Lebron's shot that saved Ohio will be played over and over for the rest of the NBA playoffs and many seasons to come. But can he do it seven (7) more times to win his first NBA Championship? Well, if we consider the composition of other winners, the Cavs are going to have a very difficult time.
The teams that have won have always had a superstar. It's a given. Magic Johnson, Julius Irving, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Dwane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Hakeem Olajuwon. In some cases, they had teammates who were in the same level. Moses Malone, Shaq and Kareem would certainly be in the same category in their prime. In Cleveland's case, Lebron fits the bill perfectly.
Most champions also has an all star on the same team. A player who's not a superstar but will undoubtedly be in the Hall of Fame. Scottie Pippen, Manu Ginobili, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and James Worthy would be in that group.
There were some minor exceptions like Detroit but they still would have at least 2 Hall of Famers on their team but no true superstar.
I still don't see a second Hall of Famer in this year's Cleveland team. Lebron is awesome but he will have an off day here and there like everyone else. Another Cavalier will have to prove they can take over in a stage with this kind of pressure. So in the home of the Rock and Roll hall of fame, I think Cleveland needs to have a future Basketball Hall of Famer step up and join LBJ to get the Larry Obrien trophy.
This current Cleveland team is not that different from Pat Riley's Knicks and Shaq's Orlando team who got creamed in the Finals. Both had a superstar (Ewing/Shaq) but were surrounded by "almost hall of famers". The Cavs are fortunate that Orlando is kinda in the same situation where there is no clear cut Hall of Famer outside of Dwight Howard.
2 comments:
Agree with the 'needs to have at least 2 stars' bit, similar to the idea that you need at least 2 people that require a double team to get anywhere in the NBA.
I don't see the Cavs advancing into the Finals, frankly. They are having such a hard time at it, and relying on just one player isn't gonna cut it in the long run. If they do however, I think LAL would be easier than Orl for some odd reason. Maybe because they're a similarly 'rely on one guy' team.
LA has Pau Gasol who is arguably Hall of Fame material. Even Andrew Bynum if he continues to improve can get there. For Denver, Melo and Billups are shoe ins.
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