A lot of pressure on LeBron as Cavaliers begin NBA title quest
LeBron James’ critics will set him free only if he can deliver an NBA championship for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Oddsmakers say that James and the Cavaliers will roll through the Eastern Conference with little opposition.
If that happens James will reach the NBA Finals for a sixth consecutive season (including four with the Miami Heat), a feat that hasn’t been accomplished by an NBA player since Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics dynasty of the 1960s.
But for James the ultimate prize is obviously a title for the championship-starved city of Cleveland, looking for its first professional title since the Browns’ NFL championship in 1964. James won two titles in Miami, and many believe that adding another in Cleveland would cement his legacy as one of the game’s all-time greats.
“There’s always going to be pressure for him because the expectations are so high,” said former Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. “When he’s on your team, you’re supposed to win the championship. That’s just the way it works with star players, with superstar players. LeBron went back to Cleveland to bring them a championship, and that adds to the pressure.”
Toronto had the second-best record in the East and has an All-Star backcourt in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. But the Raptors lost in the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons and the franchise hasn’t advanced to the second round since 2001.
Meanwhile, the Nos. 3-6 seeds, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and Charlotte, have roughly the same level of talent going into the playoffs.
But none are on par with the Cavaliers, who had the best record (57-25) in the East.
James actually has been in the Finals six times – four with Miami (2011-14) and twice with Cleveland (2007 and 2015) – and he’s 2-4 when playing for the championship ring. NOW THAT the Golden State Warriors have set the NBArecord for most wins during a regular season, the team must grapple with an even bigger challenge: winning a second consecutive championship. The Warriors, led by reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry (above), finished the season at 73-9 after decimating the middling Memphis Grizzlies 124-104 on Wednesday.
The Cavaliers lost forward Kevin Love (left shoulder injury) in the first round of last year’s playoffs, and point guard Kyrie Irving (left knee) was sidelined in Game 1 of the Finals, which the Cavaliers lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
But the Cavaliers, who start their championship quest Sunday against the Detroit Pistons, are healthy going into the playoffs this year.
Cleveland had its share of drama during the season. David Blatt was fired as coach and replaced by Tyronn Lue in January.
James talked openly about wanting to join a team with his friends Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul. And he was challenged by Lue to play better after a blowout loss at Miami on March 19.
He responded in his last 10 games by averaging 28.4 points, shooting 63 percent from the field and 51.8 percent from three-point range, and accumulating 8.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game. Cleveland went 8-2 in that stretch as James upped his game. And now his real challenge begins.
(Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Meanwhile the San Antonio Spurs have quietly played in the background plotting to steal the final headlines as the NBA season has been dominated by the record-setting Golden State Warriors and Kobe Bryant’s retirement tour.
Like their understated superstar, Kawhi Leonard, the perennial championship-contending Spurs remain silent but deadly heading into their 19th consecutive postseason.
The Spurs (67-15) went 40-1 at home in the regular season to match the NBA record set by the 1985-86 Boston Celtics. In any other season the achievement would be front and center but the Warriors (73-9) have relegated the Spurs to second billing and the Western Conference’s second seed.
But away from the spotlight is a place where the small market Spurs are quite comfortable.
The team’s reticent coach celebrates only NBA championship banners – Gregg Popovich has led San Antonio to five – and the battle-tested Spurs share his big picture outlook.
“Going into the playoffs [the home wins] doesn’t mean nothing,” said Leonard, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 NBA Finals. “Everyone knows your game plan and how you play at home. [You play to] get a position in the playoffs and win a championship.”
The team’s title hopes have been shifted from the veteran trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to the broad shoulders of Leonard, 24, in recent years. Leonard, who last year was named the league’s best defensive player, has evolved into the team’s go-to scorer.
An uncharacteristic first-round playoff defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers a year ago forced San Antonio to reload around him, so the franchise signed All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge and savvy forward David West in the off-season.
San Antonio also added sharpshooter Kevin Martin last month giving them a roster arguably more talented than any of their championship years. But are they durable enough? Aldridge is currently nursing a finger he dislocated last week. Duncan, 39, and Ginobili, 38, are nearing the end of their careers while Parker’s NBA miles are also adding up.
There is an air of inevitability to the Spurs reaching the Western Conference finals and facing off against the defending NBA champion Warriors.
It would be a fitting showdown in many ways as the Warriors have made no secret about trying to model their franchise after the sustained excellence of the Spurs.