LeBron James is the Shaq and Michael Jordan of his generation rolled into one. Insanely difficult to guard. Even more difficult to officiate. James is the poster-child for his generation.

Wilt. Magic. Bird. Pretty good company for LeBron James. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/n6TsHHB7Ny

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 15, 2015

Anybody can criticize him for choosing to go only to teams with good players, but it’s nothing dozens of other NBA stars haven’t done in search of an elusive title.

So when BOTH Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sustained season-ending injuries during the playoffs, James was left on his own. I guess I shouldn’t feel bad for him exactly — these things happen — but it does give us the opportunity to see what happens if one player is left to do it all on his own, how that would go.

I mean even MJ had Pippen.

The last player I can think of to win a title without another dominant hall-of-famer?

Well, the Pistons didn’t have any HOFers, did they? The Rockets, with just Hakeem Olajuwon, won the title in back-to-back seasons. Hakeem was and is still vastly underrated.

But back to my point. LeBron James of six years ago maybe would have done something silly and rolled over. People still don’t like what they call “antics,” but I see a guy who is doing everything he physically can right now to give his team a chance to win. Their offense runs through him every time. It’s a conscious choice everyone on the team makes — from the coach on down. You have to get the ball to your best player as much as possible. LeBron isn’t giving me any reason not to just sit back and admire his game. Two or three years ago, I’d have been REALLY hesitant to name him in a top-10 all-time list. I think he’s a no-brainer top-five at this point. A few more seasons could see him sniffing the very top.

Let’s not forget, LeBron James has gone to five straight NBA Finals and six overall. In his two finals appearances with Cleveland, who has been the second-best player on the floor for the Cavs? Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Anderson Varejao? Definitely not Matthew Dellavedova. It very well could be Tristan Thompson. Think about that for a minute. Going into gave five, LeBron was AVERAGING 36 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. He raised his averages in all three categories, but not surprisingly, it looks like he’ll end up 0-2 in the finals with Cleveland.

We are witnessing greatness. To call it anything else is to not give yourself just due. It’s one of the greatest performances of my lifetime, and it’s coming in a losing effort, which makes it all the more remarkable.

The rest of the Cavs team aside from LeBron is how much better than, say, the Lakers? I don't think much better, honestly…

— fansmanship (@fansmanship) June 15, 2015

The Warriors are going to do it, and surprisingly easily

Yes, I’m not a total curmudgeon. Let’s talk about the W’s!

I’m also enjoying the Warriors’ greatness they’ve captured this year. Most of the time, a team like Golden State, with its young nucleus, has to go through a gauntlet of more experienced, and equally talented teams along the way. Much of the time, teams see playoff heartbreak multiple seasons before ever ascending to the top.

The Lakers sure had to. Who remembers Kobe airballing shots in Utah? Or Shaq not able to overcome San Antonio. Other teams, like the Kings and Blazers of 15 or so years ago, never actually even got over the hump. Those were great teams, too.

Which is why Golden State’s ascent to, what I’m assuming will be, an NBA championship this season is so remarkable. The core guys went through a lot of garbage seasons together to get here, but they weren’t ever at a level where they were great, but not quite good enough. They’ve managed to get though the season and playoffs pretty healthy and, relative to other teams, adversity-free.

Props to Steve Kerr, the training staff, and the players themselves for making that happen. It’s also nice when you have such a unique player like Steph Curry who the front office has surrounded with all the right parts.

I don’t care that Andre Iguadala, for example, can’t make free throws. He’s a perfect fit as a part of a winning team. Just the kind of supporting cast member that an MVP-level player needs.

In a few days, the Warriors are going to, almost certainly, be THE winning team in the NBA this season.

When LeBron James knocked his head into a video camera in the middle of an NBA Finals game the other night, I empathized with everyone involved.

In case you missed it, here’s the aftermath with a few replays as well.

As someone who’s played basketball for most of my life, I have rolled my ankle more than once on walls that are too close to the end of the court.

Usually these thing happen to the best athletes. A less athletic player — say Matthew Dellavadova — would have just fallen on his side and never been able to start to catch himself. Given a wider berth, LeBron would have probably caught himself and been able to not hit the floor. His ability to even think about not falling down on this play was just another example of his ridiculous athleticism.

You can be athletic and fall to the floor, though. Shaq was one player who was crazy athletic for his size, but he knew how to fall really gracefully in order not to get hurt. I’m not sure that’s something LeBron’s ever learned.

What about the camera man?

I’ve shot basketball in a lot of gyms over the past three years. In high school gyms, I can choose to sit or stand, and I can shoot from virtually any place along the baseline. Sometimes there is a lot of space between the baseline and the wall, but in some places there isn’t.

At college games, I’ve also shot in about a half-dozen arenas, ranging from Mott Gym to McKeon Pavillion at St. Mary’s, to UCSB’s Thunderdome, to Pauley Pavillion, the Honda Center, the KFC Yum! Center, Maples Pavillion, and University of Dayton Arena, among others.

In the larger facilities, the set-up is generally the same. Squares that are about two feet by two feet are marked with tape on just one side of each baseline (the other half of each baseline is usually reserved for cheerleaders). The squares are generally for still photographers. Live TV cameras are often shoulder-held by camera operators on rolling chairs.

LeBron hit an NBATV camera located in one of the squares. He dove right into it, literally head-first.

So, what does the NBA do? If we are going to move the photographers, where do we move them to? The truth is, while the baseline provides a lot of good opportunities for photos, the angle isn’t always the best. That said, I don’t know anywhere that would be feasible and better. Sitting along the sideline in one of those $1000-plus seats can be more ideal for some shots, but there is zero chance a photographer gets to sit there. Sight-lines are too important to mess with in large arenas to put photographers anywhere else.

I’ve also heard people who don’t know photography calling for the NBA to have more robotic cameras. While probably really costly, this might work all right for video cameras, but would seem virtually impossible for still shots. Maybe still shots are out of fashion. Maybe people will have no use for them at some point. But I doubt it.

Honestly, getting great shots of basketball from just the right angle is the hardest of any sport, in my opinion.

Which is why there is not a great option for the NBA. The things they can change, it seems like they have. The two rows of squares have been moved back a foot or two recently. The basket stanchion has been pushed back a few feet. Beyond that, I’m not sure what else there is to do. I suppose you could push photographers farther back and give up the cost of some of those prime seats under the basket. We know the odds of that happening.

What I hope doesn’t happen is that less photographers are allowed to be there. At any given time, up to 20 or so photographers could be focused differently on a bunch of different parts of the floor at a major basketball game. Different photographers in different places allow for the game to be covered in a variety of ways, something basketball tends to struggle with more than other sports like football or baseball. The variation of where you’re located and who/what you’re focusing on can have a huge impact on the quality of a photo.

Here’s an example of why it was great to have various photographers at different points around the field during an amazing NFL play. 

Maybe some day the NBA will find ways to maintain fan experience in the arena while giving us more opportunities for various still and moving picture angles. Until then, players are going to have to learn how to fall better and photographers are going to have to be a little faster to bail on their shots.

The media and players have always figured out a way to get along, eventually.

Kevin Love looks as if he is going to be calling Cleveland home for the 2014-2015 season. Love has spent his entire six-year career in Minnesota, longing for a playoff berth at the very minimum. Too bad for Minnesota and Love, the Timberwolves couldn’t clinch a spot in the postseason even once with Love on its roster. Fast forward to summer 2014. Love wants out and LeBron James heads back to Cleveland, thus creating a want for star players such as Love to join him. Love has been rumored to go be headed different teams such as the Lakers, Bulls and Warriors but it’s the Cavs of all teams that have a deal in place with the stubborn Wolves to acquire the all star.

Kevin Love seems headed to Cleveland, will he Kryie Irving and LeBron help Cleveland finally win a title?

In a deal that will send #1 overall picks Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett along with a first round pick, the Cavs somehow got the Wolves to agree. It’s not the Warriors proposition of David Lee, Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson but it’s a close second right? The Wolves didn’t want to end up like many other teams and call Love on his bluff only to have him leave Minnesota without getting anything back for him. With Love presumably on his way to Cleveland to join LeBron James and fellow all star Kyrie Irving, the question now comes about, which big three featuring LeBron is better? LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh or LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving?  I would also like to point out that although LeBron had much of the spotlight during his time in Miami and it was well deserved but Dwayne Wade was the most crucial player on those teams. The two seasons that Wade played up to his ability the result was a title, coincidence? I don’t think so.

The new big three in Cleveland is much more of a shooting bunch with Love and Kyrie but adding LeBron to that mix with his excellent passing skills should put fear into opposing defenses. Plus this new big three is much younger being that LeBron probably won’t have to worry about any teammates’ knees going out after every game. Many may look at the two big threes and break them down and compare stats and how they predict the new one will do but for me, the answer to the question shouldn’t even be a thought.

Kevin Love has been in the league six seasons; Kyrie Irving has been in for three for what do they have to show for those seasons? Neither one of them has even played in one single playoff game, not one. I understand that neither had much help on their respective rosters but the point remains the same, there is no individual winning whatsoever from either of them. It’s an unfair comparison, but Kobe Bryant carried a team with Kwame Brown and Smush Parker in the starting lineup to the playoffs and almost a playoff series win. Looking at the Miami big three, when LeBron joined Dwayne Wade had won a title with several playoff appearances and Bosh also had a few sightings in the postseason with the Raptors. Of course being fair to at least Kyrie, he has only been in the NBA for a few seasons but the Miami big three was light-years ahead of LeBron’s new one in Cleveland.

The Cavs are on the rise and could prove me wrong but for now at least, LeBrons’ old gig gave him more of a chance to win a title in the next season or two.

Free Agency isn’t over yet, but that won’t stop Matt Levine from breaking-down the Eastern Conference.

LeBron James going back to Cleveland has shaken up the Eastern Conference. By Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA (LeBron James) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Once LeBron James decided that he wasn’t returning to Miami and would join back with the Cavaliers, it shifted a balance of power in the East. No longer would the Miami Heat run roughshod all over the conference as a de-facto lock for the NBA Finals. With that in mind, here’s an outlook on the future in the Eastern Conference:

Chicago Bulls: Although they missed out in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, they will still be putting a star player out onto the court in Derrick Rose — assuming he can stay healthy. Adding Pau Gasol and rookie Doug McDermott should help the offensive problems Tom Thibodeau’s team has had, while also adding some more star power to add to an already excellent team. Assuming Derrick Rose stays healthy and competes at a high level, expect the Bulls to compete for a title again.

Indiana Pacers: A Jekyll and Hyde metaphor nicely sums up how the Pacers’ 2013-2014 season ended. This team has so much talent on it but never got over the hump. Even with them playing so poorly through much of the playoffs, they were still two wins away from the NBA Finals. Losing Lance Stephenson is a blow to this team that struggles with offense at times. Adding a gritty player and scorer like CJ Miles likely will soften that blow. The best team in last year’s regular season, the Pacers will once again contend in the East.

Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James comes home. That will be the headline surrounding the Cavs all season long no matter how good or bad they are. Teaming up with Kyrie Irving and rookie Andrew Wiggins should give the Cavs a big-three for years to come. The Cavs will be a very good team simply because LeBron is on it but the storyline of LeBron winning a title for Cleveland at least this upcoming season is probably not very realistic, given the Cavs’ recent past.

Miami Heat: Even with the loss of LeBron James, the Miami Heat should still compete in the East. They still have Chris Bosh and assuming Dwayne Wade stays healthy, the Heat really aren’t all that bad. They replaced LeBron with Luol Deng who is a gritty defensive player and can also score the basketball. They added Danny Granger — a former All Star and leader of the Pacers. Although Josh McRoberts isn’t a household name, he can play. While the Heat likely won’t contend for a title for a while, don’t expect them to just fade into irrelevance.

Washington Wizards: Don’t look now but the Wizards are back and look like they are here to stay for the long haul. The back-court duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal can both flat out ball it up. Marcin Gortat and Nene up front make for a scary tandem for anyone who dares to enter the paint. They did lose Trevor Ariza, but the cherry on top of their offseason was the addition of Paul Pierce. Pierce clearly isn’t the same player as he used to be but can still be vital to a contending team. Watch out for Washington.

Toronto Raptors: Throughout all the LeBron and Carmelo Anthony madness, it seems as everyone has forgotten about the Raptors. The #3 seed in the East last year shouldn’t be overlooked either. They might slip a bit in the standings but not by much. Kyle Lowry, Demar DeRozan Terrence Ross are all young stars in their own right. Adding Lou Williams and rookie DeAndre Daniels from Connecticut will help fill in additional depth. Finally Toronto has a team to cheer for, for the first time since the Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady days.

Brooklyn Nets: The Nets went all out last season by teaming up Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Robin Lopez and Deron Williams but only got to the second round and paid a steep luxury tax in the process. Injuries and lack of chemistry were the demise of this team yet they started clicking towards the end of the season. While the Nets won’t surprise anyone or be a top team in the East, I think they will still make the playoffs and could get back to the second round yet again — even without Pierce or their ousted head coach, Jason Kidd.

New York Knicks: The Knicks have taken a lot of heat from fans and media over the past few years, but for some reason I believe in them this year. This is a team that won 54 games two seasons ago and has a lot of the same players. They brought in Phil Jackson to run the team and I don’t bet against the Zen Master. My beloved, Derek Fisher, is now call the shots as the head coach. Fish which will at least bring a new sense of culture to a team that seems to badly need it. The Knicks also got rid of some dead weight in Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton while acquiring Jose Calderon. On top of it all, they were able to somehow draft Cleanthony Early from Wichita State after he dropped to them in the second round. The Knicks look in pretty good shape especially after a very disappointing season last year.

Charlotte Hornets: Am I the only one who thinks it’s so cool that the Charlotte Hornets are back in the NBA? Not only are they back in the league, they also they look like a team that could compete. As the Bobcats last season, the made the playoffs as the #7 seed so they will be looking to improve from that. They still have big Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker and added Noah Vonleh in the draft from Indiana to add to their strong front court. They also may have gotten the steal of free agency by signing Lance Stephenson. Despite his playoff antics, Stephenson can be a huge piece of the puzzle for the Hornets. Michael Jordan may have finally built a team that can compete.

Every NBA season some surprise teams jump up and contend for the playoffs and in the East those could be the Hawks, Pistons, and Magic. The NBA season is a bit away from us but its never too early to look at the upcoming year especially one where there isn’t a clear favorite in the East for the first time in four years.

What do you think? Who is the favorite in the East now? Which team do you think will surprise people?

Quicken Loans Arena is going to be rocking once again this year. By Erik Drost, via Wikimedia Commons

Cleveland is rocking once again. LeBron is back.

For a fan base abandoned by their hometown star four years ago, this is the biggest day in Cleveland sports history. While it doesn’t do much for the past heartbreak the city of Cleveland has suffered, getting LeBron James back is, simply put, the biggest free agent acquisition in the NBA. Ever. James will go down as a top-five all-time player in this league when all is said and done. His move to Miami sparked four dreary NBA years of the Heat dominating the East. Now, the Eastern Conference is wide open once again.

When he left Ohio, the thought of Cleveland ever getting him back was the ultimate pipe dream. It was obvious nobody even considered a return a possibility. All over town, Cavs fans burned the jersey of their prodigal son. Owner Dan Gilbert unleashed a tirade unlike any other I’ve seen from an owner, publicly lashing out at the superstar who spurned the organization and region.

Many blamed LeBron for leaving in the first place for the greener pastures in Miami. He got some of what he wanted there: championships, some kind of validation, a chance to play with two other All-Star caliber players. He also learned that not even that was enough. In the end, James decided that winning a championship in Cleveland is a challenge he was ready to take on, once again.

In his essay on SI.com today, he talked about the past four years as a proxy for college — interesting for the biggest no-brainer high school talent ever. Since he left Cleveland has certainly been forced to grow-up, out of the bubble of Northeast Ohio.

Being from the Central Coast, I had to move away for a few years to appreciate everything about it. (Yes, I just compared myself to LeBron James). The cliche goes that you don’t know what you had until it’s gone. The same goes for places — sometimes a person doesn’t realize what a place truly means until they leave.

In the mean time, LeBron has kept his head down in Ohio. His public relations persona in Akron seems to have remained intact and weathered the storm over the past four years. According to his website, his charitable endeavors still focus mostly on Ohio. Throughout the championship runs in Miami, LeBron kept his roots where they have always been. Despite the rampant speculation that has basically broken twitter and the Internet over the past few days, James chose this time around to take his time and put his feelings into writing — a very wise choice following the dumpster fire that was The Decision.

In many ways, LeBron’s career path is becoming an ideal one. Following an archtypical hero’s journey, he helped grow the Cavs brand in his hometown over the first seven years of his career. After he failed there, he went away, abdicating his regional throne and shunning those who had worshipped him over the past decade. While he was gone, he learned how to accomplish his ultimate goals while Cleveland fell back into “ruin.” Now, Bron Bron will return to try to restore his place as the King of Cleveland and resurrect a franchise he once took to the NBA finals.

LeBron ended his announcement today pretty simply, acknowledging the new challenge ahead of him.

In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.

I’m ready to accept the challenge. I’m coming home.

American sports fans sit, eagerly awaiting the season opener and a chance to glimpse a once and future Cav. After all, doesn’t everyone love a story about redemption?

]]> http://www.fansmanship.com/it-had-to-be-cleveland/feed/ 0 http://www.fansmanship.com/2014-nba-playoffs-oh-the-madness/ http://www.fansmanship.com/2014-nba-playoffs-oh-the-madness/#respond Sat, 26 Apr 2014 20:20:37 +0000 http://www.fansmanship.com/?p=13481 All season long, the two-time defending champion Miami Heat have been the favorites in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs, who lost to Miami in the Finals last season, had the best record during the regular season and have looked like a team on a mission. The Indiana Pacers, who seemed determined to overthrow their […]]]>

All season long, the two-time defending champion Miami Heat have been the favorites in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs, who lost to Miami in the Finals last season, had the best record during the regular season and have looked like a team on a mission. The Indiana Pacers, who seemed determined to overthrow their rivals in Miami started off the season hot but have slipped lately. This was supposed to be the year that some team knocked off LeBron James and the Heat and stopped them from becoming a dynasty. Thus far in the playoffs that dream seems very unlikely.

Could the NBA Finals return to the Moda Center in Portland this season? By Another Believer (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

At this point, I think the only other two teams that could give the Heat some trouble out East are the young Toronto Raptors and the veteran Brooklyn Nets, who happen to be facing each other in the first round. With the Pacers struggling to find themselves, it almost looks like a lock for the Heat to meet up with a team like the Wizards in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In other words, it’s not turning out to be as challenging as many thought for LeBron and co.

In the West, it’s a free-for-all, with some of the top teams struggling so far in the playoffs. The top-seeded Spurs are playing their in-state rival Dallas Mavericks who so far are showing the Spurs they mean some business. The two teams from the Lone Star State have split the first two games in San Antonio and Dallas could have won both games in San Antonio if not for an impressive run to end game one by the Spurs.

The second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder with MVP Kevin Durant seemed primed for another playoff run yet find themselves down 2-1 to the gritty Memphis Grizzlies. The Houston Rockets had a lot of hype after the addition of Dwight Howard in the offseason, but they are down 0-2 to the Trail Blazers heading into one of the loudest arenas in the NBA back in Portland. The Los Angeles Clippers are the only top seeded team looking like they should taking a 2-1 lead over the Warriors including winning a game in Oakland.

The NBA playoffs are far from over and anything can happen, but so far signs are pointing towards the Heat reaching their fourth straight NBA Finals and meeting up with any of the right Western Conference teams that clinched a postseason berth. Here is what I believe will happen over the course of the playoffs:

First Round:

1. San Antonio Spurs vs. 8. Dallas Mavericks (Spurs in 7)

2. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 7. Memphis Grizzlies (Grizzlies in 6)

3. Los Angeles Clippers vs. 6. Golden State Warriors (Clippers in 7)

4. Houston Rockets vs. 5. Portland Trailblazers (Trailblazers in 6)

1. Indiana Pacers vs. 8. Atlanta Hawks (Pacers in 7)

2. Miami Heat vs. 7. Charlotte Bobcats (Heat in 5)

3. Toronto Raptors vs. 6. Brooklyn Nets (Nets in 6)

4. Chicago Bulls vs. 5. Washington Wizards (Wizards in 4)

Semi-Finals:

1. San Antonio Spurs vs. 5. Portland Trailblazers (Trailblazers in 6)

3. Los Angeles Clippers vs. 7. Memphis Grizzlies (Clippers in 7)

1. Indiana Pacers vs. 5. Washington Wizards (Wizards in 6)

2. Miami Heat vs. 6. Brooklyn Nets (Heat in 7)

Conference Finals:

3. Los Angeles Clippers vs. 5. Portland Trailblazers (Trailblazers in 6)

2. Miami Heat vs. 5. Washington Wizards (Heat in 5)

NBA Finals: 2. Miami Heat vs. 5. Portland Trailblazers (TBA)

Every NBA offseason it seems that at least one star player changes teams and the 2014 offseason shouldn’t be any different. While not technically being free agents, many people expect Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James to opt out of their current deals and perusing other options. Like a lot of people, I expect LeBron to stay with the Miami Heat regardless whether or not they three-peat as champions. Carmelo on the other hand may have other ideas than to stay with the New York Knicks past this season.

Many Laker fans are hoping Carmelo brings his talents across the country this coming offseason. By Keith Allison, via Wikimedia Commons

Carmelo has said that what has happened this season disgusts him and seems to be very disappointed. The latest news in the Knicks season is that they have signed the Zen Master himself, Phil Jackson, to a position with the team overseeing basketball operations. Some think this is a ploy by the Knicks in order to persuade Carmelo to stay in New York rather than leave. But, the question remains, what should Carmelo Anthony do this coming off-season, assuming he opts out of his contract?

Many teams have been linked to Carmelo but the two teams with the best chance of landing the star are probably the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, with the Bulls being the best option.

Chicago already has pieces on their team that could piece together to be a championship team and adding a scorer like Carmelo could enhance their offense. If — and it’s a BIG if — Derrick Rose could just stay healthy, he and Carmelo could become a dynamic duo in the NBA for years. Anthony would fit-in perfectly with the Bulls as their starting small forward, but in order to make that happen the Bulls would need to make some costly but necessary cuts. Also there is a question of whether Carmelo is ready to step into the house that Michael built and lead the Bulls back to glory? I’m not so sure that he is ready for that despite him being in the league for over ten years now.

Another team that Carmelo could land with is the Lakers, which would make the 2014 season hugely intriguing. The Lakers season has fallen so flat this season. Teaming Carmelo up with Kobe Bryant along with their supposed lottery pick for Bryant’s’ last run at a sixth title could be very successful. Kobe and Carmelo are friends with much respect for one another and that has proven to be successful in this league in places like Miami and Boston. While Kobe and Carmelo are not James and Wade, the duo could turn out to be a scary scoring duo for opposing teams.

Like most off-seasons, this one promises to be entertaining. Even with the addition of Phil Jackson, I believe that Carmelo Anthony is as good as gone from the Knicks. If I have to predict where he would land as of right now, I would say the Lakers. It makes sense for both the Lakers and Carmelo; plus it will give Kobe a successor to hand the team over to once he finally retires. While I’m not sure it would be the best thing for the team in the long-term, I expect to see Carmelo be the next star to don the famous purple and gold jersey come next season.

Even before Dwight Howard joined the Lakers many fans and members of the media looked to the 2014 off-season as a chance for the purple and gold to make a splash and start focusing their personnel moves on their post-Kobe Bryant days. Going into the 2013-2014 season with absolutely no hope of a championship, the Lakers stuck to their “plan” by signing a large majority of their roster to 1-year contracts to preserve the cap space they would enjoy the following offseason. Once the 2014 offseason hits, the Lakers will only have three players on their salary cap giving them flexibility to do what they want. But the real question is, what should the Lakers do with all that cap space?

If the front office is patient and handles the 2014 off-season correctly, it may only be a few seasons until the Lakers return to the White House. By Lawrence Jackson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

My plan would be to save the cap space, despite how Kobe Bryant might feel about it, and save it for the 2015 and 2016 off seasons in order to more-thoroughly return the team to its rightful place atop the NBA. First off, the Lakers will be getting a top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, which is linked to being one of the deepest drafts in recent memory and might eventually be compared to the historic 2003 draft (we hope Jerry West was wrong). So they will more than likely get a young star in the making to put alongside Kobe for the 2014-2015 season. Once the following offseason starts, however, the fun begins. Such players as Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol will be free agents come 2015 and many expect the Lakers to snag Love, who played at UCLA, from Minnesota.

Wait another offseason, which could mean post-Kobe, and the 2016 free agent class is even better. With such players scheduled to become free agents as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and others, the Lakers could put themselves in position to return to championship contention within a few seasons simply by being patient in free agency for a few years. The two names most heavily linked to the purple and gold are Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, which matched together, could be a deadly combination for opponents.

As for the fans, we might need to bite the bullet on next season as well in order to potentially celebrate another title a few seasons later. Those of us in the seats as well as the Lakers front office should realize that. The one problem is that the pressure of an impending Kobe Bryant retirement may put the Lakers in an awkward situation and they may push the panic button and sign a player like Carmelo Anthony this offseason. Nothing against Carmelo — he is a great player — but the best thing for the Lakers future would be to wait for now and use the cap space in future off-seasons.

Nothing compares to a good individual rivalry in the NBA. Since one-on-one is the name of the game in the League, individual match-ups are analyzed and torn apart. Fans ask the age-old question of who is better than who? By the time a game is over, we sometimes even get a definitive answer.

Until recently, we hadn’t seen any huge individual rivalries in quite a while. While Kobe Bryant has won five titles over the past decade-and-a-half, other players have come and gone. But Kevin Durant and LeBron James have changed that. Since meeting up in the 2011 NBA Finals, Durant and LeBron have been known as the two best players in the league and everything they do gets compared.

Kevin Durant is a great player but will be second to LeBron until he starts to win. By Keith Allison, via Wikimedia Commons

Durant vs. LeBron has become a matchup that is an event each and every time that the two match-up. Since 2010, when LeBron joined the Heat, Miami has a record of 9-4 against Oklahoma City, including their NBA Finals matchup.

Now why is this? It is actually very simple in the fact that the Thunder just don’t matchup very well against the Heat. I believe that if the Thunder and Heat met up in the Finals again, it would be the same boring outcome that is was back in 2011 when the Heat won the series 4 games to 1.

People can talk about how the Heat aren’t as good this season and how they won’t win a third NBA title in a row, but I give them a very good chance to do so. Until the Heat no longer have LeBron James on their roster, I will probably pick them to win each season. In my opinion, there are only three teams right now that could actually beat the Heat in a playoff series based on match-ups.

The Pacers and Spurs have proven they can play with the Heat so I give them a realistic chance to do so. The third team may be of a surprise to people but I think that the Rockets could give the Heat a run for their money. Having James Harden, the size of Dwight Howard, and all the shooters they have could cause problems for Miami.

The debate of Durant vs. LeBron is just getting started and I am excited to watch these two great players go at each other over the next several seasons. For now, though, the debate needs to stop because LeBron James is the best player in the world and will hold that title for a long time. Until Kevin Durant starts adding some NBA titles to his resume he will be second to his rival and friend LeBron James.

Let’s face it: As a society we love to hate LeBron James, and understandably so.

Six feet, eight inches tall. Two hundred forty pounds with the speed of a point guard isn’t necessarily fair. As a result, LeBron’s a physical specimen demonized more so than he is celebrated.

“He can’t shoot free throws,” say the haters. “He isn’t clutch. He lacks the heart to lead a team on his own. He took the easy way out. Quitter”.

Surprisingly, after two straight titles not a whole lot has changed. I thought more would, but it’s obvious LeBron James will never be the untarnished champion. He’ll always be the man who crushed the heart of a city, to ride the high life with his superstar cronies. The society has backed off a bit with from banging the not clutch drum though echoes can still be heard. but Lebron’s negative public image has held pat in every other possible way.

Shoot, last year it was “Ray Allen who bailed him out.” Mind you, James hit a three earlier pulling the team to within three, rebounded his own miss the next time down the floor, kicking the ball out to the wide open Allen, for one of his many assists. The year before it was “the three point shooting of Mike Miller.” Again: the man single handedly picked apart the Thunder to the tune of 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.

Even Michael Jordan was hated by some. By Joshua Massel. Cropped by en:User:Quadzilla99 (original flickr source) , via Wikimedia Commons

This Lebron hate is the same type New Yorkers held against Michael Jordan in the mid-90’s. They hated him because he was better than them. Because no matter how many people tried to beat him down, including the wild walrus sized elbows of Charles Oakley, he continued on winning championships, scoring titles, MVP’s, fame, a reverential nickname, and induction to the hall of fame.

The man is the best ever. Period. Nobody’s going to tell him, or me, otherwise. Despite that, there is still a small, lingering camp of idiots arguing against the perennial oneness of his Airness.

The same can be said for LeBron.

I love, love, love, the Indiana Pacers’ toughness and their young burgeoning superstar, Paul George. I enjoy Kevin Durant & his upstart small town Thunder and other teams and players, too. But I can’t help but find myself searching the box score for LeBron on a nightly basis. What did LeBron do today? How good are the Heat? Can he lead his team to a third straight title?

Tell me the last time you genuinely thought about Paul George. You’re working, going about your day, maybe walking to the water cooler or copy machine, when all of a sudden, ah, yes, there he is — the young Pacer and his encroaching legacy. Not a chance. He comes into view the moment he suits up against the best.

But share a cup of coffee with your boss & you’re bound to talk LeBron somewhere in there. The most dominant player of a generation breeds venom, vile slams. Like Kobe, Shaq, and so many others before him, he alone, can split a bar into ruckus thugs. The man is just that polarizing. And whole lot better.