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.
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.
