BEAST OF THE EAST
Playoff dominance shows LeBron shouldn’t consider playing out West
Of course, LeBron James is tearing up the Eastern Conference again. It’s a tradition this time of year.
And now James is four wins from reaching the NBA Finals for an eighth straight season.
It’s really remarkable. While most of his peers from the 2003 NBA Draft are either retired, slowing down considerably or should seriously consider retiring, LeBron is still the league’s best player. What he’s doing this postseason defies logic.
And because of that, leaving the Eastern Conference this summer as a free agent would defy common sense.
This is shaping up to be another hectic summer for LeBron with a possible return trip to the NBA Finals and free agency looming on July 1st. But the way the playoffs have unfolded LeBron should eliminate 15 teams from consideration right off the bat. That would be all 15 teams in the Western Conference.
Thus far, these playoffs have demonstrated that no team in the East has what it takes to knock off the King. The Boston Celtics have enough talent and defenders to frustrate LeBron but beating him four times in seven games, without the services of Kyrie Irving, will be difficult.
Yes, the Celtics are poised to challenge in the East for years to come. They have the roster, assets, front office and coaching staff to be formidable for the next five to 10 years. But the Celtics are not the Golden State Warriors, who are dominating the league now. Why would LeBron move West when his clearest path to the Finals remains through the East? Whether he stays in Cleveland, moves to Philadelphia
or joins another team (Heat, Knicks) LeBron will go into the next season as the favorite to return to the NBA Finals.
Sure, he’s 33 and he has a lot of miles on his legs but there’s no reason to believe that LeBron can’t play at this level for another three years. Why waste his last few prime years in a tougher, deeper conference?
“I do know that this is my eighth straight conference finals, and I have an opportunity to play for a championship if I’m able to be successful in the conference finals, so I don’t take that for granted,” James said.
That’s exactly the point. Cleveland is the best place for LeBron. Its home for James plus the Cavs have the chance to upgrade the roster by using the Nets lottery pick as a trading chip. His run is far from over.
BEING FRANK
The Milwaukee Bucks, who are looking to make a splash with their next head coach hiring, will interview Becky Hammon. It doesn’t mean she’s getting the job but the Bucks view her as a serious candidate.
Hammon, an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, received a strong vote of confidence from Pau Gasol, who wrote in the Players Tribune: “Becky Hammon can coach. I’m not saying she can coach pretty well. I’m not saying she can coach enough to get by. I’m not saying she can coach almost at the level of the NBA’s male coaches. I’m saying: Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period.”
LeBron James has scored 979 points in 34 playoff games against Boston, the most by any player against one team in postseason history, according to Elias Sports Bureau. “Just the history, you look up in the rafters, and you see all the greats that’s either played there or the previous arena they played in,” James said. “It’s a sports town, you look at the Patriots, you look at the Bruins, you look at the Red Sox. You add them, look at all that history. It’s just a sports town. If you’re not green, they don’t really, they don’t mess with you.”
For all his bravado, David Fizdale stopped short of guaranteeing a playoff berth next season. The Knicks newest head coach may be bold but he’s not crazy.
He did however, say that Lance Thomas can be the Knicks’ version of Draymond Green and be a First-Team All NBA Defender.
“That’s going to be tough because I’m not sure he’s even first-team All Knicks,” said one rival scout.
LeBron’s lowest moment in the NBA is arguably losing to Dallas in the 2011 Finals. The assistant coach who designed a defense to frustrate James in the series? Dwane Casey, who was fired this week as Toronto head coach after the Cavs swept the Raptors.
“Dwane Casey drew up a game plan to take away things I was good at and make me do things I wasn’t very good at,” LeBron said of the 2011 Finals. “He’s part of the reason why I am who I am today.”
Sixers head coach Brett Brown believes the team needs “help to win a championship.” Don’t rule out Kawhi Leonard. The Sixers have the assets to get him.
The New York City based New Renaissance Basketball Association began wearing an orange patch three years ago in a campaign against gun violence. Well, the Rens, one of the nation’s top AAU programs, has started a movement. More than 300 teams have joined the campaign.
In a statement, Nike says it “supports efforts that help young people bring awareness to matters that help move the world forward.”