Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Conference Finals

When the playoffs started, most thought (including me) that it was a foregone conclusion that we'd see the Cavs vs. the Lakers in the Finals. It was believed that the two best players on the planet, and their respective talented teams, would coast to the Finals, setting up the best mano-a-mano Finals battle since Magic vs. Bird.

After a month of playoff basketball, LeBron's lived up to his end of the bargain. The Cavs look even more legit than we thought, and somehow King James actually looks better than he did during his MVP regular season.

And the Lakers? Not so much. The best adjective I've heard that describes L.A. is "bipolar." We really never know which team we're going to get with them.

So are we still headed for a LeBron and Kobe finale for the ages? Let's break down the conference championships and find out....

***

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland LeBro... er Cavaliers

Backcourt
The Magic did their best to shore up their point guard spot when Jameer Nelson went down, trading for Rafer Alston. "Skip to My Lou" is no Nelson, and was pretty terrible for the first six games of the Magic's last series against the Celtics. He showed up in a big way in Game 7, getting in the paint at will and making smart decisions, and he was one of the main reasons why the Celtics coasted. J.J. Redick has been starting in the other gaurd spot. Redick, everyone's favorite Dukie and D.U.I. dodger, has actually been playing half-decent defense in the playoffs, although his shooting has been suspect.

The Cavs backcourt is led by two great shooters in Mo Williams and Delonte West. Mo isn't your prototypical point guard, but he's been lights out all season. Adding Williams to the Cavs roster at the beginning of the season has turned them from a good team to an elite one. West can score and is a tough guy that can do a lot of good things on the floor. Plus, both guys have the ability to get into the paint and are underrated defenders. They're a bit undersized, but also completely legit.

ADV - Cavs

Frontcourt
The Magic feature the man-child that is Dwight Howard, who is capable of getting a 20-20 on just about every night. Hedo Turkoglu has proven that he can be a clutch scorer in the fourth quarter. Rashard Lewis is a matchup nightmare. At 6-10, Lewis can post up and bury three-poiners. All these guys have oodles of talent, but I still feel like Howard disappears for too long of stretches. At his size, that should never happen. And Lewis and Turkoglu are great, but they both tend to be streaky. If the threes aren't falling, they can definitely be taken out of the game.

Zydrunas Ilgauskus is frightenly effective for the Cavs. He can hit any open shot from 20-feet in and is a perfect pick-and-pop center. Anderson Varejao is the type of basketball player every coach wants. He gives heart, hustle, rebounds and energy. He tends to flop like a European soccer player, but whatever, at least he's effective. Oh, and the Cavs have that guy named LeBron. You can read gushing accounts of Bron-Bron just about everywhere on the internet, so let me just summarize by saying this. I thought King James was unstoppable last year. He somehow improved his game this season by becoming a lockdown defender, a better teammate and raising his overall basketball I.Q. I didn't think that LeBron could get much better than he was during the regular season.

Then the playoffs came around and he's been even better. I don't even think he's played his best game yet, because he hasn't had to. When he dropped his 47-12-8 masterpiece on the Hawks in Game 3, I realized that LeBron is playing in another stratosphere right now. So yeah, the Magic's frontcourt is nice, but they don't have the King.

ADV - Cavs

Bench
The Magic's bench has been a nice boost during the playoffs. Mickael Pietrus shoots well, plays solid D, and reminds me why I don't like the French everytime he does that cocky strut after he makes a shot. Courtney Lee has been a knockdown jump shooter, and is one of the few players on the Magic that can get to the rim consistenstly. Backup point gaurd Anthony Johnson actually outplayed Alston during most of the Celtics series and backup center Marcin Gorat has a little bit of game too. That's a solid rotation.

The Cavs bench is pretty good in its own right. Joe Smith is a veteran with playoff experience. Boobie Gibson and Wally Szczerbiak can both knock down open threes (and when you're playing with LeBron, that's all you really have to do), and Ben Wallace, once upon a time, was an important piece to a Championship team.

Cleveland's bench is servicable, but the Magic actually have guys coming off their bench that could start for a lot of teams in the league. And when you're a team like the Magic, that feature alot of streaky shooters, it's important to have guys to rotate in when other guy's shots aren't falling.

ADV - Magic

Perhaps the Cavs' bench would be a little more feared, if one
of their main contributors wasn't nicknamed "Boobie"

Coaching
I'll give Stan Van some credit, he made some nice adjustments in Game 6 and 7 to beat the Celtics. And anytime you can win a Game 7 on the road, a thing that only one in every five road teams are able to do, credit is due.

But it's tough to ignore that three different players this year have called out Van Gundy's coaching methods. I've also heard from some pretty credible sources in the know (yeah, that's right, I've got some "unnamed sources" of my own. How you like me now Chris Mortensen?) that say that no one on the roster takes Van Gundy seriously.

The Cav's Mike Brown has been criticized in the past for his style, but you have to give credit to him for instilling a defense-first system a few years ago, that is paying dividends now. It certainly doesn't hurt when your best players is LeBron - a team-first guy that is the best player in basketball right now. But Brown hasn't done anything wrong or stupid this season. Sometimes in the NBA, it's that simple. Just don't mess anything up. Brown's been able to quietly steer the Cavs into a position to succeed this year.

ADV - Cavs

Case for the Magic
Orlando's got arguably the best center in the league, surrounded by a bunch of dangerous 3-point shooters. There's no denying the Magic have an uphill battle, but if they can get white-hot in a couple of early games, they can make this a series. They beat Cleveland two out of three games during the regular season, including a dismantling on April 3rd, so I'm sure the Magic aren't scurred. Also, keep in mind that the Magic have been pushed in their first two series while the Cavs have been virtually untested. There's no telling how a team will change when it faces some adverse situations, especially when it hasn't had any trouble. Plus, Orlando seems to be (finally) gelling at the right time.

And hell, anything's possible right?

Case for the Cavs
The Cavs have been playing like a team on a mission for most of the second half of the regular season and for the entire playoffs so far. They play exceptionally well as a team, and genuinly like each other. They have the unquestioned best player in the NBA right now (sorry Kobe fans, but it's really not much of a debate anymore) who has been deep in the playoffs before. LeBron knows that he has to bring it every night to win a title.

Way back in November, I predicted that Lebron would go to New York when his current contract ends in 2010. Although I don't believe it's a certainty anymore, I still do believe it's going to happen. But Lebron doesn't want to leave his hometown without getting Cleveland a title. He knows this year is his best chance, and he's playing like it. For that reason alone, I don't know if any team or player will be able to stop him this season.

Prediction
Cavs in 5

***

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Backcourt
Chauncey Billups has been the single biggest acquisition of any team this year. He's helped turn a team that never played enough defense, rarely played together and always ended their season with a first round exit, to a team on the brink of the NBA Finals. His effect on this team can't be understated. He was a legitimate MVP candidate based on what he's done for this team. He hasn't slowed down in the playoffs, as he's been - in my opinion - the best point guard on any of the playoff teams thus far. The Nuggets shooting guard, Dahntay Jones, is a good defender and makes those ever-so-important hustle plays. With a team with as much offense as Denver, that's all he really has to give.

Kobe is one of the best players in the NBA to watch. His basketball IQ is so ridiculously high. He was born to score a basketball, and the effortlessness in which he does it is a real sight to see. That being said, for his team to win, he needs to keep his shot attempts down (somewhere around the 19-22 attempts range) and get the rest of his team involved for the Lakers to be as great as they can be. His defense is always stellar and he can simply rip the heart out of an opponent when he wants to.

The other guard spot for the Lakers hasn't been so hot. Derek Fisher has gotten old fast, as he was getting straight owned by Aaron Brooks in the Rockets series. It didn't help that on the offensive end he wasn't doing much better, as he shot just 31% from the field in the Houston series. Backup point guard Jordan Farmer might actually be a better option for the Lakers, but Phil Jackson doesn't want to stray away from a point guard he trusts. Kobe gives the Lakers the edge, but it's alot closer than you think.

ADV - Lakers

Frontcourt
Now here's an interesting matchup, as both teams have great players in the post. The Nuggets have a nice mix of great offense, defense and toughness. Nene, who had been playing better all season, has raised his game even more in the playoffs. His size makes it very dificult to defend him, and also to go against him when he's on defense. Kenyon Martin is a damn pitbull, who has an innate ability to scare the bejesus out of the guy he's covering. He had Nowitzki shook at times during the Dallas series, and he'll definitely be trying to do the same to the Lakers fancy bigs. Then there's Melo, one of the most pure scorers in this league.

Alot's been written and said (and deserverdly so) about Chauncey's effect on this team. What hasn't been covered as much is how 'Melo has sacrificed his scoring, matured, became a better teammate and took on a leadership role to help the Nuggets get to this point. There's no question that Billups has been the catalyst for the Denver's incredible play this year. But Anthony's still the best player on this team. Bron-Bron and DWade have both proven to be bonafide superstars. Anthony was supposed to be at their level, but hasn't been able to accomplish what they have yet. This is his best chance.

The Lakers featured a more talented frontcourt, when they started Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, but coach Phil Jackson has been hell-bent on bringing Andrew Bynum back. Gasol demands a double-team every time down the floor, and he has such an array of offensive moves, that it's dizzying for most defenders. Bynum has never really looked the same since the regular season (although he did have a nice Game 7 last round) and I think he actually hinders the Lakers as they focus on trying to get him involved when they don't have to. Still, you can't teach size, and Bynum has a lot of it. If he can get back to his play earlier in the season, he can be a terror down low. Trevor Ariza has been a nice piece for L.A. this year, as he can cover the other team's best perimeter player, allowing Kobe to not have to do it and saving his energy for the offensive end. Ariza can occasionally knock down the open three as well. If Odom was still starting, I think this would be a lot closer, but I like Denver's bigs against L.A.'s with Lamar on the bench.

ADV - Nuggets

Something tells me this isn't a man that the Lakers' bigs
are too excited about seeing next round

Bench
The Nuggets have probably the best bench in the NBA. Anthony Carter is a very solid backup point guard, capable of scoring and running an offense. J.R. Smith is instant offense and is one of a handful of players that can come off the bench and score 30 points. Then there's "The Birdman" Chris Anderson. He's a crowd-pleaser that does all of the little things the Nuggets need. He doesn't score, but he doesn't have to. He's an awesome rebounder and shot-blocker and for 20 minutes a game, he can bring controlled chaos.

Now that Lamar Odom isn't starting, I guess that strengthens the Lakers bench. But I think Odom's actually more effective as a starter. Same with Jordan Farmer (that is, when he gets burn. It seems like Phil Jackson doesn't have complete confidence in the young point guard's ability). Shannon Brown, Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic are all capable of having nice games... or really shitty ones. You never really know. And part of the reason the Lakers haven't been as good as they probably should be, is due to inconsistency from their bench.

ADV - Nuggets

Coaching
George Karl's playoff resume is a little suspect. He is the 12th winningest coach of all-time, but he also has the unfortunate distinction of being the only coach to have a 1-seeded team lose to an 8-seeded team, when his Sonics team managed this feat in 1994. He also coached the U.S National Team that got 6th in the 2002 Fiba World Championship. Oh, and he's also never won a Championship in his 21-year coaching career.

Still, he's helped morph a talented team into a Championship-caliber team, and he deserves credit for that. I'm not totally sold on him, but thus far he's proved me wrong.

The Lakers feature one of the best coaches of all time. The Zen-Master has nine titles. He's also coached some of the best players ever, in Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe. It's hard to question Phil Jackson, but I have been puzzled by some of his moves. Why put Bynum back in the starting rotation when Odom has looked much more effective as a starter? Why not start Farmer, when Fisher is clearly a shell of his former self? They seem like uncharacteristic mistakes by Jackson.

You don't pick against nine titles though. You just don't.

ADV - Lakers

Case for the Nuggets
Other than the Cavs (hell, maybe even including the Cavs), no team is playing better than Denver right now. They have it all: high-octane offense, physical defense, veteran leadership, great bench and experienced (albeit probably overrated) coaching. What also works in their favor is the way the Celtics handled the Lakers in the Finals last year. They did it by outmuscling the Lakers soft bigs, something the Nuggets should have no trouble doing. K-Mart and Nene can take Odom and Gasol out of it and Bynum just hasn't been consistent enough to be much of a threat. I don't know who they have to cover Kobe, but if they can take care of everyone else, it may force Kobe to go for 40 every night. That actually favors the Nuggets.

Chauncey should do well against either of the Lakers point guards, and he will be the calming, reassuring force that Denver needs in a series of this magnitude. And people seem to just ignore the fact that Kobe is going back to Colorado... just sayin.'

Denver can win this series. And the worst part for the Lakers is, they know they can.

Case for the Lakers
The Lakers have the most talent. When Kobe, Odom and Gasol are clicking, they may be the best big-3 in the NBA. They can score in bunches and their length disrupts most teams. They have a proven coach and a deep bench. Even though the bench has been a problem, they really only need to get production from 2 1/2 guys for the team to play well.

Then there's Kobe. Black Mamba knows that he'll soon be hitting the downside of his career. Remember that he's been in the NBA since he was 17. He's 30 now. He's running out of chances to win an NBA title.

Kobe is well aware of his place in history. If he doesn't win a title without Shaq, he'll always be remembered as the Robin to Shaq's Batman. Scottie Pippen was a helluva player, and a top-50 NBA player of all-time in his own right. But he's only remembered for being MJ's No. 2.

Kobe needs to win the title this year. I don't know if he can beat LeBron to get it, but I just can't bet against him at least getting to the Finals.

Prediction
Lakers in 7

***

So after a month of playoffs, I still think it'll be Cavs/Lakers in the Finals. It won't be the cakewalk I thought coming in, but we should still get the LeBron and Kobe battle that NBA fans are hoping for.

And since I can't come up with a clever ending, watch this highlight video of the game's two best players.

Photos Courtesy of Google Images and ESPN.com

NBA Midseason Awards

Last weekend we were treated to the biggest party of the NBA season. The All-Star break has come and gone, and now the real fun begins; the stretch-run of the NBA season.

There are four legitimate title contenders (Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers and Spurs) and plenty of intrigue. Here at Flavors of Lovelace, we're going to hand out some midseason awards before we look toward the playoffs (and I'm aware that there's actually been 51 games played, not making it true midseason. But it's my blog. I do what I want.)

(One more thing about the All-Star game before we move along though. All of the Kobe/Shaq love stories we've been forced to read... gotta stop. Have we already forgotten that Shaq performed a not-so-flattering rap freestyle about his former teammate just last summer? Or Kobe's classy confession about Shaq's lovelife in 2004? We're really supposed to believe that these guys are boys now?!? Stop. Please, just stop.)

Kobe must be a fan of Shaq's rapping

Surprise Player - Jameer Nelson
Sad way to start the awards. Nelson was playing unbelievable this season and Orlando had a legitimate chance to get to the NBA Championship. His faults were always his defense (because of his lack of size) and his inability to go left. This year his defense was improved and he practiced all summer going to his weakside. With a healthy Nelson, Orlando can beat anyone in the league. Without him? Probably second round exit at best. Sucks.


Surprise Team - New Jersey Nets
Devin Harris has been an absolute beast this year. Who knew he had it in him? (Certainly not Mark Cuban when he traded him for an almost-washed-up Jason Kidd). Vince Carter, who has been injury-riddled an slightly apathetic the last couple of seasons, has bounced back with a vengeance. Add in the fact that Brook Lopez is playing outstanding, and the Nets are sneaky effective this year. They're battling for a playoff spot and I don't think anyone predicted that to start the year.


Disappointing Player - Elton Brand
I'm a 76ers fan, so maybe I'm a little bias in this pick. I'm not a big numbers guy (I am a writer, after all), but let's take a look at 'ol Elton's season mathematically.

Brand was averaging 13.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 45% shooting before getting injured for the rest of the season. He was averaging 3.7 free throw attempts a game. For his career, he's averaged 19.7 ppg, 10 rbg, 2.6 apg on 50% shooting and averaged 6.4 free throw attempts a game. With Brand, the 76ers were 13-16. Without him (as of 2/16).... 14-8.

And here's the most important number. Brand was signed to a 5-year, $80 million contract. At $16 million a year, the 6ers paid Brand roughly $551,724.14 per game this season.

Now that's money well spent.

Nice to see the recession hasn't hurt Brand's bankroll
or his expensive suits.

Disappointing Team - Phoenix Suns
The Suns have been a train-wreck this year. Coach Terry Porter got the axe on Monday, meaning he'll take the brunt of the blame, but owner Robert Sarver is the man at fault (with GM Steve Kerr a close second). He's been trying to cut costs the last four years, so he's traded or given away every pick since 2004 (except their 2008 pick, Robin Lopez, who they kept). The players they've drafted and not kept are: Loul Deng, Nate Robinson, Rajon Rondo and Rudy Fernandez. They also failed to resign Joe Johnson in 2005 when he was entering his prime and all Johnson is doing now is making multiple All-Star appearances and is the current best player on a team primed for a top-4 seed in the playoffs.

Nice work Sarv. Keep up the good work.

This current Suns team has no idea who they're supposed to be. They got Shaq with the belief that he would make Phoenix a better defensive team. Unfortunately, he also takes up a lot of space and has forced the Suns high-octane offense into a plodding half-court one. Then they trade for Jason Richardson - a classic panic trade, and a player that in no way fits with their personnel. The players are uninspired, their best young player (Amare Stoudemire) is on his way out and they have three starters over the age of 34. Hard to believe that they're currently out of the playoffs right now, isn't it?


Team Most Likely To Make A 2nd Half Surge - Indiana Pacers
Before you scoff, consider this. Do you know there's only one team in the NBA to beat the Cavs, Celtics, Lakers and Magic (the four best teams, record-wise, in the league)? That team would be the Pacers.

They played a brutal schedule before the break and are 4 1/2 games back of the 8th seed. But if they can get off to a quick start they'll be right back in the hunt. Looking at their schedule the rest of the month, it's not completely out of the question that Indiana could be just a game back or tied for the last seed going into March. Remember that no one thought Philly would make the playoffs at this time last year. They got hot at the right time and rode the momentum into the playoffs. If there's a team that can do it this year, I think it's the Pacers.


Team Most Likely To Make A 2nd Half Collapse - Detroit Pistons
It might not be fair to pick the Pistons, considering they've pretty much been collapsing since they traded for Allen Iverson, but I predict the collapse to continue. Iverson's clearly not a good fit, and they're another team without much of an identity. Rasheed Wallace looks uninterested (and a step slower), Rip Hamilton is clearly not as good a player without Chauncey Billups setting him up and Rodney Stuckey is as inconsistent as you would expect a second-year point guard getting his first starters minutes to be.

The bright side? Iverson's huge contract comes off the books after this year, so the Pistons will have a ton of money to rebuild.


Defensive Player of the Mid-year - Dwight Howard
His defensive rebounding numbers and blocks are just obscene. He really is an absolute monster in the paint right now. Not to mention he alters nine to 10 shots a game just by patrolling the paint.

ed. note: Special mention goes out to Lebron here too. King James has been filling passing lanes and flying all over the court this year. It's nice to see him commit to the defensive end so hard).


Coach of the Mid-Year - Stan Van Gundy
Van Gundy's always been a great coach. In 2005, he was a Dwayne Wade injury away from getting to the NBA Finals. Then Pat Riley took over and we forgot all about Jeff's older brother. He's made the Magic into a title contender, and no one truly believed they could be at the start of the season.

Now let's see if he can be the Coach of the Year by absorbing the Nelson injury and still take Orlando deep in the playoffs.

As a side note, I think it would be alot easier for all of us take Stan more seriously if he shaved the porn mustache. I mean, the guy looks like Ron Jeremy at a Miami night club with those blazer/black sweater combinations and the thick 'stache. Get rid of that thing Stanny boy.

Van Gundy looks like he just walked off
a porn set in these duds

Anti-Coach of the Year - Mike Dunleavy Sr.
It's tough to pinpoint what was Dunleavy's biggest grievance this season. Was it signing Baron Davis - a bonafide superstar last year, but a player with a proven track record of getting hurt and playing uninspired - to a long-term deal? Was it filling the roster with headcases like Ricky Davis and Zach Randolph? Was it acquiring Marcus Camby, Randolph and Chris Kaman for a combined 34 million, when only two can play at the same time? So many bad decisions to make it hard to pick just one.

Let's just lump them all together and say that he's sucked hard this year.


Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose
D-Rose is legit. He came in with a lot of hype, and has more than lived up to it. He looks like a better passing Tony Parker right now. The over/under for all-star appearances for Rose in his career is eight.... and I may take the over.

That said, his team is absolutely awful. I really hate the Bulls. They have so many young guys, but they all do the same thing. The wings (Ben Gordon, Deng, Andres Nocioni) can score, but are inconsistent. Their bigs (Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden, Joakim Noah) are athletic but can't score (actually, Gooden can score a little bit, but isn't nearly as athletic or valuable as the other two guys). I'm not too crazy about their coach either. What makes it even worse is they were in the mix for guys like Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett and even Kobe Bryant (to a lesser extent) and could never conjure up the cajoles to pull the trigger.

Here's hoping they get Bosh.


MVP - Lebron James
What more can be said about 'Bronbron? The guy is just an absolute specimen that will be ungaurdable in three years. It's insane to think that he's only 24, and getting better. His improvements on the defensive side of the ball can't be stated enough, and he's good for five or six "Oh my god, how the hell did he do that?" assists and scores a game.

Looking back, it's amazing that James was able to get the Cavs to the Finals in 2007 with such an uninspiring supporting cast. This current team is constructed perfectly to Lebron's strengths; Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson can't be left open because they can kill you with open shots. Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas can take up space, protect the basket and get rebounds. And Lebron can do whatever he wants and is one of the deadliest players in the 4th quarter in the league right now. What Kobe's doing in LA shouldn't be overlooked and Tim Duncan still consistently gets it done for the Spurs, but Lebron's the clear MVP in my opinion.


Playoff Predictions
EAST
(1) Boston over (8) Indiana
(2) Cleveland over (7) Detroit
(6) Miami over (3) Orlando
(4) Atlanta over (5) Philly

(1) Boston over (4) Atlanta
(2) Cleveland over (6) Miami

(2) Cleveland over (1) Boston

WEST
(1) LA Lakers over (8) Utah
(2) San Antonio over (7) Dallas
(3) Denver over (6) Portland
(5) Houston over (4) New Orleans

(1) LA Lakers over (5) Houston
(2) San Antonio over (3) Denver

(1) LA Lakers over (2) San Antonio

NBA Title Prediction - Cleveland over LA Lakers in 6
As fans, we get the Finals we've all been hoping for. Lebron against Kobe for the Title; there's really nothing better than that. It won't be easy; the Lakers will need all their depth (and a healthy Andrew Bynum) to get past the Spurs and Boston certainly won't lay down without a war against the Cavs, but I like them both to advance to the Championship.

Even though LA has been the best team so far this year, I still wonder aloud how tough they are when they're battling against big bodies in the paint. I think Kobe does a good job defensively against Lebron too, but it's the other guys that could really make the Lakers pay. They don't have enough answers for all of the Cavs shooters. And don't forget with the injuries to West and Ilgauskas, the Cavs haven't been playing with their starting lineup since January 2nd. If they're all healthy come playoff time, I think Lebron brings a title to Cleveland.

Come this summer, James may be hoisting an NBA
Championship instead of just the Eastern Conference one

Lebron in a New York State of Mind

I'm not a New York Knicks fan.

As a matter of fact, I've always taken strange delight in watching the utter ineptitude that the Knicks have shown this decade. It seemed that there was no contract too big and no player too dysfunctional for New York to throw some money at. They were laughable, with unarguably the worst coach and GM in professional sports.

Unfortunately, Isaiah Thomas will be remembered for his views on
women and race relations, than for being one of the best point guards to
ever play the game.

The list of signings and trades the Knicks made in the post-Patrick Ewing era were laughable. Guys like Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson, Jerome James, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose and the always popular, Stephon Marbury (who's worth an entire blog post by himself) showed that the Knicks had no idea how to run and manage a successful basketball franchise anymore.

What made these signings so egregious was that instead of wasting their salary cap on has-beens and nobodies, they should have been clearing salary cap and positioning themselves for a player that could arguably go down as the best basketball player ever (and that includes MJ): Lebron James.

After jettisoning Isiah out of the Big Apple, the Knicks finally started making decisions, to , ya know, actually win some basketball games. Signing Mike D'Antoni to coach in the offseason is proving to be an enormous upgrade, and GM Donnie Walsh has a proven track record of managerial success.

And after the Knicks pulled off two HUGE trades last Friday, the Lebron sweepstakes is officially back on. No one's going to confuse Al Harrington for Patrick Ewing or Cuttino Mobley for "Clyde" Frazier, but their play the next two years won't matter.

What's important is that all of the new Knicks' acquisitions will come off their salary cap in 2010. That summer, the cream of NBA's young crop of talent will be available, with guys like Lebron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh all finishing their current contracts.

These trades have saved the Knicks $27 million in cap room, and as it stands now, they currently only have four guys signed for $24 million for the 2010 season. It's expected that the 2010 salary cap will be upwards of $64 million.

As much as I've enjoyed ridiculing the Knicks; this move was genius. And in all honesty, the NBA is better for it.

I'm sorry Cleveland fans, but it's better for the league when superstars play in the biggest markets. I'm not a Lakers or Celtics fan, but the NBA had one of its most exciting and intriguing seasons last year when those two teams were on top. It's good for the NBA to have a good team in New York. When you factor in the latest hot rumor that Nike is willing to pay King James a $50 million bonus for signing in New York, Chicago or L.A., you can see why this move makes complete sense.

And it was one thing for the Knicks to position themselves just to get Lebron, but with these salary cap dumps, New York may also have enough money to sign another one of the marquee free agents of the 2010 class. What if I told you that Lebron might be playing with Bosh or Wade in NY in 2010? Is that something you might be interested in?

It's not Cleveland's fault. Recently they've been doing everything right, by getting Lebron guys that can spread the floor and make open shots (Mo Williams and Delonte West) and the Cleveland fans have shown nothing but love for their superstar.

But the NBA is a business. Lebron is a business man. He's going to New York.

The only real question now is which New York team it'll be. It was widely believed before the Knicks recent transactions, that he would follow friend and part owner Jay-Z to Brooklyn, where the Nets will move to in 2010.

Like I said earlier, I don't like the Knicks. But I must admit, I like the idea of Lebron playing for them in Madison Square Garden. I like what his signing will do for the NBA as a whole and I like the idea of the Knicks mattering again.

Cleveland fans, enjoy the King while you can. In 2010, he'll be where he belongs.


Photos courtesy of Google Images