Time for James to Justify Hype

Chicago Tribune

We're back! It's the NBA's turn starting Monday, as the exhibition season opens with the Cavaliers playing the Wizards in Washington. The Bulls get going Tuesday night in Grand Rapids, Mich., playing the Pistons.

But it might be appropriate that the opener features the Cavs and LeBron James, the latest in a collection of saviors working on reaching plateaus rather than mountains. James, the next would-be Michael Jordan, enters his third season off an 11-19 finish. He's working on his third coach in less than a year and is still without a playoff appearance.

So the question in the NBA is: Was it really just all hype?

"We don't want to put everything on LeBron," new general manager Danny Ferry said. "Obviously, he's a huge part, but this team has to improve defensively more than anything else. When you look at last season, defensively is where the big breakdowns were. The Bulls and Lakers in their heyday, the Spurs, they were all excellent defensive teams."

Defense is the mantra of all teams in training camp, and the Cavaliers had a problem--they were 19th in opponents' shooting. They have a new coach in heralded longtime assistant Mike Brown. And Ferry did a good job in the off-season by re-signing center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and adding shooters Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall and Larry Hughes.

"I don't understand why people aren't just going crazy over [Cleveland]," Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said as camps opened. "I looked at . . . rating systems on players, and they've got five of the top 50 players in the NBA now, based on performance last year. That team, on paper, is a 55-win team."

But it all comes down to James. Most believe he was difficult to deal with last season, ripping teammates and coaches as the season slipped away, though most in the organization now are throwing themselves under the bus to absolve him. James opened camp with a defiant proclamation that he was staying in Cleveland despite rumors to the contrary. He said he was thrilled with the new management and off-season additions.

"There should be no excuses for us not to get to the playoffs with the guys we've added," he said.

Now with Hughes, locals are talking up a tandem resembling Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Last year it was supposed to be Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady or Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom. LeBron and Larry?

"LeBron is going to be a different player than the other guys," said Ferry, who played for the Cavs from 1990 through 2000. "Larry is going to complement him differently. `Z' will add something to the mix the Bulls and other teams did not have. Hopefully it can all come together and work in a big way."

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