mike doesn't preach defense and doesn't get on player's cases when they screw up. did the suns learn anything from not playing defense? yes, and that is not going to the finals. getting beat down every year against defensive minded teams in the playoffs when he was with the suns.
if lebron joins NY with out a true center at the helm, which i mean by a center that can score in the post, rebound, and maybe block 1 or 2 a night, going to NY just creates better revenue for everyone.
small ball is fun to watch and play but it's not going to win you games when players are cold and your biggest and tallest player on the floor is 6'10 or 6'11.
i see it like shaq coming to phoenix, although he's a big presence in the middle, the suns at heart were still a run a gun team and with him in the middle, the offense and defense was just out of whack. i'm talking about the time when mike was still a coach with the suns.
you bring porter in, which i thought was a good move, but the core is still a run and gun team, no body looked like they wanted to play defense, and so with the coaching, their season went up in flames. same could happen with lebron. mike brown's system is that of the spurs, defense first, which is why Cavs are still a good team with aging players and with a decent supporting cast. you bring small ball to the table and they probably would have had a hard time with Atlanta and the conference finals would have been over by now.
lebron to NY will bring him fame and fortune. but when that teams doesn't win, all the blame will be on him and why he can't carry a team. truth is, small ball is fun and while successful, it has yet to be proven that it can be a championship type team. contenders, yes, but rings and trophy? no.
don nelson has been preaching small ball for years now and although the mavs went to the playoffs they were a real contender until avery show them some defense and went to the finals. otherwise, look at the warriors, they got hot that one season where they upset the mavs. but look at them now, lottery. and will probably be another lottery team the next season.
NY has been a lottery team for years. man, i can't wait for them to be strong and everything, but with them blowing off contracts, saving the cap space and unloading players, why would Lebron even consider NY by the time his contact is up? granted you won't be paying him like the Lakers did with Kobe but by signing him up, you will then need to have some decent players at the core and a good coach, and that means a coach who can adapt and change things up and play defense because basketball is already a given offensive game because that's how you win games by scoring, but playing defense gives you a better chance of winning. who else are they going to sign with Lebron? that's the questions, because if i was Lebron, i would be looking at places that are already contenders. money ain't a thing to me if i'm lebron, nike, and all the other major sponsors will give me plenty of contacts to sign and fill my bank. i want rings and rings and rings.
|