If you read through a copy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer this summer, you might run across a want ad that reads like this: "SBM seeks hard-working fellow NBA All-Star to help win NBA Championship. Must be able to score in transition, hit clutch shots, and enjoy Nike and Sprite products."
If there was any question as to whether or not LeBron James needed another All-Star player on his side, that question was answered on Sunday afternoon in Sunday's Game Seven loss to the Boston Celtics.
James, who had his best game of the playoffs against the Celtics on Sunday, did all he could do. But as both teams came down the stretch, it was clear that Boston had too much fire power. There was no doubt Boston had more talent, but Cleveland had a great opportunity to steal Game Seven.
This sentiment is nothing new. It has been echoed throughout the Cleveland fan base, NBA analysts, and even from LeBron himself. Since last season's sweep in the NBA Finals, the Cavs front office has been unable to make a move.
Throughout that series against San Antonio and the most recent one against Boston, it was made clear that LeBron can not get the job done by himself.
James had an unbelievable performance against the Detroit Pistons in last year's Eastern Conference Finals. But LeBron exhausted himself carrying his team. The Spurs defense was too good, and no one else could step up to take on the load.
The move made at the trading deadline was good. It gave the Cavaliers a formidable bench. Joe Smith, Delonte West, and Ben Wallace are all nice players.
However, they are not All-Stars. The team couldn't pull off a deal for the highly coveted Mike Bibby, who ended up in Atlanta. They couldn't swing a trade for Jason Kidd, who returned to Dallas, either. Once again, the team failed to bring in a big-time player who could relieve some of the burden on James's shoulders.
Sunday, James scored almost half of Cleveland's points against the Celtics. LeBron scored 45 points, while the rest of the team scored 47. The next highest scorer was Delonte West with 15. The third highest scorer was Zydrunas Ilgauskas with eight.
The pundits may say that Pierce had 41 and their next highest scorer was Garnett with 13, but this isn't the norm in the Celtics game. How many times have the Cavs come painstakingly close to a big win, only to not have enough support to help James at crunch time?
Earlier in this series, I wrote an article about the supporting cast coming to James's rescue, and what I think we witnessed was real. But the problem is consistency.
This supporting cast has never been able to do it on a nightly basis. Would today's result be different if we had another threat besides LeBron? That is up for debate, but I can tell you the chances would have been much better.
With the free agent market that will be present this offseason, there is no excuse for not getting a formidable wingman for LeBron.
These are some of the names that will be either restricted or unrestricted free agents this summer: Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Shawn Marion, Baron Davis, Allen Iverson, Jermaine O'Neal, Andre Iguodala, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison.
Some of these guys do have early termination clauses they would have to exercise, but it is pretty clear there is going to be a wealth of talent available. Is everyone a perfect fit for Cleveland? Probably not. But I think it is possible to bring someone in to relieve the pressure on LeBron.
Look at the great teams that have won championships in the past fifteen years. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Shaq and Kobe would have never won in L.A. without each other. Shaq wouldn't have won one in Miami without the help of Dwayne Wade.
Magic wouldn't have won one without Worthy, Byron Scott, and Vlade Divac. Hakeem had Clyde Drexler, Sam Cassell, and Robert Horry. Tim Duncan has Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker. Look at any team who has won a title, and you will find that most of the time, the superstar had another star to help carry them.
Until Cleveland's front office is able to bring in another star to help LeBron, Sunday's Game Seven is going to be a familiar site. The Cavaliers will continue to be the bridesmaid instead of the bride.
My advice is that they better find a partner fast, or when his contract is up in 2011, LeBron James might just go find a team who will.
comments (7) write a comment »
write a new comment
4 months ago
Self-annointed 'king' James just needs to learn how to be a team player. He doesn't know how to be a leader on the court. He only knows how to hold onto the ball and go for the glory. That is not teamwork. The Celtics beat the Cavs as a team!! Have a nice off-season 'king' of no court.
from 4 months ago
They beat the Cavs as a team because they have three all stars. Rest assured if LBJ had someone else that could hit a shot consistently he may not have taken as many shots down the stretch. But he also gets paid to take the clutch shots down the stretch. Was Jordan a ball hog because he always took the last shot? What about Kobe? LBJ and Kobe both have taken the same amount of shots during the playoffs and regular season. Also James averaged 7.6 assists during the playoffs and an almost identical 7.5 in the Celtics series. James also led the team in assists during the regular season. I can understand how you may think he can be selfish at times, but I am not sure its because he isn't a team player or rhat he is a bad team leader.
4 months ago
please don't say Jordan had Pippen, I'm sorry, but that's what separates jordan from everybody else. All these great dynasties had stacked teams except for the bulls. Pippen, grant, all those guys would've been nobodies without jordan.
The problem with James is he thinks he's at jordan level, but he's not. Jordan become what he is because he had a bruce lee, tiger woods mentality (non- stop working, practicing, adapting to changes)
LEbron is too focused on building his brand... he is actually more talented that jordan, but he doesn't have that fire... You can tell its not a big deal for him to lose a game......
from 4 months ago
Why wouldn't you say that? Jordan himself admitted it wouldn't have been possible without Scottie Pippen. Pippen was voted one of the 50 Greatest NBA players. I think you do a disservice to Pippen's legacy. Neither Jordan or Pippen won a title without the other.
I think your take on LeBron is an interesting theory. I disagree with you, but it is a good analysis.
4 months ago
people want Lebron to be the next Michael but in reality he is more of a mix of Magic and Michael because of his ability to pass
4 months ago
Cleveland better act fast or else it is a guarantee LeBron is gone first chance he gets. pay the salary cap tax, get him some real help. because if you dont, suddenly his career will be 8-10 years gone and there will be no title. it is easy to take him for granted - we saw the 76ers do it with Iverson and Minnesota do it with KG. LeBron is a better player than either AI or KG, but he still needs some help. when you only other viable option on offense is delonte west (a good player, but should never ever be a 2nd option), it is going to be difficult to accomplish anything.
and i think after watching LeBron play yesterday to think he doesn't want to do all he can to win, is just ridiculous. no one made more from marketing himself than Jordan - he still found plenty of time to be the greatest player. There is plenty of time for LeBron to be an all-time great and still worry about his brand.
from 4 months ago
great comment...i totally agree with you. LBJ has aleady been rumored to be fond of New York. there is always this thought that the reason he signed less than the max deal with Cleveland was so if the Cavs haven't done anything to make headway in the playoffs, he can loose from Cleveland. New York is always thought to be his destination of choice.
write a new comment