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No reinvention of self is required, he says, just some fine-tuning
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Monday, May 19, 2008
BOSTON: When last season ended, a month later and on a much grander stage, LeBron James said he thought that he needed to make major personal improvements for the Cavaliers to get better.
Sitting in the same position Sunday after the Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals, James said he thinks the improvements now must come in personnel.
After losing to an extremely deep and recently massively upgraded Celtics team, James said he thinks the Cavs need to follow in their path, even after the 11-player trade that they pulled off in February.
''I think what we have is very good, but we need to continue to get better. We know that,'' James said. ''If that means some personnel changes that need to happen, then so be it. The teams around us in the league are continuing to get better.''
The Cavs could have as much as $30 million in expiring contracts to work with in trades. They also will have the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. As for free agency, they will have the $5.5 million midlevel exception and the $1.8 million biannual exception to use, though their payroll is so high. they probably will look at trade options first.
James, who will take a few weeks off and then start getting ready to play for Team USA in the Olympics, said he thinks that his game just needs some tweaks.
''I don't have to reinvent anything; I think I just need to fine-tune some things,'' James said. ''I think I've added some pieces to my game.''
Ilgauskas finishes sour
After getting off to a great start in the series as the Cavs' second scoring option, Zydrunas Ilgauskas became a bit of a non-factor as the series wore on. He had just eight points Sunday and never was able to punish the Celtics for the double teams on James.
After Ilgauskas averaged 17.7 points in the first three games, the Celtics made some adjustments to take away some of his looks on the outside and post isolation plays. They also played P.J. Brown on him more instead of shorter players, such as Glen Davis and Leon Powe. Ilgauskas averaged just 7.5 points in the last four games.
''It's hard in the playoffs. Sometimes you get looks, sometimes you don't,'' Ilgauskas said. ''There was not a lot of shots for me.''
West wants to stay
The playoffs turned out to be a bit of a coming-out party for Cavs guard Delonte West. He was a little inconsistent but proved he could be a playmaker under pressure. The Cavs have been long searching for a point guard who can make plays alongside James.
West averaged 10.8 points and 4.1 assists in the playoffs and 11.4 points in the Celtics series.
West will be a restricted free agent but said he wants to come back and establish his role.
''I would love to be back here next year,'' West said. ''I didn't surprise myself with anything I did in the playoffs. What I did learn is how much I have to get better.''
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
BOSTON: When last season ended, a month later and on a much grander stage, LeBron James said he thought that he needed to make major personal improvements for the Cavaliers to get better.
Get the full article here.
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