By
Steve Kallas (posted by Rick Morris)
The
rumors were rampant the past year or so.
Lebron James, having delivered on his promise to bring a championship to
Cleveland, was gearing up to leave Cleveland and head to parts unknown, with
the most likely landing spot being Los Angeles.
Lebron put an end to that, saying that he was going to fulfill his
contract with Cleveland for the 2017-18 season.
Obviously,
he’s living up to his word, waiting for Tristan Thompson to get back in the
line-up and, later, for All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas to get healthy and
help the Cavs make another run to the NBA Finals.
While
it seemed pretty clear that Paul George wanted to become a Laker, George wound
up in OKC with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, giving them a “Big Three”
to, in theory, maybe challenge Golden State’s “Big Four.”
AS
THE LAKER “THEORY” GOES …
Well,
the plan talked about (not by Lebron) was something to the effect that Paul
George wanted to become a Laker, Lebron has a house in Los Angeles, Lebron
would be willing to leave Cleveland after this season and, among other things,
Lebron’s mother didn’t even want him to go back to Cleveland after he “took his
talents” to Miami because of the nasty (and classless) letter written by Cavs
owner Dan Gilbert. Also, according to
some reports, being in L.A. in the future would allow Lebron to pursue other
interests.
While
Lebron’s mother had a point (don’t return to Cleveland after being in Miami
because of the owner’s letter), Lebron did the right thing, came back to
Cleveland and gave the city its first title since Jim Brown’s (yes, still the
best football and lacrosse player ever) Cleveland Browns won the NFL
Championship in 1964.
WHICH
BRINGS US TO THE SUMMER OF 2017 AND THE EARLY GOING IN THE 2017-18 NBA SEASON
During
the summer, both on and off the air with Philadelphia sports personality Joe
Staszak (an excellent host and knowledgeable sports guy), this writer
suggested, during the NBA Summer League, that maybe the 76ers would be a
possible landing spot for Lebron. At the
time, I said it was certainly a longshot, but not out of the realm of
possibility, given the talent on the “trust the process” 76ers (where have you
gone, Sam Hinkie?).
In
any event, after the first few weeks of the NBA season, it says here that
Lebron should take a serious look at the 76ers as a landing spot for next season.
WHY?
Well,
it’s pretty clear, after last year’s NBA Finals, Lebron (after beating Golden
State with his “Big Three” versus Golden State’s “Big Three” two seasons ago)
is going to need his own “Big Four” to match Golden State’s “Big Four.” Indeed, the two best players in the NBA are
Lebron and Kevin Durant (in this writer’s opinion, still in that order). Golden State clearly tipped the balance in
their favor last season by adding one of the two best players in the game, KD.
In
the 2017 Finals, Kevin Durant was the tipping point, playing like the Finals
MVP he was and changing the balance of power in the NBA. Lebron will have to do something, it says
here, to tip the balance of power back in his favor. It’s unlikely to happen this year in
Cleveland as, even if Isaiah Thomas comes back healthy, the Cavs aren’t a whole
lot better (if better at all – see what Kyrie did (for the Cavs) and is now
doing (for the Celtics)) than they were last year.
Lebron
needs a “Big Four.” Where can he get it?
PHILADELPHIA
COULD BE THE PLACE FOR A NEW “BIG FOUR”
How
can that be? Well, if you’ve watched the
76ers this season, it should be clear that they have (and, yes, ALL of this is
based on good health) the potential to become a “Big Four.”
They
already have an incredible “Big Two” in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. If you follow the NBA, you already know that
Embiid played like an All-Star last season (albeit for only 31 games). And you also know that Ben Simmons missed the
entire season.
But
this year, these two guys, admittedly in only 12 games for Embiid and 14 for
Simmons (all stats are after the 76ers road win over the Lakers (more on them
later) on Wednesday, November 15), are already stars. Embiid’s stats are very impressive (23 points
per game, to go along with 11.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game). But he’s even more impressive when you just
watch his game: Euro step to the basket, excellent footwork in general, 2.5
blocks per game and a guy who can make a three (although a little down this year
v. last).
Simmons
has a transcendental game and his 6’10” height makes it more incredible. No doubt, as many thought, he’s the real
deal: 17.8 points per game, to go along with 9.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists per
game, astounding numbers for a rookie (as a brief aside, and with total respect
to Simmons, the notion that he’s the greatest rookie ever is absurd. Just to name three (and there are more), Wilt
averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game, Oscar averaged 30.5 points, to
go along with 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game and Magic averaged 18.0
points per game to go along with 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game and had
an incredible Game 6 Finals performance to lead the Lakers to a championship
(all of these numbers are rookie numbers)).
While
Simmons needs to work on his shooting, Embiid and Simmons are already star
players and, if they stay healthy, could be a dominating pair for years to
come.
BUT
WHERE’S THE “BIG FOUR”?
Well,
last season, the rumor was that Paul George and Lebron might wind up in
L.A. There weren’t any reports that they
met and planned this (and again, Lebron, to his credit, is playing this season
in Cleveland pursuant to his contract).
But,
if Lebron decides to opt out of his contract at the end of this season (it says
here he will) and also decides to speak with Paul George (remember, players can
“collude” (in quotes because it’s not collusion – they can talk all they want;
see Lebron, Wade and Bosh in Miami)) and those two decide to go somewhere as a
team, well, if they choose the 76ers, there’s your “Big Four.”
A
PIPEDREAM, YOU SAY? THE LAKERS, YOU
SAY? NOT SO FAST
Well,
it’s only been 15 games for Lonzo Ball, but, based on his play so far, can he
be a member of a Big anything by next season?
While that remains to be seen and it’s clear that he sees things on the
floor that most point guards don’t, his shooting, to date, has been terrible.
While
his coach, Luke Walton, says things like “he’s shot well everywhere his entire
career” and Ball himself says “I’m going to be aggressive and play my game,”
there were (and still are) real questions as to whether Ball would (or will) be
able to shoot it well in the NBA. So
far, in only 15 games, the answer is a resounding “No.”
Ball
has that funky shot (across his face) and it says here that it’s harder to get his
shot off in the NBA than it was in college.
Also, as most people know, the NBA three is simply a different animal
than the college three. At three feet
longer (from at least the foul line extended to above the top of the key), that
can turn a good high school/college three-point shooter into a ball “pusher” or
even a heaver of the ball.
So
far, Ball is 17 for 74 from three, a 23% shooting percentage. The problem for Ball, also, is that he’s only
shooting 36% from two and 50% from the foul line. His overall shooting percentage from the
field (again, after a small sample of 15 games), is an astoundingly low 30.3%, ahead
of only Marcus Smart of the Celtics this season and the fourth lowest in NBA
HISTORY for a single season (according to Basketball-Reference.com. for players
from 1946-47 until today averaging at least 10 field goal attempts per game and
at least 20 minutes played per game with at least 10 games played). Ball is averaging 9 points a game, to go
along with 6.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. Nice stats, but, to date, he’s no Ben
Simmons.
Whether
or not Ball is overrated is a discussion for another time, but when UCLA played
Kentucky in college last year, Ball was the third best freshman on the court,
behind De’Aaron Fox (who scored on Ball the first four times he went to the
basket – somebody else guarded Fox the fifth time) and Malik Monk, the Kentucky
shooting guard.
The
same thing happened Wednesday night against the 76ers, when Ball tried, with
little success, to guard Simmons.
According to ESPN, Simmons scored 8 points (including a blow-by dunk)
and had 2 assists when Ball guarded him.
Ball had 0 points and 0 assists when Simmons guarded him.
So,
it says here, if Lebron and Paul George show up in L.A. next season, they might
only be a “Big Two,” possibly a “Big Three” if somebody tremendously steps up
this season.
But
that’s not going to beat Golden State
ARE
THERE OTHER PLACES LEBRON CAN GO?
Depending
on cap space, probably. You have to
think that Lebron’s sole remaining goal in the NBA is, simply, to win more
championships. Where could he go?
Maybe
OKC? They, arguably, have a “Big Three”
there in Westbrook, George and Carmelo Anthony. If Lebron shows up there (would he go to
Oklahoma City?), they’d have a “Big Four.”
How
about Houston? With James Harden (hard
to believe that Durant, Westbrook and Harden played on the same team) and Chris
Paul, if Lebron brings Paul George, that would be a “Big Four.”
BUT
HERE’S THE PROBLEM WITH OKC AND HOUSTON THAT’S A PLUS FOR PHILLY
If
Lebron moves to the West, the problem could very well be that Lebron’s
incredible streak of seven consecutive Finals could be snapped (this point, of
course, assumes that the Cavs make the Finals this season for Lebron’s eighth
straight Finals). Imagine if he went to
the West and was eliminated (a clear possibility with Golden State in the West)
before the NBA Finals.
It
says here that, when everybody in Cleveland gets back healthy (and yes, it’s
clear they are not playing well now), the Cavs will again be the favorites to
come out of the East. If Lebron and
George went to Philly next year, their only serious challenger in the East would
be the Celtics.
If
this writer had a choice (and Lebron will), it would be better to be in the
East than the West this year, next year and for the foreseeable future. And that’s true even if the Cavs do not make
the Finals this year and Lebron’s incredible Finals streak is snapped this
season.
SO,
WILL LEBRON GO TO PHILLY NEXT YEAR?
Well,
it was a real longshot when this writer brought it up with Joe Staszak this
summer. Lebron would have to make a
judgment (hard to make) on the health of Embiid and Simmons (and, hey, if
Markelle Fultz (that weird situation is for a discussion at another time) can
get healthy, maybe they could be a “Big Five,” which would go over well in the
Philly area (you Philly college basketball fans will get that)). Lebron will get a sense of their health this
year.
Today,
it’ still a longshot, but there is now more of a chance that Lebron could wind
up with the 76ers next season. Now that
Lebron and the world have seen how well Embiid and Simmons play together (and,
if they stay healthy, it’s only going to get better), it says here that he has
to at least consider the 76ers.
And,
based on their play so far (yes, it’s still early), Philly is looking like a
better and better destination every day.
©
2017 BY STEVE KALLAS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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