John Kuntz/The Plain DealerBy now I'm sure you've either read, seen on TV, or heard on the radio the already endless banter regarding whether LeBron James should have taken that last shot while driving to the basket rather than passed off to a wide open Donyell Marshall. It seems no matter what I do today, I just can't avoid this debate being "discussed" by every media blowhard ranging from Skip Bayless, Jim Rome, Tim Legler etc. etc. etc. That's without even mentioning the local talk radio zoo here in Cleveland. Hell, even the MSN.com home page has LBJ at the top of the page asking the question. There's no hope for escape.
My opinion is that LeBron James would have been damned either way regardless of the results of his decision. I mean take a look at what happened last night. LeBron drives towards the basket, predictably draws the triple-team, and dishes to a WIDE OPEN Donyell Marshall. We know what happened next. Marshall was so open I don't know how you
can't give him a chance at that shot. This is after all the same guy who Friday night saved the Cavs offense with his 6 three pointers in the series closer vs. New Jersey.
Seriously, Marshall was so wide open he had time to drink a 40 oz of St. Ides while signing autographs for the fans in the front row. Even if this were the movie Hoosiers, I bet Jimmy Chitwood would have passed it to little ol' Ollie if he were
that wide open.
Suppose LeBron finished the drive and had taken that last shot like many of his detractors have been saying he should have done? My answer is: Did you even watch the game? LeBron was finishing off his worst playoff game of his career. He shot 5-for-15 and got mugged (without drawing
any fouls mind you)
every time he drove to the basket. Detroit's defensive plan for LeBron worked out to near perfection.
To put it in simple terms, there was no guarantee LeBron would have drawn a foul let alone gotten off a clean attempt on that play.
Also, stop comparing LeBron to Michael Jordan. If anything, he is more of an explosive Magic Johnson type who
looks for wide open teammates if they have the better shot. This is especially true considering the team's consistent failure to trade for a point guard to run the offense. Instead, James is stuck having to do it all again...as usual.
Moving on.
Despite the Cavs' 79-76 loss,
there are a few positives the team can take from this opening game. First, odds are LeBron is not likely to have another game this bad the rest of the series. Second, the Cavs front line of Illgauskas, Varejao, Gooden, and James is giving the Pistons aging front court all they can handle right now. Third, the Cavs at least have shown themselves they they (if they didn't already know) can play with the Pistons even on LBJ's worst night.
If anything, the Pistons seem to now be more of a mental stumbling block for the Cavaliers. Physically, they have shown over the last couple years that they can play right with them.
Read the complete post at http://kidcleveland.blogspot.com/2007/05/lbj-damned-either-way.html