Witness to history
Posted June 1st, 2007 by Brian Windhorst
Auburn Hills, Mich. — What can I say about Game 6? I pretty much used up all my adjectives in the paper. I tried my best to put it in perspective in everything LeBron James has done in his career in a piece for ESPN.com. What I can say is I’ve watched LeBron play roughly 500 games in person from places like Rehobeth Beach, Del., to Sapporo, Japan, to Bakersfield, Calif., to something like 17 times at the Palace of Auburn Hills now. Never have a seen a performance like that from him and never have I seen him be so calm. He wasn’t demonstrative and making all those primal faces, he was just coldly killing the Pistons. It isn’t often you know you are experiencing history at the moment it is happening. It doesn’t matter which team you cover as a journalist or which team you root for as a fan, there was no way you could watch LeBron score 25 straight points and think you weren’t being given a gift of an experience.
It was like four a half years ago that LeBron played his first game as a Cav in Detroit, a preseason tilt. As a hazing ritual to the rookies, the Cavs veterans asked LeBron to lead them on the floor for pregame warmups. They said go and out he ran with Jason Kapono while everyone stayed back in the tunnel and snickered at the two of them standing at midcourt alone. Hard to get my head around him delivering this sort of milestone effort on the same floor.
So many other things, though, to discuss…
–I know this supposedly was all about LeBron and that’s, like, so cool in this moment. But some other Cavs did some stuff I want to mention. 1. Daniel Gibson’s 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter (off a great LeBron feed) was massive for the team’s mindset going into the fourth. 2. Eric Snow made two big steals when he came in the game in the fourth and it helped the Cavs stem the tide. 3. Sasha Pavlovic didn’t play great, OK, but he had nine rebounds. He was tied with LeBron for the team lead. He got to a lot of key loose balls. 4. Anderson Varejao played some great 1-on-1 defense with Rasheed Wallace late in the game and overtime. Sheed got a few hoops, but Andy made everything very tough on him. 5. Mike Brown’s decision to rest LeBron for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter — just because he thought he needed it — turned out to be huge because LeBron did need the extra energy.
–Say what you will about LeBron passing in crunch time, but it directly affected the way this series has played out. With 3-point shooters on the floor, the Pistons are respecting them and the defense is becoming so much more spread out. You could see it as LeBron drove for those two dunks at the end of regulation, there was space. Also, go back and watch the replay of his big shot at the end of Game 3 with 16 seconds left. He’s going 1-on-1 with Tayshaun Prince there. Want to know why? Because in the zone, Rasheed flashed to the corner to prepare to cover Gibson thinking LeBron might pass.
–The Cavs missed six free throws in the fourth quarter. I’ll have you know I composed the start of a story about how those misses could be lamented like the Pistons’ offensive rebounds at the end of Game 6 last year. I guess not now.
–I don’t want to hear anything from anyone about the calls. In my opinion they all evened out. By the way, Antonio McDyess’ foul was suspension worthy but I don’t think he’ll get one.
–I’m not sure why the Pistons aren’t challenging more shots around the rim. Not having Ben Wallace is showing up big time in these situations. Rasheed did it a little in Game 1 but hasn’t since and I watched him, Prince and others stand by and watch as LeBron threw down dunk after dunk. Maybe it is tired legs. Maybe it is something else.
–Remember how I told you I was clued in about some potential chemisty cracks in the Pistons’ locker room after Game 4? Well, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes about some stuff going down in his story. It’s towards the end of the piece. Of course, there’s always going to be some trouble when you lose three straight playoff games.
That’s all for now. Oh, yeah, the Cavs have a chance to go to the Finals for the first time in team history with one more win. We’ll break that all down tomorrow. It’s 4:15 a.m. in Auburn Hills and I’m headed to bed.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:30 am
Deep down I worried the game was over so many times. But it wasn’t until after Chris Webber converted that AND-1 that I was CERTAIN we were going to lose. LeBron runs down the court, and shoots a step-back 3 over 2 Pistons….UN-BE-LIEVABLE
June 1st, 2007 at 1:33 am
The calls don’t just even out. Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton continued to throw themselves in to defenders and got the whistles … 21 FTA’s between them. How many of those came actually attacking the hoop?
And then how many times was LeBron hacked on layup and dunk attempts? But no call?
C’mon…
LeBron could have have put the game away in regulation if the refs had just blown their whistle and given him the and 1 on his last shot. At the end of the game, the refs gave the Pistons a chance to win because they refused once again to grant LeBron an and 1.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:54 am
I don’t want to go to sleep. Never did I think I would be a witness to a Cleveland player doing that. And lost in all of this LeBron magic is that Eric Snow is a man’s man. He has never complained. He has taken some deserving lumps about his offense. Yet after being cold on the bench, he changed this game with his defense allowing LeBron to win it. God Bless you Eric Snow.
June 1st, 2007 at 2:31 am
It was awesome, and it will get even better saturday night, the indians will be taming the tigers and the cavs will be degreasing the pistons to go into there first nba finals, man downtown cleveland will really be rocking on saturday night, yes CLEVELAND DOES ROCK!!!!! AND I AM A WITNESS!!!! YEAH BABY.
June 1st, 2007 at 4:14 am
Where is the great Alan Tucker? I think he is waiting in the shadows for us to lose the next 2 games (like last year).
GO CAVS!!!
June 1st, 2007 at 4:41 am
Wow, just wow.
June 1st, 2007 at 4:56 am
LeBron did get hacked on that very last shot with no call, but it looked like Andy got Rasheed pretty good on the hand on the possession before that so I guess it “evens out” … although the basketball purist in me cringes at the “it (= bad (no)calls) evened out” justification.
But who cares? What an amazing game! LeBron was a “raging inferno” in the words of the Chuckster, ESnow and the others played solid D, and others made clutch rebounds and clutch shots (at least until LeBron took his game to the next level).
Just like last year though, Game 6 is key. If the series goes back to Detroit, it’s back to advantage Pistons. Remember that anything short of what LeBron did last night and the Pistons are up 3-2 this morning. Let’s flip the script from last year–Cavs in 6.
June 1st, 2007 at 5:02 am
Good point about Ben Wallace too, I had the same thought as the game was going on–no way LeBron gets all of those dunks with BW in the paint. Him going to Chicago hurt Detroit infinitely more than it helped Chicago.
June 1st, 2007 at 5:05 am
Yes, it was amazing how cool and calm LeBron was down the stretch. When Rasheed clearly mugged him on a no-call near the end of regulation, he didn’t complain at all. He just kept attacking. I’m in complete disbelief that a 22 year old is this good at basketball and was literally doing whatever he wanted to against other grown men. I’m pretty sure LeBron is robotic because when he bashed his hand on the rim a lesser man would have injured himself but LeBron just looked down to make sure his exoskeleton wasn’t showing through. Even his three pointers were different from his hoist it up and fade aways, they were confident daggers.
June 1st, 2007 at 5:06 am
Love the ESPN story Brian. Great job as always. I look forward to reading your stuff after every game. Can’t wait till Saturday!!!
June 1st, 2007 at 5:29 am
I am still in shock, and still get chills watching the highlights….This is one morning where I will have no problem watching the 75 reruns of sportscenter.
You a game is great when the people in the building don’t want to leave. I didn’t want to turn off the TV. One for the ages…
Cava now need to take that next step, and that’s closing a series at home, something they have failed to do twice in the LeBron era…
FTS
http://www.fearthesword.com
June 1st, 2007 at 6:31 am
just to chime in on the point about wallace, if you remember last year’s series he was on the bench during crunch time anyways because he was such a liability on offense. but who cares. amazing game.
June 1st, 2007 at 6:35 am
not much to say after that performance that hasn’t already been said.
except one thing—potato brown is a fool. the cavs win in spite of his idiotic coaching.
June 1st, 2007 at 6:36 am
There aren’t words for what we all watched last night. You can try to describe it with terms like virtuouso, defining, transcendent, whatever, but nothing encompasses that performance. Ive been watching NBA playoff games since the early eighties. Bird taking over games. Isaiah scoring 24 in a quarter on a bum ankle. Magic dropping in that little sky hook to beat the celtics in the garden. And of course Jordan, over and over. But this time, it was OUR guy. That was our guy on the freaking Cleveland Cavaliers who had national experts like Hubie Brown saying “top three greatest playoff performances of all time.” I don’t think we’re used to that. Not in any sport since the Jim Brown era has this town had a player who literally redefined greatness in one game.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Cavs are a better team than the Pistons. How does Detroit not hammer Lebron repeatedly in the 4th and OT on his drives? Inexcusable defense. Nobody else on the Cavs even wanted to shoot. The terror in Sasha’s eyes was hilarious. It was like he was back in a serbian interrogation cell. I wouldnt be surprised if the hardwood at the Palace has to be replaced, given all the urine that was running down the other Cavs’ legs. But the King pulled it out. Now finish the job on saturday.
June 1st, 2007 at 6:51 am
LONG LIVE THE KING!!!! LeBron James just demonstrated last night why Cleveland has a chance to not only win an NBA Championship but has a chance to dominate the San Antonio Spurs in a finals match-up!
The open court, full throttle, run and gun Western style of play actually favors the Cavs who have done quite well out West this year. They will cancel each other out defensively, San Antonio will have the edge in expireance but will have no answer for LeBron James when he gets bent on victory and enters the zone of greatness that only he is capable of doing these days.
Cleveland has now proven to be as solid a defensive team under play-off conditions as has ever set foot on the court. Granted, there may be a mistake or two by some of the younger players who loose their concentration sometimes but you can tell that the Mike Brown “Defensive Philosophy” along with Larry Hughes defensive pride and the veteran E-Snow’s hard-nosed defensive grit has completely rubbed off on the rest of the Cavs. They are truly ready for prime time NBA Finals competition!
In closing, I can’t say enough about LeBron’s clutch performance last night other than the fact that the entire sports universe became a “Witness” to absolute greatness during a game for the ages! Even Michael Jordan had to shake his head in disbelief at the greatness of the moment.
Let’s close out the Pistons Saturday night and bring on the Spurs!
Don Thornton
A Witness!
June 1st, 2007 at 6:52 am
The beginning of the end? I’m thrilled the Cavs won and was afraid they had wasted some opportunities. It’s amazing they pulled it out with all the foul trouble. However, I will be interested in seeing how this game and experience changes James. Take a look at the assist stats throughout the game. The Cavs were playing bad basketball and relying on James more than ever. If James thinks he is the only way to win and becomes 45% of the offense the next couple of games, they are in big trouble. The only positive comment James had to say about his team was they did a good job creating space for him (i.e. getting out of my way.) I really hope this doesn’t change his perspective on playing team ball, but instead shows him the best way to score when he needs to rather than standing around hoisting long jumpers. Let’s see if they can close out this year and take on Mike Brown and Danny Ferry’s mentors.
June 1st, 2007 at 7:18 am
I get the feeling tht the Pistons are tired and somewhat demoralized, the Cavs are a little younger and becoming wiser w/ each game. The entire team should be fresh since they mostly stood and watched the 4Q and OT. And James, well he is 22 years young and I am sure he has enough in the tank to go at it again tomorrow.
I wouldn’t be surpised if they thump Detroit tomorrow at The Q.
June 1st, 2007 at 7:18 am
I am a witness.
ak: “brown is a fool. the cavs win in spite of his idiotic coaching.” Is that you Alan?
June 1st, 2007 at 7:20 am
We still need an enforcer. To have Lebron
run over to defend Wild Thing on that
assasin hit by McFlyess is dangerous and
stupid. If Maxiell would have punched Lebron he would be out for the rest of the
year. Z and Gooden stood their scared out
of their boots. Watch for more dirty play
from the Mafia Pistons on Saturday night.
I say send Pollard out to cut Rasheeds legs
out. What a crying whiner he is.
June 1st, 2007 at 7:36 am
I think the reason why the Pistons aren’t contesting shots (at least Rasheed) is the fear of being posterized. I don’t remember exactly when it was - either game 3 or game 4 - but LeBron threw it down over a dunk-contesting Rasheed. The next time LeBron drove, Rasheed stood to the side and let him go. Maybe that’s what’s most different about this team from last year - they’re more concerned with looking good (or not looking bad) and not as concerned with doing what Ben Wallace does and stopping attackers any way possible.
June 1st, 2007 at 7:53 am
I don’t know what Rasheed was crying about at the end of the game. The Pistons could’ve won if he and his teammates hadn’t politely stepped outside the key every time Lebron James blew past his man and dunked. I can’t believe how they just stopped helping each other on D.
Also, can you believe how badly James demoralized the fans? At the start of both overtimes, the Palace could’ve been mistaken for a library. It’s like they were dreading watching another period because they knew it would end badly for their team. (In other words, they looked like Clevelanders.) Unbelievable.
3 down, a very large one to go.
June 1st, 2007 at 7:58 am
Also: Did anyone else notice Z’s bucket late in the game, when he crashed into Varejao? True to his natural instinct, Varejao started his 12th flop of the night. But, seeing it was his teammate that had collided with him, he smartly aborted his flop mid-way.
Hilarious.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:01 am
Rob above has a good point. This could lead to a return of Lebron playing one on five. Which would be bad for the team. But you can hardly blame him, the rest of the team more or less sucks.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:22 am
Kudos to Windhorst. He’s getting better all the time because he actually works at his trade. Compare his article today with all the national stuff or local Cleveland stuff. I’ll read it all, because I’m drunk with joy. But objectively speaking, everyone else just tries to figure out 10 ways to Sunday to prove they can be louder and more incomprehensible in shouting “oooo, gee, wow!” It’s fun to see them all spluttering in amazement, but it isn’t very high caliber. Windhorst actually brings some depth and basketball perspective. Joy-crazed as I am, it’s like a cherry on top of this Terminal Tower sized sundae.
Now let’s pour a shot of Jack Daniels on there Saturday.
Almost lost amidst the deserved James-worship (that at times can border on insults to everyone else):
Andy came with help and got a fingernail on that last shot. It takes just a little off the ball and changed rotation. Since Lebron was gassed, we probably would have lost in 3OT without that play. He also kept rolling to the hole and fighting which was just enough to keep the double and triple teams a little tentative on Lebron. Gibson and Z dropped big 3’s when we were just trying to survive at the end of the 3rd and in the 4th. Hughes canning the 3’s early was 6 we needed bad, and probably big in sending the message to Detroit that they couldn’t just pack it in tight.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:28 am
How is it that Potatohead Brown blows all our timeouts in the first OT? It’s like he wasn’t even thinking, just called a timeout on autopilot after the Pistons cut the lead to two with thirty seconds left. And what do they do coming out of the timeout? Oh, the usual; give the ball to Lebron, let him dribble, and, in this case, hoist an airball. So Detroit of course ties it with 3 seconds left and we’re out of timeouts. ESnow launches a 70 footer to try and win it. He’s not a good game manager. His substitution patterns constantly having you scrathcing your head. Like in game four when he put Snow in on offense for the last possession of the game. He’s a LIABILITY. we’re going to win this series because of #23, period. And bending over to try and neck with Lebron after the final buzzer was epic. Did he kiss him? Did I see some tongue on ear lobe?
June 1st, 2007 at 8:34 am
The Cavs have been waging a war of attrition since the Wizard’s series. They’ve been rope-a-doping on the basketball floor … taking the other teams best punch until they wear themselves out trying.
There’s only been one game between games since game 3 ended.
The Pistons decided a close game favored the Cavs. Imagine that? They came out fast and hard in the 1st quarter with their trapping defense. Usually they save that for when it matters. When it mattered Rasheed didn’t want to be in the poster. The Piston’s lacked energy and Flip went with his vaunted zone, which is the basketball equivalent of the prevent-nothing defense *if* you can hit shots and prevent it from collapsing.
Mike Brown spread the floor like he’s perhaps never done, and for unimaginable reasons the Pistons respected it. So LeBron went to work.
Don’t worry about LeBron, he’s always said his goal is to make the right play - and he will. This game won’t turn him in to a ball hog. He was just keeping his promise to deliver the game if the team kept it close.
If LeBron goes for the tie in game #1 I wonder what would have happened? One thing that’s obvious is they saved a lot of wear and tear going for the win. Game #5 was the time to lay it all on the line and stretch the game out for as long as you could… game #1 is one you want to steal.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:43 am
Brian-
I just heard you on “Rizzo On The Radio”, and you said that the Palace was louder than the Q. Huh???? How in the hell can you say that the place was louder than we’ve been throughout this entire series regardless of the capacities of each facilities. Anyways, excellent piece you wrote on espn.com as always. It’s refreshing to read legitimate, ego-less writing on that website. This is the greatest time in Cleveland sports history. I dare anyone to debate that statement. Our city, our team is about to go to the biggest stage in the basketball universe. Enjoy! Oh and we will blow the friggin’ roof off the Q. Sorry, Detroit, have fun in the Bahamas!
June 1st, 2007 at 9:01 am
I also noticed to my surprise that D. Jones actually managed to stay in front of Billups on a few occassions last night. However, I think Billups had logged 50 mintues or so at that point.
As I expected, Snow was called on and he came up huge. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get more minutes, even with his offensive deficiencies.
How about LeBron’s behind the back move to the jumper on Billups? That was the first time I had see that move. How about that reach under the rim dunk by Prince, that was sick, albeit in a losing effrot thankfully.
June 1st, 2007 at 11:11 am
Sam Amico of probasketballnews.com says Lebron really is a superstar. It’s official, for all you Kobe fans.
http://www.probasketballnews.com/amico_060107.html
June 1st, 2007 at 11:59 am
Who in the hell is Sam Amico? & what do Kobe fans have to do with anything?
June 1st, 2007 at 8:31 pm
I cannot believe Alan Tucker is this immature that he has not posted any more. so much for the intellects