Video: LeBron nails it, Cavs fans lose it at The Q
May 10, 2015What’s next for Bill Simmons? While We’re Waiting…
May 11, 2015Following LeBron James’ game-winning buzzer-beater in Chicago Sunday afternoon James admitted that he “scratched” the original play that head coach David Blatt drew up.
James’ full explanation on why he overruled Blatt:
“To be honest, the play that was drawn up, I scratched it. I just told coach, ‘Give me the ball.’ We’re either going to go to overtime or I’m going to win it for us. It was that simple.”
“I was supposed to take the ball out. I told coach, ‘There’s no way I’m taking the ball out, unless I can shoot it over the backboard and it goes in.’ I told him, ‘Have somebody else take the ball out, give me the ball, and everybody else get out of the way.”
[Also see: LeBron James Silences Chicago]
Fortunately for Cleveland, James took initiative and the final play into his own hands. Had he thrown the ball in, the Cavs and Bulls could have possibly gone into overtime and the wine and gold could have easily been in a 3-to-1 deficit in the series against the Bulls. The chances of winning a series after being down 3-1 is less than 5 percent based on past performances of teams in that scenario.
While James struggled with his shot in Game 3 and for almost 48 minutes of Game 4, being the leader on the team, he knew he had to step up when the Cavaliers needed him the most. James stepped up not only in the final huddle, but in the final seconds to tie the series at two and possibly save the season for the wine and gold. In his first year as a coach in the NBA, Blatt has had plenty of questionable situations, including during Sunday’s game. Even before LeBron James “scratched” David Blatt’s game-ending play, Blatt almost put the wrong kind of stamp on the game when he attempted to call a timeout that the Cavaliers didn’t have left. Had the referees seen Blatt, it would have been a technical foul. Thankfully for Blatt and the Cavs, he was given a chance to draw up one more play… and watch as LeBron James disregarded it.
[Also see: Fans at the Q go bonkers]
With the Cavs and Bulls now even at two games apiece, the series shifts back to Cleveland for Game 5, Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET, TNT).
34 Comments
I feel like LeBron unnecessarily hung Blatt out to dry with that explanation. He didn’t need to make that public.
However, it wasn’t Blatt’s finest day. If the refs had seen him trying to call time-out at the end and T’ed him up, that likely would have led to an absolutely devastating, unforgivable loss.
On the bright side, Blatt will never make that mistake again. But I think it’s cost him a whole lot of respect and trust in the locker room. How could it not?
This is such a non thing. If Blatt called LeBron’s number and he missed the shot, everyone would be saying “ZOMG WTF!!!! JR hit 3 threes in the QTR to facilitate the comeback, why not give him the ball. James missed everything all day long”. It was a good thing that Blatt DIDN’T call for LeBron and LeBron decided to get his head out of his rear and make a shot. It’s also a good thing that the coach looked at the flow of the game and made the call to the hot hand and when his stud player stepped up, he said “OK, you are the man, time to be the man”. I’m pretty sure everyone has had that sports moment when they said “don’t you dare give the ball to anyone else but me, I’ll win the game” and they have also seen other players do it.
I agree 100%. I am being beat up right now for saying his undermining of the coach will ultimately hurt the team. In my day, the most dangerous player on the court was the guy throwing the ball in, as he is forgotten and he can run the defense off stacked picks and back picks. I won a few games inbounding the ball. He should be benched next game to restore order. Jordan the best player who ever played as good as he was NEVER would do this, and he won his first ring by passing to Steve Kerr and by acting like a decoy. Jordan had character and no ego and humility, nor did he allow himself and his products to be called “the king”.
Sounds like somebody needs to organize a group bowling trip.
LeBron just about lost this game in the final minutes by needing to be the man. I didnt blame him for wanting the ball but say it like is. I screwed up and im gonna make it right. Blatt made the right call and honestly so did LBJ
Feels like it’s getting more attention than it otherwise would because of Blatt’s other last-minute snafus – the non-timeout timeout that probably would have cost the game, the issues on the failed inbounds plays with James Jones snapping at him, seemingly with justification.
The problem with LeBron inbounding is he won’t both get it back and get a clean catch, look and shoot in 1.5 seconds. But a star telling the coach “no, just gimme the ball,” and the coach agreeing, happens all the time, in every place. That part is fine.
And btw, if Thibodeau is Mr. NBA Playoff Experience, how come no one mentions him burning through all his timeouts such that he had ZERO left in the last 50 seconds of a tight a and crucial game? If the Cavs just inbound that stupid ball and hit 1 foul shot he should have faced some incredulous questions about basic end-game time management.
Jordan actually did the exact same thing before hitting “The Shot” in 1989. From The Jordan Rules: Collins called time-out, gathered everyone in a tight circle, and
began to draw a play for Dave Corzine. “Everyone started to look
around,” recalled back-up forward Jack Haley, who would call the moment
the most thrilling of his life. “Doug could see everyone sort of
frowning, and he started to explain that they wouldn’t be expecting
Corzine to get the ball. Michael just slammed his fist down on the
clipboard and said, ‘Give me the fuckin’ ball.’ Doug looked at him, drew
up the play Jordan wanted…”
I find it interesting that Blatt is getting crucified by the media for this. How do we know the play Blatt drew up wouldn’t have worked as well? Does Norman Dale get crucified in “Hoosiers” when he originally draws up the play for someone else and Jimmy Chitwood vetoes him? It’s getting annoying that every Cavaliers win in the playoffs seem to get tainted with some B.S. story from the media (not saying WFNY is doing this… they’re not, just speaking in generalities).
I agree with most of this until you say that Jordan had no ego… that’s patently false and well-documented by both former opponents and teammates. Jordan had a gigantic ego, but he always loved winning enough to make the smartest play.
LeBron actually did admit that the reason that they needed that last play is because he played so poorly for the majority of the game. I was happy to hear him say that because he realizes that he might be able to have a game like this against the Bulls and still get the win, but whoever comes out of the West will bury him if he has another game like that (assuming the Cavs somehow reach the Finals).
What a non-issue. So Blatt preferred to have his best passer inbound the ball when they’d been having trouble doing so, when that same player was 9-29 on the day trying to shoot, and people are criticizing it? Absurdly silly.
he also mentions Kerr being for his first ring, when that Kerr shot was game6 against the Suns (beat Lakers for his 1st ring). off memory, so looking up but I’m pretty sure.
Edit: Looking up, beat Lakers after losing game1 by 2, won next 4 in a row by: 21, 8, 15, 7
So, no last second shots for the Bulls that series. Kerr shot was indeed game6 of Jordan’s 3rd championship against the Suns.
LBJ was shooting horribly okay maybe having him take the ball out wasn’t all that great but I don’t have a problem with using him as a decoy or better yet facilitator for someone like JR who was on fire.
As for the respect much like the other section I think you are wanting to read way more into this then is necessary. Try to enjoy a great win instead of dissecting everything.
amen.
It’s Cleveland they don’t even want to enjoy when they win. That and they watch/listen to entirely to much television because this is exactly the reaction all of the “experts” seem to share.
um, Hall Of Fame speech?? the word ego was reinvented that day. (It had previously been reinvented by Rickey Henderson)
Also…if Jordan passed the ball to Kerr that doesn’t make him a “decoy” it makes him a “facilitator.”
It’s my opinion that the East has a darn good chance against the West, especially if the games are refereed like they have been so far in the East. Memphis and LA are more physically dominant than the teams they are playing. James Harden is not a post-season player – he is a regular-season player because they call every foul in the regular season. He doesn’t get the jump-into-a-defender calls in the playoffs, so he isn’t nearly as effective.
Cleveland, with Mozgov, TT, and even Perkins, is built for this title run. I really think they would have swept the Bulls away with Kevin Love.
Well in this case, I’m glad he did.
I think they do too. It’s funny, but I think the Cavs/Bulls series has a ton of similarities to the Warriors/Grizzlies series. The Warriors and Cavs both love to take threes and just aren’t hitting them right now. The Bulls (sans Pau) and the Grizzlies both love to grind you down and make you earn every possession. If the Warriors go into the Grindhouse tonight and come away with a game-winner from Curry, that’d be eerie.
I agree about Thiboudeau. I was shocked when he took that last timeout. I’d put money on him forgetting how many were available until after he called it.
I don’t know what the plan was on those blown inbounds passes, but on the second one if JR Smith cuts to the basket he gets the easiest layup of his career. Sometimes the players have to recognize what the defense is doing regardless of what the coach drew up. I don’t have a problem with LeBron being called on to inbound the ball because they had just blown a pair of inbounds plays and he’s the the most likely to see the action and find somebody with the pass. And if somebody is catching and shooting in that moment, I want it to be JR Smith, not Lebron. Frankly, while it’s great the Lebron hit the shot, I’m surprised he was able to get the ball at all. The Bulls blew the defense on that play.
And on the radio this morning I heard Chauncey Billups say he did it to Larry Brown in Detroit, except he didn’t demand a new play be drawn up – he just winked at his teammates and they made a new plan after they broke the huddle.
Listen, there are egos then there are EGOs that ALLOW themselves to be called The King and have ESPN specials to let the world know where he is taking his talents. Every player has an ego its needed, but this guy to me is way over the top. Watch closely and he gets away with murder using his arms to HOLD players. To me he physically dominates players and gets away with it. A few years ago, and I cant remember who it is, played him nose to nose and frustrated the hell out of THE KING…… he is as good as he is ONLY because of his size. He could never hang with Jordan, Dr J, Worthy and Bobby Jones would shut him down. I am not impressed. I don’t know who said Kerr didn’t hit the winning shot, but it was in game 6, 1997, everyone in the gym thought Jordan would shoot but instead he passed to Kerr who hit an open shot, good players draw the defense, Jordan became the decoy, as everyone thought he would shoot and he passed and they won a championship. Jordan was a tough competitor, but likeable.
yes I agree, he ruined his legacy with that speech. but that was the first negative thing that I had ever seen out of him
his HoF speech was the first negative thing ever from him? man, he was an egotistical monster with many legendary tales depicting it. that isn’t knocking him either as you pretty much have to be in order to be the best athlete in the world.
Being Jordan’s friend:
http://triangleoffense.com/features/why-being-michael-jordans-friend-is-impossible/
Jordan Rules chronicles ’91 championship run: punches teammate, tantrums, etc.
https://books.google.com/books?id=zilYagKLBM0C&pg=PA388&lpg=PA388&dq=chronicle+michael+jordan+ego&source=bl&ots=hUzpCPTX6f&sig=SA79w9HPNgYxbpKwFYR75tkJ_RQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tetRVY_EMseqU5TRgMAF&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=chronicle%20michael%20jordan%20ego&f=false
Naw, just read Wright Thompson:
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/page/Michael-Jordan/michael-jordan-not-left-building
Look, this is just absurd. I am not a LeBron apologist… after that stunt he pulled on national TV and “taking my talents to South Beach”, he can never be my favorite player on the Cavs. But to deny that he’s not one of the best players to ever play in the NBA is just you with your blinders on, making arguments to suit what you want to be true. I don’t believe he’s as good as Jordan was, but I do believe he’s every bit as good as Magic was, and I think that’s a better comparison for his skill set. LeBron does use his size to his advantage, but there’s two sides to that coin. He also gets hacked like crazy every single time he goes to the hoop and it often goes without being called a foul simply because he’s so big and strong. Bobby Jones and Dr. J would get destroyed by LeBron… you cannot compare a player from that era with a player from this era because the players now have so many more advantages in training. And are you kidding me with Jordan being “likable”? His teammates couldn’t stand him. His competitive switch was always turned on… the same thing that made him great is what made him so obnoxious to everyone he knew. He was supposedly close with Isiah Thomas back in 1992, but he lobbied to keep Thomas off the Dream Team purely out of spite! You are coloring history in a way that suits your argument, but it’s not factually correct.
Jordan was hated. Man are you trying to rewrite history for some king of insurance gag or what? Jordan was the King of ego.
Exactly. This over reaction to something that had no bearing on the game is epic “stooping low journalism”. All these writers making a living off making negative comments to the WINNING coach deserves a bowling trip.
So much for that.
Welp.
Read this and talk to me again. My contention is that if you put a good defender on him he disappears. Jordan never disappeared.
http://nobodytouchesjordan.blogspot.com/2014/09/section-11-lebron-is-6-8-250-freight.html?m=1#!
Absolutely not. He won and was humble about it
Ooof, sorry I think this article is just awful. To wit:
“People point to the increase in track and field or swimming times and weightlifting records as ‘proof’ that today’s NBA players are more athletic. What does track and field or swimming have to do with basketball? Being the best basketball player doesn’t rely on jumping the highest or being the fastest, otherwise Vince Carter and Russell Westbrook would be among the best players of all time.”
Here’s the problem with that statement… VINCE CARTER AND RUSSWELL WESTBROOK ARE PLAYING AGAINST PLAYERS FROM THEIR OWN ERA. Athleticism is not everything… skill is tremendously important, but you can’t tell me that Tommy Heinsohn smoking 2 packs of cigarettes per day could guard Blake Griffin or Kevin Durant. That would be absurd. There is certainly a balance between athleticism and skill.
This article wants to paint LeBron as if he is all size and no skill. Again… ABSURD. Yes he’s huge and can barrel his way to the basket, but there is also nobody in the NBA who is better at finishing through contact. Anyone who plays basketball can tell you just how difficult of a skill that is to master. And to say that he’s a one-trick pony who only has that one move would be a lie. He has averaged shooting 37.5% on three pointers the past four years (which is above league average). He can shoot turnaround jumpers, floaters, runners, bank shots, and he’s developed low-post moves. What else do you want? LeBron has had some bad games in the playoffs, but that happens to everyone. Jordan included.
Regarding your point that Jordan never disappeared:
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-06-01/sports/sp-1414_1_michael-scores-detroit-s-isiah-thomas-shots
That’s hilarious awakened. hahahaha If you weren’t using satire I’d think you had a hole in the head or you’re like 10 or something while looking at a photo of Jordan on a Wheaties box like Jenner.