Both the game 7's are in the books and it was a fun couple of days in the NBA. Yesterday's Truth-V-King match-up was well worth the hype. Lebron had 45 in a losing cause as he just could not get past Paul Pierce and the Celtics. It was amazing to watch the King dominate even when he is the only option on offense for the Cavs. The Cavs offense is a mess and it only gets worse when Ben Wallace or Anderson Verajao is on the court. The Cavs are reduced to playing 4-on-5 on offense and that only means the Celtics can triple-team instead of doubling the King. Still the guy goes out and gets 45. Thats how athletic and how strong the guy is. His strength is his biggest strength! The guy can crash into the paint, deal with 3 guys, get fouled and still finish the shot. Thats what helps him dominate.
Kenny and others often point out that LeBron is still not a finished product offensively. He has not acquired a post-up game yet and doesn't really have a mid-range shot either. He either drives hard to the hoop or takes long jumpers and threes. He is still unstoppable because he can drive to the hoop at will and can pass the ball too if stopped on his track. Unique talent, but he needs more talent around him plus a better offensive coach. Coaching is important because he needs someone who can tell him what he should be working on in his off-season as well as run a better offense around him. No wonder the Cavs fans are still pissed with Carlos Boozer. If he was playing next to LeBron (and Z), the Cavs might be championship good.
As for the Celtics, Paul Pierce carried them in game 7. I like his game a lot and I have always thought he is a little under-rated. The guy is basically a 75% LeBron James. Big, strong and a better jump-shooter than LeBron though not as athletic. He is a tough cover and he completely over-shadowed KG and Ray Allen in this game. LeBron gave him a lot of props too after the game. Now the Celts run in to the Pistons and it's going to be an awesome series. The Pistons can take care of this team if the Celtics don't stay focussed. The Celts better be careful at home in the first 2 games. Pistons are coming in for the kill.
In the other game 7 today, the Spurs won their first road game of the series and finished the Hornets off just as I had predicted. It's hard for such young teams to win game 7s. The Spurs are the real deal. They know what they are doing and it's amazing how they out-execute you in critical games. Pop is getting a lot of props finally for good coaching. In this series, he is credited with cutting off the 3-point shooters and letting Chris Paul do his thing with the ball. Peja's reputation of playing small in big games continues as he was completely shut out of this series since game 3. All in all, a great season for the Hornets and CP3, but they need to mature and they probably will. Jannero Pargo carried them late in this game and they need someone else to do the heavy-lifting if CP3 is locked down and not depend on bench guys like Pargo. But when you have CP3 at the point, your future is in good hands.
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