Donovan Mitchell is a lucky man.  He now lives in the same city as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Oh, and he’ll also be playing with a better-equipped squad to hide his deficiencies guarding opponents.

 

It might take the first couple of months of the year for coach JB Bickerstaff to calibrate the ball handling duties, late-game pecking order, and defensive principles now that his group added an All-Star.  Training camp and the preseason might highlight some favorable combinations, but the real test will come when the games matter.  But this experiment should work, at least before the Playoffs.  

 

Garland spent 95% of his minutes at point guard this season, but in 2020 as a rookie, he spent 3/4s of his time at shooting guard while Colin Sexton locked down the QB spot.  Playing off-ball is a skill Garland has demonstrated but with Mitchell integrated into the lineup, he should see more opportunities than he did in 2022.  It would allow him to work as a sniper that repositions after a screen or helps as a decoy.  Garland didn’t have many chances to show off this feature of his game after Sexton missed all but 11 games and Ricky Rubio was absent for 48.

 

The newest Cavalier, Spida, was third in usage among guards who qualified for league leaders in 2022.  Moments off-ball will come for Garland, but it’s essential that Mitchell sacrifices touches and his body for his backcourt mate and others too.  Screening is a fine technique that gets the initiator open as it does the player who received the help.  Using Mitchell as a pick-and-pop and screen-and-roll weapon would be tough to guard.  He has enough accuracy on his jumper to fire away outside the lane, or he could exhibit his speed on a cut to the rim after the catch.

 

Mitchell and Garland are elusive enough to burn a defender off the dribble to cause a breakdown.  They are also dynamic attacking through pick and roll.  If the defense is deploying drop coverage, Cleveland’s guards can force separation and pull up from the elbow while one defender is behind the hip of the ball handler and the other by the rim.

 

 Both are three-level scorers that bend defenses even when the ball is out of their hands.  Opponents will make difficult decisions when both are on the floor, and one catches fire.  If a trap or double is sent towards Mitchell or Garland, damage could be inflicted if the ball handler passes out on time to the nearest teammate, and then the rock is dished to a wide-open man.

 

But how much better are the Cavs?

 

Cleveland should enter the postseason without competing in the Play-In Tournament.  Defensively, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley provide backline protection when the Cavs’ guards get beat checking the perimeter.  Yet, always having to help because a teammate can’t stay in front of their matchup will unnecessarily tax Cleveland’s frontcourt by covering too much ground.

 

The defense’s ceiling-setting flaw is that the backcourt likely won’t guard up effectively when switched onto opponents of a different position.  If one of them is stuck in a mismatch near the paint, help will be sent, but at the risk of exposing space.

 

Garland and Mitchell are one-way players and small at 6’1. Spida’s long arms are a tool that could help him improve guarding his yard under the right defensive philosophy, but success on that end is about high ball IQ and effort.  Cleveland’s backcourt cannot afford to be overly reliant on its rim protection because the Cavs will want its twin towers as close to the paint to influence rivals into attacking exclusively from the perimeter.

 

Cleveland will be one of the most exciting teams to watch this upcoming season, but this trade doesn’t make them contenders.  Their backcourt could get hunted down if the opponent chooses to strike this weakness.  It’s an arduous challenge reaching the conference finals when a starting unit has just one player who is a liability guarding.  Cleveland has two.

 

For now, the Cavs are a second-round crasher.

 

*****

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LeBron James is 1,325 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the regular season for the all-time scoring crown.  He’ll shatter the record before the upcoming NBA year concludes if Father Time doesn’t visit him and claim some of his powers.  If that happens, he’ll still have until 2025, when his contract expires.  

 

When James claims the record, will it mean he’s a better scorer than Abdul-Jabbar?  It depends on who you ask and how old they are.  

 

LeBron is one of the most efficient scorers the league has ever seen, and to his credit, he averaged a career-high in points per game in his 19th season.  The millions he spends annually on maintaining his body are paying off by keeping him in world-class shape.  

 

Indeed, the rule changes throughout the last few decades have tilted the game entirely in favor of the offensive player.  This has assisted James and players of his era by lowering the degree of difficulty to score because there is less physicality in the league now.  Defenders can’t hand check, and more recently, shooters have additional protection because of the unofficially named Zaza Pachulia rule.  According to the NBA’s law, defenders must give a shooter landing space.

 

These rules are a good thing.  When the game was more physical, it could allow certain players to affect the outcome of a match without using basketball skills.  Some of the effects of the rule changes, like the game becoming more perimeter-oriented, are not such a great thing, but that’s an argument for another day.  

 

LeBron hurts a defense primarily within 0-10 feet from the basket.  He’s never been better than a streaky shooter, but he never had to be with how efficient he is inside the paint.  Although, in certain situations, being guarded in single coverage on the perimeter, I wish LeBron would just cut or use his body to post up instead of taking a jumper.  When he settles for outside looks, he guards himself by forfeiting an opportunity to bang down low.  For his career, James converts 73.7% of the shots he takes within 0-3 feet of the cup.

 

Is LeBron the Greatest Scorer Ever? | Mateo Mayorga Takes Five https://t.co/CvDD6p6bnr via @YouTube

— Five Reasons Sports (@5ReasonsSports) August 30, 2022

 

In the first half of LeBron’s career, he was an unforgiving wrecking ball.  His cuts to the basket had to be guarded below and above the rim.  Those who followed his career can vividly remember when he jumped over John Lucas III on the baseline, caught a lob from Dwyane Wade, and slammed it, all with one hand.  Or when he obliterated Jason Terry with his chest for futilely trying to contest an alley-oop. 

 

James is a slasher. Despite his inconsistencies as a perimeter shooter, the more concerning flaw to his game, aside from underusing the post, is that he isn’t near automatic from the line.  He’s finished five seasons recording below 70% from the charity stripe.  In 2021/2022, James was 18th in the NBA in free throw attempts (6), but someone as tall, muscular, and agile as he should be taking close to double-digit freebies, making a minimum of 80%.

 

 

A player doesn’t have to be a flashy gunslinger to be considered the best at dropping points.  As far as the most recognized scorers of his era- Kobe Byrant, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry- James has a higher career field goal percentage and points per game average than all minus KD.  Durant is behind James in field goal percentage by a hair, but he barely leads the Lakers forward in scoring average.

 

Having gotten this close to Abdul-Jabbar is mind-blowing.  I thought his record was untouchable, but it’s inevitable James makes it his.  Like Kareem said, “The game always improves when records like that are broken.”

 

Abdul-Jabbar played from 1969-1989.  Basketball wasn’t the spaced-out game that is seen today because the NBA didn’t have a 3-point line until 1979, and after its arrival, it wasn’t valued by the players like the current generation does.  The ballers, then too, had more leeway with contact.  Despite that, Kareem was still lighting up the league with his arsenal of post moves.  

 

It should also be noted that Kareem played the first 12 seasons of his career, scoring on hard rims.  Any shot attempted had to be clean for it to go in, and there were not as many friendly bounces before the breakaway rim was introduced.

 

The masses ceaselessly and incorrectly give Abdul-Jabbar props saying his skyhook was unguardable.  Click here for proof of Wilt Chamberlain swatting multiple attempts on the same possession.  Julius Erving, Bill Willoughby, and Manute Bol also deserve a head nod for blocking Kareem’s hook from behind.  

 

The skyhook was indefensible against 99% of the league because it was something he worked on from the time he was in fifth grade.  It was mastered when he arrived at UCLA.  

 

Even with the NCAA forbidding dunks from 1967-1977, Kareem still dropped over 2,300 points before making the pros.  

 

Abdul-Jabbar was a master in the post. Defenders would lean on his hip to bump him off his spot, and he would respond by aiming his left shoulder at the basket and catapulting a shot with his right.  Or he would hit a fader, back down an opponent, or pivot past them for a layup or dunk.

 

One of the coldest moments in NBA history was the closing moments of overtime in Game 6 of the 1974 Finals.  Down a point with seven seconds left, Kareem caught a pass at the right elbow, pivoted, and took off towards the rim, facing a double team.  He raised on the baseline and buried his signature move, extending the season finale to another game.

 

Verdict

 

Who gets the edge?   What determines who is the better scorer, in my book, is who was harder to guard.  

 

They are dissimilar players.  James, a point-forward, he decides who gets the ball.  Abdul-Jabbar was a center and, like a wideout in football, depended on his playmaker feeding him the rock.

 

Both of them are most lethal near the rim.  At 7’2, Abdul-Jabbar is five inches taller than James, and the size advantage creates more mismatches against defenders.  Being a towering post scorer also leaves a player in great position to recover offensive rebounds for putbacks.  

 

Before LeBron developed an adequate outside shot, intelligent rivals would sag off, daring him to misfire.  It was a safer bet than guarding close up and conceding a lane.  Even through traffic, to this day,  James is an excellent finisher, but his kryptonite inside the paint is a legit shot blocker.

 

Kareem’s hook is so deadly that when he missed, it was more his fault than the man guarding him.  Aside from the Dipper, nobody had a chance of contesting it straight up.  Not in this life.  The others who blocked it from behind made unforgettable saves that must have bewildered the  “tower of power”.  But that move ate up schemes deployed to neutralize Abdul-Jabar, and he still had an abundance of other techniques to use.  

 

In this department, I’ll roll with Kareem, regardless of his reign as scoring leader, eventually coming to a close.  

 

When it’s all over, the only thing people will be able to say when examining the record is that at the peak of their powers, the league was theirs.

 

******

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The NBA is in the middle of a power shift.  The three most noteworthy players of the past generation are LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.  While the three of them are still outstanding, the new faces of the league snuck in through the back door and will likely remain as the league’s premier ballers for close to a decade.  

 

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić are the NBA’s next titans.  They may not win as many rings as James, Curry and Durant have combined, but that shouldn’t be the only criteria for evaluating their greatness.  Personal records factor in, and so do the moments that took your breath away watching them.

 

For Giannis, what earned my unyielding respect for his game was his 2021 postseason run.  In the Finals, he was the focal point of two highlight plays that will forever shine in championship lore.

 

First, it was the block on Deandre Ayton’s attempted lob.  The Greek Freak was assisting PJ Tucker with icing Devin Booker on a roll.  Booker noticed the attention and hoisted a pass to the 7-footer who stood in the restricted area.  Before Ayton could plunge it down the cylinder, Antetokounmpo was at his chest and rejected the ball towards Tucker.

 

That’s as close as you will get to seeing someone float like a butterfly and sting like a bee on the court.

 

The next play happened in Game 5.  Booker dribbled into a wall in the lane and when looking to pass out, was stripped by Jrue Holiday, who started the fastbreak.  Antetokounmpo was the first Buck to make it to the Phoenix’s paint.  Holiday then flung up a pass, and the Freak snatched it, and while taking a two-handed shove from Chris Paul to the gut, still slammed the rock through the cup.  

 

It was called a shooting foul but it should have got Paul tossed, even with 13.5 seconds left.  Pushing someone in the air is slimy.  When a player has taken flight, they are defenseless and should be avoided by the opposition unless making a play on the ball.  The only reason Giannis powered through Paul’s desperate cheap shot and landed on his feet is that he is a super freak plus close to a foot taller than his aggressor.

 

Antetokounmpo’s Jedi-like maneuver distracted the refs and most observers from calling what happened what it was.  A dirty play by Paul.

 

In the next game, the season finale, Antetokounmpo delivered his magnum opus by dropping 50 points for the title.  By the night’s end, he’d won all the major awards a player can earn in the league.  He was only 26 years old.  

 

Jokić, the reigning back-to-back MVP, is on his way to becoming a historic player if he isn’t already.  If his team gets around eight more wins than this past season’s win total while he produces comparable stats to his last two years, maybe the Joker becomes the fourth player in league history behind Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird to win three consecutive MVPs.  

 

Those are big ifs, but winning a pair in two seasons is a rare accomplishment. It’s only been done by 12 other guys.

 

The Joker’s near 7-foot frame neutralizes the effects of opposing double teams because he can precisely find an open man by passing over the top of defenders.  His post game is as polished as newly minted coins, and he can step away from the paint and torch his rivals from the outside.  

 

Jokić does it all on offense.  His 82 triple-doubles in the regular season and Playoffs will attest to it.  In 2021/2022, he elevated his game and logged a career-high in points and field goal percentage while playing without two starters (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr).  In the absence of two of Denver’s top marksmen, Jokić operated in mostly clogged paints, and he was still untouchable.  

 

Few plays are as pleasing as his no-look passes or when he finds a teammate cutting backdoor or targets another man across court in the shooting pocket. The Joker’s strongest asset is his mind.  Ninety-nine times out of 100 that he steps on the floor, he’ll be the smartest dude in uniform.

 

Then there’s Luka.  A forward who can fill up the stat sheet like James, Bird and Rick Barry.  Who could forget how at 21 and 22 years old, Dončić was making the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Clippers sweat bullets because they were unable to stay in front of him?  Or specifically, when he caught a sideline pass near midcourt, dribbled over to the left wing, and pulled up for a game-winning trifecta in Game 4 of Round 1 of the 2020 Playoffs?

 

Dončić is never the fastest man on the court, but it doesn’t stop him from getting anywhere he wants.  His strength and footwork allow him to create separation when he decides to cut inside or post up.  

 

Guarding Dončić is as enticing as picking your poison.  If he is defended in single coverage, he might casually drop a 40-piece.  If help is sent on each of his drives, he’ll cut up the scheme by finding a cutter on the baseline or a shooter outside.

 

Dončić entered the NBA workforce as an All-Star caliber player.  In four years, he ascended near the peak of his profession. 

 

If I had to start a team and the only three names in the hat were Antetokoumpo, Jokić  and Dončić, I could make the pick blindfolded and be elated at my prospects.  The league is theirs for years to come.  Just as Wilt Chamberlain passed the torch to Kareem, as Bird and Magic Johnson gave it up to Michael Jordan, the cycle repeats.  James, Curry and Durant will be replaced by Antetkounmpo, Jokić and Dončić.

The fate of the Pelicans rests on Zion Williamson’s plate. To protect themselves from their star player eating himself out of the league, NOLA will periodically weigh him to ensure he doesn’t exceed 295 pounds. Although, with the threshold being such a high number, they are giving Williamson a large amount of waist room.  

 

Yet, there’s no word on Williamson guaranteed money getting touched if he misses a certain amount of games. When I asked the Pelicans about it, they did not want to provide any other information about his contract, including how the 295-pound threshold was reached by both parties, how much Williamson is weighing now and what they’d prefer his measurements on the scale to be. 

 

However, #1 is committed to getting slimmer after missing an entire season (2021/2022) with a foot injury. He has employed the services of a new personal chef who works with other athletes. But it’s the least he could do after reportedly showing up last year weighing 330 pounds.

 

It’s news to me that a professional athlete couldn’t stay in shape when going through an injury to his extremities as he was surrounded by some of the best trainers and nutritionists in the world. 

 

Williamson and his camp should be elated that the only thing affecting his guaranteed money is something he can control. Given the explosive nature of his game, it’s reasonable to believe that lowering his density would alleviate some of the pressure on his joints, ligaments, bones and muscles when coming down. 

 

Williamson is legit. But he hasn’t done anything to deserve such a commitment from his team when he’s only played in 85 regular season games in three seasons. For the Pelicans to take the next step into contention after making their first Playoffs since 2018, Williamson will have to rewrite the narrative on his availability.

 

New Orleans valiantly challenged Phoenix through six games in round one before defeat. Despite a short trip to the postseason, the prospects of NOLA having a bright future were as clear as the Weddell Sea because of how much they pushed the Suns without Williamson on deck. 

 

Hypothetically, the series against the West’s top-seeded team would have transpired differently with #1 suited up. Perhaps New Orleans still gets taken out, but what is certain is the defensive strategy the Suns used would have been altered with Williamson on the floor because of the mismatches he creates. 

 

 Replacing Jackson Hayes for a healthy Williamson in the starting lineup would have given the Pelicans four players with the ability to create their own shot to open a game. If that many players can get a bucket on their own, it limits an opponent’s capacity to send help effectively. 

 

About 70% of Williamson’s field goal attempts come from within three feet of the hoop, and it’s usually a surprise when he fails to convert from close range. He is a danger to the rim and commands a double or trap near the paint with the ball in his hands in the halfcourt. That type of attention from the defense will make sure another Pelican will get open on the opposing baseline or perimeter. 

 

An effective tactic to deploy when Williamson returns this upcoming season is using him more as the roll man after a screen. In 2021, his PNR frequency was only 5.2%, scoring 1.4 points per game on those possessions. The screener always gets open if the man he roadblocked is trying to ice the ball handler. Williamson would have a short window to receive the ball and dash toward the cup. If his man is low defending the lane, he can attack the protection by taking a shot from up to 16 feet away or attempt to go through him to force the foul. 

 

Williamson not getting enough action in PNR is a coaching crime that falls on the shoulders of Stan Van Gundy and Alvin Gentry, aside from their inability to keep him in shape. 

 

Fortunately for the Pelicans, coach Willie Green managed to direct his squad into the postseason when the chances of it happening were slimmer than a straight razor to start the campaign. Such an accomplishment adds credibility to Green because snatching the eighth seed indicated the Pelicans were farther along in their development than expected. 

 

Adding Williamson to this group could make New Orleans one of the dark horse teams in the West. They already have two three-level scorers in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, plus a shutdown perimeter defender in Herb Jones. Inserting a skywalker like Williamson around those guys is a luxury not many teams can say they have. 

 

But none of it will mean anything If NOLA’s first overall pick can’t get on the floor. The investment to build a compatible team around him is too large for the Pelicans to fail.