Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Oh, so THAT'S how you do it??

Seems like the Pistons have a new trick up their sleeve for Game Two tonight--or at least they think they do. Stop LeBron from driving to the hole. Of course! Who knew it was so easy? From Ohio.com:

''Either we have to get the ball out of his hands a little more or make sure perimeter-wise we're keeping him in front of us and making him be a contested jump shooter,'' Pistons coach Michael Curry said. ''If we do those things, we'll be much better off with our overall defensive game plan.''

While Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince will continue to guard James, Cavs coach Mike Brown suspects the Pistons will blitz, hit and double-team James in an attempt to get him out of sync. The Pistons also might focus on speed, putting a smaller guard on James in an effort to keep up with him.

Prince knows what to expect.

''It's tough and that's why we have to continue to put different guys on him, move some things around and see what works,'' he said. ''Obviously, the last few times that we played them, dating back to the playoffs, we stuck with the same scenario going into each game with the things that we did. We're going to try some different things and hopefully it works out.''
So, they will be "much better off" on defense if they "get the ball out of his hands" or make him "be a contested jump shooter". Genius.

Pretty much like any player on earth. Of course, we've all seen LeBron get frustrated with defense some times, and settle into ill-advised jump shots. (In fact, some national columnists who shall remain nameless think the Cavs should fine LeBron every time he takes a three-pointer.) But one of the obvious huge reasons that the Cavs have won 66 67 games this year is that there is another couple scorers available, and lots of shooters to spread the floor. Teams can't contest LeBron enough to get the bal out of his hands. And of course, go ahead and double- or triple-team him. I'm reasonably certain he'll find one of those scorers who's open.

The Jordan Rules of fouling him hard every time he looks at the rim seem to be the only chance. And fortunately, I don't think that can stop him either.