What should LeBron expect tonight?
Posted April 21st, 2008 by Pat McManamon
Will LeBron James need special protection tonight when the Cavs play the Wizards? 
Maybe.
Consider these statements from the Wizards in Monday's Washington Post. The first is from Andray Blatche, about the elbow that James threw to his jaw in Game 1.
"Yeah, he got me, but I didn't really have a problem with it," Blatche said. "I fouled him twice pretty hard so I expected it. Just basketball."
And this from Brendan Haywood about the mid-court altercation that started when Haywood knocked James to the ground, then stood over him, James said, "in a disrespectful manner."
"It was nothing really," Haywood said. "I set a blind screen and I thought he flopped on it. I went to talk to (the official) about it; James took offense that I was standing over him. At that point in the game, he's not going to get up and do anything. What's he gonna do? Throw a punch? Get thrown out of the game? Shoot, I would've been the MVP like Robert Horry if I got him to do that.
"He should just chill out, play ball. It's going to be a rough-and-tough series. He's going to get fouled if he comes to the basket, but no one's trying to hurt him."
Said Caron Butler: "We're going to give good, clean, hard fouls at the rim, when guys get in the paint. We're not trying to give up [three-point plays], you know, make them earn it at the foul line and try to be aggressive at both ends as much as possible."
Clearly, the Wizards' game plan is to continue to be physical when James drives. To knock him down when he gets near the basket. It was for this reason that Cavs coach Mike Brown talked about it yesterday. He wants the officials aware. This is playoff basketball, as Joe Smith said, so it shouldn't be surprising. James just has to be ready to deal with it. And winning the game pretty much deals with it in the best way possible.
On a separate topic, remember when Delonte West stole a Washington inbounds pass late in the Game 1 win and officials ruled it a jump-ball? Well, apparently this is what happend. One official thought West crossed the inbounds line to steal the pass. He didn't of course, so instead of giving the Cavs a technical (the result of crossing the inbounds line), they ruled both players crossed over the line and made it a jump. My guess is this was their way of fixing a mistake.
Game time is at 7. And Gilbert Arenas showed no problems in the morning shootaround. Arenas missed Sunday's practice with a sore right wrist. I repeat a thought from yesterday: If the Cavs think Agent Zero and Antawn Jamison are going to keep missing shots in the fourth quarter they also believe in the tooth fairy. Those two guys are too good to keep missing.
