7th Inning Stretch with Scott Fragale - Not So Deep Thoughts: Similarities between MJ and LeBron are eerily similar

Not So Deep Thoughts: Similarities between MJ and LeBron are eerily similar
Posted by Tuff Stuff

While I haven't watched as much of the NBA Playoffs as I have in past years, I have watched enough to notice some similarities between LeBron's Cavs and Michael Jordan's Bulls from early on in his career.

In much the same way that it took Jordan several years and several roster upgrades to finally get past Detroit's "Bad Boy" Piston squads, it appears it will take LeBron and the Cavs several more tries before they are ready to claim a title. Early on in Jordan's career, the Bulls appeared to be playing teams in a five-on-one matchup with MJ typically going for 40-plus and the Bulls coming up short against the team-oriented Pistons. Back then, the Bulls supporting class was average at best and the job of team's role players was to basically set a few screens for MJ and get out of his way. While LeBron is well on his way to become every bit the player that Jordan was, he's finding out he can only do so much by himself in much the same way that Jordan did.

Guys like Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerblak and perhaps most importantly, Mo Williams need to have a bigger presence in this series or the 3-1 deficit the Cavs find themselves in will prove to be insurmountable. When the Cavs acquired Williams this past offseason he was thought to be the perfect scoring compliment for LeBron but his series guarantee and subsequent disappearing act in crunch time of Game 4 have put Cleveland on the brink of elimination and I'm not sure even the mighty LeBron will be able to lead a comeback.

If you recall, it wasn't until the Bulls acquired and molded Scottie Pippen as the perfect sidekick for Jordan and the team assembled the perfect complimentary cast that the rings started pouring in. Prior to that, opposing teams would double and triple team Jordan and basically dare any of the others to be them and they rarely did. While James is still pouring in 40-plus with regularity, the Magic are looking to take the ball out of his hands down the stretch and wait for somebody else to step up and beat them. During the regular season, the Cavs role players were abel to step up to the challenge but lately it's been all LeBron all the time and as MJ can attest to, that's a recipe for disaster.

Unless LeBron and the Cavs can rally and advance, my guess is that you'll see the team spending much of the offseason looking for yet another proven scoring option. That can be easier said than done as some players have trouble taking a backseat to a team's superstar player, but if the Cavs are unable to find that missing link, the similarities between LeBron's Cavs and MJ's (early career) Bulls will persist, and rightfully so.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:37:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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