Another Finals Blowout

Listening to ESPN Radio this morning, the Sopranos series finale got a lot more air time than the NBA Finals. Not that I can blame them, I turned off the game in the third quarter. The game effectively ended when Mike Brown made yet another poor decision and benched LeBron early in the first quarter when he picked up his second foul. This would have been an acceptable move had it been Sasha Pavlovic or Drew Gooden in foul trouble, or maybe if this was the regular season, but in the NBA Finals? The Spurs can get away with sitting Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili because they have talent and depth, but LeBron is Cleveland's only legitimate scorer and playmaker. They can't win without him on the floor and it showed as they went into halftime down 25.

After seeing so many Cavaliers games, I have gained more respect for LeBron simply because it's evident that Mike Brown is a terrible game coach. He clearly knows how to teach the game and motivate his players, evidenced by the stalwart Cleveland defense and the rally in the Detroit series, but his in-game decision-making is extremely poor. The only good play I've seen him draw up was the one from the end of Game 1 of the Detroit series, when Donyell Marshall missed a wide-open three. That play was highly criticized, but it was well-drawn up. In Game 2 of that series, he must have instructed LeBron to run down the clock despite the fact that the Cavs trailed by a point and a quick two would have made more sense, especially with no timeouts left. The decision to pull LeBron last night was yet another reminder of his incompetence. I'm with Bill Simmons in suggesting he needs an offensive coordinator.

Meanwhile, Tony Parker is going to outscore LeBron in this series. The Cavs simply cannot keep up and they lack a shot-blocker to deter him when he inevitably gets to the paint. (It should be noted that Parker would not be nearly so effective without Tim Duncan. Duncan draws the attention of post defenders and keeps them from roaming and attempting to block shots, so let's not go too crazy on the "Tony Parker is a budding superstar" talk.) Cleveland has some serious work to do in the off-season. LeBron badly needs help to beat a team like the Spurs and the Eastern Conference might not be so weak next year. He'll certainly have a harder road to the Finals, where Detroit was the only decent team he played. LeBron may improve somewhat and Gibson could get better, but that's about it.

Let's hope the Cavs pick it up at home and make it interesting. It's getting depressing.