While everyone has become obsessed with fawning over the greatness of LeBron James, there’s one tiny thing nobody’s talking about: is this the end of an era in Detroit? Some may say it ended last year, when Ben Wallace, the team’s best defender, left via free agency for the Chicago Bulls. Which begs the question: when LeBron was going on his tremendous scoring binge to end Game Five, would Wallace have stepped in to take a charge, swat a shot, or commit a hard foul?
Fantasy is fun, but the reality is ugly – Flip Saunders needs to decide how’s he’s going to stop a player who is bigger, faster, and stronger than Michael Jordan, and in Game 5, displayed a Jordan-like jumper, too. It seems like Flip has three options if the fourth quarter rolls around and the game is close: 1) run a second defender at LeBron as soon as he gets the ball, which will force him to give it up; 2) attempt hack-a-LeBron (only 10-for-14 on FTs in Game Five; he’s shooting 77 percent in the playoffs), 3) try a 2-3 zone and pray his jumper is off. Perhaps as important is that Detroit’s on-court squabbling must stop.
For the first time in awhile, oddsmakers have made the Cavaliers favorites. The line is only -1, though. My question for the Cavs is asked in the photo above: who is going to help pick LeBron up in Game Six? Fortunately, the game is at home, where jump shooters like Sasha Pavlovic, Daniel Gibson, and Donyell Marshall will be less reluctant to take jumpers. But this is a close-out game, so those shots won’t just be open jumpers … they’ll be open shots with the NBA Finals hanging in the balance. I believe Pavlovic will benefit from doubling on LeBron and have a strong game.
I’m thinking the Pistons come out like the veterans they are, and run out to a single-digit halftime lead. LeBron will look to get all of his teammates involved in the first 24 minutes, and probably only have 10 at the break. For the first time all series, the Cavs will win the third quarter, and then take over the game in the fourth, and win by 4-5 points. The guess here is 87-81. Feel free to leave your predictions in the comments.
