Tag: LeBron James

All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers Team

All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers Team Infographic

Our next franchise has struggled for much of their history. They only made the playoffs four times in their first 17 seasons, and have somehow earned the number one overall pick in the NBA draft six times. While many of those picks have been more solid than spectacular (and in one case, completely disastrous), they were able to acquire one franchise-changing talent who seemed destined to take them to the Promised Land. This Chosen One has taken them to two NBA Finals appearances, but, unfortunately, had his greatest success with another franchise. Now that he’s back, they may finally be on the verge of winning their first ring. Does the All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers team have enough talent around him to advance in our tournament?

Mark Price is the second greatest player in franchise history, and was the leader of the team during their first great run in the late 1980s to early 1990s. One of the greatest shooters that has ever played in the NBA, he’s currently second in NBA history in free-throw percentage. He’s paired in the backcourt with another primary ballhandler, Kyrie Irving. Even though he’s just starting his career, Irving is one of the most skilled players in today’s game, and is another excellent shooter who can stretch the floor. They’re backed up by Terrell Brandon, who Sports Illustrated once touted as the best point guard in the league. Brandon became a star as the team played at a mind-numbingly slow pace (last in the league in both of his all-star seasons), and peaked in the 1996 season, when he was sixth in the league in PER and third in win shares per 48 minutes. World B. Free is one of the unique characters in league history, but he was also a great scorer who some credit with saving professional basketball in Cleveland. Austin Carr was the first number one overall pick in franchise history, and was a solid scorer who’ll also get minutes at shooting guard.

LeBron James, the aforementioned Chosen One, is the starting small forward, and the centerpiece of this team. James is the only MVP in franchise history, and has led the team to its only two NBA Finals appearances. He’s joined in the frontcourt by Larry Nance, who was an excellent all-around player who will serve as the team’s best rim-protector (similar to his role on the All-Time Suns team). They’re backed up by two solid scorers, Mike Mitchell and Campy Russell, along with another premier rim-protector, Hot Rod Williams.

Brad Daugherty was an overlooked player during a golden age for NBA centers, but he was a five-time all-star who became an excellent scoring threat as his career progressed. In 1993, he led the league in true shooting percentage, and he doubled as an excellent passing big man, averaging nearly four assists per game over the course of his career. He’s backed up by 7’3” Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a two-time all-star who was an offensive threat from both inside and out.

This team has one transcendent star, surrounded by a group of all-star level performers. They should be an excellent passing team, that will be better on the offensive end of the court. The 23rd seeded team in our tournament, they have a first-round match against the All-Time New York Knicks team.

Coach: Lenny Wilkens

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .459

All-Time Miami Heat vs. All-Time Utah Jazz

It’s easy to look at our next first round match up as a contrast of styles. The athleticism of the All-Time Heat vs. the precision of the All-Time Jazz. Wade and LeBron vs. Stockton and Malone. Alley-oop vs. pick-and-roll. However, both teams have strengths that go well beyond these stylistic differences. During the latter part of LeBron James’s tenure with the team, Miami mastered a beautiful offense based on ball movement and spacing. Expect their all-time team to implement this, especially when they play James at power forward and surround him with shooters. Jerry Sloan’s flex offense was ahead of its time, and will maximize the offensive talent of the high scoring team he leads in this tournament. These tactics and several key advantages held by each side will help determine the outcome of this series.

Miami’s Advantages

Perimeter athleticism: Utah doesn’t have a good option to defend Dwyane Wade. Pete Maravich and Jeff Hornacek are outclassed athletically. John Stockton will be busy guarding Tim Hardaway. The Wade and James combination can overwhelm people on both ends of the court, and Utah doesn’t have many rangy wings who can slow them down. Speaking of James…

Jack of all trades: LeBron James should dominate in this series. Adrian Dantley has no chance of slowing him down. Expect Utah to use Karl Malone on him at times, and to play Andrei Kirilenko big minutes as the primary LeBron defender. Neither is an ideal option; Malone isn’t quick enough to defend him on the perimeter, and Kirilenko doesn’t have the bulk to contend with the brilliant post-up game James developed with the Heat.

Battle of the big men: Alonzo Mourning and (an older) Shaquille O’Neal vs. Mark Eaton and Mehmet Okur. Enough said.

Utah’s Advantages

Offensive efficiency: Dantley, Stockton, and Malone are not only three of the great offensive players of all-time, but also three of the most efficient (ranking fifth, ninth, and 56th ever in true shooting percentage). No defense will be able to completely shut down this trio. Add in Maravich’s playmaking ability, and the long-range shooting of Hornacek, and this offense has the potential to be deadly.

X-Factor

Jazz’s pick-and-roll vs. Heat’s aggressive, blitzing defense: Can Miami’s aggressive approach disrupt one of the greatest orchestrators in NBA history?

Results

Despite the brilliance of Utah’s offensive playmakers, the two-way dominance of the Heat overwhelms the Jazz over the course of the series. How do you feel about that LeBron?

LeBron celebration pose

Miami wins, four games to two.

Next Round

Miami faces the All-Time Orlando Magic.

All-Time Miami Heat Team

All-Time Miami Heat Team Infographic

Is this the new dominant NBA franchise? After only 27 years of existence, the All-Time Miami Heat team has a mix of dominant wings, Hall of Fame big men, and clutch point guard play. With three championships in that short time, they enter our tournament as the ninth seed.

The team’s only true point guard is Tim Hardaway, who helped them amass a .664 win percentage during his five full seasons with the franchise (the equivalent of 54 wins per season). Although he no longer had the speed and quickness from his Golden State days, he was a clutch performer with Miami, and finished fourth and sixth in the MVP voting in 1997 and 1998. The starting shooting guard is the franchise’s signature player, Dwyane Wade, who’s emerged as one of the greatest shooting guards of all time. John Hollinger rated Wade’s 2006 NBA Finals performance as the greatest ever, and he’s led the league in scoring (2009), playoff scoring (2010), and PER (2007) during his Heat career.

Remember what I said about Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? The same applies for Miami’s LeBron James, who might be the most versatile player in this tournament. James’s ‘four years of college’ produced an NBA Finals appearance in every season, a 27 game winning streak, and the only two regular season MVP awards in franchise history. The underappreciated Chris Bosh is the starter at power forward. Bosh’s deadly midrange game fits beautifully alongside Wade’s slashing game and James’s all-court dominance.

Hall-of-Famer and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Alonzo Mourning is the team’s starting center. Mourning dominated the paint defensively, and putting him alongside James (a dominant defender), and Wade and Bosh (solid defenders) will make this team very difficult to score against.

This team’s bench consists of long-range shooters and big bodies. Expect Eddie Jones and Glen Rice to get plenty of minutes alongside James and Wade to space the floor. Jones was a good all-around player who defended wings very well, and Rice will play small forward when this team downsizes and places James at the four. Voshon Lenard is another three-point shooter who will play sparingly behind Hardaway, Wade, and Jones. P.J. Brown and Brian Grant provide nice size at power forward. Brown was a very solid defender, and both bring toughness and energy off the bench. Shaquille O’Neal and Rony Seikaly are the bench’s centers. Although Shaq was past his prime, he could still score on anybody one-on-one, and he finished second in the MVP voting in his first year with the franchise.

This team should be exceptionally versatile, largely due to James. Want to play big? Play James at point guard. Want to play small? Play him at power forward. Need a defensive stop? Have James guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player, and trot out a lineup of Wade, Jones, James, Brown, and Mourning. While their bench isn’t great, they have many effective players who fit well around their superstars. Despite the franchise’s youth, this team holds great potential, and will be a threat to advance far in our tournament.

Coach: Erik Spoelstra

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .518