Bleacher Report - Articles by james lawrence

Can Kobe Bryant Win Without Shaq?

james lawrence — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:36:41 -0400

As a huge Cavaliers fan, I wanted nothing more than to see LeBron square off with the Black Mamba for a championship.

Because that is no longer a possibility, I first assume that Kobe is getting his fourth title. Then I really look at the Orlando Magic, and think this is going to be a hard NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant is a man among boys (except LeBron), and he dominates the guard position better then any player I have ever seen. His ability to strike from inside or outside makes him the ultimate threat. He is averaging 28.6 points per game and is the focal point of the L.A. offense. His dominant presence shows even on a team that has Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol.

The Los Angeles Lakers look very good coming into the Finals, but can they handle the underdog Orlando Magic? The Magic have a very explosive offensive and an arsenal of nice-sized weapons.

The Magic have players at almost every position who can knock down three-point shots, which creates problems for teams because of fastbreak points.

Orlando is a team that creates matchup problems for any team because of how big their lineup is. A deep bench and amazing three-point shooting is another big advantage for the Magic, who look to shut down the Lakers' backcourt game.

The Lakers starting lineup of T. Ariza, K. Bryant, A. Bynum, D. Fisher, and P. Gasol is very impressive, not only by names but also the .800 win percentage they have as a starting five.

The Magic also have an impressive lineup of R. Alston, D. Howard, C. Lee, R. Lewis, and H. Turkoglu, who have a .696 winning percentage as a starting five. They also have a record of 16-7 as a group, which is an impressive record.

What it comes down to is the post play from Dwight Howard, who is a phenomenal player with the ability to win and take over games. He can create open looks by distracting attention from the guards. He is averaging a double double with 20.6 points and 13.8 rebounds a game. Those stats are impressive, because he is usually double or triple guarded at all times.

When you break down the numbers and really look at the stats, both teams have similar credentials and play at supreme levels of basketball. No matter how you look at it, there is only one team that has the edge, or X factor if you will.

The X factor in this series is Kobe Bryant, hands down.

Kobe is a player on another level, especially considering his outstanding defense. There's more to the game than just scoring points. That was Kobe's M.O. three years ago. Now, he comprehends that less is more, even in the run up to the Finals. Less talking, less emotion.

In the playoffs, Orlando has scored 107.8 points per 100 possessions, and Los Angeles has given up 101.8 points per 100 possessions. The Lakers are scoring 108.6 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs, and Orlando has allowed 100.5 points per 100 possessions.

It may not seem like much, but that is scary to think about, which makes you wonder if the Lakers can do it this year. It's not hard to discern what Orlando is trying to do on offense. They want to establish Howard inside and surround him with shooters who are ready to score when Howard is surrounded.

This strategy has never been more evident, or successful, than against Cleveland, which simply had no one who could contain Howard by himself. So when Cleveland showed double teams (or even a third guy), Orlando hurt them with three-pointers from all four starters and Mickael Pietrus off the bench.

Both teams have played impressive basketball, but Orlando has been more impressive to this point. Of their combined seven losses, three have come from buzzer-beaters. They blew out the Sixers without Howard on the road to close that series in Game 6, then beat Boston in Game 7, again on the road.

After that, they beat the league's best team, with the best home record, in Game 1 on the road.

L.A. has had some significant wins this spring, but none compare to those three Magic wins, except possibly Game 6 in Denver. The Magic are playing their best ball of the season, and have almost all of their players playing at their best. They are in sync and confident.

But just as they held the matchup advantage against Cleveland, so too does Los Angeles with them. Yes, Orlando won both games this season, but none have been played since mid-January and both teams look very different now.

Los Angeles breezed through Utah, showed great toughness to dispatch Houston, and then stepped up the intensity and execution to beat the Nuggets. And unlike the Magic, the Lakers have the pain of last season's failure to help provide the proper mindset this time around.

Both teams can, and will, win on the road. But in six or seven games, the Lakers should be able to hold off the Magic and claim another title.

After all is said and done, Kobe Bryant furthers his legacy and adds ring number four to the collection.

PREDICTION: Lakers 4-3 over the Magic.

LeBron James; Cleveland's Rose

james lawrence — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:22:56 -0400

First off let me start by stating I am from Cleveland, Ohio.

For the last two weeks I have had to listen to tons of my friends talk about LeBron leaving Cleveland.

We all know that is false.

LeBron is the face of the Cavaliers franchise; there is no way the Cavaliers would ever let him go. If you take away James the Cavaliers will fall into a recession like they did in the '90s before they had LeBron.

There are too many reasons LeBron will stay in Cleveland and stay our little bit of hope. He single-handedly saved Cleveland sports from falling off the map.

OK, let me take you through the reasons LeBron will remain in Cleveland for many years to come.

1.) The Image—LeBron is the most well known athlete in Cleveland since Jim Brown. If LeBron is no longer in the champagne and wine fans will leave the seats, and there will be no more "witnesses." He is the face of the franchise and sales will fall; he is a cash cow along with an amazing basketball player.

2.) Family—Nothing is more important to LeBron then his family. He is not going to transfer his son to one of the most dangerous cities in the United States, especially Brooklyn. Another part is his mother who raised him in Akron and wanted nothing more then for her son to play for Cleveland. I cannot see LeBron leaving his mother behind along with the rest of his family to go play in the murder capital.

3.) Fear—The mass amounts of pressure that would be on him to establish a brand new franchise would be too much to handle. For example, take the Charlotte Bobcats. They have done nothing so far and they even have the expertise of Michael Jordan on their side. There is no way that LeBron would have any kind of career in a Brooklyn uniform.

4.) The money and options—The Cavaliers will offer him the max offer they can which will be more then Arenas. He will get more in guaranteed money along with bonuses. Also, the Cavaliers are not stupid; they know LeBron wants a ring, and to get one he needs counter parts which will help him. The Cavs are good they just lack another star with James to produce a championship.

Don't expect LeBron to go anywhere after 2010. He is a Clevelander and will remain one.

NFL: Green Bay in the Post Favre Era

james lawrence — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:51:49 -0400

As a life long, die hard Brett Favre fan, I always assumed that every year I would see good old No. 4 gunslinging passes every Sunday. Then I grew up and realized my favorite quarterback would not always be taking the snaps for Green Bay.

The worst day came when I saw the live press conference with Favre at the mic. I wondered what he would say. The thought of him leaving Titletown was almost too much to handle and then it happened. He started crying and I knew my favorite player, and person I had come to admire, was done.

For the rest of the day I was in shock. I didn't actually know how to feel. I realized then that the Green Bay Packers that I followed religiously could come to an end.

I have never supported Arron Rodgers. I was not impressed by him at Cal and when Green Bay drafted him I was disappointed.

Looking at the weak NFC North, I realized that Green Bay still has a shot.

Detroit has a poor defense and both offensive and defensive lines are weak. No threat there.

The Chicago Bears defense has become softer, with the overrated Brain Urlacher as the anchor. Plus their quarterback issues are beyond repair.

Now, on the other hand, the Minnesota Vikings give me a bit of a scare. The absolutely amazing Adrian Peterson will be a huge threat on offense and the defensive line is the best in the business. It will be interesting to see how they do.

With all of that said, I wondered how the Packers would fit.

Green Bay also has a lot going for them.

Ryan Grant is a solid back who can get you close to 100 yards a game and the offensive line is solid enough to give Rodgers time in the pocket.

The defense is as good as it has been in a long time. The linebacking core is dominating with Hawk, Barnett, and Poppinga. The only hole I see is that Al Harris has become soft and cannot contain as well as he used to.

This is how I see the NFC North:

Green Bay 10-6

Minnesota 8-8

Detroit 6-10

Chicago 6-10

MLB: Cleveland Indians on the Rise

james lawrence — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:03:37 -0400

The MLB is all about change and turn around. Many times, teams can pull off a big turn around and become a quick contender. With 162 games in a season, there is a lot of time to get your team in motion and to work together to play high caliber baseball.

The crucial time of the season always comes down to who is going to perform better after the All Star break. Some teams start the season out hot and cool off after the break and others get hot after the break and make it their time to shine.

The team that is going to turn heads and make people remember that they went to the ALCS last year is the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland has been steadily improving in every major category.

Their pitching started out absolutely miserable, but C.C Sabathia has been heating up and has improved his record to 5-8 with an ERA of 4.26 on 99 innings pitched.

Other players are stepping up such as Aaron Laffey and the biggest improver Cliff Lee who has an amazing record of 10-1 with an ERA of 2.55. Both of these pitchers have shown guts and skill and after the falling of Westbrook and Carmona, they grew into the rolls they play now.

The bats in Cleveland are stronger then ever. Grady Sizemore is playing at the All Star status that we all expect him to be at. He is batting a heavy .266 with 17 home runs and 40 RBI on 263 at-bats. Grady is second on the home run list in the AL and eighth in the MLB.

The Indians have been struck badly by the injury bug this year. The most notable names on that list are Travis Hafner, Jake Westbrook, Josh Barfield, and most recently Victor Martinez.

Cleveland has players stepping up and making an impact in the absence of these players. Ryan Garko is trying to fill the big shoes of Travis Hafner at DH. Garko has six home runs and 36 RBI on 216 at-bats.

Key Factors:

1.) The team needs to get to at least .500 before the break. This will allow them to start at a decent spot and allow room for the incline and not have them in too big of a hole.

2.) C.C Sabathia must remain strong and continue to get better. As the Cy Young Award winner, he needs to be playing at the level that Cliff Lee is pitching at. C.C needs to get his ERA down in about the twos.

3.) The bats need to stay hot. With Grady hitting, other players need to make up the difference. The team needs to bat around a team average of .230 and make sure not to leave runners on base. They must take advantage of runners in scoring position.

4.) Close well. The bullpen must be strong and capable of closing out the game and securing the win.

Houston Rockets's Win Streak: All Great Things Must Come to an End.

james lawrence — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:48:21 -0400

The Houston Rockets were caught slipping by the Boston Celtics. Riding a 22 game win streak looking to make it 23, the flow was just not present.

Winning 22 straight games takes alot of skill and luck. But when it comes down to it the spark was not there. Houston's amazing defense met an offense that was fresh even without starter Ray Allen.

Like I said before all great streak must come to an end. Some other examples include Julius Ceasar, Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro. All of them were great powers who eventually came to an end.

What the Rockets were able to accomplish is very inspiring, because now they can look forward into the playoffs and know what they can do. The ability of the starters and bench is remarkable, because they all can play the game and they win when they are not at their best.

With the loss of Big Ming, Tracy McGrady has to find more ways to score. When you take away 22 ppg, and 10.8 rpg, someone has to step up and take over. McGrady is finding ways to get his team involved, which is allowing them to spread the floor and create lanes. Although Tracy has to remain a consistent scorer at the same time, because the Rockets depend on him to atleast put up double digits.

The bench is playing a huge part in the success of the rockets. Players like Mike Harris and Bobby Jackson are creating sparks off the bench. They have the ability to fire up the offense and put points on the board.

The Rockets put on a poor show, they seemed tired which is expected when the your under the microscope, and everyone is questioning when you will lose. Yet the Rockets have had a long schedule the last week, having four games, in which they played against 3 teams that are playoff spot holders.

The Celtics outscored Houston 32-16 in the third quarter and built a 72-56 lead, the largest deficit the Rockets have faced since the last time they met Boston, who had them down 20 in their first meeting. Houston went 7-for-16 from the field with six turnovers in the decisive quarter.

It was only Houston's second loss in 28 games and its fourth since a 97-93 loss in Boston on Jan. 2, a game in which Tracy McGrady did not play due to a knee injury. The Rockets also lost for the first time in 11 games since Yao Ming went out with a season-ending foot injury on Feb. 26.

After the game McGrady gracefully respected the team saying "It's a hell of a team over there. They outplayed us. I've never seen a defense like that. I mean, if they play defense like that, night in and night out, the NBA is in trouble because that was defense at its finest."

Which is exactly the truth, the Rockets were out played and the defense shutdown T-Mac, and the rest of the squad.

I still feel that this Rockets team is prime and now is back in reality. They need to keep playing basketball at the level they are, and play their hearts out for 48 minutes.

Houston Rockets Turning 21!

james lawrence — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:01:32 -0400

The Houston Rockets successfully completed the 21 game win streak by knocking off the Charlotte Bobcats. This streak becomes the second longest streak in NBA history only behind the 71-72 LA Lakers with 33. This mark set the Rockets to a tie with the Lakers for first place in the Western Conference. This coming after the Rockets were barely hanging on to a playiff spot. The Rockets have gone 9-0 since the loss of their All-Star center Yao Ming. Winning when your not at your best is crucial and thats exactly what the Rockets have done so far. They are playing like a team possesed, with a burning hunger for an NBA championship. Anything less then the Championship game is a failed season, because at this point they have showed there dominance and guts. This team has the ablity to stretch the defense and create open shots for Shane Battier and company. Tracy McGrady is playing at a level that he should be playing at, if not for back problems he would have been playing like this all his career.

The Rockets now are coming up on a serious stretch of opponents. With top spot rival LA Lakers then Pheonix,Boston, and the Hornets. It will be tough to win all the games but with solid defense and elevated play from Tracy and the gang should have a major impact. There should be no reason why they cant get out of March 100%.

Tracy McGrady is making a strong pull for MVP of the league this year. He has stepped up as leader of his team, when they needed him the most. Once Yao was diagnosed out for the season, McGrady took the team on his shoulders like he always does and now is prevailing. There are many players raising the bar such as CP3 and Kobe, but if you look and analyze the facts you'll find that T-Mac is steadily rising and is making his way to earning the title.

Some keys the Rockets need to focus on are shooting percentage,turnovers, and assists. Right now the Rockets are shooting at a good level especially with how many shoots from downtown they take. Turnovers can kill you, everytime you give the ball up it usually results in points for the other team. So they need to make sure to take care of the ball and make smart passes that will lead to points. Assists are a hugh factor, because the whole team needs to get involved, dishing the rock for open shots is crucial. To play good basketball you have to play as a team, that means getting your teammates involved anyway possible and on every play.

The Rockets next game is at home vs the Lakers at 3:30pm. This game is detrimental to both teams, as it will show which team is better advanced and should be called number 1 of the Western Conference.