James vs. Anthony warrants the hype
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, November 5
Updated: November 5
9:33 AM ET
Don't let the media fool you. Tonight's game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets is bigger than you think. Imagine Wilt versus Russell. Magic versus Bird. Now, we've got LeBron James versus Carmelo Anthony.
"This is really going to be the epicenter of the professional basketball world (tonight)," Cavaliers vice president of communications Todd Carper said in the Denver Post. "We're ready. It's something that hasn't snuck up on us. We're prepared for sure."
ESPN will broadcast the game, between two teams that both went 17-65 last year, live across the nation from Gund Arena in Cleveland beginning at 8 p.m. EST. The place is sold out. More than 300 media credentials have already been issued. Somebody asked LeBron how many people would be there and he smiled: "Half of Akron," he said.
LeBron James
Guard-Forward
Cleveland Cavaliers
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
3 18.0 7.3 7.7 .469 .583
"This is a very exciting time for this franchise," Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund said in the Lorraine Morning Journal. "(Tonight) should be something special in the history of the franchise. In my 20 years of ownership, I can't remember any time we've had so much positive change. This is an era of change."
But it doesn't stop there.
"If anything, it might be underhyped a little bit because they are that special and good," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said in the Rocky Mountain News. "It's great to have two guys come into this league of their magnitude, and it's interesting to have one in the East and one in the West; it adds flavor to the league."
The two already share a common opponent in the Sacramento Kings and this is how they fared.
James versus Sacramento:
25 points (12 of 20 shooting), 6 boards, 9 assists and 4 steals in 42 minutes.
Anthony versus Sacramento:
23 points (9 of 14 shooting), 6 boards, 5 assists and 1 block in 38 minutes.
Carmelo Anthony
Small Forward
Denver Nuggets
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
4 13.8 5.5 2.5 .339 .640
But tonight will not be the first time they've gone head to head. Back as a senior at Oak Hill Academy, Anthony scored 34 points against St. Vincent-St. Mary -- which was led by James, who scored 36. But James himself will tell you the biggest difference.
"He only gave up two more points than I did," James said, "plus his team got the win."
And that was the same difference when the two played against the Kings. James had the better numbers but his Cavaliers lost, 106-92. Anthony didn't score as much, but his Nuggets defeated the Kings, 109-88. And you can probably guess which player is the starting small forward for the 2-2 team and which player is the starting point guard for the 0-3 team.
"They're both going to be great players, but they're different," television analyst and former NBA coach and guard Doug Collins said in the Denver Post. "Carmelo's going to be more of a scorer throughout his career, maybe more of a rebounder. LeBron's unselfish and I really love the way he plays the game. He's got a tremendous feel for the game - it comes easy for him."
But don't expect everyone else to be so diplomatic.
"This kid is great for the league," Kings owner Joe Maloof said of James in the Rocky Mountain News. "He's a breath of fresh air. He's one in a billion. A guy like him comes around once every 10 or 15 years."
And on the other side.
"Carmelo is in a great situation because everybody has anointed LeBron," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in the Rocky Mountain News. "He's been able to go under the radar to some degree and just be who he is. People are going to be impressed because he's a heck of a player."
Even fellow NBA players are getting into it.
"Carmelo Anthony is the best player in the draft," Stephon Marbury said in the Rocky Mountain News. "You can put that in the book. That boy's for real. He's sizing people up, and he can bring you down in the post and make you whine."
But a closer look at the statistics, based on both players playing a full game rather than James having a 40 mpg to 30 mpg advantage, show that we really can't tell who is Magic or Bird or Wilt or Russell.
James per 48 minutes:
21 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.5 apg, 2.7 spg on 47 percent shooting
Anthony per 48 minutes:
21.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 0.3 spg on 34 percent shooting
Both of them will have better games in their future. Both of them will have worse games in their future. But all that really matters right now is tonight. And it's more important than you think because not only does the NBA have two players with excessive skill that makes for good television but that those two players have perspective and maturity beyond those skills that makes for better spectacle.
"A lot of people are going to portray it as a LeBron-Carmelo game, but it's a Nuggets-vs.-Cavaliers game," Anthony said in the Rocky Mountain News. "We're trying to go out there and win."
Calling out Cartwright
This may not be the first call for Bulls coach Bill Cartwright's head, but it's certainly the loudest at this point and it comes from Chicago Sun Times columnist Jay Marriotti.
". . . he must tell Jamal Crawford to stop pouting and gunning, shake Eddy Curry from a five-week nap, remind Jalen Rose his career is dying and ask "team leader'' Scottie Pippen to at least show up for games when he's too injured to play. With all the energy and wisdom he can articulate with his surgically enhanced voice, Bill Cartwright has four weeks to salvage his coaching life and the wretched start of a franchise that has promised "History in the Making'' after five seasons of post-dynasty slop."
And he's even naming a successor. Marriotti states that general manager John Paxson could have hired Rick Carlisle during the offseason or Jeff Van Gundy, Paul Silas, Mike Dunleavy or even a college coach like Tom Izzo. Instead he stuck with Carwright and the only right thing to do at this point is fire him and hire Doug Collins.
"I know, he flopped with Michael Jordan in Washington the last two seasons. I know, he drove his players daffy in Detroit with a high-strung, demanding coaching style. I know, he was a hypercompetitive pinball who needed a straitjacket with the Bulls in the late 1980s, when Jordan almost strangled him and the Jerrys eventually replaced him with Phil Jackson. But later in life, Collins is best known as a mentor, someone who knows the Bulls landscape, never severed his ties with chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and at least could lend this confused, lifeless bunch a sense of direction and purpose."
The Good, the Bad, the Kitchen Sink
Terry Brown
Less than one week into the 2003-04 NBA season and LeBron James is only 38,333 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 23,902 rebounds behind Wilt Chamberlain and 15,783 assists behind John Stockton.
The Good
Rashard Lewis, Seattle Sonics
Weeks' work: 2-0 record, 37.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.5 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.5 bpg, 7 triples, 57% shooting
Gary Payton who? Ray Allen when? Maybe the two of them can get together and decide if Lewis' 50-point outburst against the Clippers was more or less impressive than the 72 percent shooting he registered that night (18 of 25 shooting including 4 of 7 from long range) in getting there.
Baron Davis, New Orleans Hornets
Week's work: 3-0 record, 24.7 ppg, 5 rpg, 8.3 apg, 5 spg, 12 triples, 40% shooting
At this rate, not quite sure if he's going to finish with more steals, so far with 15 in only three games, or three-pointers, so far shooting 54 percent from beyond the arc.
Vince Carter, Toronto Raptors
Week's work: 2-1 record, 26.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.3 bog, 2 triples, 43% shooting
Thirty-nine points on opening night, 26 the next game and 15 in the latest. Good enough to get him on this list ahead of McGrady, Garnett and the like. Not good enough to make us think he'll be a regular like McGrady, Garnett and the like.
Karl Malone, Los Angeles Lakers
Week's work: 3-0 record, 16.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 4.7 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.3 bpg, 50% shooting
Not bad for a forty-year-old fourth option.
The Bad
Jalen Rose, Chicago Bulls
Weak work: 1-2 record, 13.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4 apg, 0.6 spg, 0 bpg, 31% shooting
Play enough games and you go through these kinds of bad streaks. Play enough seasons and you sometime you get these streaks at the beginning. But against the Wizards, Hawks and Bucks? The two losses by 20 or more? The only win coming in spite of you shooting 4 of 16?
Latrell Sprewell, Minnesota Timberwolves
Weak work: 2-1 record, 9.3 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1 spg, 0.3 bpg, 29% shooting
Playing solid defense but coupled with nine turnovers and seven personal fouls not sure if he's doing a better job against opponents or himself.
Allan Houston, New York Knicks
Weak work: 0-2 record, 14.5 ppg, 2 rpg, 3 apg, 1 spg, 0 bpg, 30% shooting
If he's hurt, then he shouldn't be playing. But if he's logging 45 minutes a game (exactly 90 in the last two), then he obviously can't claim he's hurt.
Kerry Kittles, New Jersey Nets
Weak work: 2-1 record, 7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.3 spg, 0.3 bpg, 27% shooting
Never considered him a defensive specialist. Still don't.
The Ugly
It's no secret that the Minnesota Timberwolves wanted desperately to relocate to the Eastern Conference, but this is ridiculous. After losing to the New Jersey Nets on Friday by scoring a franchise low 61 points, they put up only 73 points the following night against the Toronto Raptors. Even scarier, though, is the fact that they actually won that game after their opponents scored only 56.
The Kitchen Sink
LESS FILLING MILLER
Denver Nugget point guard Andre Miller has a career scoring average of 14.3, so this season's scoring average of 14.3 is, well, average. The problem, though, is that over that same period of time, he's also averaged 7.8 assists per game including his 2002 season in which he led the entire NBA with 10.9 assists per game but has totaled only 10 assists so far this year in three games. That equals 3.3 assists per game which may have something to do with his also shooting a career-low 38 percent from the field.
HEAT WANE
Their leading scorer, Eddie Jones, is shooting 38 percent from the field. Their point guard and rookie of the year candidate Dwyane Wade is shooting 28 percent. Lamar Odom, their latest franchise player, is shooting 26 percent. Rafer Alston, so far their sixthman, is shooting 33 percent. As a team, the Miami Heat are shooting 37 percent from the field and averaging only 76.7 points per game.
DOUBLE TEAM DELIGHT
Math says you can't double team Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton at the same time. It also says that if you double team any one of them, either Devean George, a career 39 percent shooter now shooting 60 percent so far this season, or Derrick Fisher, a career 40 percent shooter now shooting 50 percent, is going to be open.
NOT SO GENTLE BEN
Larry Brown said Ben Wallace was going to shoot more this season and that's exactly what's happening. After averaging only 4.6 shots per game in his first seven NBA seasons, Ben is now averaging 12.3 shots per game. And any expert will tell you that's great especially if that person happens to be the best player on your team. But any expert will also tell you that's terrible if that number of shots is netting your team only 11.7 points per game on 40 percent shooting.
ONE SHOT TIM
So far, San Antonio Spur opponents have shot a paltry 34.8 percent from the field and of those 163 missed shots, Tim Duncan has blocked 14 and rebounded 35 not to mention the 13 offensive boards he has in only three games.
LONG SHOT
Jason Kidd has taken 8,629 shots so far in his career of which 2,326 of them, about one-fourth, have been from long range. So far this season, he's taken 59 shots of which 20 of them, about one-third, have been from long range which may not be the right career move for a guy shooting only 32 percent from long range over his career.
LIKE MIKE
Last season, Golden State Warrior Mike Dunleavy, the third overall pick of the previous draft, scored only 466 points in 82 games. This season, at his current pace of 18.7 points per game, he should surpass that total on December 21, the 25th game of his season.
DIFFERENT QUESTION, SAME ANSWER
Allen Iverson, the rookie
1997 Numbers: 23.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 7.5 apg, 2 spg, 41% shooting
Allen Iverson, the veteran
2004 Numbers: 24 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 8.3 apg, 2.3 spg, 40% shooting
DIAPER DANDY SPECIAL
Denver Carmelos (2-1) versus Cleveland LeBrons (0-3)
Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio
8 pm EST on ESPN
Who care's if the Cavaliers haven't won a game, yet. Or that the lowly Nuggets are in first-place in the Midwest. We've got the most heralded rookie in the history of the game at age 18 going against another rookie who only won an NCAA Title last year when he was 18. For those of you keeping track at home, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are exactly 7 months and 1 day apart in age.
THE END
"Of course we're going to the playoffs." Famous last words from Chicago Bulls head coach Bill Cartwright after a 1-2 start by his team.
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