LeBron James’ nickname is King James. With the 2007 NBA playoffs beginning this Sunday, the question on everybody’s minds is whether or not LeBron can be crowned an NBA champion. He won’t be able to do it alone, despite putting his Cavaliers within one game of the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
Holding a 3-2 advantage over the Detroit Pistons, the Cavs were one defensive rebound away from making the trip to the Eastern Finals. What is overlooked from last season’s playoff run is the fact that the Cavs didn’t have a healthy Larry Hughes.
Since returning from his injury, Hughes has moved to point guard, so another scorer, Aleksandar “Sasha” Pavlovic, could enter the starting lineup. The Cavs won 50 games last year, while Hughes missed 45 with a wrist injury.
Over the course of this season, many NBA experts have criticized James for not working hard over the summer to improve his game, while instead choosing to take some games off during the course of this season.
What must be considered is the fact that James was playing for team U.S.A. all summer in Las Vegas and China, which resulted in a sluggish start at the beginning of the NBA regular season.
While James’ numbers are slightly down from last year, a year in which he joined the elite company of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson as one of only four men in NBA history to average 30 ppg, 7 rpg and 7 apg, he has still managed to lead the Cavs to back-to-back 50-win seasons.
James led his Cavs to the playoffs in only his second season, while it took arguably the greatest player ever-Michael Jordan-four seasons to get his Bulls into the playoffs. James has felt the pressure to win a championship now, while it took Jordan seven seasons to win his first NBA title.
In his first trip to the playoffs, James accomplished some remarkable things. In his first-ever playoff game, James dropped a triple-double against the Washington Wizards.
That same series, he had two game-winning shots, which helped the Cavaliers advance to the next round for the first time since the glory days of Mark Price and Brad Daugherty.
Before the arrival of James, the Cavaliers hadn’t made the playoffs since Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ rookie year of 1998. A lot has changed in Cleveland since 1998, as Ilgauskas is the only remaining member from that playoff team.
James has always stepped up his game in the playoffs and, if the rest of the Cavs step it up and do their part, they could make some noise in the playoffs. The Cavs have earned home-court advantage for this year’s first round.
After earning the East’s number two seed, they will prepare to face the Washington Wizards, their first-round opponent from last year’s playoffs.
General Manager Danny Ferry has pieced together a roster with all the necessary players to win a championship.
The Cavs have two of the top five offensive rebounders in the NBA in Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden. Add that to a pure energy player in Anderson Varejao, and the Cavs will get plenty of second-chance opportunities.
They also have a pair of veteran three-point shooters in Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall, as well as veteran leadership, provided by back-up point guard Eric Snow. Scot Pollard was added to the roster this summer, so the Cavs have an extra six fouls to use on Shaq if and when they play the Miami Heat.
The majority of the scoring will be left up to James, Hughes and the sharp-shooting Pavlovic. The Cavs have been overlooked to win the East by many experts believing that either the Pistons or the Heat would advance to the NBA Finals.
The Cavaliers’ road to the Eastern Conference Finals plays to their favor, after earning the number two seed and avoiding any first-or second-round matchups with either Miami or Detroit. So, when the playoffs begin this Sunday, don’t write off the Cleveland Cavaliers.
