Bryant, James may collide
When Kobe Bryant was last seen in the playoffs, he was hopeless and helpless as his Los Angeles Lakers were being run over in Boston in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
LeBron James never got to a sixth game in his first time on the big stage, as Cleveland was quickly swept away by San Antonio.
Now, with one big injury in the Eastern Conference and too many flawed teams in the West, one of the superstars has a good chance of getting the ending he wants this time.
“If I’m not competing for the NBA championship, then I’m wasting my time and I’m wasting my teammates’ time,” James said. “To be in a position to be in the playoffs and to be in a position to fight for the NBA championship, I’m looking forward to it.”
The playoffs begin this weekend, with James and the Cavaliers hosting Detroit on Saturday in their opener. Also Saturday, Boston – without the injured Kevin Garnett – faces Chicago, Dallas visits San Antonio in a rematch of a recent postseason thriller, and Portland welcomes Houston for its first playoff game since 2003.
Bryant and the Lakers get started Sunday against the Utah Jazz. Then, Orlando hosts Philadelphia, NBA scoring leader Dwyane Wade leads Miami into Atlanta, and the New Orleans Hornets visit Denver.
Cleveland finished with a league-best 66-16 record and has home-court advantage throughout the postseason. That means someone is going to have to beat the Cavaliers in their arena, where they were 39-2 this season – and that second loss came in the regular-season finale when James didn’t play.
That gives them a solid chance to get back to the finals, where they were swept by the Spurs two years ago after mustering the worst offensive performance in the history of the championship round. This version is much better on that end, thanks in large part to Mo Williams, who delivered an All-Star season in his first year in Cleveland.
Unlike in 2007, when the Cavaliers weren’t viewed as title contenders, this time they won’t sneak up on anyone.
“They’ll be facing the kind of pressure we felt last year being the No. 1 seed,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said.
That’s nothing compared to Rivers’ problems.
Rivers said Thursday that Garnett won’t be ready for the postseason opener and may not play at all because of his right knee injury. The Celtics have kept winning without their leader and perhaps have enough with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to keep doing so early in the playoffs, but certainly would miss him against the Cavs or Lakers – if they get that far.
The Lakers stormed through the West playoffs last year, winning 12 of 15 games. They will be favored to get through the West again with so many potential opponents entering at a disadvantage.
San Antonio? No Manu Ginobili.
Portland? Too young.
New Orleans? Too injury prone.
Utah? Can’t win on the road.
Denver might have the best chance, finally having earned home-court advantage in the first round after five straight exits.
The Nuggets have a clutch postseason performer in Chauncey Billups, the 2004 finals MVP whose early-season acquisition sparked a division title run from a team that began the season as an afterthought.