COLIN HART
Special to The Leader
The biggest storylines of the NBA season often revolve around the game’s biggest personalities. The playoffs are no different.
In a first round that has been entertaining all across the board, the focus still begins and ends with LeBron James. In order to make it to his eighth (!) consecutive NBA Finals, James will have to carry the team on his back like never before.
Remember his Finals run in 2007? This current Cleveland Cavaliers roster is comparable. Even with LeBron putting up insane numbers (35 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists per game), the Indiana Pacers have been able to hang with the Cavs every step of the way. In fact, no team has ever been able to force a Game Seven against James in the first round until now.
It’s hyperbolic to consider this entire series as LeBron vs. the Pacers, but the Cavaliers’ supporting cast has been terribly inconsistent — Kevin Love is playing with broken confidence (and a broken thumb), J.R. Smith is playing with a broken jump shot (don’t let the 60-foot buzzer-beaters fool you) and Tristan Thompson is undergoing a serious case of the Kardashian Curse. Their best No. 2 option right now is Kyle Korver. Let that sink in.
Even if the Cavs make it out of this round, there are several causes for concern. Namely, you can’t rely on an offensive (and defensive) philosophy of “LeBron will bail us out because he is the best player on the planet” for very long. Though it’s not the worst strategy . . .
But give credit where credit is due — the Indiana Pacers are a young, athletic team that is hungry to win. Victor Oladipo has been special (a triple-double last Friday to force Game Seven) and Lance Stephenson (LeBron’s greatest, and most unlikely, nemesis) has provided a spark. They wouldn’t consider a first-round victory a shock, much less an upset.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the biggest surprise has been the remarkable poise of the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite featuring one of the youngest rosters in the league, the Sixers eliminated the Miami Heat in five games. Health will be a key concern for them going forward, but they have enough star power to give any contender a tough time. There is no better time than now to #TrustTheProcess.
In the Western Conference, things have more or less turned out as expected. The top-seeded Houston Rockets solidified their status as the team to beat, while the Steph-less Golden State Warriors easily took care of the Kawhi-less San Antonio Spurs. Whichever team comes out of the West will likely win the NBA Finals, but both teams face tougher competition in the second round.
Curry still isn’t back to full health, and that could provide issues for the defending champs when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans, who were the only team to sweep their first-round series. Meanwhile, James Harden and the Rockets may run into trouble against the upstart Utah Jazz and Donovan Mitchell, their outstanding rookie shooting guard.
The Jazz defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games. Despite this, the attention is still on OKC, specifically what their future will hold. The Big Three of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were never able to consistently mesh together all season, and it was on full display in the decisive Game Six. Westbrook had one of his usual statistical anomalies (46 points on 43 shot attempts) but received very little help from his teammates.
Therein lies the question — does he need more help, or is he part of the problem? It’s a debate that will likely continue all summer. George, who christened himself “Playoff P” before the postseason, played more like Playoff Pee down the stretch, finishing with only five points on 12 percent shooting in the final game. His future with the team going forward is up in the air, as is that of Anthony, who will be owed $28 million next year if he decides to pick up his player option. That is quite a hefty price to pay for a bricklayer.
This first round has felt like an entire season in itself. That’s a good thing. After three consecutive Cavs-Warriors finals, a growing sense of parity could be just what we needed. Then again, my inner-LeBron fan would be fine with another sequel.