Deja Vu week comes to an end tonight when Cleveland takes the court in Toronto. The big story, of course, is whether Bosh and James will play. It’s pretty obvious that they need their superstar more than we need ours. This young season has been Lebron’s version of the one-man play: He does it all except play center – point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and coach all at once. Don’t be surprised if you see him handing out Gatorade and folding warm-up jackets during the time outs as well.
If I’m a betting man, a simple finger injury can’t hold Lebron down. He’ll be on the court tonight. Shit, he could lose three or four fingers and still be the best player on the court. He’s practically bionic, watching him stomp on teams like the Prickerbockers is like watching Godzilla reign terror on a Japanese metropolis.
Keys to the V.I.C.(tory):
– Close out on the perimeter. Anyone who’s ever played in a rec league knows it’s easy to knock down uncontested jumpers, but put a hand up and everything changes. When you close out, they have to put the ball on the floor, and suddenly you’ve got Damon Jones dribbling in penetration and looking to create. That’s what we want.
– Get Z into foul trouble early. Their frontcourt is thinner than K-Fed’s condoms at the moment, and if we can saddle the foul-prone Eastern Bloc with a few early ones, Mike Brown will have no choice but to sit him. How do we do this? Be aggressive, take it to him. Having Rasho back is a huge plus in this matchup.
– Beating the Cavs is less about stopping The Mascot and more about shutting down his Dancepak. Anthony Parker said this, and he’s a smart man. Handsome, too. Probably makes great omelettes, leaves the toilet seat down, and remembers everyone’s birthday.
Winning our third in a row will be a tall task without Chris and TJ, especially if LeBruiser plays, but as has been said over and over, we’re a jump shooting team. If our shots fall, we are very tough to beat – and we don’t need Chris Bosh for that. And rest assured Damon Jones, Gibson, and Big Z aren’t all going to be ‘on’ again. Damon Jones is upset that the Cavs supporting cast aren’t getting the acknowledgement and respect they deserve. C’mon, does he really think they are anything more than a glorified practice squad? Jones, Gibson, Hughes, Marshall, Newble, Browns 1 and 2. Those guys, especially Jones, are all hat and no cowboy.
He can huff and puff all he wants, but we can’t let him blow our house down.
P.S. This blog may be exclusively Raptor-centric, but what’s going on in New York these days is just too much fun not to follow. It’s like crossing paths with your asshole high school prom king and his cronies years later to see they’re selling spa packages door-to-door and wearing something you dropped in the Goodwill box last spring. Just desserts.
Understatement of the season: “We’re not ready to compete.” – Isaiah Thomas after Knicks lost by 50 to Boston. Not that it needs any more perspective, but they were down by more points than they had entering the 4th.
