2008 Beijing Olympics should end any doubts about Cleveland Cavaliers ...

[Glen Infante]

2008 Beijing Olympics should end any doubts about Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, says The Plain Dealer's Bill Livingston
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Bill Livingston
Plain Dealer Columnist
Always that rarest of play ers, one better than the hype, LeBron James is now the best basketball player in the world.

What has happened at the Beijing Olympics is the beginning of James' Most Valuable Player campaign for 2008-09. He always could pass. He always could attack the basket more relentlessly than anyone. The Cavaliers forward's emergence as a devastating defender completes the picture.

Kobe Bryant is still the top lockdown defender on what seems to be an unbeatable American team. But Bryant's forced shots on offense and poor 3-point shooting keep him from being more than the third-best player on the team so far, behind James and Dwyane Wade.


(All you Kobephiles, please take your place for the official protest in the line to the left, the one that appears to contain the population of China.)

James' defense has been a surprise only if you were not paying attention last season, when he routinely took the opposition's best player in crunch time. He could not stop Boston's Paul Pierce in Game 7 of the Celtics series, but no one could stop James either, despite how much more he had to do to put the Cavs in a position to win at the end.

That is why the acquisition of Mo Williams, a point guard who can put the ball in the basket and push it on the break, is so important. It gives James the best point he has played with on the Cavs, lightens his scoring load, and should make him even more of a dominant force.

It was always scary to hear coach Mike Brown yelling "Push it!" when Larry Hughes, who put the "oops" in "alley oop," played the point. The long-gone Kevin Ollie, seemingly unable to find James on the wing on the break, appeared to believe "finisher" was a furniture-restoration product. Only the derided Eric Snow knew how to run efficiently.

From the way Williams played against the Cavs, however, a quicker tempo is no longer a bad idea waiting to happen.

As for James' defense, in Beijing his offensive responsibilities are reduced, so he can focus more on frighteningly blocking shots above the rim with both hands and coming from the blind side to force steals and start the fast break.

The USA ruptured Australia's well-conceived offense by forcing a rash of third-quarter turnovers in the quarterfinals. On the most memorable play, James darted in unseen and clubbed the ball away, as Michael Jordan would do, had it knocked away at midcourt, and finally saved it with a headlong dive, slapping it to a teammate as he flew out of bounds.

It showed how James and his teammates have accepted Mike Krzyzewski's coaching. Unlike Larry "Next Town" Brown's mind games in 2004 with young players and his tactical inflexibility, Krzyzewski has treated the players like human beings. Next Town refused to let players switch on pick-and-rolls, even when his team was being picked apart. That'll teach them accountability!

Coach K's team next will face Argentina, which beat the USA at this stage in 2004. "Closing out" (challenging) Argentina's 3-point shooters will be critical.

But James has been closing out doubters for years. Could he possibly be so good so young? Could one man take a team to the NBA Finals? The Olympics have been the going-out-of-business sale for skeptics.

To reach Bill Livingston:

blivingston@plaind.com, 216-999-4672

Previous columns online:

cleveland.com/columns

Source

 

[lem_baccin]

is he serious about Eric Snow knowing how to push tempo!?

 

[Dirk Gently]

is he serious about Eric Snow knowing how to push tempo!?

E-snow knows how to push tempo, he's just not quick enough to execute it. Don't confuse his physical limitations with his game knowledge. He's a bright guy, just not very athletic anymore.

 

[kj1]

that's actually true. e snow, bizarrely, was probably the most effective pusher of the ball of any lead guard the cavs have had in the LBJ-era.

as the previous poster said, he wasn't fast enough to make it work all the time but he at least understood how to do it, unlike hughes, ollie, et al. actually west does/did it sometimes last season but was somewhat inconsistent in that area. one would think this will not be a probelm with williams on board.

btw, i would like to say that collins on the olympic broadcasts was the first media guy i saw/read/heard point on LBJ's great D. in fact, i think collins rightly called LBJ the "glue" of the "redeem team."

 

[LBJHeath]

This is why I think we'll never see LeBron win another scoring title... not that he isn't capable of it... but if we have other players who can score the ball, LeBron will be more than willing to let them make the shot... as long as they'll make it.

When the Cavaliers finish their off-season, they will be a very scary team to any other franchise with hopes of a title.

 

[Damien O'Connel]

i dont think there is an argument u can make for kobe being as good as lebron.... there is aboslutley nothing you can say...LEBRON IS MORE DOMINENT THAN KOBE... and there is not an argument against that. period.

 

[theSTEREO.]

This is why I think we'll never see LeBron win another scoring title... not that he isn't capable of it... but if we have other players who can score the ball, LeBron will be more than willing to let them make the shot... as long as they'll make it.

When the Cavaliers finish their off-season, they will be a very scary team to any other franchise with hopes of a title.

I'll sacrifice Lebron's scoring title ANY day, if it means an NBA title instead.

And you better believe Lebron will too.

 

[Splitz]

This is why I think we'll never see LeBron win another scoring title... not that he isn't capable of it... but if we have other players who can score the ball, LeBron will be more than willing to let them make the shot... as long as they'll make it.

When the Cavaliers finish their off-season, they will be a very scary team to any other franchise with hopes of a title.

I actually don't care if he ever wins another scoring title. I would much rather see him take a crack at averaging a triple double for an entire season.

 

[jjc58]

I'd like to see his rebounding numbers increase. While a triple-double may be too much to wish for, I think LeBron could easily grab another board or two a game.

I might be imagining things, but to me, when LeBron's ripping down boards--and I'm not talking about weak rebounds off of free throws but tough boards in traffic--he's attacking the rim on offense. He's in Video Game James mode.

 

[MYoung23]

that's actually true. e snow, bizarrely, was probably the most effective pusher of the ball of any lead guard the cavs have had in the LBJ-era.

No, that was Jeff McInnis before he quit on the team.

 

[Benny08302]

Snow's basketball mind has always been way ahead of his actual basketball skills. Snow always knew where he should be on the court and he always knew when to pick his shots... but he simply couldn't shoot.