Monday Musings: Overdoing the LeBron Celebration

I know I've been pumping out a lot of LeBron articles these days, but I can't help it. The guy is historically good, and his team is starting to look like the runaway favorites to win another Larry O'Brien trophy (plus February is the slowest month for pro sports, so you can't blame me). While I can't say that I'm a big fan of King James, you'd have to be crazy to not respect his nightly efforts, and watch in awe as he destroys team after team. He's amazing, and most of his daily doings should be celebrated. Most. Aren't we overdoing it a little bit though, guys?

If you're an NBA fan and don't know Adrian Wojnarowski, get it together. Woj is a Yahoo! Sports writer, and is one of the best insiders covering the NBA today. I love his stuff; he knows his shit. But his recent article—written in the "everything-LeBron-does-is-historic" tone that is becoming overplayed these days—really bothered me. Here it is. 

Getty Images

Can Anyone Beat the Heat?

Don't look now, but the Heat are starting to run away in the Eastern Conference. They may have struggled earlier in the year, but they look pretty damn good these days. There's pretty much no chance the Heat would get upset in the first round, so let's take a look at the teams directly behind Miami in the standings and figure out if any of them would have a chance in a 7-game series (spoiler alert: the Heat should be considered heavy favorites to make the NBA Finals).

MIAMI HEAT - (40-14)

What They Do Well: 49.2% Team Field Goal Percentage (1st in NBA); 38.6% Team 3-Point Percentage (3rd); 102.8 Points-per-game (5th); 43.9% Opponents' Field Goal Percentage (7th); Defensive Efficiency (12th).

Where They Struggle: Rebound Rate (22nd)... that's about it.

Bottom Line: I'm not going to sit here and tell you that the Heat have any glaring weaknesses, because they are, in fact, really really good. Miami is tremendously efficient offensively, and they are still one of the best defensive teams in the league (although they've slipped a little from last season). Really, the only thing they don't do particularly well is rebound and they've managed do deal with that all year.

INDIANA PACERS - (35-21; 6 Games Back)

What They Do Well: Rebounding Rate (1st); Defensive Efficiency (1st); 41.9% Opponents' Field Goal Percentage (1st); Allowing 90.2 Points-per-game (2nd)

Where They Struggle: 43.1% Field Goal Percentage (26th); 35.1% 3-Point Percentage (17th); 92.8 Points-per-game (28th); Offensive Efficiency (24th)

How They Stack Up: The Pacers are the best defensive team in the league, by far. This may have slipped past you because it's so boring to watch because nobody tunes into NBA games for defense. But it's still true. Indiana's rotations are great, they force tough jump shots, and they don't allow many offensive rebounds. And that's exactly why I think they would have a shot against the Heat. Yes, their offense is anemic. But, they have a potential 20-point scorer returning from injury (Danny Granger) and match up relatively well against the big three of Miami. Paul George is one of the best wing defenders in the game, and could give LeBron some trouble; Roy Hibbert is a tough defender down low and would be a difficult matchup for Bosh (in the post, at least); and the Pacers have enough athletic guys on the wing to throw at Wade and make him work (guys like George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Gerald Green). The big question is obviously their offense, which honestly might not be good enough. Still, I think the Pacers could force the Heat to play ugly basketball and would have a puncher's chance to win the series.

5 Things the Raptors Need to Make the Playoffs

I don't mean to shock you here, but the Toronto Raptors are only 5 games out of a playoff position. After their disastrous 4-19 start, the Raptors have gone 18-13 since and are a remarkable 6-2 since acquiring Rudy Gay. Of those last 6 wins, 4 have even come against teams currently in position to make the playoffs. So are the Raptors actually a good team? Probably not. But they're damn close!

With that in mind, and entering the true second half of the season, here are 5 things the Raps need to do to make the playoffs.

1. Maintain Defensive Consistency

This has secretly been the Raptors Achilles' heel all season. Currently, the Raps are in the top-10 in offensive efficiency, and they've been right around there all year. Defensively, it's another story. Toronto is not only 8th worst in defensive efficiency, they also allow opponents to shoot a ridiculously high 46.3% from the floor. Coach Dwane Casey is known for his defensive acumen, and he actually had the Raps defending at a relatively high level last season. But he just hasn't been able to get consistency out of his squad this year. Toronto has allowed fewer than 100 points in 7 of their last 9 games, so there's reason for some optimism here, but that trend has to continue if the Raps are going to make a playoff push.

2. Rudy Gay Needs To Get To The Rim

I'm not bashing Rudy here by any means. The Raptors are significantly better with him, so don't take this the wrong way. But seriously, the guy needs to stop settling for so many jump shots. According to Basketball Reference, Rudy hits around 57% of his shots within 3 feet of the rim, and the percentages take a dramatic dive as he gets farther away. No, he's not a get-to-the-rim-first type of player, but if he committed to it even a little bit more, his overall game would be way better. He loves that 12-15 foot pull-up jumper. What would make that shot more effective is the threat of him taking it all the way to the hoop. If defenders were a bit more worried of him going right to the bucket, he'd get way more space on those pull-ups and would become a more efficient scorer. It's a tried and true strategy: you've got to drive hard to open up the jumper. He's skilled enough to beat a lot of guys to the basket, so here's hoping we see a little more of that going forward.

Canadian Press

10 Things About the Upcoming NBA Dunk Contest

NBA All-Star Weekend is right around the corner, which means the point guard Skills Competition, 3-Point Shootout and Dunk Contest are too. This years' slam-fest figures to be a really good one, with a bunch of leapers in the mix: James White of the Knicks, Terrence Ross of the Raptors, Eric Bledsoe of the Clippers, Jeremy Evans of the Jazz, Kenneth Faried of the Nuggets and Gerald Green of the Pacers. Since some of these guys are relatively unknown (mainly James White), here are the 10 things you need to know about the 2013 Dunk Contest.

(note: I recently fell in love with James White dunks)

1. James White can dunk from behind the free-throw line



2. James White can two-handed windmill from far away

I Hate That I Hate LeBron James

"[LeBron James] won me and everyone else back during the 2007 playoffs... submitting an ESPN Classic performance in Game 5 at Detroit: scoring twenty-nine of Cleveland's last thirty points, overpowering the Pistons and hushing their fans like nobody since Jordan. Along with so many other sports junkies, I watch thousands of hours of games every year hoping something special will happen, whether it's a sixty-point game, a no-hitter, a seven-run comeback, a back-and-forth NFL game, a boxing pay-per-view or whatever else. Occasionally, it pays off."
          -Bill Simmons, The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy

I know I'm watching something amazing right now. I know that this is one of the greatest players of all time, on one of the greatest stretches of all time. I know that when he retires, he's probably going to be in the top-10 in points, rebounds and assists in NBA history. And yet, I can't help but hate LeBron James.

In the summer of 2009 I was reading Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball, and the above excerpt really weighed heavily on me. LeBron was set to become free agent in the near future, and for some reason I was almost sure he was going to leave Cleveland. I didn't have any insider information or anything, I just kind of felt it.

 LeBron the Cavalier was my favorite player of all-time. I remember having the SLAM magazine cover with LeBron and Sebastian Telfair—still in high school at the time—on the wall of my bedroom. I owned a deck of unauthorized LeBron James playing cards. I all of a sudden became a fan of Cleveland sports. I had long been a sports fanatic, and this guy had become my favorite athlete in no time. I was all-in on the King.