|
NBA Commissioner David Stern no longer has to worry about rating for the '07 Finals.
Cleveland's 109-107 win in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals pretty much punches the Cavs' ticket to San Antonio for next week's NBA Finals series.
LeBron James' performance through the fourth quarter and overtime punches his ticket into what some writers call "The Pantheon."
The Pantheon is that level that only great players reach. You know when it happens, too.
Magic's 42, 15 and 7 in game six of the 1980 Finals.
Michael's 69 and 18 boards in Cleveland in March 1989.
Dwyane Wade's 42 and 13 rips in game three of last year's Finals.
Add LeBron's 48 in 51 minutes of Cleveland's doubl-overtime win in game five to that list.
James had everything working Thursday night at the Palace. Deep
stepback Js. Fadeaways. Drives to the cup. Everything was everything as
the old guys say.
All NBA greats live by the same motto when it comes to the playoffs. "Get me to the fourth quarter and I'll bring it home."
James was Mariano Rivera circa 2001 Thursday. Through the fourth
quarter and overtime, LeBron scored 29 of Cleveland's 30 points during
that stretch. He went 11 of 14 from the field and hit 25 straight at
one point.
But how does that happen? How does a team like the Pistons let one guy beat them?
Isn't Tayshaun Prince's rep based on stopping wing guys like Kobe
Bryant and Tracy McGrady? Wasn't the zone D Flip Saunders employed to
stop James from driving to the hoop, which is exactly what James did to
get the winning bucket?
Don't get it twisted. Changes need to be made after this series by both teams. Win or lose.
Mike Brown needs to be replaced. He uses timeouts like Herman Edwards. His substitution patterns make no sense.
Phil Jackson's first year as head coach in Chicago came the fall
after Jordan hit the winning shot in the first round of the 1989
playoffs against Cleveland. I could hear Brown channeling his inner
Doug Collins after Thursday's game at the podium.
"That was get the ball to LeBron and everybody else get the $^&* outta the way."
Collins, Jordan's coach before Jackson, was gone by Labor Day.
Saunders is not the problem in Detroit. There needs to be some major
roster shake-ups with this Pistons group. Chauncey Billups has played
valiantly the last two games, but he has cost himself millions during
this series. He's a bad match for LeBron, I know, but Rip Hamilton has
been exposed as an on-the-ball defender. Rasheed Wallace floats in and
out during games, and Chris Webber has given almost nothing.
Neither team stands a chance against the Spurs. I could be wrong,
though. Nobody thought Detroit had a shot against L.A. in 2004, either.
San Antonio is businesslike on the court. The Spurs play their game
and don't worry about their opponents. Cleveland could get one game, if
James has a performance a la Allen Iverson in 2001, and the Pistons
could possibly push the series to six games, if their heads are in all
six.
But let's focus on the present.
James lived up to all the hype tonight.
Pantheon guys will their teams to victory. James might have just willed his squad to the NBA Finals.
|
