Simple answers to simple questions. From Rv Oliver III:
Are the Cavs that good? Or is the East that bad?
Well …
Look, Cleveland’s not 44 points better than Boston. The Cavaliers are locked in
to a level I haven’t seen from a team, collectively, probably since the San
Antonio Spurs eviscerated the Miami Heat in The 2014 Finals. The ball is moving
like it’s being launched by centrifugal force; Cleveland’s defense is five guys
moving together as if tied together with string, and the Cavs are beasting
Boston in the paint. I suspect that, Bradley Beal’s opinion to the contrary,
Cleveland would be whupping Washington if the Wizards had made the conference
finals, too. But as I’ve written about several times in recent weeks, including
today, Cleveland’s insane dominance in the last three years of Eastern
Conference playoffs — 34-5 after Sunday’s second-half meltdown to the Celtics,
making the Cavs 10-1 so far this postseason — forces every other team in the
East to really think about whether going “all in” to build a team the next few
years is really worth it.
One is the loneliest number. From Srdjan Komadina:
Since the lottery results have been published, and since the Celtics got the No.
1 pick, many have said that they should get yet another guard, Lonzo Ball or
Markelle Fultz, some have even suggested that they should go after Josh Jackson,
some said even that they should trade the pick for Paul George, or even Jimmy
Butler.
But I don’t think doing any of that is going to solve their main problem if they
want to try to dethrone the Cavs in the next year or two, and that is interior
defense and rebounding. Having in mind Gordon Hayward’s connection with Celtics
coach Brad Stevens, the cap space that Boston has, and, of course, all the
assets from the previous (as well as future) drafts, shouldn’t the Celtics try
to address their main problems with the No. 1 pick instead of stockpiling young,
talented, but — let’s face it — not-bringing-you-over-the-hump guards and
wings?
Therefore, may I suggest to you this idea. The Celtics should try and trade the
No. 1 pick, but neither for Butler nor George. I believe that they should try
and get a center to their team. And, yes, I know that they already have Al
Horford locked in for that position, but I have always felt that he was best
suited at the 4. And I think that he even prefers playing the 4. And we all saw
in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals that once LeBron decides to get to
the paint, there is nothing Boston can do. So, moving Horford to PF, or even
trading him, would open up a space in the middle for a big man, a rim protector
and a rebounder.
Two names come to mind: Hassan Whiteside and Andre Drummond. I feel that those
two would be the easiest to acquire. All that, of course, is if the Celtics
manage to sign Hayward (who I like over Butler as well as George) in free agency
this summer. Combine that with excellent perimeter defense the Celtics can play
and maybe, just maybe, you have a recipe to dethrone the King.
Hate to burst your bubble, Srdjan, but there’s no way Miami is moving Whiteside,
and while I don’t think Drummond is ungettable in certain circumstances, I don’t
think Danny Ainge a) wants him, and b) is going to trade the first pick overall
to get him, even if he did. Plus, the whole point of getting Horford was to play
him at the five, where his ability to step out and shoot, as well as facilitate
from the elbows, gives him advantages over most centers. At the four, those
advantages would evaporate, and he’d also have to go out in space and try and
guard the bevy of stretch fours leaguewide. No, thank you.
One of these things is not like the other. From Daniel Sher:
Can you tell me why the NBA isn’t consistent with centers? They’re not included
in All Star ballots, but are included in All-NBA ballots.
The simple answer is the league views them as completely different things. One
is an opportunity for fans to see the game’s best players. The other is viewed
as an opportunity to select the players at each position, including center. And
there hasn’t been much groundswell among owners or executives to change the
current all-NBA format.
Send your questions, comments and stories of other benchwarmers who completely
sell out for the good of the team to daldridgetnt@gmail.com. If your e-mail is
funny, thought-provoking or snarky, we just might publish it!
POSTSEASON MVP WATCH
(Last week’s averages in parenthesis)
1) LeBron James (26.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 6.7 apg, .545 FG, .667 FT): At the top of
his powers — and got named to his 11th straight all-NBA first team — at just
the right time for the Cavaliers, who have looked impregnable for almost a month
of (sporadic) games.
2) Kevin Durant (24.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.5 apg, .586 FG, .833 FT): Just when you
thought he wasn’t going to be a significant factor Saturday — boom, 16 straight
points in the third quarter, leading to the backbreaking Game 3 win and an easy
chip and putt to the Finals.
3) Kawhi Leonard: DNP (ankle).
4) John Wall (18 ppg, 7 rpg, 11 apg, .348 FG, .500 FT): Ran out of gas in fourth
quarter of Game 7 in Boston, which a few online idiots have used to try and
denigrate his season. Also: HE JUMPED ON A TABLE AFTER GAME SIX!! This is what
qualifies as “analysis” in our insipid hot take world.
5) James Harden: Season complete. And, see John Wall. A bad ending in the
playoffs does not flip the script on an incredible season for the Beard.
BY THE NUMBERS
6 — NBA teams that will have corporate logos on their jerseys starting next
season, after the Cavs announced a deal last week with Goodyear to put the
company’s “Wingfoot” logo on their uniforms. Cleveland joins Boston (General
Electric), the 76ers (Stubhub), Sacramento (Blue Diamond Almonds), Brooklyn
(Infor) and Utah (Qualtrics) as teams that have struck deals for corporate
patches on their uniforms.
24 — NBA teams that will participate in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in
July, the most ever in the history of the event. Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn,
Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, the Lakers, the
Clippers, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Orleans, Philadelphia,
Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah and Washington will
have teams in Vegas; only Orlando (hosting its own, smaller, league the week
before), Charlotte, Detroit, Indiana, New York and Oklahoma City won’t have
teams at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavillion.
41 — Margin of Cavaliers’ halftime lead over Boston — 70-29 — in Game 2 of
the Eastern Conference finals, the largest halftime margin in a playoff game in
NBA history. (The previous record was set on April 26, 1987, when Detroit led
Washington 76-36 at halftime of Game 2 of that first-round series; my buddy
Charlie Slowes, the [then] Bullets’ radio play-by-play man — he now does play
by play for the Washington Nationals — jokes that he was not deterred, telling
listeners that night, ‘don’t go anywhere! Exciting second-half action coming
your way, right after these messages!’)
I’M FEELIN’ …
1) The Finals begin June 1. Just a few days more and we’ll all get what we’ve
been expecting since July 4 of last year.
2) Kudos to former NBA players T.J. Ford, Drew Gooden and Mike Bibby for all
finishing up and receiving their respective college degrees this week
3) Salute, Jeff Van Gundy.
4) As I recall, mine was not nearly as creative or as potentially bone-breaking.
NOT FEELIN’ …
1) I think I’ve made my feelings about Gregg Popovich clear over the years: he
is, to me, not only the best coach walking in the NBA, but one of its best
people. Having said that, comparing any on-court behavior of anyone, including
Zaza Pachulia, to manslaughter is ridiculous and shouldn’t be done.
2) It is so easy, now, to castigate voters who didn’t have LeBron James among
their top three MVP choices this season. As always, I ask in return: who would
you take off to put LeBron on? Russell Westbrook, who averaged a triple-double
this season, the first player to do that in 55 years? James Harden, the first
player in NBA history to total 2,000 points, 900 assists, and 600 rebounds in
one season, and the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points and assist
on 2,000 points in one season? Or Kawhi Leonard, the best two-way player in the
league, and whose team had a better regular season record than Cleveland’s? Who
do you take off to put on James — whose team went 21-20 the second half of the
regular season, and who decried his team’s lack of focus and intensity
throughout that second half of the season? Harden? Westbrook? Leonard? Who?
Those problems and that record aren’t James’s fault and I’m not saying they are.
But it doesn’t absolve him from those problems and that record, either.
3) Sorry to hear that former Pistons GM Jack McCloskey, who built the Bad Boys,
is suffering from Alzheimer’s. While McCloskey was fortunate to have Isiah
Thomas to build around, he still put a championship team around him that
perfectly fit Zeke’s skill set.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41), Tuesday, 2:09 p.m., expressing some doubt that the
Mavericks would leap into the top three of the Draft before last week’s Lottery
drawing. And, he was right; Dallas stayed exactly where it was slotted to be and
will pick ninth in the first round.
THEY SAID IT
“Guys, it’s the same questions we got asked about DeMar last year. Go back and
check it. Go back and check the radio shows, go back and check everything. It’s
the exact same thing … It’s the same thing that sources said DeMar wants to go
to the Lakers, DeMar wants to do this, he wants to do that. Every year, same old
Kyle stuff, from 2-3 years ago, it’s the same old thing. It’s our job to make
this work, that’s all I can say.”
— Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri, in a radio interview with 1050 Sports in
Toronto, on a Bleacher Report story quoting an anonymous GM from another team
saying free agent-to-be Kyle Lowry is unhappy in Toronto and wants to leave.
“I think it’s in my best interest, Mike, to leave it at that.”
— ESPN’s Doris Burke, whom I now plan to marry (I hope my current wife
understands), ending her first-quarter interview with Spurs Coach Gregg
Popovich. Burke had asked Popovich what he saw after San Antonio fell behind the
Warriors 33-16 in the period. Popovich, as is his wont, was short in response,
saying “well, we didn’t score.”
“It’s hard to believe but he’s better, a lot better than when I got into the
league.”
— Celtics coach Brad Stevens, after LeBron James eviscerated his team in Game 1
of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday.
Longtime NBA reporter, columnist and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer
David Aldridge is an analyst for TNT. You can e-mail him here, find his archive
here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its
clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
