Tucker ‘happy to be here’ as King James awaits

Pin Cleveland .J. Tucker can’t say he’s been here before. He hasn’t. In his mind, sometimes, he would think about what it would be like to be prominent force in the NBA playoffs. He’d turn on the television, sometimes from a resort somewhere, and he’d do what most players do. He’d watch the NBA playoffs on a big screen and dream just a little bit.

Now he’s one series into his playoff life — a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. Now everybody is looking at Tucker, centring him out, the defensive stopper and three-point shooter with a not-so-simple objective: stop LeBron James.

The fact basically no one has ever really stopped James is almost moot on the day before the NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series begins. Dwane Casey coached the defensive team in Dallas that won a championship James was supposed to win. There is that odd blip on the radar. There isn’t much more than that.

And it all begins for the Raptors, for Tucker, for James and the seemingly flawed defending champion Cavaliers on Monday night. Almost too soon. But all eyes will be on Tucker. Can he minimize James in any significant way?

“I don’t think his game changes,” said Tucker. “I think for the most part, when he’s aggressive and he’s trying to score the ball and he’s going, I don’t think it matters (what I do). I think when he gets a few to the rim easy, he gets a few dunks, he hits a pull-up, he hits a turnaround and his three starts falling. He’s a feel-good player. If he’s hitting some regular shots, the tough stuff starts to fall. He’s probably the best player in the world. It’s still a feel game (for him).”

That’s Tucker trying to diminish his role. This series may be about stopping James. But more than that, it may be about stopping the rest of the Cavs and taking advantage of their defensive The Raptors’ P.J. Tucker gets a date with LeBron James after facing off with the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. softness. In the final three wins against Milwaukee, the Raptors didn’t seem burdened by trying to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo. He got his points. Stopping the rest of the Bucks made the difference. And here’s the problem. The rest of the Bucks didn’t include Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Channing Frye and Deron Williams in their lineup.

“LeBron makes the whole team better,” said Tucker. “The way he passes the ball, the way he finds other people, that’s what makes him LeBron. He’s No. 1 (in the NBA). That’s what makes him so good. It’s not how he scores, not the way he defends, it’s like everything. He can do it all.”

James makes the Cavaliers favourites in the series, even though they won the same number of games as the Raptors, because he’s the world’s best.

The Raptors’ real chance to win lies in their depth and assets and stars like DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry to provide Cleveland with a tangible challenge. The Raptors won two games last year in the Eastern Conference final against Cleveland, but were blown out in the games in Ohio and never really looked like a contender in the four games they lost.

They didn’t have Tucker then. They didn’t have Serge Ibaka. They should help. But it may come down to James — no team he is on should ever be an underdog. Tucker knows that, even if he hasn’t played that many games against him.

“He’s a better defender than Magic (Johnson),” said Tucker, not wanting to get into all-time ratings. “He’s more explosive.

“But I never (rank them). I never do that. I think there’s (Michael) Jordan and everybody else. I don’t think anybody will ever take a run at that. That’s what makes Michael, Michael. The dominance. The leaving. The coming back. The commercials. The way he changed the world. I don’t think anybody will ever have that impact again.”

Jordan was the childhood hero for Tucker. Tucker will soon turn 32 and he’s on the back nine as an unlikely NBA player of consequence, trying to interrupt James’ run of championship appearances.

The Raptors have a wonderful opportunity to do something about that now.

“I’m not trying to process this,” said Tucker. “Then I’ll get caught up in it. For me, it’s living now, playing, happy to be here.

“I was like third of fourth for most games played without (being in the) playoffs. I was really mad. You give so much during the season. It’s motivation (now). It makes you work.”

Until further notice, this is still LeBron’s league. He’s all about playoffs.

And this is Tucker’s time. His first time here. Let the series begin. career