I’m No Punk I Just Want To Be Paid

Coming off something of a disappointing season and the losing of a series in the Eastern Conference Finals in the NBA . One can well understand the urgency of Danny Ferry as GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers . Ferry knows that in order for the franchise to remain relevant and to be still in the good graces of their superstar , LeBron James . The GM will have to surround the player with talent that’s commensurate to James’ liking and his talent.

LeBron James (left) and Shaquille O'Neal seen here prior to the 2006 NBA All Star Game . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ L . Otero ............

Now , while many might question the team’s acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal from the Phoenix Suns via a blockbuster trade, as seemingly is the custom concerning O’Neal. As of late the only thing that one can associate with O’Neal and his game . May well be the fact that he’s still somewhat quicker on his feet than that of former star of the ” The Golden Girls ” , Betty White . Agility and guile are no longer a part of Shaq’s repertoire. But Ferry’s presence of mind may well have been , that in order to keep his erstwhile star happy, he had to do something extravagant. O’Neal’s game though with flashes of brilliance still, as he deems fit to use it. It’s a long way off from what it once was. In Phoenix , he was ill-suited to the team’s up tempo style. And seeing him lumbering up and down the US Airways Arena like a pregnant pachyderm wasn’t at all how one likes to remember the once dominant superstar.

In the midst of this all we now have to remember that James is in the final year of his contract. And with the gluttony of elite free agents due in 2010 . It’s understandable that the player is hedging his bets at present. He’s stated that it is his wish to remain a Cavaliers’ player at present. But it wasn’t so long ago , he was stating that he could see himself spending his entire career with the franchise. That may well have been pleasing to ear of the franchise’s owner, Dan Gilbert . Bearing in mind, that Gilbert got a large cash infusion by selling a minority stake in the franchise, to a prominent Chinese businessman. And he no doubt views having James within the fold , will make the franchise much more of marketing tool for the Far Eastern market. And at the same time raise both theirs and that of James’ visibility, there also in that particular market.

James (center) seen here with Rich Paul (left) and and former high school teammate Brandon Weems (right) at an event for the launch of the new Nike Air Max LeBron VII shoes , held at the Ed Davis Community Center in Akron , Ohio . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Jason Miller ................

Clearly this’ll be a make or break year , for not only James but also for O’Neal and the Cavaliers’ franchise. And if they’re to have any semblance of success. Then it’ll not only James and O’Neall but also the rest of the team to makes themselves all the more prominant in that success on the field of play. The nucleus of the team will be built around James , Mo Williams , Zydrunas Ilgauskas , Anderson Varejao and Daniel Gibson. But much of that’ll also be predicated upon the benchwarmers also contributing to the productivity of the team as well.

And for coach Mike Brown , he too can ill afford to have this team underachieve this season. Anything short of an appearance in the Confernce Finals . And more likely than not , he’ll be out of his position as coach of the Cavaliers. The situation for the franchise is as grave as that !

Source Yahoo Sports in conjunction with AP :

LeBron says he wants to keep his options open

By Tom Withers AP Sports Writer

AKRON, Ohio-(AP) LeBron James is unlikely to accept a contract extension from the Cleveland Cavaliers until after the 2009-10 season, when he can become a free agent.

At an event to unveil his latest signature sneaker for Nike , James , who has given no indication as he plans to leave the Cavs, made his strongest comment yet about to his future. The NBA’s reigning MVP said he signed a contract in 2006 with an option so he could have more flexibility once it expires . cont’d …………….

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In no uncertain terms, anything less than appearance in either the conference or NBA Finals. And a win of the latter and the probability will be that James will depart from the franchise , where he’s made it his home for the last six years. And as much as it might anguish the Cavaliers’ fans. The player has done as much as he possibly can, given the resources made available to him. That being said when one considers that this time around he’ll have O’Neal in his corner. If he should fall short of what had been previously accomplished by both Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade , with Shaq as a partner . Then the daggers may well come out and questions’ll be asked if James is now merely cashing it all in , merely for the riches from a franchise willing to shell out a king’s ransom for his services.

Global icon or not at the end of the day if it ain’t about the success. Then it’s got to be about those lovely bones !

So It Really Is The Lakers And Magic!

Sorry I haven’t been posting on The Oracle lately, just been trying to get my other blogs up and running. But now, Jace is back.

Alright after watching Thursday night’s game, I realized something. I realized that it really was the Lakers. The past series I had seen some other team. The other team had the same talent, although they were inconsistent, beyond words. Last night I saw something. I saw the regular season Lakers. I completely dominant team.

I noticed something else, too. I saw the actual Magic. A team that reallies to much on their shooting, and extremely predictable. Last series against the Cavs, I saw this team that had somewhat of a presence in the paint, and were extremely underestimated. There was one similarthing, both Magic’s seemed to have trouble guarding the opposition’s star player. The good Magic couldn’t guard King James. The Magic I saw last night couldn’t guard a Mr. Kobe Bryant.

So now I see something, the Lakers and the Magic really are in the Finals…

…I thought the game was between the LA Inconsistent’s and the Orlando Underestimated. It’s good to know who’s really playing.

How about Kobe? Had some 40 points, 8 assist, and 8 rebounds. The cool part is that he’s only the 4th player to have 40-8-8 in the Finals. That’s a good stat.

Honestly, this game could mean nothing. Maybe this reall was the Inconsistent’s, and it was just a good game for them. If it’s the LA Inconsistent’s, then expect this to go 7 games. Because sometimes, the Inconsistent like to be inconsistent. Almost like they stop playing Basketball, and start playing Shoot Around.

To go even further, this could still work out for the Magic. Or should I say, the Underestimated. This could have been a bad game. That means that next game they could be extremely underestimated by the Inconsistent’s.

What do I think? I think that this finally is the Lakers and the Magic. That doesn’t mean the Magic won’t win a game or two. It does mean I think the Lakers will win. Not just the Lakers will win, but they’ll prove some things.

They’ll prove 3 big things:

1. They ARE the best team
2. Kobe CAN win the big one, without big Shaq
3. Kobe is still the “King” of the NBA, LeBron doesn’t have the crown yet.

Reports Of Our Imminent Death Were Vastly Exaggerated

So the  Cleveland  Cavaliers   live  to  fight another  day ?  And  not  a  moment  too  soon  for that  matter  !   Had they succumbed  to  defeat   at the hands  of the  Orlando  Magic.   Then  it’d  have   proven  to be   of  great  embarrassment to  the NBA  and  to  the   Cavaliers’   fans  and  their  organization  as  a  whole.

James center circle speaks to his teammates prior to last night's game against the Orlando Magic. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ............

Now  we  go  on  to  see  whether or  not  they  can  indeed  still  erase  the  deficit  (3-2)  in  the  series  and  win  it  outright.   There’s  a  burgeoning  belief  amongst their  fans that they’re  still  capable  of  doing  this.   And  quite   possibly  as  well   amongst   a  growing  number  of  fans  around the  NBA .  

James looking to make an offensive play as he shields the ball from the Magic's Rafer Alston during the game. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ................

 If nothing  else   it’s  more about  the  ever  growing  possibility  of  seeing  a   Lakers’   Cavaliers’  matchup   in the  NBA  Finals.    Most  certainly   it’s  the  desire  of the  NBA  hierarchy   more  than  anything  else.    David  Stern   and  his   hierarchy   haven’t  exactly  shied  away  from this  but  nor  have  they  openly discussed  it  in  public.  As it’d be viewed  as  being   discourteous  to  the  likes  of the  Orlando   Magic  and   Denver  Nuggets.  

Last  night’s   fifth  game in this  best  of  seven  series’  Eastern  Conference  Finals   has  proven  if  anything  that the  Cavaliers   still   has  some  fight left  within them.    Much  of  it  however comes  from   the  fact that  the  team’s  All  Star  and  league  MVP  LeBron  James  is  unwillingly  to  give  up without  a  fight  and  shedding   every   last  drop  of blood  within  his   athletic   frame.   And  once  again  he’s proving  why  this  team  is  but a  shell   of  itself  without  him  on the floor at  all  times.

James looks to make the layup while evading the defensive presence of the Magic's Dwight Howard. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus .....................

In defeating   the  Magic  112-102   to bring the  team from the  brink  of defeat  in  the  series.    James   willed  himself   and  the  team  on .   But  most   of  all   not to   allow  the   Orlando  Magic  to  grab  a  victory   from  the  jaws of   defeat.   James  led all  scorers   on the  Cavaliers’   team  and  he  was  ably   supported  by a  trio  of  teammates  in Delonte’  West,  Mo  Williams  and  Zydrunas  Ilgauskas   who  scored  a combined 53  points   in  addition  to  the  37   scored   by  James ,  himself.  However once  again the  bench  of  the   Cavaliers   offered  little  or   no support  in  terms  of  real  productivity  with a  mere  15  points in  total.    If  ever  there  was a  category   where   the  team   has been  a  letdown  altogether  in  this  series.  Then  it  has   most   definitely   been  the  Cavaliers’  bench  and   its  productivity on the  offensive   side of  things.

Music mogul , rapper and producer Jay Z in attendance watches the drama unfold during the game. The rapper and LeBron James are close personal friends. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Elsa ...............

 Through  the  first  three quarters  of last  night’s  game the two   teams were  evenly  matched   in terms of their  offensive   output.  Wherein  coming  into  the  final  quarter  the  Magic merely   held  a   one   point  lead  79-78.  But over the  course of the  final quarter  the   Cavaliers   took their  opponent  to  task  outscoring  them  34-23   down  those final  twelve   minutes  to  eke  out a  10  point win.  The   fight  if  anything  was  that  for much  of  the game  with  it  at  times  becoming   very  physical and  the  officials  in  Bill  Spooner  , Dan  Crawford and   Marc  Davis   keeping a  watchful   eye on the  events  as  they  unfold. 

Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic on the sidelines after the loss to the Cavaliers 112-102 in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals played at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland , Ohio. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ......

 The Orlando   Magic   for themselves   killed  their  chances  of  winning  this  game   by  merely  turning  the  ball  over  far  too often  when  they  were   in  transition  on  the  offensive   side of things.   And   having  shot less  than  50%  in  their   field   goal  attempts and   an  even  more   putrid  32%  from  beyond  the  arc.   Which   the  latter is  often   thought  of  as  their   bread  and  butter  when   not  attacking  the   basket.

Ben Wallace of the Cavaliers looks to make the layup over the Magic's Marcin Gortat while his teammate LeBron James looks on. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Russell Thompson ...............

 All  in  all  one  could   sum  up  the  Magic’s  night as  being   a   game  where  they  didn’t   care of the chances  when   given  to them .  And that’s  despite the   fact  that  Hedo  Turkoglu  and   Dwight   Howard  played  well.   With   the  two  of them   combining  to  score  53 of  the  Magic’s  102  points in the game.  And with  only   Mickael  Pietrius  and  Rashard  Lewis  on  the  team  getting  into  double figures   in  terms  of scoring.  Again   something  else  also  that  was  indicative   as to  a  reason  why  the  Magic  lost the  game.  One  can  allude  to  the  fact  that   the  Cavaliers  took care of  business as they  needed    to.   

 

Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic reacts after having fouled out in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Gregory Shamus ................

 And   if  nothing  else  this  series  one  might  now  surmise  is  far   from  over.   Much   like a  lioness   is willing  to  protect   her  cubs  in the  face of danger .   So  too   are  the  Cavaliers   as they  seek to  protect  their  presence  in  the  postseason.   And  as of   now they’re willing   to fight  and   state the   obvious that   reports  of  their  imminent  demise  was  vastly  exaggerated as  they’ve  lived  to fight another  day. 

With   two  games left   in  this  series.  It’s  not  beyond  the   realms   of possibility  that  the Cavaliers could  come back  from the  brink  of defeat and  win the  series outright.   But  that’d  be  predicated  also   on  whether  or  not  the  Magic  can  rebound  from this  loss.  They’re   but    one  win  away   from a  second  appearance  in the NBA  Finals.  And that’s something   that  as  of  now  is  most  definitely  worth  fighting   for.

 

 

Is it   possible  that either  LeBron   or  Dwight  can  prove to  us  that  they’re  indeed  superstars    by  leading  their  team  to  an  NBA championship ?

 

Pre-Game Analysis: Magic-Cavaliers Game 2

In Game 1, the Magic took advantage of the matchups that are in their favor and won 107-106. Now, the Cavaliers are in somewhat of a must-win situation, because going back to Orlando with a 0-2 deficit would not be good, to say the least. Here are three keys to the game for each team: 

Cavaliers Keys:

1. LeBron cannot hog the ball: Most of the Cavs struggled mightily on the offensive end of the ball, and I put some of that on LeBron, who did not get his team involved enough. By the third quarter, the game became LeBron dribbling around the court until he could find a shot. He was able to make most of his jumpers in this game, but don’t expect that to continue, as he still is not a consistent jump shooter. The Cavaliers are at their best when LeBron has a stat-line of 27 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, and not 49 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, like he had in Game 1. The rest of the Cavs need to be involved throughout the game, or they won’t be valuable late in games. This also means that the role players will need move without the ball and get open. 

 

2. Mo Williams: Some people believe that Williams’ play was the reason the Cavs lost Game 1, which is an argument I don’t buy. Williams has been very valuable this season, but I think he gave himself way too much credit during the post-game press conference for being the key reason his team lost. How about giving the Magic some credit for playing an excellent second half of basketball? That said, Williams was one of the factors that led to the loss, and he will need to be better than 6-of-19 from the floor, because that will cut down on the shots that LeBron has to take. Maybe there is a good explanation as to why Williams has not been great throughout these playoffs. It has to be questioned whether or not he can handle the pressure of the Eastern Conference Finals. He was a great player for the Cavs in the regular season — an All-star — but he has done nothing in these playoffs. He came Cleveland from Milwaukee, where he faced the pressure of the playoffs just once, and the pressure was not on him. It sometimes takes a while to get acclimated to the Conference Finals, and the Cavs will need him to be back to his old self tonight. 

Post Game Analysis: Magic @ Cavaliers – Game 1

 

107 – 106 

 

 

In the pre-game analysis I said that the Magic would have to shut down LeBron James to be able to win, I was very wrong.  LeBron torched Hedo Turkoglu and whoever else who tried to defend him for 49 points and 10 rebounds.  But the Magic did one thing right, they prevented LeBron from getting his teammates involved and forced him to be a ballhog.  LeBron had only 2 assists in 41 minutes of play.

Offense:

The game was a high scoring game as both teams scored over 100.  The Magic were able to play well from behind the arc as they connected on 9 out of 20.  Cleveland only made 1 less 3-pointer than the Magic, but they attempted 5 more.  Dwight Howard dominated the Cleveland big men as he dropped 30 points on a very efficient 14-20 from the field, while grabbing 13 huge boards.  LeBron James was able to dominate the game, but that came at the price of not involving his teammates enough.  Every starter for the Cavaliers scored in double figures, but the bench only chipped in a pathetic 5 points, and those were all from 33 year old veteran Joe Smith.  Unlike the Cleveland bench, the Magic bench came out firing and finished a combined 10-16 with 25 points.

Defense:

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the #1 defensive team in the league, while the Orlando Magic have the reigning defensive player of the year in Dwight Howard.  But tonight the defense by both teams was severely sup-par which led to a high 107-106 final score.  LeBron had some impressive blocks tonight, but other than that the Cavaliers defense disappointed.  Rashard Lewis’ game-winning 3-pointer that was barely contested is an example of what the Cavs defense looked like today.  Though the Magic didn’t do much better, they were at least able to play excellent defense on the final possession of the game.

Pre-Game Analysis: Magic @ Cavaliers – Game 1

Welcome to the 1st editon of The Basketball Oracle Pre-Game Analysis!

Matchup:

PG- Rafer Alston / SG- J.J. Redick / SF- Hedo Turkoglu / PF- Rashard Lewis / C- Dwight Howard

PG- Mo Williams / SG- Delonte West / SF- LeBron James / PF- Anderson Varejao / C- Zydrunas Illgauskas

Key Matchup: LeBron James vs. Hedo Turkoglu

In order for the Magic to steal a game in Cleveland, they will need a superb effort from Hedo Turkoglu.  It is a known fact that LeBron James destroys this matchup, but if Hedo Turkoglu is able to force LeBron into jumpshots and is able to make LeBron work on the defensive end then the Magic’s incredible advantage at the power forward and center spots could lead them to a win.  If Turkoglu can keep LeBron to around 25/6/5 numbers then the Magic will most likely win the game.