Cavs 89, Pistons 73
–Excellent overall performance by the Cavs. The defense was very solid and the matchups actually worked in the Cavs favor, which I was not sure about. By relying on Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao to play Rasheed Wallace 1-on-1, the rest of the Cavs were able to stick to their men outside and mostly give up contested jumpers.
–There is no doubt in my mind, however, the back-to-back was hitting the Pistons. Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton didn’t even shoot in the fourth quarter and you could see them all melt a little down the stretch. It has been rare this season for the Cavs to have the rest in their advantage and they took advantage. Nonetheless, the Pistons’ magic number to win the Central Division would’ve been 1 had they won tonight and the Cavs didn’t let it happen on their floor and that sends a message.
–LeBron’s confidence against the Pistons is quite high, which is a departure from last season at at times. He seems like he’s easily able to get them back on their heels and it used to be the other way around. Not saying they can’t shut him down like they used to, but I think the mental advantage has flopped. It started with that overtime win in the regular season at the Palace last year when LeBron had 41 points. He found out he could apply pressure and get results and he carried it right over into the playoffs.
–There are two more meetings between these teams this season and I am just waiting for an Anderson Varejao-Rasheed Wallace throw down. They were on each other tonight and in each other’s faces. It was the first meeting for them since the playoffs, Andy was holding out in the previous matchup. They are throwing elbows and talking trash. Totally fun to watch. But once again it seemed like it was Rasheed who got out of his game, he just tossed up 3-pointers in the fourth. Which is what you want him to do.
–Let’s see if the Cavs can keep up this defense, they have been so inconsistent I just cannot say they have turned a corner. Toronto will be a good test on Friday in that regard. On offense, when Wally Szczerbiak makes shots like he did tonight and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is involved things brighten. We’ll see if any of it gels, thought.
–So DeShawn Stevenson is at it again. After the Wizards beat the Magic in Orlando tonight, Stevenson was feeling his manhood again and said he was hoping to play the Cavs in the playoffs and he wants to get Soulja Boy into the act. Here is what he said:
“I hope we play Cleveland. I’m going to get Soulja Boy courtside seats and have him wear a DeShawn Stevenson jersey. Maybe (James) can have Jay-Z there since LeBron’s all on his (shorts) anyway. And tell LeBron to cut that beard off and stop copying me.”
Apparently this all goes deeper. LeBron said something to Drew Gooden, one of Stevenson’s boys, about Stevenson once and Gooden passed it along (I don’t think this makes Drew a favorite in the LeBron world, either).
“We’re all in the same profession,” Stevenson said. “We don’t need to talk bad about one another. So, that’s how it happened. I was ticked off and that’s why I said something to him at tip-off. So, it goes back further than people think.”
All of this and more from the Washington Post’s Ivan Carter on his blog.
Recap:
Pregame
Starting lineups
Pistons: Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace
Cavs: Delonte West, Sasha Pavlovic, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Officials
Greg Williard, Tony Brown, Bill Kennedy
–This will be interesting to see where the Cavs are. They are a good home team and a good defensive home team and the Pistons are on a back-to-back. The Pistons are a good road team.
–There is a lot of focus on Wallace playing his old team, but that is really old hat. More important is how the Cavs defend the Pistons’ perimeter. Also, the matchup of the reserve big men should be interesting.
–Keep an eye on how the Pistons play LeBron and how the Cavs react. They have put a big point on moving the ball more when LeBron is kept on the outside and doubled by the Pistons.
Halftime — Cavs 45, Pistons 38
–The difference in this game seems to be the little spurt at the end of the half when the Pistons went really cold from the floor and the Cavs got hot. But otherwise, it has been what you’d expect, a tight and physical game. The Cavs have done a good job of trying to get inside with drives and passes into the post. They have 20 points in the paint, which is good against the Pistons.
–The Pistons are using their standard LeBron defense. They are leaving Prince on him 1-on-1 and then playing a mini-zone behind him with two players moving. He’s had success driving and kicking, he’s got four assists. He needs to keep moving and so do the other players, because when stagnant this defense is very effective. He has no problem getting past Prince and then the issue is whether he can beat the second man or find the hole in the defense.
–Detroit is something like 30-1 when they score 100 points and about .500 when they don’t so this pace favors the Cavs. Just keeping the game close and giving LeBron a chance to win it is a good idea.
–The Pistons obviously think when Ben Wallace is guarding Rasheed it is an advantage, because they kept going to him on the block over and over. He made one shot and drew one foul, but Ben battled him OK and Sheed is just 1-of-7. I don’t think that’s a great matchup because Sheed can shoot over Ben, but it was an interesting battle to watch.
–Two things from this half: 1. Rip Hamilton can get an open jumper against the Cavs any time he wants. 2. Anderson Varejao is yet to make a good decision.
–LeBron has been guarding Billups a little bit, this is an interesting idea because in the past Billups has struggled against bigger/taller defenders like Larry Hughes.
–The Cavs kept their turnovers down but that is always a concern as is their offense stagnating and having to take bad shots at the end of the shot clock. Keep and eye on these factors in the second half. Also, you have to assume Detroit will shoot a little better from the outside.
Postgame
Stars
LeBron, 30 points, seven rebounds, six assists
Ilgauskas, 20 points, eight rebounds
Hamilton, 14 points, seven assists
Quotes:
LeBron: “It’s not a statement game, it’s just a regular season game and another game for us to get better.We took more than one step forward tonight, we took five steps, especially on the defense end.”
Mike Brown: “I thought our guys came into the game with the right mindset. We put together a complete game on the defensive side of the floor.”
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One of the best games I’ve seen the Cavs play since we did that trade. Loved Varejao’s behind the back move, Szczerbiak knocked down 3 in a row before those two ambitious leaners that bricked, Ben Wallace hustled, and it is great to have Ilgauskas back. And obviously, we have the best player in the game in LeBron.
Maybe I shouldn’t look too much into this game, given that Detroit played pretty poorly and they just came off that monster game yesterday, but it was a good win nonetheless. Anyone know when Daniel Gibson is coming back?
One of our most impressive wins of the season. The defense at least is clearly starting to gell. Wallace looks a ton better when Z is out there.
Szczerbiak needs to learn how to pass back out when the defense converges on him in the lane. But if he hasn’t already maybe he never will.
Good win tonight. Ben and Delonte and Wally played well for the newcomers, and solid games from Lebron and Z. Lot of boards for AV. Offense still looked putrid most of the game though. But if they play defense like last year consistently, they can win ugly in the playoffs.
Varejao’s behind the back move was a major travel that he got away with.
The Pistons are NOT an elite team, folks. Don’t be fooled by the win numbers, they’re chokers.
Good win by the wine and gold…
Very impressive win tonight. The Pistons are still a good team (their record shows it), but I think it’s clear that we have a mental advantage over them. Too bad we’re gonna have to face Boston first.
I was very pleased with how how well the Cavs played defensively tonight. Plus, they only had 7 turnovers.
Did something happen to Joe Smith? If so, I missed it. He only played six minutes tonight.
Nice win fellas, nice win
I was very pleased with many aspects of the win. However, just as Windhorst made a point recently about the Cavs in road games on the second night of back-to-backs, I’m hesitant to put too much emphasis on the victory given Detroit’s schedule. Don’t get me wrong — any victory over the Pistons is a good one, and I do think the Cavs are picking up an increasing mental edge on them, especially at home. I just hope it can carry over into a 7-game series in the Eastern Conference finals.
Man stevenson needs to get in control. I don’t care who said what – the dude blows and is picking a fight he cannot win.
brian, not to be a self-promoter, but i think props are due man. i made a wild guess during that wizards game that the beef had to do with drew. guess i was sorta right…
A win’s a win…
The offensive lapses and inconsistency are a product of the entire team not knowing where each other is going to be, and that’ll come the more they play together. Wally will figure it out, but against Detroit’s defense, the way they play the passing lanes, it’s very difficult to pass out of a double. LeBron can do it because he’s LeBron.
Deshawn who?? He’s got it all backwards, first of all. The CAVS are the ones hoping they meet in the playoffs, and I think the true sign of a gay crush is to grow matching beards, although LeBron and Jay-Z do hug an awful lot. Any Wizards player saying they want the Cavs is obviously firing up some amazing cannibus. That’s like the Washington (ahem) Generals calling out the Globetrotters.
If the Cavs can bottle this kind of effort defensively, we’re a mismatch for anyone… like I’ve been saying for weeks.
“I hope we play Cleveland,” Stevenson said. “I’m going to get Soulja Boy courtside seats and have him wear a DeShawn Stevenson jersey. Maybe (James) can have Jay-Z there since LeBron’s all on his (shorts) anyway.”
Stevenson wasn’t done.
“And tell LeBron to cut that beard off and stop copying me.”
I wonder which imaginative word for pecker was used by Stevenson to describe James’ love for Jay-Z’s schlong. Hell, it’s an Internet blog, not the Holy Bible. Are you telling me that Carter can’t directly quote a quote? And Stevenson is totally right about James’ beard, that thing is pretty silly. It’s looking almost as ridiculous as last year’s Amish Ilgauskas.
“Stevenson is totally right about James’ beard”? Are you serious? Have you seen Stevenson’s beard? It is hideous. It’s wintertime, it’s a beard, big deal.
Soulja Boy is nothing but a lucky hack enjoying his 15 minutes of fame, meaning that the parallel with Stevenson is fitting. They both suck.
Yeah, but there’s a major difference, Stevenson is intentionally engaged in a goofy beard contest with Gooden. Who (or what) is James competing against? That thing looks like it should be scrubbing pots and pans.
Stevenson is essentially a thug, nothing more. He’s the Pacman Jones of the NBA.
Just the facts: DeShawn Stevenson, at 20 years old, was charged with statutory rape of a 14 year old girl shortly after he was drafted, and a man was shot in his home a few years ago under unknown circumstances.
Keep talking Deshawn… get our superstar/the best player in the league ticked off and hungry for the playoffs. Is he on Ferry’s payroll or what? This is only going to fire the Cavs up, which is fine by me.
He sure is going to great lengths to defend his life partner and fellow village idiot, Drew. They must really be “tight”.
So how do all the idiots on this board, who dogged the trade, feel now? This team is built for the playoffs. Championship, here we come.
I wonder what Lebron said to Gooden about Stevenson? Maybe something along the lines of “Man, Stevenson Really likes plowing EIGHTH GRADERS!!!”
ATTENTION DESHAWN STEVENSON:
Until Lebron date rapes a 14 year-old, do not talk trash. You are living in the world’s biggest glass house.
Josh, I think you may be onto something. Other than just being a dumb human being (and that’s definitely possible with the little guy) why give extra motivation to the best player in the league? Just dumb.
deshawn stevenson needs to shave that weak ass beard and stop biting on my signature look.
stevensn should just stop talking why he can. lebron doesnt care about this he said she said mess. stevenson is just so jealous
Thoughts on tonight’s game:
1. This was the first Cavs game I’ve watched in a week and I watched it from about the 10th row of the Q. It always amazes me when I’m sitting that close to an NBA game just how physically freakish these guys are. It took my eyes like a full quarter to get used to seeing an entire floor full of guys that size and I’ve seen several NBA games from that close. It’s just impossible realize on TV what unbelievable physical specimens these guys are.
2. Good job by the Cavs tonight. Detroit obviously didn’t have it playing the second night of a back to back and the Cavs came out and took care of business. Just like nobody makes excuses for us when we get stomped on the second night of road back to backs ,the Pistons get no excuses. For once, the Cavs just took smelled the blood in the water and took care of business.
3. Rasheed Wallace’s ego and temper really can be Detroit’s Achilles heal. Ben Wallace was playing great body up defense on Sheed all night (so, um, yes, apparently when he wants to, he can still play a little D) but Sheed just couldn’t accept the fact that he couldn’t overpower Ben on the block. As mentally tough as Detroit likes to think that they are, if you can get under Sheed’s skin, the entire team can come down like a house of cards. Remember game 6 last year….Sheed getting tossed was the final nail in the coffin. The guy is a supremely talented player but (and I hate saying stuff like this because it’s so cliche’) the fact that he’s a mental midget makes him a huge liability.
4. Lebron owns the Pistons. You can tell they just don’t have an answer for him.
5. I really hate watching Sasha on the offensive end. How is it at this stage in his career, he still hasn’t figured out that he can’t go one on three in the lane and throw up weak floaters? What makes me even more upset is that sometimes his terrible decisions are rewarded with baskets and the crowd goes wild. It’s like rewarding a dog for peeing on the carpet. He’s just going to do it again guys!
6. Clearly, the NBA minutes rule was in effect for both teams tonight. You know, the one where plays have to play a set number of minutes regardless of performance. Wally comes out playing well and hits a 3 and immediately goes to the bench for a quarter and a half. Using the same logic, Eddie Jordan sat Jarvis Hayes for two straight quarters after he came out hitting everything. I’m still waiting for an explanation here? Is it part of the CBA that coaches can’t alter players’ minutes to ride hot hands?
7. Tonight was such a Mike Brown game. The Cavs had so many inexcusable offensive possessions that I just wanted to scream. They came out with no energy in the third quarter and got outplayed for 7 minutes by a team that was still playing hard. After the TV timeout, Brown comes out with the same lineup that was getting smoked and immediately draws up a play for Sasha to shoot an off balance 18 footer. BUT, the Cavs played AWESOME defense and beat a good team so how can I complain?
All I can say is that hiring Mike Brown to coach an NBA team with Lebron on is like the equivalent of hiring Buddy Ryan to run an NFL team with Peyton manning and LT on it. He’ll make the defense good enough to help you win games but the offense will still be woefully inept given its abundance of talent. That is the reality in which we live as Cavs fans. We have the best offensive weapon in the league and a coach who is completely one-dimmensional. I just don’t know if that will ever be good enough.
8. As I mentioned earlier, Ben Wallace’s corpse was doing its best Weekend at Bernies impression tonight. I don’t know whether to be relieved or pissed. You know, Ben, you can play that hard even when you don’t have a personal score to settle…..seriously, by the letter of your contract, that’s what you’re actually supposed to do. You’re compensated quite well for it.
Overall, the Cavs played well enough tonight to win back some of my attention. It was like a playful little tryst with an old fling. It was just enough fun to make me want to come back for more.
You are right Biff, Sasha does need to make better decisions but he’s still avg 14 since he came back and he’s stating to rebound better. He had an off night just like Wally had a good night.
This game is a statement to the players: if you focus on d the wins will come. The only problem is when Boobie comes back it will confuse Coach Brown more…
I think we can stop blaming Mike Brown for possessions where his PLAYERS take dumb, off-balance shots in 3-2-1….
Detroit hasn’t changed at all, as far as I can tell.
A very efficient jump shooting team during the long season but a team that doesn’t like to be defended. They get frustrated and ‘Sheed starts hoisting threes.
Of course the big three all need their minutes and touches, so all this added depth I hear about won’t mean that much in the playoffs.
The Goods on DeShawn — maybe a statutory chant if the Cavs play the Wiz again?
On June 20, 2001, 20-year-old Stevenson was charged with statutory rape. He was accused of having sexual intercourse with a 14 year-old girl from Fresno. On draft night, he was involved in a fight with high school basketball teammates.
On the early morning of August 20, 2007, a 31-year oldman (Curtis Ruff) was shot and injured at Stevenson’s home, following an argument with women that were invited from Destiny’s Club in Orlando, Florida. Circumstances of the incident remain unclear.
deshawn stevenson, american taliban.
First of all DeShawn sucks, if he wants to play against Cleveland in the playoff cool but he wouldnt be a factor. You and soulja boy are not good at your profession. Sit him next to Jay Z,IT WILL be like comparing you to LEBRON you are no match. Lebron dont waist your time with scrubs yeah you DESHAWN STEVENSON.
biff
once again i agree with your complete analysis of the game . and imo , i don’t think brown will be the coach to get the cavs over the top , he is too much of a one trick pony . the cavs can hold a team under 100 (and by the way , i hate that coaches view giving up 100 points as armageddon . ) and lose and brown will some how put the blame on defense . plus , i think he’s too much of a fan of lebron(and timid of lebron’s influence) to actually coach him(even with lebron being as good as he is , he still needs a lot of work of many aspects of the game , he still needs to be coached) .
“Eddie Jordan sat Jarvis Hayes for two straight quarters after he came out hitting everything”.
oh biff , eddie jordan no longer coaches jarvis hayes
Biff,
I knew you would be realed back in after going to last nights game. I think you should have to suffer as much emotional damage as the rest of us Cavs fans.
I agree that is quite a different view seeing a game up close. Every year, I see the Cavs in Boston from the 4th row behind the visitors (Cavs) bench. Unfortunately, this year Lebron was wearing a suit in the Dec. 2nd game.
People forget about all the good things Sasha does, and only dwell on the negative. He does a great job getting to the basket, but a bad job fininshing. He plays much better D than he is given credit for. Hamilton only had 14 (2 in the second half) and scored most of his points on someone other than Sasha. Sasha won’t back down from anyone either, like Vince Carter in last years playoffs.
MB will have to with the hot hand in dividing minutes between Sasha, Devin, and Wally.
Cavs offense is painful on the eyes on so many possessions, but the Cavs can win ugly come playoff time if they can play defense like last year and rebound. We have the best 4th quarter closer in the league.
the caves are the best
man this was a great win and sorry deshwan LeBron isnt copying off you his beard doesnt look like a complete morons beard and ive heard deshwn talk crap about many players before so if he wants to say that you dont do that then leed by example dont cry about it hes just ticked off because LeBron could kill him
Why are we even discussing Mr.19% ?
Hi this is kb=black momba i am definantly nowhere is good as
LeBron James and i dont know why he says that and that
he looks up to me? thats crud he is best player in the leauge
Hampton……i mean kobe byrant
“Why are we even discussing Mr.19% ?”
Apparently everyone’s just taking a day off from trashing Tucker. We’ll get back to the regularly scheduled “I Hate Alan” message board on Friday.
Deshawn needs to ask his master [Agent Zero] what happened some playoffs ago when he missed an important free throw. Deshawn [alias statutory rape] cannot come close to what Lebron is all about basketwise so he needs to zip up, shut up and play while he still has a team.
Also, isn’t the highlight of Mr.19%’s career hard-fouling Ricky Davis after Ricky attempted to get his tenth rebound shooting on the wrong basket?
It’s so simple and cliche to rip the coach after a loss and praise the players after a win. Truly phenomenal, the way some people on this board manage to say the same things with completely different words and phrases. Spitting out phrases after losses like:
“Mike Brown is too one-dimensional”
“Mike Brown is clueless on the offensive end”
“Mike Brown should be fired or we’re screwed”
“Mike Brown is wearing a bad suit”
No coach wins without talent. The way you people argue, Phil Jackson must be the most overrated coach in basketball history, because evidently without Jordan, Scottie, Shaq, and Kobe, he would have had a .200 career winning percentage.
So we agree that LeBron helps Mike Brown’s winning percentage? No KIDDING, Sherlock! But let’s be a little more realistic. The man has brought this team awfully far along, won 50 games in 2 straight years, taken a good but not great team to the NBA Finals, and done all of this with an overloaded salary cap and no draft picks. He has gotten the most out of what he has.
Remember this as well, the Cavs core is still awfully young, and this team is still beating teams like Boston, Detroit, and carrying a winning record vs the Western Conference. This season has been more turbulent than any I can remember, and Mike has carefully guided us through it all. Criticism is inevitable and often fair, and it comes with the territory as an NBA coach, but give the man his due. Things could be much, MUCH worse, especially this year.
Nick, good catch on the Eddie Jordan thing. That is hilarious. I was living in DC during that magical period when Jarvis Hayes and Eddie Jordan were teaming up to catapult the Wiz into the NBA’s elite. I guess subconsciously I just haven’t made peace with the fact that an exquisite talent such as Jarvis now plays for a second rate coach like Flip Saunders.
Seriously, watching Flip work the sidelines last night made me feel guilty for getting on Mike Brown’s case. Flip coached another dominant player in his prime (KG), surrounded him with some good teams, and never won anything in almost a decade. Then he came to a Detroit team with four all-stars (Deserving or not, they made the team) and hasn’t done anything with it. If I had to give a slogan to Flip Saunder’s career, it would have to be “Flip Saunders: Nobody can do less with more.”
On one other note, I was struck last night by how much I wished Boobie Gibson was back. I willadmit that I have been the first guy to roll my eyes when Cavs fans have played the “Everything will be alright once Boobie is healthy” card with this team over the last few weeks. My logic has been that one good shooter doesn’t cure a flawed team. But, here is what I will say in defense of everyone that has been playing that card. I walked into to Q last night for only the second time since game 6 of the Pistons series last year (the other time was game 3 of the NBA finals but I’ve pretty much decided that never happened. We beat the Pistons and then the NBA decided they should cancel the finals and wait until the Cavs were really ready). Anyways, being back in that arena, I couldn’t help but think of how in that game, Boobie completely destroyed the Pistons. Basically, as long as he was on the floor, the Pistons were either going to die by the 3 or by Lebron. You couldn’t stop the Cavs with both of them out there. Obviously, he caught fire in that series but it proved that he can be a difference maker. We need him back spotting up on that wing. That will help this team (until Brown decides to sit him for 24 straight minutes after he comes off the bench and scores 9 quick ones on 3 of 3 shooting).
Finally, how come I didn’t get a call about the apparent Lance Allred signing? I was sitting there starring at him like an IDIOT all night last night with no idea what was going on. So, today, I went to the Cavs website to learn that we just signed a guy that’s averaging 16 POINTS on 51% SHOOTING. WOW!!!!! Lebron finally has a sidekick. Bravo Mr. Ferry, Bravo.
RIP Billy and Kaniel. We’ll never forget you.
Josh:
Let’s not get too carried away. First of all, you don’t see too many people on this board calling for Mike Brown’s head. Most of us realize that it would be preposterous to fire a coach after he just took a moribund franchise to the finals. Lebron or no Lebron, he gets his fair share of the credit for that one.
That being said, I have news for you. Mike Brown is one dimensional. You would be hard pressed to find anybody that would tell you that he really knows his stuff on both ends of the floor. He’s a defensive coordinator in a sport that allows one guy to do both the O and the D.
Also, when you’re trying to make a point (and truthfully, I get your point), don’t say ridiculous stuff. For example, an “overloaded salary cap” doesn’t inhibit a coache’s ability to win. It just means he has an owner willing to pay a ton of big money guys. While it hurts flexibility, it doesn’t inherently limit a coaches ability to win. I doubt Mike Dunleavy would feel burdened if Donald Sterling all of the sudden started trading for max players and “overloaded” the team’s cap.
Finally, of course a good coach needs talent to win. But dude, Phil Jackson has 9 titles. You could let Mike Brown coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars for 15 years and I doubt he’d win 9 titles. Phil Jackson had great players but he’s also a very good coach. I don’t know if I can say the same about Mike Brown. It’s just so hard to know how many of the Cavs wins are automatic because they have the best player in the league in assassin mode every night. I don’t know the answer to that question but I do know that Mike Brown has had a few years to master this whole “offense” thing and hasn’t made a lot of progress. I’m not calling for his head, but I also wouldn’t start making Phil Jackson references.
I only brought up Phil because Mike is getting the same kind of heat. People thought Phil Jackson was just sitting on the sidelines after ripping through his afternoon joint, you know, the whole “roll the ball out there and watch” method of coaching. I think we all know he’s FAR more than that, but perception at the time wasnt as informed. The point was, Jordan got 99% of the credit, much like LeBron. I think we agree on this for the most part.
NOW, to say that having no salary cap flexibility and no draft picks doesnt affect a coach… well, I dont think we’re in agreement there. Mike would have liked to make some additions and fixes to the roster the last few years, and thanks to Paxson’s dumb trades and Ferry’s dumb signings, his roster has pretty much been set. Basically, you’re stuck with these guys, so do the best you can. Teams like Dallas and Boston tweak their teams almost weekly.
I’m not saying Brown is destined for the Hall, but he gets a bad rap.
Josh:
Here is why your arguments don’t hold water:
1. Here’s the biggest reason, above the obvious, that you can’t use Phil Jackson as an example of why the Mike Brown criticism is unfair. TEX WINTER! Phil Jackson was smart enough to realize that he needed Tex Winter. Even after he became a legend after winning 6 titles in Chicago, he brought Winter to LA to win 3 more. Mike Brown, on the other hand, keeps reassuring Cleveland fans that things are just fine the way they are. So, every time we lose a big game because we are wasting the best offensive weapon in the game, I will get all over Mike Brown’s case beacuse its ABSURD that we don’t have an offense at this point in Lebron’s career and Brown’s tenure. Is it unfair to say Mike Brown isn’t a good coach just because he has Lebron? I can’t even begin to buy the argument as long as Brown and Ferry hold to the company line that Brown doesn’t need anybody to help on the offensive end. It’s complete crap and we as fans are paying the price.
2. Cap flexibilty doesn’t affect what you do with any team on any given night. I understand your point but I’m saying that one a night to night basis, generally (not JUST looking at say the Knicks) the more money an owner is willing to put into a team, the better off the coach will be.
3. Your examples don’t prove your point. Dallas has the highest payroll in the league and Boston is now in cap jail for years. The only reason they can keep adding guys is because they are good teams in desirable cities so all the Alan Houston rule guys want to go play there.
I’m not comparing Phil Jackson’s career to Mike Brown’s. I’m saying both have been criticized for similar reasons.
Both have had the luxury of coaching the best player in the league at points in their careers. Both have faced the challenge of bringing a championship to a city starved for a winner (the Bulls were terrible before Jordan arrived). I’m not defending Mike Brown’s faults- he has many, and I’m certainly not saying that he’s on the level of Phil Jackson. Mike and Phil are at far different stages of their careers, so that comparison would be unfair, but to deny that there are similarities would be shortsighted.
Having below average and/or unproductive players on your bench affects the team on ANY given night…
I think there are players out there who want to win, and if that is the case, where better to win than in a weaker conference next to the best player on the planet? I say Ferry should go find a couple of these sorts of players. It wouldnt cost us that much.