P.M. Cleveland Cavaliers links: Cavs continue to be one of NBA's top teams in the national media

LEBRON JAMES




One of the neat aspects of the Cleveland Cavaliers' emergence into an elite team over the last several seasons is their presence in the national conversation about the NBA.Cavaliers games are a staple on national television, with, of course, LeBron James the primary drawing card. Tonight's game at Dallas against the Mavericks isn't on ABC, ESPN or TNT, as so many Cleveland games are. It is on Fox Sports Ohio, and has some national presence as it's being shown on NBA TV.The Cavaliers also get their share of acknowledgement in the national print and online media. For instance, they're prominent in Marc Stein's Weekend Dime on ESPN.com, with numerous mentions.Stein's current edition features various "of the decade" topics. Among being included in other categories, James' memorable Game 5 in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons is considered among the "performance of the decade" candidates.Though Stein's winning effort belongs to another player, he writes:What LeBron did to the Pistons in the 2007 East finals -- absolutely dismantling 2004's proud champions by scoring 29 of his team's final 30 points -- certainly had more meaning given the playoff stage and undoubtedly ranks as James' signature game as a pro. Yet it can't top the most outstanding individual performance ever witnessed. Which is what Bryant delivered.And, among Stein's regular features, how about this?Some numbers of note in the East this week:71: LeBron James rumbled for 36 points, six rebounds and seven assists in Wednesday's win at Philadelphia, giving him 71 games with at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists since James' rookie season (2003-04). Next on the list in the same span is Kobe Bryant with 57 such games. Houston's Tracy McGrady and Miami's Dwyane Wade are tied for third with 30.And, this:The irrepressible Elias Sports Bureau might have outdone itself with this one involving Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Cleveland's two centers produced near-identical lines in the box score in Tuesday's win over New Jersey: Both scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting with five rebounds and three blocked shots. How hard is it to produce a line with those specifics? Elias says that players have recorded more than 750,000 box-score lines since the NBA began keeping track of blocks in 1973 … and only two other players in all that time went for 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting with five boards and three swats: Cavs swingman Jamario Moon in April 2008 (with Toronto), and Portland's Greg Oden earlier this season.Covered: Plain Dealer Cavaliers coverage includes beat writer Brian Windhorst's NBA Insider and his "Hey, Brian;" columnist "Terry Pluto's Talkin;' " Jodie Valade's story on forward Jamario Moon's playing days with the Harlem Globetrotters.A win's a win: The Cavaliers have won their last five games, 17 of their last 21 and 20 of their last 25. Some observers have been concerned with the team's seeming penchant to play "down" to the level of some inferior opponents.Chris Beaven writes in the Canton Repository:The Cavs have looked dominant at times in the last month — winning four straight by double-digits at one point — while also delivering some ugly wins of late. But either way they play, they are usually winning.They have gone 17-4 since a 3-3 start, with road wins over Orlando and Miami and home wins over Dallas and Phoenix. The black eye in that stretch is three road losses to teams with losing records.They’ve done much of that during a busy December that has featured 10 games in the last 18 days. By the end of the month, they will have played 17 games in a 29-day span.“It seems like we’ve played a lot of games in a lot of nights already,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “We’ve been in town, out of town, so our schedule already has been whacky. But you’ve got to give our guys credit for trying to stay focused and trying to fight through the right way.”Tonight, the Cavs open their most difficult road trip with a game at Dallas, followed by Monday night visit to Phoenix. After playing Wednesday at Sacramento, the trip ends Christmas evening with a nationally televised game against the Lakers.“It is a difficult trip coming up,” Shaq said. “It is a good test for us. You know every time that we get into focus mode, we play pretty well. LeBron (James) said it earlier. I said it earlier. It’s a business trip. We are going to a lot of nice cities, but we are going to be locked in as soon as we get on the plane (Saturday).”West a key: Guard Delonte West is one of the Cavaliers' most important players. Writes Bob Finnan for the News Herald and Lorain Morning Journal:When Delonte West is playing at an optimum level, the Cavaliers are a championship-caliber team.But when he lapses into one of his funks, they appear to be slightly above average.There's no question the importance of West to the Cavs.Unfortunately, Coach Mike Brown doesn't know what he'll get out of West on a day-to-day basis.Brown said the Cavs' success this year doesn't hinge on West's prognosis. They'll move on with or without him."We have guys in the locker who are capable players," Brown said. "When you have the guys in there to help pull him along or carry him along, it gives him the opportunity to succeed over time."He's gotten better and better as time goes on. When it comes down to it, all our guys will be in tune."

Kobe Bryant Is Not the Clutch Shooter You Think He Is

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As Kobe Bryant’s body rose up over the 6’2” frame of Charlie Bell in the closing seconds of a recent overtime game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Celtic fans and Bucks announcers across America screamed “miss it!”
Surprisingly, the ball went in.
There is a secret the rest of the NBA doesn’t seem to know about Kobe: Over the last five seasons, he has been atrocious in the final moments of ballgames. While it is true that he is clutch, leading the league in scoring with five minutes or less in the fourth quarter or overtime, when it comes to the last possession he couldn’t hit the broad side of Sarah Jessica Parker’s nose.
Kobe ranks third in made game winning shots over that period of time with 16 made. Huzzah! Except, wait a minute, he has also attempted a final shot or turned the ball over a whopping 65 times, making him dead last in shooting percentage among the top 40 players in that situation at 24 percent.
Why is he so much worse at the end of games? I don’t know, maybe it’s because everyone knows he is going to get the ball. You know it, I know it, Larry King even knows it. Team's like Miami trap Kobe 40 feet from the basket, knowing he will throw up one legged bank shot three pointers.
His confidence in himself drives him to take the final shot regardless of his position and any other opportunities on the floor, resulting in a torrent of horrid shots. Also, he does not possess the pure power game to create the high impact collisions or speed game to force defenders to grab him quickly as he streaks past, forcing the referees to call fouls.
Instead, he relies on a time-consuming series of jerky motions and fakes which generate wrist and touch fouls less likely to be whistled as the game clock winds down. And Phil Jackson’s idea of drawing up a play is, “hey, one of the fans came up with a great idea. Why don’t we inbound the ball at half court?” Come on, Phil! Run a freaking screen every once in a while!
So how did we get to this point? When the Lakers were winning three consecutive titles in the early 2000s, teams were afraid to...READ MORE

LEBRON JAMES|Cleveland Cavaliers at Dallas Mavericks preview

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Scouting the Cavaliers

Their relentless pursuit to put the right people around LeBron James landed them Shaquille O'Neal and Anthony Parker this season, along with a 20-7 record. ... James has been in scoring mode of late, topping 33 points in three of the last five games and averaging 32.6 during that stretch. He missed a triple-double by two assists Friday in a win at Milwaukee. He's had 25 triple-doubles in his career, one this season. ... This is the start of a four-game trip for the Cavs, which includes a Christmas Day visit to the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Mo Williams is coming off a 17-point outing and has made 44 percent of his 3-pointers.

Scouting the Mavericks

They will go into survival mode, most likely, without Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki has a remarkable ability to come back from aches and injuries, but with three stitches put in his shooting arm Friday night, he might need a game or so to get back into action. ... The Mavericks have lost four consecutive games against the Cavaliers, including the last two at AAC. ... In late November, Dallas lost, 111-95, at Cleveland, when LeBron James had 25 points and 12 assists. The Mavericks allowed the Cavaliers to shoot 58 percent. ... Jason Kidd tried to will the Mavericks to a win Friday after Nowitzki exited with 11 rebounds, 10 assists and eight points, but they came up short. They are hoping to avoid consecutive losses for only the second time this season.

LeBron James tips sacred cows

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Some people thought LeBron James might have been trying to get people’s attention away from his impending free agency when he said he planned to stop wearing No. 23 out of respect for Michael Jordan. Maybe he was trying to move some product, as well.
But he’s been stepping into an increasingly difficult place with his position.
When he said the entire league should retire 23 (as baseball has done with Jackie Robinson’s 42), it brought his personal plan to a different level. That he will change to No. 6 is, in a word, unconscionable.

Exalting Jordan above all others is misguided but at least debatable. To then think it is perfectly fine to wear Bill Russell’s number is nothing less than a slap at the greatest winner in the history of team sports.
This is a Sunday notes column and we have a little extra space, so let’s repeat that: the greatest winner in the history of team sports.
Look, we like LeBron. He’s a good-hearted kid and an incredible player who will get even better. We’ve abused him over the years - in person and in print - for his love of the New York Yankees, but beyond that he’s an intelligent man who has worked hard to maximize his gifts.
But the belief here is that he rode this train completely off the tracks with his most recent comments on the number change.
“I just feel like MJ has more of an impact off the court than anyone else in NBA history,” James said.
“His numbers speak for themselves on the court, but what he was able to do off the court inspired people to play basketball. I think Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird and Wilt (Chamberlain) and those guys were unbelievable, but none of those guys did what MJ did off the court to inspire people to be great and fly and jump.”
“Then,” James added, “I’m biased because I watched MJ when I was growing up.”
Let’s put aside for the moment that James has immersed himself in the history of the game and has seen video of Russell’s games. Focus on the fact that, in terms of impact away from the court, Russell teamed with NFL legend Jim Brown and others in the 1960s to effect positive change in minority communities. Jordan, when asked to support former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt, an African-American running against Jesse Helms for the U.S. Senate, offered the immortal reply, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”
If James still wants to honor Jordan in this way, that last line is quite a hurdle over which to “fly and jump.”

Pistons ready their anti-Kobe crew

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He might know what to expect, now that he has played once against Kobe Bryant, but it won't be any easier for rookie forward Jonas Jerebko.

The Pistons, coming off a 0-3 road trip, will try to extend a five-game home winning streak against the defending NBA champion L.A. Lakers today. Bryant torched the Pistons for 40 points in a 106-93 victory in Los Angeles on Nov. 17.

"Before the game, you think about it a little bit," Jerebko said after the Pistons practiced Saturday. "But when you're out there, I don't even think about who I'm guarding or what name it is.

"Everybody knows what Kobe does. He does a little bit of everything."

Pistons coach John Kuester said a number of players will have to take the challenge of defending Bryant, including Jerebko.

"Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers are two others that are going to have to take that challenge," Kuester said.

"Jonas always works hard and does a great job, night in and night out, of bringing us energy. It's a challenge. Every night's a challenge for him. He had (Kevin) Durant last night, and now turn around and have Kobe and (Ron) Artest."

Bryant isn't the Lakers' only weapon. The Lakers outrebounded the Pistons, 44-32, and that was with Pau Gasol out with a hamstring injury.

INJURY UPDATE: Richard Hamilton (ankle) and Tayshaun Prince (back) remain out. Charlie Villanueva, who injured his right heel in the first half of Friday's 109-98 loss at Oklahoma City, will play against the Lakers, but Ben Gordon (ankle) is questionable.

"I'm just working with Arnie (Kander) every day and going off what he suggests," Gordon said, referring to the Pistons' strength and conditioning coach. "Hopefully I'll be ready by tomorrow. It's feeling stronger each day, but just taking it day by day right now."

Gordon said he's working to strengthen the ankle before he returns.

For Hamilton, dealing with a right hamstring injury after missing most of the season with an ankle injury is frustrating.

"When you think you're back, and then something happens, it's one of them things that's hard to get over," Hamilton said. "You want to be out there. You want to be out there fighting with your guys and playing and things like that. And I've never been injured like this in my whole career. So it's frustrating."

Season has familiar ring for Kobe Bryant as Los Angeles Lakers aim for repeat

KOBE BRYANT

On the seventh floor of a Manhattan health club on Friday afternoon, Phil Jackson put his Lakers through a five-on-five scrimmage without his best player.
Taking a day off to help heal his broken right index finger, Kobe Bryant sat on Jackson's left, thoroughly enjoying the action and smiling at some of Jackson's more pointed comments.
"On this team, we pass the ball to the open man," Jackson shouted at Sasha Vujacic, after the Laker reserve guard failed to do exactly that. "That's one rule that never changes."
Something else hasn't changed for Jackson: He still goes into games with the best player in the game. It used to be Michael Jordan, all during the '90s. Then it was Shaquille O'Neal earlier in the decade. But now it's Bryant, who has his sights fixed on a fifth NBA title this June.
"With the team we have," Bryant said, "we want to try to milk the cow."
By that he means that it's not just this June when the Lakers can be the last team standing, and when they can become the first team to repeat since he played second banana to O'Neal at the start of the decade. With Bryant 31, Pau Gasol only 29, Lamar Odom now 30, Andrew Bynum still a baby at 22, and the newest Laker, Ron Artest, also having only just turned 30, there is the argument to be made that the core of the team is young enough to compete for a bunch of titles and allow Bryant to leave the game with more than the six rings Jordan carted off.
"I've wanted to try to gobble up as many as I could," Bryant said. "Just because that's everybody's goal."
LeBron James hasn't won one title, although sometimes he's treated as if he's got as many rings as Bryant. Dwyane Wade has one championship, but is playing for a team that needs a serious makeover to get back to championship form. After five straight first-round losses, Carmelo Anthony didn't see his first action in late May until Chauncey Billups showed him last spring how it's done.
Among the old-timers, only Shaq and Tim Duncan can match Bryant's four rings. But you have to think that Bryant has a much better chance of repeating than either big man has of getting what could be a final piece of jewelry. Even playing with LeBron, Shaq's Cavaliers are no sure thing if they have to face a complete Celtics team - meaning Kevin Garnett is 100%, with no knee issues - or if they encounter Dwight Howard and an Orlando team with Vince Carter instead of Hedo Turkoglu. Duncan's Spurs, meanwhile, still look too old to do any major damage in May, despite retooling their roster with Richard Jefferson.

Not that Bryant is already counting on a repeat. He's been around long enough to know that there are too many variables involved in winning, too many obstacles that can derail the best teams.
The addition of Artest could make L.A. an even more formidable and more physical defensive team, given his track record as a stopper. Yet the Queensbridge product can also be his own worst enemy, with all of his antics and non-basketball-related issues. This past week, he drew attention to himself, once again, by writing an open letter in support of Tiger Woods, calling him a good role model.
"Ron has a sense of humor," Bryant said. "And to be on this team, you need a sense of humor - and a thick skin."
Even if Artest toes the line, there's always the possibility of an injury to a key performer at the wrong time, which was Boston's fate last season with Garnett. But Bryant almost seems immune to that. When asked if the injured finger on his shooting hand would have required surgery if he had broken it in July, he snickered and said, "I still have that pinkie that's broken and I haven't touched that."
For the record, it will be two years ago this February when he tore a ligament and broke the bone on the pinkie of his shooting hand.
"Sometimes, you have to have a little bit of luck," he said. "The Lakers had a chance to "three-peat" in '89, and then they had the injury to Magic (Johnson). And the season went, poof. It's gone."
Two years later, the Lakers went back to the Finals with Magic, their last one of the Johnson era, but were no match for Jordan with his first championship team. Like that Bulls team, these Lakers, and particularly the players who had never won a title before last June, starting with Gasol and Odom, now understand what it takes to win. That also puts them ahead of all the other contenders.
"We've been through so many battles, we've seen every defense and every adverse situation," Bryant said. "So it's kind of like we know what's coming before it comes now. We have the pieces in place. The moment is here and you don't want to let it slip away. Because it took so long to get back to this point. It took us seven years. You just don't want to lose it because of a lack of focus or a lack of work ethic. That's just not going to happen."
It won't happen, because Bryant won't let it happen.
"He's still as driven as ever to push this team forward," Jackson said.
Bryant's closest teammate, Derek Fisher, a holdover from the Laker three-peat teams, says Bryant seems "more relaxed and refreshed" this season. He attributes that to Bryant finally coming to the end of an arduous 24-month period in which he competed in pre-Olympics competition, lost to the Celtics in the Finals, won the Olympics in Beijing and then carried the Lakers to the title in Orlando last June.

"There's a little bit of an edge off of him, but there has not been a change in his desire to win a title," Fisher said. "That has not changed at all."
Not that it will ever change, either.
In Rod, Prokhorov should trust
Nets fans should be happy that associates of new owner Mikhail Prokhorov have been getting positive feedback from various team executives and NBA officials about Rod Thorn. One team executive who had such a conversation told the Russian billionaire's representative, "Rod is the perfect executive to oversee franchise operations for a new owner, especially one who's from out of the country."
Considering Thorn's record of success running New Jersey since June, 2000 and how favorably he is viewed by league executives, starting with his former boss, David Stern, Prokhorov would be foolish not to retain him. Toronto executive Maurizio Gherardini has been mentioned for the post because he is held in high esteem by Prokhorov, but his contract with the Raptors runs through next season.
Whether it's Thorn, Gherardini or someone else, the person in charge of running the Nets is going to be left alone by Prokhorov.
"He's not involved in the process of running the team," said Utah's Andrei Kirilenko, who played three seasons for Prokhorov's CSKA team in Moscow and still maintains a social relationship with his old boss. "He puts that on the shoulders of the coaches and the GM."
As for helping the GM by spending money on free agents, Kirilenko thinks Prokhorov will shell out what is necessary to build a winner, with a provision.
"His main issue will be building a team, rather just spending money," he said. "He won't be afraid of spending. It won't be an issue for him. But he's been known to run a great business, rather than just trying to get a quick result.

Pistons' road struggles continue, and Kobe Bryant, Lakers await at The Palace

KOBE BRYANT

There’s no place like home for the Detroit Pistons, who are 8-4 at The Palace heading into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.But on the road? That’s another story.The Pistons lost three games in a row on their most recent road trip and have lost eight of their past nine away from home. They are 3-11 on the road this season.Pistons coach John Kuester said Joe Dumars summed up the key to success on the road with one short phrase: “Don’t beat yourself.”“There have been times in the third and fourth quarter where we’ve had unnecessary turnovers and we haven’t moved the basketball the way we’re capable of,” Kuester said. “That’s where you get into that phrase -- ‘Don’t beat yourself’ -- and I think we had that happen (Friday) night.“We had opportunities to either take the lead or take control of certain situations, and we just didn’t take advantage of it.”The Pistons had only 13 assists in a 109-98 loss to Oklahoma City on Friday, and Kuester seemed less than thrilled with the play of point guard Rodney Stuckey following the game.After a reporter suggested Stuckey had continued his streak of good play, which earned him Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors last week, Kuester responded briefly.“He scored points,” he said, then quickly turned away to field another question.Stuckey scored 31 points but had more turnovers (four) than assists (three).Ben Gordon said the team struggles to win when it doesn’t move the ball effectively.“When we’re playing really well and we’re winning basketball games, we usually average anywhere from 18 to 25 assists,” Gordon said. “Whenever we don’t move the ball and we’re stagnant in our offense, that really hurts us.”The Pistons average only 17.4 assists per game and rank 29th in the NBA in that category, ahead of the New Jersey Nets. The Pistons’ offensive numbers have been affected by the injuries they have battled through, which led to increased playing time for younger players.The youth movement could also affect the team’s ability to win on the road, according to Richard Hamilton.“Learning to win on the road is totally different than winning at home,” he said. “I think it’s an adjustment. I think guys are still learning on the fly. I think that we’ll be better as the season goes on.”Odds & ends• The Pistons listed Gordon as questionable for the game against the Lakers, while Tayshaun Prince and Hamilton are “out.” Hamilton is battling a hamstring issue after returning from a sprained ankle. Gordon continues to battle a sprained ankle and will test it in the morning shootaround.• Charlie Villanueva, who broke his nose earlier this season, said Friday night that he has been dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right heel. Kuester said Villanueva will play tonight.• Sunday's game against the Lakers is sold out. The game marks the first meeting between the teams since Lakers forward Ron Artest’s comments about his desire to fight Ben Wallace. Artest later backed off those comments. Kobe Bryant scored 40 points in the only meeting between the teams this season, a 106-93 Lakers victory in Los Angeles.

Comparing LeBron James to NBA Legends

LEBRON JAMES

When a new elite talent arrives in the NBA, everyone immediately wants to draw the comparison between that player and Michael Jordan. This is a reasonable decision. Jordan, often considered the best player in NBA history, was a prolific scorer and won many NBA championships. With players like Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson, this comparison is warranted. However with a player whose skills aren’t the same as Jordan’s, like LeBron James, the comparison becomes somewhat moot. It is unfair to both Jordan and James to compare their games as they are far different players.
Michael Jordan appeared on the basketball scene in college. In the NCAA Championship game, as a freshman, Jordan hit the game winning shot to lift the North Carolina Tar Heels to victory over Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas. He was the second overall pick, after Sam Bowie was selected by the Portland Trailblazers, in the NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. He went out to have an outstanding career. He averaged over 30 points per game consistently, and once provided with a quality supporting cast, led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA Championships. Jordan came into the NBA with modest expectations and left it as one of the few best players ever to play the game.
The basketball world’s introduction to LeBron James came in a very different way from Michael Jordan. The first hint the country got to LeBron James’s talent came while watching his high school basketball games. James as a high school senior, already at 6’6 and 230 pounds, was leading his Ohio-based team, and himself, to nationwide accolades. He was dominating his peers and had an NBA ready body. His many abilities had some already pegging him the next Jordan. When James entered the NBA draft, there was no doubt about where he would be selected. He was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavilers.
Michael Jordan’s success was built around his great athleticism and jump-shooting abilities. His great ball-handling abilities allowed him to create space and hit open jump shots. LeBron James’ success is built around his great size and power and ability to penetrate into the lane. He uses his size and matching athleticism to overpower and demoralize opponents. It is clear that Jordan and James’ styles and success both come from different basketball abilities. Comparing the two is unfair to both, as both hold skills that the other doesn’t. This then creates a new conundrum. To whom can we compare “King” James?
LeBron James elite skill set and impressive statistics are matched by few in NBA history. James’ success is not just built around his ability to score. He also manages to average over five assists and rebounds per game. This kind of all-around domination is apparent in no other current NBA players. Though it seems highly unlikely LeBron James could ever average a triple-double, he has come closer than any NBA player has in a long time. However, in the history of the NBA, one player has averaged a triple-double. This player is “The Big O,” Oscar Robertson.
James’ talent and success doesn’t end with his ability to score the basketball. In fact, it only begins there. This is quality matched by none other than Oscar Robertson. Robertson, the only player in NBA history to average a over ten points, rebounds, and assists for an entire season, played with the similar elite skill set to James. Looking over the facts and statistics, it seems clear that Michael Jordan isn’t the right NBA legend to compare to LeBron James. That distinction belongs to none other than Oscar Robertson.

Will LeBron James Sign With the Dallas Mavericks?

LEBRON JAMES




According to sports writers, there is only four legit possibilities for LeBron James in the summer of 2010: the New York Knicks, the New Jersey Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and lately the Miami Heat.
Now, you can't blame them for speculating, but seriously, two of those options are just ridiculous.
If James cares about winning titles (which might be still up in the air), then there's no way he signs with the Knicks or the Nets.
The Knicks' bargaining chip was the ability to sign two max contracts, but with the shrinkage in the salary cap, that won't be possible. Plus, they don't have a first-round pick, and with the collection of young players they have, they're a good three years away from being contenders, even with LeBron.
It would be like starting over for LeBron, just like he was coming onto the 2003 Cavaliers.
As far as the supposed "marketing opportunities" in New York, get real. In today's age, you can live anywhere you want and your going to get chances regardless of where you live.
And if LeBron wants to go to be the "King of New York," then it would become pretty clear that success on the basketball court is secondary to him, after becoming, in his words a "global icon."
The Nets have an interesting collection of talent, but it's young talent, and like the Knicks, they're probably a few years away from putting it all together.
The Heat have Dwyane Wade and while that looks good on paper, is it really wise to combine two alpha dogs, both of whom are used to the offense running through them, on the same floor at the same time?
However, there is another viable team that no one has yet mentioned, but makes much more basketball sense for LeBron than the Knicks or Nets especially.
The Dallas Mavericks.
You're probably yelling "homer," "idiot" or some less-flattering terms, but hear me out. Point by point, the Mavericks make sense for LeBron James.
Salary Cap
I've mentioned this in another article, and it is explained in more details here, but I'll break it down here.
Due to minutes requirements that Erick Dampier will not meet, his contract is an expiring one. A $16.4 million one at that.
So, another team can sign-an-trade for Erick Dampier, and get an instant $16.4 million in savings, because they can simply waive him after the trade.
Why is this important? Because a team re-signing its own player can sign them to a higher max contract than a team signing a free agent.
This mean that if LeBron wants to re-sign with the Cavs, he can get six years for $121 million, as opposed to five-year $95 million from another team.
For the Cavs, who might be on the verge of losing their superstar for nothing, getting some savings from the Mavs, as well as some cash or picks, is much preferable.
Supporting Cast
We can all agree that unless LeBron wants to go to the Celtics, Lakers, Nuggets or Magic (most of which have an all-star or better at the small forward), Dallas has more talent than anyone else that would court him.
Everyone wants to play with Jason Kidd. His recruiting abilities are one of the big reason that he was inked to a three-year deal.
The fact that you've got Dirk Nowitzki, another Hall of Famer, who is currently submitting one of his best seasons ever at age 31.
You've also got someone like Shawn Marion, who can defend three positions, and play three as well. While his numbers haven't been stellar, he's playing some great team basketball as the team's top defensive stopper.
Role players like Jason Terry (who could start on most teams), J.J. Barea and rising star Rodrigue Beaubois are a much better alternative than players like Udonis Haslem, Jordan Hill or Trenton Hassell.
Coach
Say what you will about Rick Carlisle, but he's better than Mike Brown. I think the pair of sandals I am wearing could draw up a better inbounds play than Brown.
Carlisle has proven to be exactly what the Mavs needed, but sorely lacked, during the Avery Johnson era: flexibility.
Carlisle isn't afraid to cede control, shake things up, or go with unconventional lineups when he thinks it's best. And when it doesn't turn out well, he shows the willingness to abandon it for something better.
He's helped transform the Mavericks into a strong defensive team, even with a lot of players who have carried the offense-only stereotype their whole careers.
That's something you won't get from Mike D'Antoni (too fixed on run-and-gun, no defense), Erik Spolestra (too inexperienced), or whoever draws the short straw for the New Jersey Nets job.
Management Structure
Whatever his faults, no one can deny that Mark Cuban's number-one priority is to win. If he has to lose money to do it (he has), then he's willing to do it, which is more than can be said for most of the owners in the league.
If you don't think a lot of players want in on that, then you're wrong. Not only does it lead to overinflated contracts for free agents (cough cough, Erick Dampier), but it also means that it's an attractive destination for free-agents in search of a ring. That's how the Celtics did it, even for just one year.
The Mavs have proven that they're able to make good with draft picks, too. Since they're regularly picking in the 20-25 region, they don't exactly have the pick of the litter each year. Beaubois and Josh Howard have been finds, but the Mavs have missed on their share as well.
Style of Play
Rick Carlisle has brought the Mavs back to the style of play that helped get them to the Finals in 2006: flexibility.
The Mavs can run, with Jason Kidd leading and people like Terry, Marion or Howard finishing. They can run a half-court set that isn't dependant on isolations (unlike with Avery), and they've got a good combination of passers, outside shooters and jump shooters.
What they really need is someone who can penetrate regularly, get to the foul line, and use a jump shot as a second resort. Sound like anyone you know? LeBron James perhaps?
Picture a lineup of Kidd, Marion, "King" James, Nowitzki and a free agent or traded center from Howard's contract, say Emeka Okafor or Marc Gasol.
(Note: Josh Howard's contract is expiring as well, stay tuned for an article about how the Mavericks can use his contract.)
Hold on, I need to take a cold shower.
Whew! That's better. Tell me that lineup couldn't beat you six ways from Sunday in just about every dimension. They can pass well (Kidd, LeBron), shoot the lights out (Dirk) defend the wings (LeBron and Marion), post up with regularity (Marion, free agent center) and drive to the rack to draw fouls (LeBron, and Nowitzki to a lesser extent).
From the bench, add in shooters (Terry), defenders (Quinton Ross, Rodrigue Beaubois), and bangers (Kris Humphries, possibly Drew Gooden).
Sounds like a pretty good recipe to me.
Additional Perks
Dallas is no Miami or Los Angeles or New York, but it's a pretty good city. A city that has been damaged by some horrible sports misfortune as of late (Tony Romo's botched snap, Cowboys-Giants 2007 playoff loss, 2006 Finals, Mavs-Warriors 2007 NBA playoffs), but is ready to embrace something.
The Cowboys, even if they are able to snap their December funk, probably won't be making any waves in the playoffs this year, and the Mavericks, barring an injury to Kobe or Pau Gasol, probably won't be getting out of the West.
So the city of Dallas is ripe for the sports picking. You don't think LeBron would be the biggest thing in that city since the Smith, Aikman, and Irvin trio?
That's not the only reason to go to a city (unless LeBron goes to New York, then we'll know it is), but it's not like Dallas is Minneapolis or Oklahoma City.
The Verdict
LeBron James would be an idiot to ignore the obvious perks of playing in Dallas. As far as the big free-agent destinations go, Dallas is clearly number one, due to its combination of talent, cap space and willingness to spend for talent.
Sure, fill the comments below about how Miami or New York are better for him, but you're flat out wrong, for all the reasons above.
Conversely, the Mavericks' brass would have to be idiots to not try and snag the biggest free agent signing ever.
While it's clearly not what the pundits have even considered, the stark reality is that Dallas is a very viable free agent option, for LeBron, for D-Wade, for Joe Johnson, for Chris Bosh. Some of those players would fit better than others, with LeBron clearly at the top of the list.
The Mavericks are a top-five destination for LeBron, given the lack of chatter about the I would put them at number three, below Cleveland and Miami, as far as the chances he goes there.
Clearly a lot of teams are going to make a play for LeBron, but as far as options go, the Dallas Mavericks and LeBron James is a union that could bring multiple rings, and you'd think that would be the goal for everyone involved.

Maybe Kobe is kinda like Mike

KOBE BRYANT

For the millions of transplants who arrive in Los Angeles from points sane, the nutty City of Angels has lots of surprises in store for them. Motorists are regularly cited for not yielding to pedestrians. I mean, really yielding, like, until they are safely up on the curb. And pedestrians get ticketed for not crossing at crosswalks. It’s a far cry from the East Coast free-for-all, where drivers and hoofers manage to co-exist without the city dipping its beak every 45 feet. Though the sun shines roughly 330 days a year, there is a tanning salon in every strip mall and a strip mall on every corner. A new arrival in L.A. will be asked questions he’s never pondered before, like, “What year gas do you use?” Huh? “You know, 87, 89 or 91?” If you see lilacs somewhere in a house, it means the occupant believes that is her “prosperity corner.” There’s a reason they call it La La Land. But of all the head-snapping, whiplash-inducing revelations that have greeted me since I made the Southland my home, none made me yell at my car radio as loudly as Laker fans’ insistence on comparing Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. It started in earnest a couple of years ago. I found the comparison preposterous, downright embarrassing. It was NBA blasphemy, a violation of hoop’s first commandment: You shall have no other basketball gods before M.J. Then Kobe won his first MVP. Then he won a Gold Medal. Then he won a title as The Man. Now, with each absurd buzzer-beater, Kobe’s legend grows and the gap between him and Jordan — once so vast — narrows. Is Kobe Bryant as good as Michael Jordan? I’m not ready to say that, but I am willing to stop yelling at my radio when somebody else does. Jordan won five MVPs (and was robbed on at least two other occasions) and six titles as the best player on his team. When the 2005-06 season began, Kobe had not accomplished either feat so much as once. He was the sidekick during Shaquille O’Neal’s three-year title run in L.A. and had never finished higher than third in the MVP voting. But a funny thing happened on the way to the Lakers’ pedestrian 45-37 record that season. Kobe Bryant went off. Unleashing the full package — an assortment of unstoppable turnarounds, lefty finishes in traffic, 131more three-point attempts than he had put up in any other season, etc. — Bryant won his first scoring title with a 35.4 points per game average. It was the highest average for an NBA scoring champion since, yup, Michael Jordan rang up his 37.1 ppg in 1986-87. On Dec. 20, 2005 Kobe did something that had never been done in the shot clock era: he outscored the Dallas Mavericks 62-61 through three quarters. A month later he dropped 81 on the Toronto Raptors, a total achieved by only one other player, the prodigious Wilt Chamberlain. Anyone watching these performances would understandably find it hard to believe that there had ever been a better perimeter offensive player in NBA history. And so the conversation began. The following year Kobe won his second scoring title and joined Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to score 50 points in four straight games. It’s one thing to post Jordanesque numbers, but nobody is supposed to approach Wilt. Still, as the 2007-08 season began, Kobe still hadn’t been an MVP or the undisputed leader of a champ. Done and done. He won the MVP trophy with a 28.3 ppg/6.3 rpg/5.4 apg monster of a season in 2008, then led the Lakers to the title as the Finals MVP in 2009, squeezing a Gold Medal run in Beijing in between. A week ago I asked John Salley, who had played with both, to weigh in on the comparison, fully expecting him to say, “There never has been and there never will be another Michael.” But Salley viewed it as a legitimate debate, pointing out Kobe’s relative youth (31) and the fact that he probably has multiple championships ahead of him. Indeed. No impartial observer watching the NBA this season could honestly think any team other than the Lakers will be lifting that trophy in June. The Lakers beat the Magic in five games in the Finals last season without Andrew Bynum. The 22-year-old 7-footer is averaging 16.7 points and 8.5 rebounds a game this season and is fifth in the NBA in field-goal percentage (.574). When Pau Gasol missed the first three weeks of the season, Bynum averaged 20 and 12. Since Gasol (17.7 ppg and 12.7 rpg) came back, the Lakers are 12-1. Of course, they could easily be 10-3 in those 13 games save for the heroics of the Kobester. Two weeks ago he beat the Heat with a 3-pointer at the buzzer (OK, he banked it), and on Wednesday he single-handedly overcame a six-point deficit with 1:20 left in OT to beat the Bucks on yet another contested buzzer-beater. Kobe’s ability to make impossible shots at the buzzer is positively freakish. If he gets the ball airborne with the game on the line, everyone in the building thinks it’s going in. In that one Nike commercial Jordan admitted to missing 26 game-winning shots. Kobe may have missed as many, but it sure seems like he buries every one. If — let’s face it, when — the Lakers go back-to-back this season, that will give Kobe five titles, one shy of Jordan. If he adds another selection to the All-NBA Defensive First Team, it will be his eighth, again one shy of Jordan. With LeBron James and Dwight Howard in their primes, Kobe won’t match Jordan’s five MVPs, but he was the best player in the league as we passed the quarter pole this season. Kobe is 31. He has a whole lot of basketball ahead of him. Michael won three titles after he turned 33. Those sun-baked Los Angeles sports fans may have begun this debate prematurely, but — and I can’t believe I’m saying this — Kobe Bryant looks unstoppable in his quest to vindicate them. Maybe I need to revisit that whole feng shui thing too.

Kobe Bryant rises above any rivalry

KOBE BRYANT

Nike is trying to create a competition between Kobe and LeBron James, but the Lakers' star has a 4-0 edge in titles and he's not slowing down.

Now to see just whose age this is . . .

As Little Kobe and Little LeBron, the muppets Nike calls its "MVP Puppets," announced in their latest commercial, in which they play "SportsCenter" anchors, the rivalry is back on!

And just in time for Christmas!

With ESPN and Nike as core NBA sponsors, what are the chances Little Kobe and Little LeBron become the first muppets to anchor a real "SportsCenter" between now and their Christmas game against the Cavaliers?

Nike debuted the muppets last spring, alongside its "Dream Season 23 & 24" documentary, in which narrator Justin Timberlake mused:

"As these friends grow closer to a showdown, you have to wonder, what are they thinking?"

By the Finals, where Orlando represented the East after stunning the Cavaliers, James was thinking, "What happened to my showdown?"

Nike doesn't retrench or rebuild, it just reloads. The muppets are back in more cute spots, like the one in which Little LeBron notes his King James namesake lion "could step on the Black Mamba and eat it and use his skin for his boots."

Talk about brilliant. Not only was Nike spared months of talks trying to get the real Kobe and LeBron together, it didn't even need a real rivalry!

In the real world (assuming there still is one) there's no rivalry at this point, and barely a competition.

LeBron may be younger, hotter commercially and perhaps even the better player, but that doesn't count.

In the one and only thing that does, Kobe leads in titles, 4-0, and he's on a Lakers team that looks stronger than it did winning last spring's title.

LeBron's Cavaliers are No. 3 in the East and live in fear of losing him as a free agent this summer.

In today lemmings' rush to celebrate and/or condemn, winning can rescue anyone from anything, as it has with Bryant.

And losing can curse anyone for anything . . . as it has with Bryant. It's not fair, or smart, but it definitely is.

Being one of the Final Four means that within 25 days, you can go from accepting the MVP trophy from David Stern to being torched nationwide for not congratulating the team that beats you, like James last spring.

No one suffered as many slings and arrows as Bryant, who was this good for a long time, while being vilified, as his own 2005 Nike ad noted, mockingly:

Ball hog . . . You're garbage . . . Prima donna . . . Mental."

By their last season together, Shaquille O'Neal had become Bryant's sidekick, as Kobe went to a new level while commuting back and forth to Colorado.

That one ended with the Lakers' loss to Detroit in the Finals, the trade of O'Neal . . . and the ostracism of Bryant for supposedly running off Shaq.

Two seasons later, Kobe awed his peers who had viewed him so skeptically, scoring 81 points in one game, 62 in another with two 50s and six 40s in a six-week, game-was-never-played-at-this-level burst.That season ended with Bryant accused of "tanking" Game 7 of a first-round loss to Phoenix.By the spring of 2007, seemingly cemented in mediocrity, Bryant turned on Lakers owner Jerry Buss, demanding to be traded.Now, with a championship team having magically arisen around him, Kobe is Zeus.After his running, banked three-pointer beat Miami, the New York Times' Larry Coon wrote, "It was luck in much the same way that Picasso lucked into 'Guernica,' or Beethoven lucked into his Fifth Symphony."There's a school of thought that anything an artist does is art, held, at least, by some artists.This wasn't "Guernica," just blind luck, noted Bryant, who's anything but bashful.No NBA career ever had Bryant's highs and lows, and he didn't escape unscathed. Even in his innocent, bulletproof days, he was wary of outsiders, cocooned within his family that moved here with him.Years later he found out how bulletproof he really was in a firestorm of a scandal that burned him to the consistency of charcoal.Young Kobe was serene, took offense at little and gave visiting writers rides to their hotels. Grownup Kobe is polite but edgy, as sensitive to perceived invasions of his privacy as the princess who felt the pea under 20 mattresses.If you dreamed his dreams, won three NBA titles by 22 and saw it all go wrong; if you were torched in a sensational scandal; if you then emerged to find yourself chained to a team going nowhere; and if you had the incredible drive it took to get that far in the first place . . . then you'd know how Kobe Bryant feels.As it is, there was never anyone like Bryant and only he knows what it feels like.The child who rushed headlong into manhood and stardom with all its pitfalls learned a lot of things the hardest possible way, but these are the good times.Everything he dreamed of is waiting for him to claim it. It's not a child's vision, like the destiny he says he realized at 6. It's his life.As he, himself, has said of his four title runs, it's the quest that counts. No NBA player, star or scrub on a 10-day contract, ever had his sense of mission, but he doesn't get to keep going on crusades forever, or even for long."That's hard for me to address," said Jerry West, mentor to Young Kobe and icon in his own right, asked what he wants for Bryant."Even to this day, I'm scarred from losses. And I was nuts, OK?"With him, I think he's like a great artist of some sort. No one can define what makes him great. You think you can but you can't. He's a genius. He's a genius in a pair of basketball shoes . . ."I'm not sure he realizes how much people in this city and the young kids love him. I wish that he would some day find that out. And if he would, he probably would have a greater appreciation for who he really is."But I think he enjoys playing the game, but it's war to him, and he wants to win every war."It's certainly not war, even if you can get hurt -- your feelings mostly -- and everyone around you has so much fun being consumed in a pretend war.It's not even bigger than life. It's life and life only, just on the most spectacular level you can imagine.

LEBRON JAMES|Cavs know they can play better

LEBRON JAMES

None of the Cavaliers think they are playing their best basketball despite their five-game winning streak.

But that does not mean the Cavs are about to apologize for their 20-7 start.

“I’ve been in (the league) for 17 years, and I’ve gone to the big dance in many different ways,” Shaquille O’Neal said after Friday’s win over Milwaukee. “It doesn’t matter how you get there. A lot of teams play perfect in the beginning and mess up at the end. We are learning. We have been put through a lot of tests, and it is going to test our mental toughness, and it’s going to be good for us.”

The Cavs have looked dominant at times in the last month — winning four straight by double-digits at one point — while also delivering some ugly wins of late. But either way they play, they are usually winning.

They have gone 17-4 since a 3-3 start, with road wins over Orlando and Miami and home wins over Dallas and Phoenix. The black eye in that stretch is three road losses to teams with losing records.

They’ve done much of that during a busy December that has featured 10 games in the last 18 days. By the end of the month, they will have played 17 games in a 29-day span.

“It seems like we’ve played a lot of games in a lot of nights already,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “We’ve been in town, out of town, so our schedule already has been whacky. But you’ve got to give our guys credit for trying to stay focused and trying to fight through the right way.”

Tonight, the Cavs open their most difficult road trip with a game at Dallas, followed by Monday night visit to Phoenix. After playing Wednesday at Sacramento, the trip ends Christmas evening with a nationally televised game against the Lakers.

“It is a difficult trip coming up,” Shaq said. “It is a good test for us. You know every time that we get into focus mode, we play pretty well. LeBron (James) said it earlier. I said it earlier. It’s a business trip. We are going to a lot of nice cities, but we are going to be locked in as soon as we get on the plane (Saturday).”

PRACTICES NEEDED

The busy schedule does not leave Brown much time to do what he likes the most — practice.

“The tough part about it is ... we’ve had one contact practice (in the last 21⁄2 weeks),” Brown said.

The Cavs have not had consecutive days without games since Nov. 29-Dec. 1. They won’t have another break until Dec. 31-Jan. 1, which means they have had some light practices but nothing extensive.

“It drives me crazy,” Brown said.

There are things he wants to get after in a competitive practice setting. But he also knows now is not the time to overwork a veteran team.

BIGGEST FLAWS

Two primary areas of concern for the Cavs heading out West will be turnovers and transition defense. When they lost at Memphis and Houston on back-to-back nights before this winning streak, those two areas crippled them.

They had 41 turnovers in those games and were outscored, 44-14, on fast breaks. With those numbers on the road, it was remarkable the Cavs were even competitive.

In their last five games, the Cavs have been in the 14-to-16 turnover range in four of the wins. That’s still too many, but Brown thinks the Cavs are turning the corner.

As far as transition defense, the jury still is out. The Sixers put up a season-high 30 fast-break points on the Cavs on Wednesday, then the Bucks scored 12 in the first half Friday before Cleveland tightened things up.

“Our floor balance isn’t that good,” Brown said. “We’re not doing a great job of stopping the ball. The ball is getting too deep. The ball’s getting to the middle of the floor in transition. ... It’s stuff like that, I believe, you stay sharp by working on in practice.”

24-SECOND CLOCK

James averages a league-best 31.9 points per game on the road. He scores 6.6 more points per game away from Quicken Loans Arena — where he averages 25.3 — the highest differential in the NBA. James also led the league a season ago by averaging 31.5 points on the road.

The Cavs are 11-2 against teams that have at least a .500 record on the day of the game. Cleveland’s five losses against teams with a losing record, though, already matches the Cavs’ total for all of last season.

LeBron hitting 500

LeBron James plays in the 500th career regular season game tonight at Dallas. Here’s a look at how his 499-game stats compares to four Hall of Famers through their first 500 games: