LEGACY TALK

A.J. Hoffman: It's time to appreciate what you have in Lebron James

A.J. Hoffman: It's time to appreciate what you have in Lebron James
Lebron James is the best of his generation. Gregory Shamus

It seems we get to this point every year in the NBA playoffs. The point where we all start asking the same question. 

“How far can LeBron James carry the Cavaliers this season?” 

It’s not surprising that we ask it. Whatever you think of his standing on the “all-time” list of NBA greats, he has been almost unquestionably the best player of his era. Thus, just like we did with Magic and Jordan and Kobe, we dissect his every move almost to the point of absurdity. 

2010 was the last time we had an NBA finals without LeBron. That 7-year streak is the longest of any player in history that didn’t play for the Celtics in the late-50’s to early 60’s (when there were four teams in each conference). 

The fact that he is currently down in the Eastern Conference Finals is only surprising because, well, he is LeBron. 

So far in these playoffs, James has been magnificent. He leads all playoff scorers with 33.1 PPG. He has averaged both 9.2 assists and rebounds in these playoffs. He had a 42 point, 10 rebound, 12 assist showing in Game 2 against Boston, in a game where he took a nasty shoulder to the jaw from Jayson Tatum. 

This Cavaliers team, should they find a way to make it to the Finals, is probably the weakest James-led playoff roster since his first finals appearance back in 2007 when the Cavs were swept by San Antonio. The 2015 team that lost to the Warriors was injured (Kevin Love in the first round of the playoffs and Kyrie Irving in Game 1 of the finals) but still more talented than this team. They finished the regular season fourth in the Eastern Conference, the lowest a James-led team has finished since 2008 when the Cavaliers were a 4 seed. 

The offseason went horrifically wrong for Cleveland, as Irving forced his way out and the Cavs got Isaiah Thomas back in return. Thomas never fit with the Cavs, and his style of play and lack of production made Cleveland look downright bad at times. It never quite rounded into the shape they had hoped, and at midseason Thomas and several other Cavaliers were sent packing, undoubtably at the behest of LeBron. 

Does this mean he is personally accountable for how they perform? That is hard to say. While he has a lot of clout, more than any other player in the league, he isn’t a GM and he isn’t an owner. If the Cavaliers decided it was in the team’s best interest to make the moves that James wanted, is that on him or the organization? Cleveland is already in a precarious situation because they have to balance trying to win another championship while LeBron is still in town with trying to keep him happy enough to keep him around for the foreseeable future. 

If the Cavs end up losing to the Celtics, it seems like there would not be much reason for LeBron to stay in Cleveland beyond this season. It would also, once again, subject him to the scrutiny of not only his detractors, but also the fans in Cleveland (let’s not forget how quickly they turned on him after “The Decision.” We will see the inevitable “LeBum” memes and there will be 29 fanbases calling him a sellout and a ring chaser. There will also be one fanbase who loves and adores him and realize that his mere presence makes them a favorite to contend for a title immediately. 

What if he does find a way to pull this off against the Celtics? What if he carries a team where no other player is averaging six made baskets per night all the way to the Finals? With the modern NBA built on “super teams” and “Big 3s,” the truth is James will have dragged a pack of B and C-level players to yet another NBA Finals, where the nitpicking starts all over. 

If the Cavaliers lose to either the Warriors or the Rockets, it will be another example for people to point to for the purpose of detracting from his legacy. It won’t matter if he is great in a losing effort. Look no further than the aforementioned 2015 Finals, where LeBron averaged 36 points per game and stretched the series with the Warriors to six games despite playing without Irving and Love. 

If the Cavaliers were to win the championship, it wouldn’t matter because Michael Jordan never lost one and didn’t have to join up with Kevin Love to win his rings. Look no further than the 2016 Finals where he averaged 30 points per game and beat a team that had the best regular season in the history of the NBA. 

The greatest player of this generation is still on the floor, and still fighting hard for another ring, and you have two choices. You can either appreciate his greatness and effort regardless of the outcome, or you can sit back and stubbornly pretend that he isn’t nearly as good as the media makes him out to be. Whatever happens in this series and beyond, try to put aside nicknames and all-time rankings and Player A vs. Player B comparisons, even if only for a little while. Just soak it in, and try to appreciate one of the best who has ever touched a ball go all out to add to his legacy. 

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Get your popcorn ready! Composite image by Brandon Strange.

Filed the column early this week with Astros’ baseball that counts arriving Thursday! Ideally that arrival occurs with Minute Maid Park’s roof open under sunny skies with temperature in the mid-70s and only moderate humidity (that’s the forecast).

As they ready for their season-opening four game series, the Astros and Yankees enter 2024 with streaks on the line. The Astros take aim at an eighth consecutive American League Championship Series appearance while obviously aiming ultimately higher than that. The Yankees are a good bet to fail to make the World Series for the 15th consecutive season, which would be a new Yankees’ record! At its origin in 1903 the franchise was known as the New York Highlanders. The name became the Yankees in 1913, with the first franchise World Series appearance coming in 1921. So that was 18 years of play without winning a pennant. Maybe that gives the Yanks something to shoot for in 2027.

On the more immediate horizon, the Astros and Yankees both start the season with question marks throughout their starting rotations. It’s just that the Astros do so coming off their seventh straight ALCS appearance while the Yankees are coming off having missed the postseason entirely for the first time in seven years. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole can spend time Thursday chit-chatting about their days as Astro teammates because they won’t be pitching against one another. Cole’s absence hurts the Yankees more than Verlander’s should the Astros. Cole was the unanimously voted AL Cy Young Award winner last season, and at eight years younger than Verlander the workload he was expected to carry is greater. Cole is gone for at least the first two months of the season, the Astros would be pleased if Verlander misses less than one month.

Whoever does the pitching, the guy on the mound for the Astros has the benefit of a clearly better lineup supporting him. The Yankees could have the best two-man combo in the game with Aaron Judge batting second ahead of offseason acquisition Juan Soto. Two men do not a Murderers’ Row make. Gleyber Torres is the only other guy in the Yankees’ projected regular batting order who was better than mediocre last season, several guys were lousy. The Astros have six guys in their lineup (Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Chas McCormick, and Yainer Diaz) who were better in the batter’s box than was Torres last season. The Yanks have hopes for a healthy and huge bounce back season from the brittle and 34-years-old Giancarlo Stanton. Good luck with that.

Man with a plan

We have to see how things play out over the season of course, but it is exciting to see new manager Joe Espada’s progressive outlook on a number of things. Acknowledging that Astros’ baserunning has too often been deficient, Espada made improving it a spring training priority. The same with Astros’ pitchers doing a better job of holding opposing base runners at first with base stealing having occurred with the highest success rate in MLB history last season. Tweaking the lineup to bat Alvarez second behind Altuve is a strong choice. Having your two best offensive forces come to the plate most frequently is inherently smart.

Opting to bat Tucker third ahead of Bregman rather than the other way around also seems wise business. Let’s offer one specific circumstance. An opposing pitcher manages to retire both Altuve and Alvarez. Tucker walking or singling is much more capable of stealing second base and then scoring on a Bregman single than the inverse. Or scoring from first on a ball hit to the corner or a shallow gap. I suggest in a similar vein that is why the much older and much slower Jose Abreu should bat lower in the lineup than Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz. Though Espada giving Abreu veteran deference to get off to a better season than Abreu’s largely lousy 2023 is ok. To a point.

Eye on the prize

The ceiling for the 2024 Astros is clear. Winning a third World Series in eight years is viably in play. The floor is high. Barring an utter collapse of the starting rotation and/or a calamitous toll of injuries within the offensive core there is no way this is only a .500-ish ballclub. That does not mean the Astros are a surefire postseason team. The Rangers may again have a better offense. The Mariners definitely begin the season with a better starting rotation. In the end, other than when it impacts team decision-making, prognostication doesn’t matter. But these two words definitely matter: PLAY BALL!

To welcome the new season we’ll do a live YouTube Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast about 30 minutes after the final out is recorded in Thursday’s opener.

Our second season of Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast is underway. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics weekly. On our regular schedule the first post goes up Monday afternoon. You can get the video version (first part released Monday, second part Tuesday, sometimes a third part Wednesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available at initial release Monday via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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