Hello friends wordentertainmen, on this occasion the admin wants to share an article entitled Hubie Brown Breaks Down Cleveland-Orlando and LeBron-Kobe, we have made good, quality and useful articles for you to read and take information in. hopefully the post content is about
Cleveland Cavaliers,
Julius Erving,
Kobe Bryant,
LeBron James,
Orlando Magic, which we write you can understand. Alright, happy reading.
Prior to Orlando's 107-106 game one victory over Cleveland, I interviewed Hall of Famer Hubie Brown, who is doing Eastern Conference Finals color commentary for ESPN Radio, working alongside play by play man Mike Tirico.
Friedman: "Do you think that the optimal defensive strategy for Cleveland is to single cover Howard and stay at home on the three point shooters or to double-team Howard and then try to rotate to the shooters?"
Brown: "It's not that simple, mainly because if you just play him head up he is quicker than Ilgauskas and he's bigger than Varejao, so consequently at some time during the game you are going to have to double-team him. In the previous (regular season) games, Orlando won two games to one and they made 11 out of 28 threes on average--28 threes is a ton. If they are going to win the series then they will have to shoot that kind of percentage but as far as just saying we are going to single team Howard--if you single him, he kicks out and the shot goes up, he is going to hurt you on the offensive board. He is number one in the league in offensive rebounding and where he made the deciding factor in the Boston series was on the offensive board and with second chance points, so when the shot goes up two guys have got to get to him. No one guy is going to keep him off of the glass, if he's working--that's a big statement: IF."
Friedman: "So you are saying that the Cavs will have to use multiple strategies and coverages."
Brown: "Yeah, you have to change it up and see how he's going but the biggest thing is can Ilgauskas keep him off of the rim and can he force Howard into shooting (rather than dunking)--because he can't shoot: he's not a jump shooter, his hook is questionable. But the big thing is that if he overpowers you with a drop step, now you are in all kinds of trouble. He can do that to Ilgauskas and he can do that to Varejao, because he has a major weight advantage."
Friedman: "Would one good strategy for Cleveland be to double-team him on the dribble, kind of make him catch it further out and then double when he puts it on the floor, trying to take advantage of his passing and ballhandling?"
Brown: "All of that is great but as soon as you double you are opening up three point shooting. The first pass out (of the trap) they'll rotate (defensively) but the second pass is where they (the Magic) will hurt you. Now you are playing their game. That is how they want you to play."
Friedman: "Orlando won the regular season series with Cleveland but who do you favor in this playoff matchup? Who do you think has the stronger team?"
Brown: "Look, throw out the 8-0 (Cleveland playoff record), because Detroit was horrible and then Atlanta had three starters out. So this is their first legitimate competition. Now, you say, how did this team (Orlando) beat them two of out three and eight of the last 11? This team must do something right (versus Cleveland) from a defensive standpoint that nobody else is doing in the Eastern Conference; they play them better than anybody: they change up and they do a lot of things."
Friedman: "I'm sure you heard the statement that Jerry West made about LeBron being the best player in the NBA and Kobe being the best player in the clutch. What is your take on both of those things, best player and best player in the clutch?"
Brown: "First of all, one guy is 31 years old and the other guy is 24, so forget it. One guy is a guard and the other guy is a small forward who is a small forward/power forward. So, they are not even in the same category, but if you are starting a franchise then you are taking LeBron James. He's elevated his game this year; forget the MVP thing, he's second in the league in votes for Defensive Player of the Year and all of the great players--Kobe Bryant is on the All-Defensive Team almost every year, Michael Jordan is one of the greatest defensive players ever, Oscar Robertson--the thing that separates them is not the points but whether they play both ends of the floor. Now LeBron has made a major step in that direction. He's probably the quickest guy with or without the ball from rim to rim--and there are 450 guys in this league. He's definitely the best passer in traffic that we have in the league, in my opinion; if not, you might give me one or two other guys who can pass as well as he does. Plus, he sees over the traps and he will unselfishly make the correct pass every single time. Now, he makes the pass and it is catchable: that is a major issue. So, the points you take for granted, the rebounding, the assists, the steals, the blocked shots--all incredible--but it is the other intangibles that he does that make him an elite force now in the league. Now, you say 'Who is better in the fourth quarter?', you probably take Kobe Bryant but I'm not so sure of that. Kobe can make the threes at a higher percentage over LeBron but Kobe wasn't a great three point shooter either for a while. This guy's three point shooting is coming fast and he's now taking more. You just look at his shooting stats (for the playoffs) going into tonight, he's up at 53% (from the field) and he's over 35% on threes, 75% on the free throw line, so he's improving. He's improving."
Friedman: "It really is remarkable. His numbers in the playoffs are like video game numbers. You said that you can discount Detroit but those are still incredible numbers. Off the charts."
Brown: "Right. He's such a physical force of nature, because we have never seen an athlete his size who is this quick, this nimble, this acrobatic. I haven't seen it and I've been around (the NBA/ABA) since 1973."
Friedman: "Do you see a similarity with the young Dr. J in terms of the way that LeBron attacks the hoop, except that LeBron is bigger? The aggressiveness with which he attacks the hoop seems reminiscent of Dr. J."
Brown: "Well, this guy is a force. Doc could never pass like this. I coached against Doc in the ABA. No, Doc couldn't pass like this guy and he couldn't defend like this guy" (note: Rod Thorn, an assistant coach when Erving played for the Nets in the ABA, offers a much more positive appraisal of Erving's defense: "He had great lateral quickness and he was a tremendous jumper. He was a tough guy--that is one thing that is not talked about that much when you talk about Julius, because of his great athleticism, but he was a tough guy. I mean he would physically get after guys and play hard. He took a challenge. He played 43-44 minutes a game for us and guarded the best guy on the other team every night and was our leading scorer, so the energy that he expended during a game was much more than the average player did. It was just phenomenal what he did").
Friedman: "I meant more in terms of the way that they attack the hoop."
Brown: "Going to the rim and the sensational (moves)--look, in the ABA before Doc got hurt (suffering tendinitis in his knees), what he did in the ABA dunking and so forth, I have never seen in this league, ever; by the time he came to the NBA, he was damaged--and he was still spectacular, but nothing like he was in the ABA: he would turn your building against you. Back then we would play each other like 12 times, six times in each building, and your building would be sold out and he would do things that were just amazing, how he would hold the ball and come from the wing and do all kinds of great stuff. He was terrific."
Friedman: "Do you see a comparison between LeBron and the ABA Doc purely in terms of attacking the hoop?"
Brown: "No, I wouldn't say that. This guy doesn't play like that. Doc was more in the air, floating, doing all kinds of spectacular stuff. This guy is a brute force. This guy splits double teams and he is a better dribbler than Doc."
That's the article: Hubie Brown Breaks Down Cleveland-Orlando and LeBron-Kobe
You are now reading the article Hubie Brown Breaks Down Cleveland-Orlando and LeBron-Kobe with link address https://wordentertainmen.blogspot.com/2009/05/hubie-brown-breaks-down-cleveland.html
Prior to Orlando's 107-106 game one victory over Cleveland, I interviewed Hall of Famer Hubie Brown, who is doing Eastern Conference Finals color commentary for ESPN Radio, working alongside play by play man Mike Tirico.
Friedman: "Do you think that the optimal defensive strategy for Cleveland is to single cover Howard and stay at home on the three point shooters or to double-team Howard and then try to rotate to the shooters?"
Brown: "It's not that simple, mainly because if you just play him head up he is quicker than Ilgauskas and he's bigger than Varejao, so consequently at some time during the game you are going to have to double-team him. In the previous (regular season) games, Orlando won two games to one and they made 11 out of 28 threes on average--28 threes is a ton. If they are going to win the series then they will have to shoot that kind of percentage but as far as just saying we are going to single team Howard--if you single him, he kicks out and the shot goes up, he is going to hurt you on the offensive board. He is number one in the league in offensive rebounding and where he made the deciding factor in the Boston series was on the offensive board and with second chance points, so when the shot goes up two guys have got to get to him. No one guy is going to keep him off of the glass, if he's working--that's a big statement: IF."
Friedman: "So you are saying that the Cavs will have to use multiple strategies and coverages."
Brown: "Yeah, you have to change it up and see how he's going but the biggest thing is can Ilgauskas keep him off of the rim and can he force Howard into shooting (rather than dunking)--because he can't shoot: he's not a jump shooter, his hook is questionable. But the big thing is that if he overpowers you with a drop step, now you are in all kinds of trouble. He can do that to Ilgauskas and he can do that to Varejao, because he has a major weight advantage."
Friedman: "Would one good strategy for Cleveland be to double-team him on the dribble, kind of make him catch it further out and then double when he puts it on the floor, trying to take advantage of his passing and ballhandling?"
Brown: "All of that is great but as soon as you double you are opening up three point shooting. The first pass out (of the trap) they'll rotate (defensively) but the second pass is where they (the Magic) will hurt you. Now you are playing their game. That is how they want you to play."
Friedman: "Orlando won the regular season series with Cleveland but who do you favor in this playoff matchup? Who do you think has the stronger team?"
Brown: "Look, throw out the 8-0 (Cleveland playoff record), because Detroit was horrible and then Atlanta had three starters out. So this is their first legitimate competition. Now, you say, how did this team (Orlando) beat them two of out three and eight of the last 11? This team must do something right (versus Cleveland) from a defensive standpoint that nobody else is doing in the Eastern Conference; they play them better than anybody: they change up and they do a lot of things."
Friedman: "I'm sure you heard the statement that Jerry West made about LeBron being the best player in the NBA and Kobe being the best player in the clutch. What is your take on both of those things, best player and best player in the clutch?"
Brown: "First of all, one guy is 31 years old and the other guy is 24, so forget it. One guy is a guard and the other guy is a small forward who is a small forward/power forward. So, they are not even in the same category, but if you are starting a franchise then you are taking LeBron James. He's elevated his game this year; forget the MVP thing, he's second in the league in votes for Defensive Player of the Year and all of the great players--Kobe Bryant is on the All-Defensive Team almost every year, Michael Jordan is one of the greatest defensive players ever, Oscar Robertson--the thing that separates them is not the points but whether they play both ends of the floor. Now LeBron has made a major step in that direction. He's probably the quickest guy with or without the ball from rim to rim--and there are 450 guys in this league. He's definitely the best passer in traffic that we have in the league, in my opinion; if not, you might give me one or two other guys who can pass as well as he does. Plus, he sees over the traps and he will unselfishly make the correct pass every single time. Now, he makes the pass and it is catchable: that is a major issue. So, the points you take for granted, the rebounding, the assists, the steals, the blocked shots--all incredible--but it is the other intangibles that he does that make him an elite force now in the league. Now, you say 'Who is better in the fourth quarter?', you probably take Kobe Bryant but I'm not so sure of that. Kobe can make the threes at a higher percentage over LeBron but Kobe wasn't a great three point shooter either for a while. This guy's three point shooting is coming fast and he's now taking more. You just look at his shooting stats (for the playoffs) going into tonight, he's up at 53% (from the field) and he's over 35% on threes, 75% on the free throw line, so he's improving. He's improving."
Friedman: "It really is remarkable. His numbers in the playoffs are like video game numbers. You said that you can discount Detroit but those are still incredible numbers. Off the charts."
Brown: "Right. He's such a physical force of nature, because we have never seen an athlete his size who is this quick, this nimble, this acrobatic. I haven't seen it and I've been around (the NBA/ABA) since 1973."
Friedman: "Do you see a similarity with the young Dr. J in terms of the way that LeBron attacks the hoop, except that LeBron is bigger? The aggressiveness with which he attacks the hoop seems reminiscent of Dr. J."
Brown: "Well, this guy is a force. Doc could never pass like this. I coached against Doc in the ABA. No, Doc couldn't pass like this guy and he couldn't defend like this guy" (note: Rod Thorn, an assistant coach when Erving played for the Nets in the ABA, offers a much more positive appraisal of Erving's defense: "He had great lateral quickness and he was a tremendous jumper. He was a tough guy--that is one thing that is not talked about that much when you talk about Julius, because of his great athleticism, but he was a tough guy. I mean he would physically get after guys and play hard. He took a challenge. He played 43-44 minutes a game for us and guarded the best guy on the other team every night and was our leading scorer, so the energy that he expended during a game was much more than the average player did. It was just phenomenal what he did").
Friedman: "I meant more in terms of the way that they attack the hoop."
Brown: "Going to the rim and the sensational (moves)--look, in the ABA before Doc got hurt (suffering tendinitis in his knees), what he did in the ABA dunking and so forth, I have never seen in this league, ever; by the time he came to the NBA, he was damaged--and he was still spectacular, but nothing like he was in the ABA: he would turn your building against you. Back then we would play each other like 12 times, six times in each building, and your building would be sold out and he would do things that were just amazing, how he would hold the ball and come from the wing and do all kinds of great stuff. He was terrific."
Friedman: "Do you see a comparison between LeBron and the ABA Doc purely in terms of attacking the hoop?"
Brown: "No, I wouldn't say that. This guy doesn't play like that. Doc was more in the air, floating, doing all kinds of spectacular stuff. This guy is a brute force. This guy splits double teams and he is a better dribbler than Doc."
That's the article: Hubie Brown Breaks Down Cleveland-Orlando and LeBron-Kobe
Thank you for visiting my blog, hopefully it can be useful for all of you. Don't forget to share this article with your friends so they also know the interesting info, see you in other article posts.
You are now reading the article Hubie Brown Breaks Down Cleveland-Orlando and LeBron-Kobe with link address https://wordentertainmen.blogspot.com/2009/05/hubie-brown-breaks-down-cleveland.html
Post a Comment