Friday, February 22, 2008

Still one on five

Brothers A and S are all up in a tizzy about the Bulls giving the Cavs the keys to the NBA title. S bemoans his Bulls' sacrifice, and their swallowing of Larry Hughes in the process. A is literally vibrating with pleasure as adrenaline levels top out at his eyeballs. "Thhhhiiissss issssss thhhhhhe mmmmmmmooooooovvvvvvvve!" he says, trying to keep his glasses from dropping off his face.

And I hear the logic. Delonte West is a beast, a junkyard dog who happens to hit some 3s. Wally Szerbiak is still a decent shooter, spotting up from anywhere. And then there's Big Ben, whose 'fro is still intimidating to those who want to venture into the paint. All solid contributors to a deep playoff team.

But the Cavs were already a deep playoff team. Sure, both the Celtics and PIstons are better this year, with KG and Ray Allen, and the development of their young bench, respectively. But the Cavs had just as much of a shot before the trade of coming out of the East as they did last year. So hooray for a defensive upgrade, and some more shooters, but I still don't see it.

Can Wallace still slow down Duncan? Fine, he d's Shaq, but who gets Barbosa and Stoudemire? Who guards Odom? And when James is being triple teamed, does West have the skills to run the offense? I haven't seen any sign of it.

So S, take it down a notch. A, maybe some horse tranquilizers for you. Because the Cavs are still a threat to beat the Celtics, but they're not winning the title this year, if only because Mike Brown is still their coach.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Only time can tell Fancy pants! Time will show you the rain of the KING!

-S