San Antonio – “We Are All Witnesses” is the highlighted phrase on Nike’s reactivation of its marketing campaign for Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James. The shoe company may be speaking a little too soon.
Perhaps it should have waited to see if “King” James can help the Cavaliers pull off one of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals history, taking down the San Antonio Spurs, starting with Game 1 tonight. If that happens, we will truly be witnesses.
“It would be incredible, but this is asking a little much,” Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said in a phone interview. “The water is deep now. They haven’t played against anybody good until now. It’s night and day. The West is a beast. This would be comparable to when Michael Jordan played against Larry Bird and the (Boston) Celtics before Scottie Pippen. … It is impossible.”
The legendary Jordan scored 63 points against a Celtics team considered one of the best ever in Game 2 of a first-round series in the 1986 playoffs. The Celtics won 135-131 in double overtime and went on to sweep the Chicago Bulls.
“(Jordan) is the most exciting, awesome player in the game today,” Bird said back then. “I think it’s just God disguised as Michael Jordan.”
Of late, the same might be said about James and his remarkable Eastern Conference finals showing against the Detroit Pistons. In fact, the media parted like the Red Sea for Moses as James walked across the AT&T Center before Wednesday’s practice, with cameras flashing in paparazzi fashion. All this for a 22-year old.
“I don’t feel 22 until I really get off the court,” James said. “And then I’m back doing my usual video games and running around the house and stuff with my son, things like that. That’s when I feel 22 again.”
The fuss over James grew after he set a franchise postseason record with 48 points in Game 5 against Detroit a week ago, a game many have compared to among the best in playoff history. The 6-foot-8 James is averaging 25.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the playoffs this year, making him as close to a one-man team in the NBA Finals as there has been in years.
James has been at his best using his size, speed and ball- handling ability on explosive drives to the hoop that are almost unstoppable if he gets the proper angle.
“You have to keep him out of the paint,” Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said by phone. “You make him live with fadeaways, contest him and switch up defenses. He’s a handful. Make him go left. He likes to go right. If he can drive to the basket, forget about it. If he gets into the air, forget about it. He’s a nightmare.”
Will Perdue, a teammate of Jordan’s during the Bulls’ dynasty, reminisced Wednesday about all the calls he is getting from casual basketball friends entranced by watching James.
“He’s the closest thing (to Jordan),” said Perdue, now an NBA analyst for ESPN Radio.
James, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2003, will need a Jordanesque performance in the Finals to overcome the Spurs’ stingy defense. San Antonio limited opponents to a regular season- low 90.9 points per game on 44.3 percent shooting. In the playoffs, the Spurs have limited three teams that averaged more than 100 points in the regular season – Utah, Phoenix and Denver – to an average of 94.5 points. San Antonio has two all-NBA defensive first-teamers: forwards Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan. Bowen will start Game 1 on James and have plenty of help from San Antonio’s interior big men.
“The Spurs’ defense might be the best I’ve seen in the NBA other than probably the Bulls with Michael, Scottie and Horace Grant,” Barkley said.
James averaged 31.3 points on 48.8 percent shooting in the final four games against Detroit, all Cleveland victories. Billups, like Barkley, believes James will have a much tougher time against San Antonio than against any team in the East.
“He won’t have it as easy as he did with us,” Billups said. “We had so many breakdowns changing defenses. You won’t have that with San Antonio. They know what they need to do. They’re locked in. He’ll have success, but it won’t be the same.”
James said Wednesday he is respectful of the Spurs’ defense but not intimidated.
“They work well together on the defensive end,” James said. “If you beat one guy, another guy steps up. … But it’s no added pressure for me.”
Although Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are considered the Spurs’ biggest stars, Bowen was the most popular player with the media Wednesday because of his matchup with James. Bowen said he enjoys the defensive challenge that James presents.
“You want to make things as difficult as possible,” Bowen said after practice. “And maybe that’s an extra denial. When he gets the ball, he shouldn’t be bringing the ball up without you trying to defend. Try to wear him out in some way, shape or form. And if he puts up a shot, make sure you get a hand up. Don’t make it be where he is shooting wide-open shots because he made a good move.”
Outside of James, no Cleveland player is averaging 14 points in the postseason. To lessen the scoring load on James, it’s a must that someone such as Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson or Sasha Pavlovic step up.
“If we don’t play well as a group, and he plays well or he doesn’t, we don’t have a shot to really contend,” Hughes said.
So will we all be witnesses? It’s possible, but the task is enormous against a savvy team used to winning championships.
“I feel great,” James said. “I’m ready.”
Not much of a wait for many superstars
With Miami’s Dwyane Wade winning the NBA title last year, the draft class of 2003 started to show its influence. Cleveland’s LeBron James, 2003’s top pick, is trying to win his first title. A look at when some of the league’s all-time best won their first title and who they had for help:
Kobe Bryant
Year won: 2000
Age: 21
Experience: Fourth year
Teammate: Shaquille O’Neal
Tim Duncan
Year won: 1999
Age: 23
Experience: Second year
Teammate: David Robinson
Michael Jordan
Year won: 1991
Age: 28
Experience: Seventh year
Teammate: Scottie Pippen
Larry Bird
Year won: 1981
Age: 24
Experience: Second year
Teammate: Cedric Maxwell
Magic Johnson
Year won: 1980
Age: 20
Experience: Rookie
Teammate: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-954-1098 or mspears@denverpost.com.
