Cavs Stay Alive, L.A. Looks To Close
Just when I say LeBron James hasn’t carried his team through adversity quite like Kobe Bryant has throughout the Western Conference playoffs, James goes and drops a triple-double on Orlando to pull Cleveland within 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
I’m still skeptical (but hopeful) of Cleveland winning the next two and advancing to the Finals, where a matchup with Bryant for all the marbles will make great theater. But that figures to be an improbable feat if it’s going to take two more 37-point, 14-rebound, 12-assists performances from James. It becomes an especially difficult task considering Saturday’s Game 6 is in Orlando and the Cavs not only haven’t figured out the Magic but have yet to win in Orlando.
What makes me most pessimistic, though, is how the Cavs played one of their best games of these playoffs and still needed a huge fourth quarter from James to pull away, still only won by 10 at home and still squandered a big lead, this time 22 points.
Report: OKC Leaning Toward Harden
A report by the Web site Draftexpress.com says the Thunder is leaning toward selecting Arizona State shooting guard James Harden with the third overall pick in next month’s draft and has little interest in point guard Ricky Rubio.
The Web site, reporting from the Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago, said Harden has canceled his interviews with every team drafting outside of the top five and will not conduct any workouts with anyone during the draft process.
“A source close to him tells us he feels very good about the possibility of being selected by Oklahoma City or Washington, and for right now is not planning on visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Most teams we’ve spoken to in Chicago are indicating that they believe Oklahoma City is indeed leaning towards taking Harden. They also believe the Thunder are not enamored with Rubio at all, as they are committed to developing Russell Westbrook at his natural position — point guard.”
While Harden seems to be a great fit on the Thunder alongside Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, don’t read too much into the report. For starters, it’s May 29, nearly a full month before the draft. Secondly, the Thunder’s brass is impressed with the skills of Rubio and likely wouldn’t pass up on him because of Westbrook. With Westbrook in the fold, things are a little more complicated if you add Rubio to the mix. But the Thunder is looking to add talented players, not necessarily players that fit best based on need. And finally, we all know Thunder general manager Sam Presti is as meticulous as they come. He hasn’t even had a chance to get much one-on-one time with the top prospects to evaluate them so it’s unlikely he’s “leaning” either way at this point.
Presti saw reports like this coming on the night of the lottery when he cautioned the media and fans to not run with rumbling that creeps up.
“Much will be said up until the draft about players will go here and players will go there,” Presti said. “I can tell you that we won’t have it all figured out. We continue to do our work, collect information and on the 25th we’ll be ready to make a pick.”
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A Loss For LeBron Could Be A Win For Kobe
More and more I’m hearing people say they’re sick of Kobe Bryant versus LeBron James.
Sick of the Nike puppets. Sick of the Vitamin Water ads debating the Black Mamba and the Chosen One. And sick of the NBA “pushing” for that matchup in the NBA Finals.
But the NBA’s great debate can be settled tonight. All it will take is a loss to Orlando by James’ Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, where it has really become win or go home in this elimination game.
It’s baffling, by the way, how anyone outside of Denver and Orlando can root against a Kobe-LeBron Finals. That’s like saying, ‘Eh, I’d rather not see Tiger and Phil in the final pairing on Sunday at Augusta.’
But for all of King James’ stats and individual honors and regular season wins this season, it should become clear to everyone that Bryant still wears the crown as the league’s best player.
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Are The Lakers In Trouble?
It’s pretty amazing how similar these two conference finals matchups are.
In the East, the Cavs are getting out-hustled by an Orlando team that is playing together and with more of a purpose and sense of urgency. The same has unfolded out West, where the Lakers, for the second straight series, look great one game and appear to go through the motions the next.
Denver’s 120-101 win over the Lakers at the Pepsi Center on Monday night exposed the Lakers for what they are. They’re not underachieving. They’re not turning it on and off. They’re just not that great.
L.A. at this point has two players who you know are going to show up, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. No one else has proven they can be counted on.
Denver, even with an injured and ill Carmelo Anthony, outplayed L.A. from start to finish to tie this series at two games apiece as it heads back to Staples Center for Game 5 on Wednesday. The Nuggets out-rebounded the Lakers 58-40, outscored them 52-34 in points in the paint, finished with a 42-24 advantage in bench points and never trailed again after taking a 2-1 lead.
“They just kicked our (butt),” Bryant said. “It’s not like we can turn it on, turn it off. They just whooped us, period. They whooped us on the glass. They whooped us to loose balls. There’s no switch. There was no switch. We played hard. They played harder and better, period.”
Don’t Count Out The Cavs Just Yet
The Orlando Magic deserves credit, much more than I’m willing to give them.
En route to their 2-1 series lead over Cleveland following Sunday night’s 99-89 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic have brushed up against blown leads and big comebacks, the defending champions and the reigning MVP. They’ve won five road games, lost four times on a last-second shot, have lived and died by the three, overcome two 40-point games by LeBron James and one suspension to its best player.
But their luck seems ready to run out. The Cavaliers stand on dangerous ground in this series, no doubt. Cleveland was 1.0 seconds away from walking into Game 4 on Tuesday in Orlando looking to avoid a shocking sweep. As it stands, the Magic can take a commanding 3-1 lead.
Here’s why they won’t. The Magic are still far too flawed. But with Denver’s inconsistency and instability flaring up right on cue out West, Orlando has evolved into the darlings of the Conference Finals. Looks like lipstick on a pig from this view.
Podcast: Open Mike – Should OKC Worry About The Ricky Rubio Situation?
The alleged Ricky Rubio situation can only gain more steam from here out and grow into a much bigger issue. I expect it will as we get closer to the draft. Here we have one of only two players in this draft who is projected to be a star and he is likely headed for one of the two smallest markets.
Sports Editor Mike Sherman and I discussed the topic today on the Open Mike podcast.
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Durant Chats It Up On ESPN.com
So your man Kevin Durant sat down for an ESPN.com chat today and talked about the playoffs, LeBron v. Kobe, OKC v. Seattle, his toughest defensive assignments, his off-season improvement, what it feels like to be a Longhorn playing in Oklahoma and of course Twitter.
On his game and what needs improvement….
“I think the best aspect of my game is my scoring, and I need to improve on my defense the most. I’m working hard in the off-season to be a better player next season.”
On who is the one player he would most like to play with….
“I say LeBron. He’s a great teammate on and off the court. I think it would be a lot of fun playing with him.”
On the three players he thinks are the toughest to defend……
“Kobe, LeBron and Carmelo. Those guys can score in every way. They are physically strong and have great basketball IQ.”
On adjusting to OKC……..
“I think the toughest thing is moving everything from Seattle. With Seattle having a team for so long, I think they are more of an NBA city. But the fans in Oklahoma City are great.”
On how it feels to be a Longhorn playing in Oklahoma…..
“It feels good. I think they have to like me because I play for the Thunder.”
And if you didn’t know by now, Durant has a Twitter page under the name kevindurant35. He’s a regular Tweeter and has a rapidly growing number of followers that has nearly reached 8,000 ((although he could be headed well past that figure after plugging it on ESPN.com).
On what he thinks of Twitter and how he got on…..
“That is my Twitter name. One of my friends (got) me involved and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
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Report: Rubio Not Interested In Playing For OKC
You knew it was coming.
It’s been less than two full days since the Thunder moved into the top three in the NBA Draft and we already have our first report of Ricky Rubio having no interest in playing in Oklahoma City.
According to the Web site Draftexpress.com, Rubio’s camp is uninterested in seeing their prized 18-year-old point guard phenom begin his career in either of the cities that have the No. 2 and 3 picks.
“From what people around the league are saying, Rubio’s camp may already be sending out feelers indicating that he’s not interested in the least bit in playing in Memphis.”
“Rubio doesn’t want to go to Memphis, and he especially does not want to pay money out of his own pocket with that huge buyout for the honor of doing so. (Dan) Fegan (Rubio’s agent) wants him in L.A., and if he can’t have him there, he wants him in Sacramento. Definitely not Oklahoma City.”
Not quite sure why Sacramento is considered a better destination than Memphis or OKC aside from its obvious proximity to Fegan’s Los Angeles-based agency. The marketing opportunities can’t be that much greater in Sactown. And if you’re Rubio, would you rather play alongside Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green or Kevin Martin, Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni? Even in Memphis, Rubio would step into a better situation alongside Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, not to mention fellow countryman and former teammate Marc Gasol.
Only one major market has a top four pick in this year’s draft, the Los Angeles Clippers. And even though there are more and more reports about the Clips shopping the pick something tells me L.A. can’t seriously be thinking about passing on Blake Griffin.
If the Rubio report is true, however, this of course wouldn’t be the first time Fegan has lobbied to get an international client to a certain market. Remember Yi Jianlian in 2007? I don’t expect this issue will go away over the next month.
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Podcast: Open Mike – Should Thunder draft Thabeet
I’ve got a lot of thoughts on Tuesday night’s Draft Lottery results but not a lot of time today to share them here.
But Sports Editor Mike Sherman and I are back in the saddle in the world of podcasts (finally), and you can listen to our breakdown of the lottery and these NBA playoffs.
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Presti Talks Draft Lottery
So much for Blake Griffin
General manager Sam Presti had a 14 1/2 minute teleconference following Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery. The Thunder moved up a spot and got the third pick in the draft, and Presti talked about the prospects that are expected to be available at No. 3, whether he’s open to trading the pick, whether to move up or down, and what it was like to be locked in the room where all the magic happened. The transcript is quite long, but I’ll post it in its entirity.
Opening statement
SP: Well first, we’re thrilled as an organization to be picking third. We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us to add a player that we think can grow with our team as we continue to build the franchise. It’s a great day for our fans. We’re truly excited for them as well because this will be their inaugural draft. We’ll welcome another player into the Thunder family, and our fans have been incredibly supportive throughout the season and continue to be. So we’re ready to start to get to work, get to know this group of players on a more intimate level and we’re thrilled that we moved up a spot.
Q: What is the likelihood that you will examine a trade, whether up or down?
A: At this point in the year we’re charged with examining everything. We’ll take calls. We’ll make calls. It’s like that every year. This year we’ll approach it the same way that we have every year, which is we’ll take a look at everything and ultimately decide what’s best for the organization.
Q: What are your early impressions of Hasheem Thabeet and do you think he could be what this team needs as far as interior defense?
A: We’ve followed him as we have all the players in the draft and we’ll continue to study him more. He’s had a nice career in college and he’s someone that we’ll look at in the group of players that we continue to study. Much will be said up until the draft about players will go here and players will go there. I can tell you that we won’t have it all figured out. We continue to do our work, collect information and on the 25th we’ll be ready to make a pick.
