and Nets at home, like it did last week, and give up more than 100 points in seven of the last 10 games?
We tend to be an instant-gratification society, so perhaps we can't expect James, going through so many personnel and management changes in two seasons, to reach the ultimate success so quickly. Jordan didn't win any NBA titles until his seventh year and had heard for years he didn't make teammates better, was a selfish scorer and was too involved in marketing himself.
James, though, does seem to have goals.
He told the Associated Press last month: "In the next 15 or 20 years, I hope I'll be the richest man in the world. That's one of my goals. I want to be a billionaire."
Hey, Michael wanted to sell a lot of shoes and soft drinks. No harm there.
But what few have seen yet from James is that subtle ability to make a team better than its parts.
With center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, guard Larry Hughes and forwards Drew Gooden and Donyell Marshall, the Cavaliers have enough talent to be where they are without James. A truly great player has the ability to lift a team beyond its talent level, to not only make the great shot but the big defensive play, the vital pass, the crucial difference.
Garnett rarely does that. When his sidekicks aren't good, his teams aren't good. He wows 'em at All-Star Games and the Olympics, but his teams don't always make the playoffs, and then rarely go far once they are in.
James may be the best offensive talent in the game today. Challenged for his poor shooting, he has become a competent, sometimes exceptional, shooter. He's an excellent 50 percent overall and a satisfactory 35 percent on threes. Sometimes it seems he has fallen in love with his newly discovered ability to make a jump shot or the media's desire to get him an MVP award. For someone with the rare innate ability to see the floor and pass, he goes off on fanciful scoring binges too often. When he does, the Cavs usually lose.
There's a different standard when you are willing to stand up and contend for the torch of league excellence. You have to play the entire game, which James doesn't consistently, and you have to make the difference in games. James hasn't yet, but the time is coming when we find out whether he's great or merely exciting.
sasmith@tribune.com
