Posts tagged Delontewest at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Clearly, the Cavs have not only the talent but the need to try and to win now. If Danny Ferry decides to wait, he might end up trying to win without LeBron James (or without a job) and that ain't gonna happen.

Picks: #19

Needs: In order to win now, Cleveland needs legit (sorry Wally) scoring from the perimeter or some backcourt help. Say what you want for their interior offensive needs, but they have three centers who are going to play. And seriously, think about how Wally and Delonte got loose in the playoffs -- that's a direct result of James being on the same team, not their talents. Now let's add someone who isn't washed up.

Best case scenario: Mario Chalmers somehow falls down to them at 19, which seemed a lot more likely a few weeks, or even days, ago. Instead, how about Courtney Lee, who easily could fall here? Either one would be good (Lee being the better scorer but Chalmers can run the Cleveland "offense")but yet, seems somehow unlikely ...

While the reigning MVP is busy trumpeting his way to the finals and Chris Paul at least able to be satisfied with the progress made this season, the Cavaliers are looking at how to improve their team. And by "improve their team" I mean, "do whatever in God's name it will take to convince LeBron James not to go to New York and abandon them to a cold and lonely legacy of abject failure after being granted one of the greatest draft picks ever." You know. In so many words.

So if you're going to go out and get an upgrade for LeBron, and it's pretty evident that it needs to be scoring. So who's available?

Survey says: Michael Redd.

In an article in the Akron Beacon Journal, Pat McManamon writes that there is a "lot of talk about acquiring Michael Redd from the Milwaukee Bucks" for the Cavs. Redd's got a big contract on a rebuilding squad, and it's been proven that he can't be the guy to get the Bucks where they need to go. Putting him on the Cavs for the 19th pick and trigger-happy Wally Szczerbiak plus parts may be the way to make it happen.

Jason Whitlock, a polarizing figure in the blog world, published a column Thursday attributing part of the NBA's (massive) postseason ratings success to ... the lack of tattoos among the remaining stars. Whitlock sort-of compares Delonte West to a fat person starring in a porno (really!) and drives home this premise:

Part of the reason more people are watching these playoffs is because the average fan isn't constantly repulsed by the appearance of most of the players on the court. Most of the key players left in the playoffs don't look like recent prison parolees.

As CSTB argues, it's a fun theory, but it is rooted in nothing more than absurdist theology and/or some tainted carne asada. Brian Powell at The Sporting Blog tries to rescue Whitlock with a strained link to increased team play, though I'd tend to disagree with any assertion that the number of a team's tattoos are inversely proportional to that team's sharing attitude. I mean, seriously. (Nation of Islam Sportsblog doesn't buy it either.)

If a lack of tattoos draws fans in, why are the Spurs a panacea to Finals ratings? Why was Allen Iverson one of the biggest road draws in the league for a half-decade? How on Earth does Detroit fit this hypothesis? Did Kobe get his ink removed? How did Phoenix survive the tats of Marion and Amare? And the competition level combined with the rebirth of the two most storied franchises in basketball history is only part of it? C'mon, dude.

There have been some monumentally ridiculous columns penned the past few months, but this one takes the quesadilla.

There is nothing more exciting in sports than a Game 7. Expect perhaps finding out that both Mike Brown and Doc Rviers have been kidnapped before this game and that there will actually be some offense. Since that is unlikely to happen -- and certainly not endorsed to happen by anyone here -- we'll have to settle for seeing whether LeBron James can have his best game of this series on the biggest stage.

He has slowly been stepping his game up after abysmal Games one and two, possibly in the pretense of going off during the Eastern Conference Finals and trudging the Cavs back into the Finals. But first things first -- the Celtics are staring at most scrutiny they have faced in years, without a road playoff win and with another Game 7 against a team they should have closed out already, if they were anything like the Boston team of the regular season.

Live Blog begins here at 3:30, or shortly before.

1. It Starts And Ends With The King: LeBron James finally had the game. 32 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, including monster points down the stretch. He had 8 turnovers, but that's okay, because ... okay, that's not okay. James has woken up more and more as this series has gone on, and managed to put together the complete game in Game 6. He's playing with confidence, desire, passion and focus. He's going to need all of that and his God-given obscene talent if he wants to walk out of Boston with the first win by a visitor in the playoffs. The Cavaliers actually ran James at point for long extended periods in the second half of Game 6, which attributed to James' turnovers. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The advantage is that it ensures that LBJ has the ball and lets him dictate the offense as he sees fit. The disadvantages are the turnovers and the ability for the Cavs to bring the perimeter double. The Celtics brought the low post defender (Leon Powe, usually) to the perimeter to cover LeBron, trap him if he goes to the wing, and force the ball out of his hands. With any other team, this would mean a pretty simple 1-2-3 touch passing to an open low post player for a lay-in. Unfortunately the Cavs have a bazillion dollars in low post players, none of which can actually score consistently down low. Regardless, I would expect more of the same from Game 6 in terms of James strategy on both sides. The question is whether those shots will fall. And if it'll be enough.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Celtics-Cavs Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 6 this evening.

Nowhere To Go But Up. Or ... Home: Demolished in Game 4. Daniel Gibson out. Unable to get LeBron hot. Rajon Rondo shaking off doldrums. Kevin Garnett. There's a mountain of stuff lined up against Cleveland tonight. They are at home, but as much as it's been a saving grace for teams so far in the playoffs, that's got to end at some point. I hate using cliches, but they're unavoidable in this situation. The Cavaliers are in a position to bond together, give 110%, rise to meet the challenge, and let the hometown crowd buoy them to a Game 7 in Boston. It's not quite that simple though.

Delonte's Inferno: Okay, Delonte West. You're up. Gibson is down, you've been great at home, and this team needs a shooter like nothing else. If the Cavaliers are going to push this thing back to Boston against all odds, they need West to do three things. Create, contain, and close. He's got to spark the offense. He's done a better job of that than even Gibson has done, and has done well both in transition and in the half court set of finding the open man and making the right decision. He's got to contain Rajon Rondo and send him back to his dreadful pre-Game 5 ways, and he's got close out by knocking down and defending three point shots.

Brian Windhorst, who is one of the finest NBA reporters in the land, let alone for the Cavs, has a terrific quote this morning from LeBron James that gives us some insight into where his head at, both with his identity and his team's. After the Game 5 loss in Boston, James was quoted as saying,

"A LeBron James team is never desperate."

Now, there are a lot of ways to interpret this. One is that any team with James on it is going to be confident, because he knows what he's capable of. And you can't really fault him for that. I personally hate it when guys are overly modest to the point of it being facetious. The Cavs are LeBron James. And for them to really excel, to beat the Celtics in a seven game series, especially winning a Game 7 in Boston, if it even comes to that, he has to be the guy. That kind of honesty is kind of refreshing in a league where so many players talk about their teammates but don't actually trust them in the game.

More analysis of the King and "his team" after the jump.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Cavs-Celtics Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 this evening.

1. This Is Not Your Momma's House: Let's take a step away from slamming the Celtics' horrific road performances for a moment, as fun as it is. This team is a seven-dagger-tailed demon with light coming out of its eyes at home. And tonight's game just happens to be at the "Garden." While there are certainly a variety of warning signs about this Celtics team and their inability to do that vastly underrated exercise of putting the ball in the little hole with the net hanging from it, this team has still always responded when it needed to at home so far in the playoffs. They have their backs up against the wall, facing a daunting return to the suddenly intimidating Q in Cleveland for an elimination game if they don't hold serve tonight. With so many superstars and Hall of Famers on this squad, you'd have to figure someone or someones will still up tonight.

2. No Regard For Human Life Shooting Slumps: Lost in the dunk that blew doors off hinges was the fact that LeBron James still didn't have a very good game in Game 4. He scored 21 points on 7 of 20 shooting. Not bad, but nothing amazing either. However, he did start to significantly warm up in the fourth quarter of Game 4, topped off by that redonkulous jam in the face of Kevin Garnett. We've been waiting for him to catch the spark necessary to get him going, and if that was it, the Celtics may not be rolling to another home blow out tonight.

I was a wedding on Saturday night and our group of friends kept sneaking checks of the score, all the while saying "The King is going HUGE!". When we saw the box score after the game, needless to say, we were pretty shocked. What does that say about the Celtics in general? Probably not good things. But you can believe that Kevin Garnett is going to have this crew fired up to get some revenge after being embarrassed in Cleveland during Game 3.

Hopefully, it won't turnout to be a blowout. But with my record (0-4, scoring at home, etc) and the way this series has been going, the odds aren't great on that. Still, we're gonna live blog it, beginning at 8:00 pm. We would kick it off earlier, but with the Law and Order rerun special, there's no reason to get things going officially until then. Looking forward to yet another stupendous evening of commentating and NBA basketball.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Celtics-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4 this afternoon.

1. The Pink Elephant With A Crown In The Room: If LeBron James doesn't have a huge night tonight, and we're talking 25+ points, double digit boards, 5+ assists, the Cavaliers are sunk. There. I said it. The Cavaliers can definitely win this game without James being a dominating factor. They did it in Game 3 and the Celtics look like they have no intentions of winning any games on the road. I seriously question Boston's will to win and chemistry if they're not among the Irish, loud and proud. However, the Cavs cannot win this series without James being his usual magnificent self. Credit Boston's defense for keeping him under wraps, though he seemed to be straining at the ropes in Game 3, threatening to bust loose. The Celtics have done a terrific job on him, forcing him to give the ball up to his questionable teammates. But once this series gets caught into a maelstrom wherein there is a game where both offenses are actually clicking, the Cavs must have James in top form. One huge game from him tonight could set him off. But after three games, the Cavs are only going to get so many chances to spark him. If Coach Mike Brown isn't getting paid to figure out ways to adjust to the defensive pressure on James and get him involved, what is he getting paid for?