Inside The NBA - Who will win the Finals? Warriors vs Cavs | Finals Preview | May 25, 2017
COLUMN AART DEKKER:
Het is eindelijk weer bijna zover: de mooiste NBA-weken van het jaar komen eraan...de NBA-Play-Offs Finals staan op het punt van beginnen. Omdat ik op dit moment de tijd niet heb voor (diepgaande) eigen beschouwingen zocht ik het in wat stuk(jes)/items van elders die niet iedereen overal tegenkomt, ook al zullen er onder mijn lezers zeker echte junkies zijn, die ook het onderstaande uit de Mount Everest aan beschouwingen van de nakende Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers apotheose hebben gevist en hebben bekeken en/of gelezen.
NBA.com maakte een prachtige Minidocumentaire (4 min), mede omdat het voor het eerst in de geschiedenis is dat dezelfde twee teams DRIE keer achter elkaaqr tegenover elkaar staan: je lees het en kijkt het --- Hier ---
Alle voortekenen wijzen op een volgend hoogtepunt in de reeks van recente NBA Finals;
LeBron James is beter dan ooit, en een goede 'LBJ' staat in zijn eentje al bijna garant voor een titel -denk even terug naar de Serie van vorig jaar toen hij zijn Cavs liet wederopstaan uit een 1:3 achterstand en voor alweer een nieuw record zorgde door met zijn team die hopeloze -geen NBA-Francise ging hen voor- terugbracht en alsnog won. Maar ook de andere spelers uit het Supertrio van Cleveland -Kyri Irving en Kevin Love- zijn betere spelers geworden, en lijken beter samen te spelen met de Grote Leider Lebron. Daarnaast is het mijn indruk dat als Cleveland echt wil verdedigen, ze ook ECHT VERDEDIGEN, ongelofelijk goed dus(!) en ze er een van de beste 'Quick Breaks Ooit' aan hebben toegevoegd.
Maar aan de overkant -in Oakland bij de Golden State Warriors dus- heeft men ook niet stil gezeten -nou ja, coach Steve Keer misschien wel, want die is alweer een tijdje niet vol inzetbaar door alweer ernstige rugklachten, iets wat je niemand gunt -en zeker deze sympathieke (tenminste dat is mijn indruk) en erg goede, relatief nieuwe maar o zo succesvolle dus niet- maar invaller Mike Brown -ongetwijfeld vanuit de achtergrond wel gesouffleerd door zijn baas- doet het op het eerste gezicht ook uitstekend. Wat zijn de nieuwe troeven van de Warriors dan? Eerst en vooral Kevin Durant natuurlijk; hij is net geen LeBron James, maar veel scheelt het niet; wat een ongelofelijk goede speler is hij ook. En dan te bedenken dat 'onze eigen Sydmill Harris' lang met deze kanjer heeft samengespeeld; ik zou zijn verhalen over de 'Jonge KD; graag horen!
Met ZaZa Pachulia deed ik zelf ooit een jeugdclinic - in Berlijn, een schoolklas had die als prijs gewonnen en met ook nog Hedo Turkoglu en mijn omgekomen vriend Rob Meurs, en met Sarunas Jasekevicius aanwezig op de achtergrond, aan mij de eer die groep jongens en meisjes een dik uur bezig te houden met fundamentals... Zaza Pachulia dus, ik denk een echte grote aanwinst voor de Warriors, en niet alleen door zijn vuile werk -ik had niet de indruk dat hij de blessure van Kwai Leonard van de San Antonio Spurs met 100% voorbedachte rade veroorzaakte, maar dat zullen we waarschijnlijk nooit weten...- nee Pachulia is in elk team waarin hij speelt -eerst en vooral bij zijn geliefde Nationale Team van Georgië-...(deze tekst gaat verder onder de video)
(en de Georgische fans 'returned the favour' door hem de NBA All*Star Game in te stemmen, waardoor de NBA de regels veranderde), kijk maar --- Hier --- en dit is wat hij daar zelf op te zeggen had:
Pachulia says:
“First of all, I’m gonna take the credit and we gonna take the credit as Georgians that we changed the rules, so you guys can call it Zaza rules.”
Zaza on if it's fair NBA has changed All-Star starter voting: "It's already a win…It's great, man"
(vervolg van de tekst van voor de video) ...op zijn minst deel van hart en ziel van zijn team, als hij al niet tenminste het anker is van het motorblok! En met zoveel Supersterren om zich heen, kan hij doen waar hij het best in is; datgene wat een team nodig heeft om goed op gang te komen, of juist terug op de rails als het even wat minder gaat. En vergis u niet; 'Zaza' is een uitstekende All-round Basketballer met heel veel skills, en nog meer inzicht en ervaring, en bovendien een fysieke rots in de branding, de man is ongelofelijk breed en sterk, beweegt goed, is 'Tough als geen ander' en absoluut geen ego... Kort naar de beruchte actie op Leonard van de Spurs raakte hij zelf ook geblesseerd, dus ik hoop dat ook hij fit is voor 'the Finals', because 'That is Why They Play!', Zaza zeker.
Mijn inschatting van de 'Finals 2017'?
Veel spanning en sensatie, grote 'Swings' en wedstrijden, maar hoogstwaarschijnlijk ook van wedstrijd tot wedstrijd, veel tactische veranderingen waarvan er sommige zullen werken, andere niet, en die soms misschien wel grote gevolgen in negatieve zin zouden kunnen hebben voor het team dat ze probeert zelf. Veel emoties ook, een een cruciale rol voor de Scheidsrechters/Refs...
En de uitkomst?
Ik geef de Cleveland Cavaliers een neuslengte voor, maar ook in deze Serie kunnen blessures, en de opstelling van 'de Refs' tot gigantische verschillen leiden...
Een hoog niveau, spannend en moeilijk te voorspellen dus, en is dat niet alles waar je als kijker naar sport op hoopt?
Goed, hieronder drie van de duizenden items die op het internet gerelateerd aan deze Finals te vinden zijn; een plaatje, een stuk vanuit een kijk op LeBron James en zijn Cavaliers, en tot slot een stuk over het geheel nieuwe Basketball dat de Golden State Warriors de laatste jaren aan het ontwikkelen zijn; Democratisch Basketball..!
Ik wens iedereen heel veel plezier bij het volgen van The NBA Finals 2017;
"That is Why We Watch!"
AART DEKKER
Als het spreekwoord 'Een plaatje zegt meer dan 100 woorden' opgaat, dan zeker bij het volgende statische beeld:
 |
| Ook deze Shotcharts komen van onderstaande site SBNation.com |
De Cleveland Cavaliers van LeBron James:
Het onderstaande artikel heb ik overgenomen van de mooie informatieve site 'sbnation.com', alwaar natuurlijk nog veel meer over de NBA en andere sport, het origineel vind je --- Hier ---
LEBRON IS BETTER THAN EVER
BOSTON — It was after Game 1 and Brad Stevens was asked to consider the impossible quandary that is LeBron James. It had been a ruthlessly efficient night for LeBron, who had 38 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and there wasn’t a damn thing the Celtics could do about any of it.
He ran through almost the whole Celtic roster of would-be defenders from Jae Crowder to Jaylen Brown to poor Kelly Olynyk who got left on an island (twice!) and wound up shipwrecked.
“He made it clear,” Stevens said simply. “It was very clear that he was trying to get to the rim on us no matter who was on him.”
/cdn2.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8553121/685598456.jpg)
This is the issue the Celtics, and everyone else, has against LeBron. They don’t want to double him because he’ll pick them apart with passes to his cadre of shooters. They don’t want to get caught in a scramble game because that leaves openings for offensive rebounders crashing the glass. So, the one-on-one approach it was, and the only saving grace for the Celtics was that James missed five of his six 3-point attempts.
“This is a perfect roster with regard to how many predicaments they can put you in with all the shooting around him,” Stevens had said before the game.
LeBron brushed off his night (“It’s not an individual match-up for me, no matter who’s in front of me”) while suggesting that the Cavs didn’t play up to their standards. Before Thursday’s off-day practice, James doubled down saying he didn’t feel all that well and that he’d be “much better” in Game 2.
Welp.
James had 30 points on Friday and shot 12-of-18 from the floor while making four of his six 3-pointers. He had seven assists, three blocks, four steals and was a plus-46 (!) in less than 33 minutes of action. One can argue that LeBron’s Game 2 was better than his Game 1, but that’s not really the point. Better than what: Our standards or his?
That leads back to another Game 1 comment from Stevens that warrants further inspection.
/cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8553123/usa_today_10064806.jpg)
“It’s hard to believe, but he’s better than when I got into the league,” Stevens said. “A lot better. Just as you get older, you gain more experiences, you see more things. Yeah, I didn’t think he could get any better after that, but he is.”
That’s a heavy statement considering that LeBron was thought to be at his peak when Stevens came into the league. James was coming off a run of four MVP awards in five years and two straight championships punctuated by a pair of Finals MVPs. His 2013 season was viewed by many as the absolute apex of his career.
One might think he’d never reach those heights again and so over the last four seasons, James has settled into a new space that exists solely for him. He is the best player in the league with, or without, the official hardware. While just about everyone acknowledges LeBron’s designation, others have been rewarded for their excellent individual seasons.
Kevin Durant and Steph Curry have won MVPs and it’s likely that either Russell Westbrook or James Harden will win it this season. It’s also been suggested that Kawhi Leonard is now the best two-way player in the league, although the postseason has opened that one up again. (That’s through no fault of Leonard’s play, which has been fantastic when healthy.)
The MVP is a regular season award, after all, and it wasn’t a huge surprise that those three were named finalists for the award before Game 2, while James was not. Therein lies a riddle: Is the Most Valuable Player the one who is most valuable to their team or the one who is most valuable to the league?
/cdn2.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8553127/usa_today_10064463.jpg)
“No, I didn’t see it,” James said afterward, downplaying the motivation angle. “And what are you going to do about it at the end of the day? My only job is to try to be the MVP for this team every night, put my teammates, put our franchise in position to be successful and ultimately compete for a championship. For me, I know what I bring to the table. This league knows what I bring to the table.”
That they do and we should start with the notion that James is not the same player he was four years ago. While always cerebral and intelligent, he seems to have elevated his mental approach to a plane of transcendental peace. As he said earlier in the postseason, what does he have left to prove?
LeBron can still destroy everything in his path, but he takes delight in not only winning, but winning his way; where everyone is involved and the team rides his wave alongside him. Consider his mesmerizing passing ability and his desire to find open looks for and opportunities for not only Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, but also Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith, and Tristan Thompson.
Individually, LeBron has become a machine. His ability to pace himself through heavy playoff minutes is becoming legendary. His shooting has stabilized after a notably down season last year, and as 538’s Chris Herring pointed out, James is an efficiency monster when he drives to the basket. He doesn’t have to guard the best player every night anymore, but his defensive presence is everywhere.
His teammates also rave about his leadership abilities. His example is the one they follow, whether it’s a late-night film session after the plane arrives in a visiting town or an off-day practice to stay sharp amid long periods of inactivity.
/cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8553129/685599814.jpg)
“What he does is he just breeds confidence in everybody,” Korver said. “You know he’s going to make the right play. You know he can always take over a game on both ends of the floor. It’s nice to be figuring out how to play off him instead of worrying about how to gameplan for him. It’s a whole different thought process.”
Korver knows from experience, having been on the losing end of countless postseason battles with James from his days with Chicago and Atlanta. So, how would he gameplan for LeBron? Korver laughed. “It’s tough,” was all he’d say.
The LeBron that we’re seeing in the postseason has been spectacular and efficient, while maintaining an edge that lets everyone in the building know that he’s not going to lay down for an acceptable loss. He led a 26-point rally on the road against the Pacers and demoralized the Raptors in Toronto during the second round. The first two games in Boston have produced staggering blowouts.
The Cavs may have been listless down the stretch, but it’s obvious now that they were biding their time for the postseason. So much for the importance of home court advantage, or for that matter, the importance of the regular season. LeBron is beyond such mundane matters.
What we’re seeing is a new chapter in our continuing effort to understand this generational player in real time. He’s different, for sure, but is he better than 2013, a season that will be held up in years to come as one of LeBron’s defining campaigns?
/cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8553131/usa_today_10061974.jpg)
“Yeah, he’s better,” his longtime teammate James Jones said. “In every way. He’s a better shooter. He’s a better communicator. Better passer. He’s peaking. He’s in his prime and usually that’s the result of continual and gradual improvement.”
Jones would know. He’s been with LeBron since their Miami days, a run that has lasted seven years and included four MVPs, three championships, and countless reinterpretations of the most fascinating player in basketball. I pointed out the common perception that LeBron peaked four years ago. Jones nodded and continued.
“Statistically, but you can’t measure everything he does in statistics,” he said. “That’s kind of been the problem with LeBron since Day 1. It always comes back to numbers for him, but at this point because those numbers are a given, you expect him to put those numbers up. Now people are paying attention to how he’s doing it.”
Jones noted that you if you watch closely enough you can see LeBron’s genius at work during the course of games. How he probes and investigates, how he sees things before everyone else does, how he counters and adjusts. LeBron has his hand in everything and is all things at all times.
“When you look at it now,” Jones said, “it starts to look effortless.”
We are left, then, with the notion that LeBron has become sui generis, a player incapable of comparison or even competition within his era. He has been beaten, yes, but he has rarely been bowed.
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8553133/usa_today_10061502.jpg)
He has outlasted his elders, maintained his level beyond his peers, and his closest rivals now span generations. In a historical context, he is chasing no less a figure than Michael Jordan, although that full accounting must wait for a later day. It all starts to get a little overwhelming.
“The best way to do it is to compare LeBron versus himself,” Jones said. “Every player is unique. Every player is different. Every player, especially the great ones like Mike, like Larry, they redefine their position. They redefine what you thought a prototypical 2-guard, small forward was.
“Bron is Bron,” Jones continued. “He’s changed the game as far what you’d expect from a wing, or a small forward. Now he’s in that territory where you really can’t define him by position. Right now when you look at him, all you can say he’s the best player in the world.”
In the aftermath of Game 2’s brutal onslaught, the same phrase was uttered by league executive and longtime league observers: No one has ever seen anything like it. Nobody has. There is LeBron and there is everyone else.
THE LISTCONSUMABLE NBA THOUGHTS
SAN ANTONIO — It sounds silly at this point, with the Golden State Warriors on the cusp of a third straight trip to the N.B.A. finals, to suggest that they faced challenges at the start of the season.
Does possessing too much talent count as a challenge? Nevertheless, there was a chance, however slim, that this whole grand enterprise could have blown up. That the team’s vast assemblage of stars would have trouble sharing one basketball. That Kevin Durant would rub the team’s holdovers the wrong way. Or that a new batch of reserves would refuse to make the necessary sacrifices.
Ron Adams, an assistant coach, referred to the unique “human dynamics” at work and described the season as a fascinating experiment in team chemistry. In so many ways, it could have soured.
Instead, the Warriors are sailing through the playoffs with the help of seven players — and an associate head coach — who were not employed by the team at this time last season. Yes, it obviously helps when one of those new players is Durant, an all-World scoring cyborg. But the Warriors are a different team from what they were a year ago. They have only made the transition look seamless.
“This is such a selfless group,” said forward Matt Barnes, who signed with the Warriors in March. “When you’ve got superstars sacrificing and diving on the floor and doing whatever it takes to win, it’s easy for a role player to fit right in.”
The San Antonio Spurs can sense the sad end coming. At full strength, they probably could have pushed the Warriors in the Western Conference finals — or at least made more of these games competitive. But the Spurs have been gutted by injuries and are in danger of being swept after their 120-108 loss in Game 3 on Saturday night.
Tony Parker, the starting point guard, ruptured his left quadriceps tendon in the conference semifinals. Kawhi Leonard, a finalist for the N.B.A.’s Most Valuable Player Award, has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle. And David Lee, a key reserve, left for the locker room in a wheelchair after injuring his left knee in Game 3.
Manu Ginobili, making his 15th straight postseason appearance for San Antonio, did the math for Game 4, set for Monday night at AT&T Center.
“For us to win,” he said, “we have to play at a 10 level, and they have to play at a 7.”
If the playoffs have been a well-advertised bore — and this series has not helped — there is at least the overwhelming likelihood of a rematch between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the N.B.A. finals. After losing to the Cavaliers last season, the Warriors reshaped themselves by adding Durant and by overhauling their collection of role players. Everyone adapted.
“I think you just kind of learn,” said James Michael McAdoo, a reserve forward in his third season with the team. “Everyone here wants to be successful. Everyone here wants to win championships. So everyone understands that there have to be sacrifices.”
That word — sacrifice — is used often by the players, which might seem counterintuitive. After all, no team scored more than the Warriors during the regular season. There are plenty of shots to go around. But that is the point. They have turned sharing-is-caring into high art. The ball seldom sticks. It zips from one set of hands to the next, and the starters set the tone.
“They’re the most unselfish people I’ve played with in my life,” JaVale McGee said. “They’re always looking. If you’re wide open, they’ll pass it. They don’t force shots.”
McGee was one of the (relative) newcomers who made an impact in Game 3. Starting in place of the injured Zaza Pachulia, McGee scored all 16 of his points in the first half. David West, another newcomer, had 6 points and 5 assists off the bench.
In some ways, McGee and West could not be more different. Earlier this season, McGee had blankets made that featured the dozing face of Draymond Green and distributed them to his teammates. West, on the other hand, is known for his intensity — the type of player who will scream, “You guys need to relax!” in the huddle without quite grasping the irony.
But the Warriors make it all work, blending their personalities and skill sets for the greater good.
“Everybody has a voice,” said Mike Brown, who joined the Warriors as their associate head coach last summer.
Brown has taken on more responsibility in recent weeks. When Coach Steve Kerr stepped away from his day-to-day duties in the first round to address continuing medical problems, Brown became the acting coach on the bench. He has since guided the team to nine straight victories. He, too, has altered parts of his approach to match the system already in place.
“The one thing that was extremely unique and kind of hard to understand right away is how loose it is here,” Brown said, recalling his early days with the organization. “It’s extremely loose, but in a good way, and it fits this group of players. The more loose your organization is or your team is, the more ownership you’re giving your group.”
The Warriors, who blast music at their workouts and warm up by launching halfcourt heaves, are a democracy. The players hold one another accountable. They practice the best form of peer pressure.
At the same time, Adams could not overstate the outsize role Durant, one of the new guys, had played in ensuring that the team went about its usual business.
“For a player of his stature, it’s remarkable to me,” Adams said. “He just wanted to fit in.”
RELATED COVERAGE
What's Next
De link naar het originele bovenstaande artikel lees je --- Hier ---, van daar kan je natuurlijk door naar een schat aan extra verhalen.
Posts
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten