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Buckeye Football – Present and Future
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LeBron-Stevenson feud could add to playoffs
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Monday, Mar 24, 2008
In the past week, the Cavaliers have entrenched themselves into the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race — more because they've fallen almost out of reach of the No. 3 Orlando Magic than for any other reason.
But there's also been a switch behind them, as the Washington Wizards have overtaken the Toronto Raptors in the No. 5 slot. There's time for jostling, but what an enticing first-round matchup Cavs-Wizards III could become.
The Cavs consider their rivals the Detroit Pistons and, to a lesser extent, the Boston Celtics, but the Wizards' No. 1 enemy surely seems to be the Cavs. The Wizards would probably love another playoff shot after losing the past two years.
To a man, the Wizards have made it seem they really don't fully respect the Cavs. Their core players are the same from two seasons ago, when the Wizards believed the Cavs got favorable whistles and lots of luck in winning that first-round series. Last season's sweep was considered invalid by many because Wizards' stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were
hurt.
Then there's the budding DeShawn Stevenson-LeBron James feud, which has been good theater. It is hard to believe a superstar and a role player could get into such a mess, but it's happened and it's gotten rather intense.
In case you're behind, here's a recap. When the Cavs beat the Wizards on Feb. 22, the day after the big trade, some on the Wizards felt the Cavs and, James especially, were disrespectful during the game. Stevenson missed a last-second shot that would've won the game.
Two weeks ago, Stevenson and James had several heated exchanges in the Wizards' victory over the Cavs in Washington. Stevenson covered James down the stretch, including drawing a charge on him and defending James on a last-second shot that missed.
Afterward, Stevenson said James was ''overrated.'' James responded in the media by comparing himself to hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and Stevenson to one-hit wonder Soulja Boy. Stevenson raised the stakes again, by telling the Washington Post that James said something personally insulting about him to former teammate Drew Gooden, who passed it on to friend Stevenson, which is the source of his bad feelings.
''We're all in the same profession,'' Stevenson told the Post. ''We don't need to talk bad about one another. . . . I was ticked off and that's why I said something to him at tip-off. So it goes back further than people think.''
When asked about it Saturday in Chicago, the usually talkative Gooden went running from the topic and declined to answer. No doubt he's not thrilled he's been pulled in and is now probably also in James' doghouse for passing along the comment.
Stevenson and James might indeed have some personal stuff behind the scenes. Stevenson has dated LeToya Luckett and Farrah Franklin, both of whom were members of R&B group Destiny's Child. Of course, James is very close to former Destiny's Child member Beyonce Knowles, who is engaged to close friend Jay-Z. James' friend and manager, Maverick Carter, also dated Kelly Rowland, another former Destiny's Child member.
Who knows what all that means, but the point is James and Stevenson move in the same social circles and it has no doubt carried over to the court.
What does any of that have to do with basketball? Maybe nothing, but it only makes the depth of this feud more interesting.
The Wizards might have a tough time holding onto the No. 5 spot because they begin a five-game West Coast trip this week. But Arenas is poised to return from a knee injury and they've been playing well in the past three weeks.
If the series does develop, it would no doubt pack the most intrigue of the Eastern Conference first-round pairings. And maybe some of the best off-court chatter.
Dribbles
• Since the Cavs' trade, much of the attention has been paid to the new players and how they are performing. But not so much has been paid to the players who remained. Since the move, Anderson Varejao has suffered the most. Whether he's been told or he's doing it on his own, Varejao has started focusing on trying to shoot more. He's awkwardly been attempting to post numbers and force shots around the hoop, which is not his game. After averaging a career high in points and shooting better than 50 percent before the trade, Varejao is averaging three fewer points and shooting about 33 percent from the field since the trade. Not to mention his turnovers are up.
Meanwhile, Devin Brown is playing the best he has all season since the trade. In the past 12 games, he's averaging 10 points and shooting 46 percent despite being in and out of the starting lineup.
• Coca-Cola is paying James $2 million a year and trying lots of different avenues to get its money's worth. In the past, he's been featured in Sprite commercials and the company tried to create buzz by giving him his own flavor of Powerade, which never caught on. Now, James will be pitching Coke's newest acquisition, Vitamin Water. He is filming a commercial for the drink this week in Cleveland. Coke bought Vitamin Water last year for $4 billion.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
Get the full article here.
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