You know, the proverbial statement, is that its a long-year, and yet, there are not always telling moments throughout said long year, especially in the rigged NBA, and though i like to give some analysis about a team as i did with the Lakers and the Suns, prior to the game with the Pistons, i really did not know enough about the Cavs, even after watching them so much in recent years, so i am writing a middle-of-the-nite post, following the game...here we go:
LBJ is, like i said earlier this week, simply too good for his own damn good...there is just no logical reason for him to pass the ball, when every one of his shots is better than anything any of his teammates could come up with...but, with that said, there is something to be said about getting your teammates involved, i mean that is a rule of basketball, that teams win, while players may become superstars, just look at all the anointed ones in the league, namely Kobe, whenever you try and go alone, it backfires...so, it makes sense, that even though LBJ is more effective on every play he attempts than any play that his teammates factor in, the rule on team basketball still holds for him...
however, i learned something tonite, that alters the dynamics about this statement, so bear with me, because i have long sought the reason why LBJ has not simply dominated the game of basketball when it is so obvious that he is beyond what anyone really has ever been able to do on the court, and though it is simplistic and perhaps even indefensible, i think it is my theory on the Cavs, and maybe my all-encompassing perspective on LeBron, here it is:
he goes silent, and defers too much when he remembers the truism of the team basketball rule...
like i said about Kobe, i think the high school to the NBA jump is plain crazy for a lot of reasons, though i am not sure it should be up to David Stern to make this unilateral decision, i think the motivations in presenting your skills at the high school level to pro scouts skews the development of a young player...blah, blah, blah...
there are, of course, exceptions, and whatever...i dont even care, i really dont, I just think that basketball is a learned sport not just an ability sport or training regiment, it takes experience, understanding, savvy, and intuition...all things that certainly LeBron James has, but i wonder this:
has he learned without teachers?...has he studied the game so much, and figured out why the Pistons in the Bad Boys era and 2004 were successful because of a complete team, and watched all good quality hoops, and realized that you need more than just 2 superstars, you need all members of your team to contribute...LBJ is known to have walked the Nike campus in Beaverton, OR and proclaimed to be next-in-line to have a 5 story picture of him on the side of a nike building, even though that may make no sense, if you live beyond the smallish world of professional basketball...to truly be a Tiger, a Pele, a Jordan, a Gretzkey, he has set some pretty lofty heights, and winning scoring titles alone does not get you there...people would rather burn the entire town of Beaverton to the ground then let a 5-story picture of Kobe be erected...
so, i give LeBron all the credit in the world, he wants to do it the right way...i just think he may not get there, for the reason that he is still not sure how to do it...he may win back-to-back titles, and start to dominate mid-career, but the NBA is way deeper than in Jordan's day, every nite is a match-up, and talent is trumping politics more and more...so, i do believe LeBron is actually a more effective basketball player than Jordan...but he still does not know how to win, in the same manner, with the same inevitability...he still disappears too frequently when his mental program tells him to defer to teammates, even if that is the right way to play...
like tonite, when he finally was needed, or when it looked like he finally understood that the Pistons were up 9 with 4 to go, and executing, it was too late, the game was over, and so another promising start to the Cavs season, with an exciting compliment at PG to help shoulder the burden continues to integrate, it is clear that LBJ probably is still not smarter than Joe Dumars...truly, is anyone?...
the Pistons, like that Friday nite game against the Lakers, once again, demonstrated who runs this league, and it is not an attorney, a Hollywood coach, any owner, any superstar, or any media tycoon: it is a former player, known more for his defense than offense, and now known as the genius behind the resurrection and ongoing implementation of the most effective basketball franchise this decade...not promoting Joe Dumars to NBA Commish is fine with me, as Pistons fans i ask about that concept universally say: we would rather have him running the Pistons than the NBA...he is that good...
Iverson holds a hard-core newsconference, and then falls in to line; Rasheed shows how-not-to-act during the offseason to youngsters, and then just falls in line; Rip, Tay, and the youngsters dont care about t.v. time, money, or credit, they just like to play in DET...Joe Dumars is that good...
so, that is what i learned tonite: LBJ is beyond words as a player; Dumars is only explainable with one word: peerless...he does it the way it should be done, because he has been there before...i could go on and on about that 4th quarter from Afflalo, Max, and Stuck, or Tay cheering from the check-in table, or Rip and Amir never pouting about their evolving roles, but i dont have to, its obvious and well known to all Pistons fans:
we are lucky to be living in the Joe Dumars era...
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