Smack / May 25, 2007 / 12:54 am

The Fire This Time

By Dime Magazine

The last time LeBron James was so heavily scrutinized going into a game, it was probably about five years ago when he made his national TV debut in high school. That was back when everyone wanted to see if the kid could play. Now we all know he’s the truth, but after Game 1 of Cavs/Pistons, his takeover-ability is being questioned … And lo and behold, Game 2 came down to the exact same situation ‘Bron took so much flak for earlier this week. Down by one, about 20 seconds left, LeBron had the ball in his hands and the game was his to win. Iso’d up top on Rip Hamilton, he drove, spun and took the shot — but missed. Larry Hughes missed a too-easy putback, Anderson Varaejo missed a tip-in, and that was it. Now the Cavs are down 0-2 going back home … Was LeBron fouled on the last play? Rip did kinda rake/graze him across the arm depending on which team you’re rooting for, but considering how strong LeBron is and how weak Rip looks (although he is actually strong), we can understand not making that call. Plus, the refs had been letting the players play all game long; on Rasheed Wallace’s go-ahead baseline J that set up the Cavs’ final possession, ‘Sheed (16 pts, 11 rebs) pushed off something serious on Varaejo. Not even AV’s ridiculously-overdone flop drew the whistle. AV acted like he was a receiver going across the middle and got popped by Sean Taylor … You can’t fault LeBron for that last play; it was exactly what everyone wanted him to do at the end of Game 1, he just missed. Ten seconds earlier, though, he re-enacted the Donyell Marshall Play and it cost the Cavs. LeBron drove and drew a triple-team, passed up an admittedly tough shot and kicked it out to a wide-open Sasha Pavlovic in the corner. Sasha started to go up, changed his mind and traveled. LeBron was pissed … In another game where no one cracked 80, LeBron finished with 19 points on 19 shots. He wasn’t passive and drove to the cup regularly, he was just getting the crap beat out of him every time … Jason Maxiell (15 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blks) was a beast in the first half: dunking on everybody, blocking shots and rebounding. Every contending team needs a guy like him, who brings energy but is more than just hustle and fouls. (Out of the remaining teams, Utah has Paul Millsap, San Antonio has Oberto and Cleveland has Varaejo.) Max was getting it in last night; he guarded LeBron 1-on-1 a few times and picked ‘Bron’s pockets clean once … LeBron and Maxiell had a little back-and-forth in the first quarter when LeBron went baseline and did a sick reverse Harold Miner-style two-hand dunk (a fast-break style cram in traffic), Max dunked a putback in LeBron’s grill the next time down, LeBron tried to stick a three in Max’s face but missed, and Max came down and finished an alley oop on the other end … The Cavs went with Daniel Gibson, Damon Jones and Donyell on the court at the same time for a long stretch, sacrificing Hughes’ D to get some shooters on the floor. Now if those three are hitting their shots, that’s a good move. Otherwise, it might be the worst three-man combo of any playoff team … A day after firing Brian Hill, the Magic were contacted by Bob Hill about the job opening. One benefit of hiring Bob: he’s tight with Rashard Lewis, who could come over as a free agent. The bad side of hiring Bob: he isn’t a good coach … The Bobcats reportedly have their man, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says Mavs assistant Sam Vincent will soon be introduced as the ‘Cats coach … The Grizzlies’ list of possible replacement for Jerry West reportedly includes Mark Jackson and B.J. Armstrong … Landing the No. 2 draft pick has already boosted ticket sales for the Sonics and Blazers. We’ve also heard that the sports-talk radio in Seattle has been 24/7 Kevin Durant since the ping-pong balls bounced in their favor, while the Blazers’ team website got 300,000 page views the night following the Lottery … We’re out like scoring 80 …

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| Posted in Smack |

16 Responses to “The Fire This Time”

  1. May 25th, 2007 at 1:32 am

    Magicfrankie says:

    imho the Cavs could’ve easily walked away with 2-0 in their favour, if LBJ hadn’t choked in both games in Detroit.
    First game he passed the ball up and this time he first dished to Pavlovic who wasn’t ready… LBJ was triple teamed, but apparently no play had been called, LBJ was supposed to finish it himself, and he didn’t…
    So nice of him to be pissed, but he himself got his teammate in a difficult situation…
    On the last play he didn’t take it strong enough to the hoop and he let Rip Hamilton bother him just enough to make him miss the easy basket.

  2. May 25th, 2007 at 9:08 am

    Bron says:

    on the magic, lewis is a allstar in the east and not as fragile as grant hill..so it could be a good move..a much better move then sendin millions of dollars vince’s way when hes older,softer and injured.

  3. May 25th, 2007 at 9:33 am

    Bron says:

    and again i ask…if stern was so quick to suspend amare cuz he had to “follow the law” how come lebron wasn’t suspended like kobe was? is there also some golden boy rule where him and tim duncan get passes?

  4. May 25th, 2007 at 10:32 am

    Austin Burton says:

    Duncan wasn’t suspended in the Suns/spurs series because when he stepped onto the court, there was no altercation; no one on the Suns was even looking at Elson and Duncan was just checking on him.

    What play are you talking about with LeBron and Kobe?

  5. May 25th, 2007 at 10:40 am

    smity says:

    I like the title of Smack today. i assume and hope that it’s Baldwin influenced. were both the push off and the flop really that serious. the flop was crazily exxagerated but was the push off that blatant and attention worthy? i didnt think so.

  6. May 25th, 2007 at 10:43 am

    Austin Burton says:

    Smitty, that’s the reference I was going for. Glad someone caught it and glad Dime readers are educated.

  7. May 25th, 2007 at 10:55 am

    Bron says:

    austin, i didn’t mean kobe and lebron in the same game. when kobe flung his arm back after shooting and hit manu and marko jaric, he was suspended…lebron did it in game one to chris webber (like 5-8 seconds after the shot had already left his hand) and nothing happened. And i know what you mean about duncan but i’m just saying if your goin to be strict and possibly cost a team the playoffs (suns would of lost anyway) then you have to do it always and with everyone, lebron should of sat last game.

  8. May 25th, 2007 at 11:13 am

    Austin Burton says:

    I’ve heard about that play but have yet to see it. That said, I wonder if Manu/Marko’s “I’ve been shot!” reaction played a factor in Kobe’s suspension (makes the chop look worse). I’m assuming Webber didn’t drop like that when ‘Bron hit him, right?

  9. May 25th, 2007 at 11:18 am

    Bron says:

    nah he had the same vietmam sniper fall like the other 2 did when ‘lebron (my names bron) hit him and it was much later of a swing after the shot than kobes.

  10. May 25th, 2007 at 12:13 pm

    Austin Burton says:

    Just saw the play … LeBron should have been suspended. And how many points would the Cavs have scored without him? 60?

  11. May 25th, 2007 at 12:17 pm

    Andrew says:

    not to bring up the spurs/suns again, but since many people deem duncan to have not come on the court during an altercation, its complete BS because why else did he walk in the direction of center court? clearly he walked there because he suspected there might have been an incident with jones/elson, but of course nothing ensued. still, that doesn’t make him immune to the rules..especially since david stern took the ‘a rule is a rule’ stance on the suns. if that’s the case, then don’t interpret duncan’s actions and suspend him. o well, what’s done is done.

  12. May 25th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

    Rob says:

    Where did you see the play….?

  13. May 25th, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    Austin Burton says:

    It looked to me like Duncan came onto the court because his teammate had just fell on his head. Stern did follow the letter of the law, because there was no altercation; none of the Suns even acknowledged Elson on the floor. Whereas with the Amare/Diaw thing, there was an altercation with Raja and Nash jumping in Horry’s face. You can’t say Duncan “clearly” went off the bench “because he suspected” there was gonna be an incident, because then you’d have to be in Duncan’s head to know why he got off the bench.

  14. May 25th, 2007 at 4:25 pm

    Celts Fan says:

    Completely off topic, but if we (Celtics) draft Yi, that’s a clear indication we’re trading Pierce right? At best, he’s a 2-3 year project and hitting his stride as Paul’s finishing up his prime. I know he very well may be the 3rd best player out of this draft after all’s said and done, but if we take him, that signals a rebuilding, right? Anyone think there’s a chance a Theo Ratliff expiring contract (roughly $13M), Delonte/Tony Allen (essentially, any of the young guys not named Rondo, Jefferson, or Green), and the #5 pick could net us Jermaine O’Neal from Hickory High… I mean the Pacers?

  15. May 25th, 2007 at 5:22 pm

    T says:

    Duncan didn’t walk 25 feet away from his bench like Amare and Diaw, thats why he wasn’t suspended…

  16. May 25th, 2007 at 6:59 pm

    bron says:

    my topic wasnt really about duncan, it was about lebrons flaring elbow after his shot. and amare didn’t make it 25 feet either.

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