LeBron's decision: Slam door on dunk contest

It was a thought too luscious to consider. It was something you had longed for -- dreamed about, really -- hoping it was more than words floating in the air like the aroma of fresh peach cobbler.

You wanted to believe more than disbelieve, and LeBron James had left much for basketball fans to discuss: In or out, who could say for sure?

He had dropped hints that he might be "in." Yes, LeBron had weighed putting his name into the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, an All-Star Game sideshow that used to be cooler than the game itself.

But its cool factor has taken a beating in recent seasons. The contest is akin now to pay phones in an IPhone era. For gone are the days when Dominique Wilkins, Larry Nance, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Air Jordan himself - the highest of the high flyers -- signed up for the slam-fest.

The contest needed a big name to revive interest in it, and no name in the NBA is bigger these days than LeBron's. Of course, having Kobe back would have heightened interest in the contest as well, but Kobe had done his turn. He won the contest in '97 when it was played in Cleveland, LeBron's town.

Read more ...

Lights, NBA eyes on Shaq's debut with Cavs

The Shaquille O’Neal era debuts tonight at The Q, but nobody, even Shaq, can be sure what it portends for the Cavaliers.

After a trade with the Suns, he arrived here in early summer with a big smile and big promises. Shaq said he was willing to play the enforcer’s role – to be the man whose task it was to ensure nobody messed with LeBron James.

Shaq would be LeBron's sidekick.

The Cavs had tried to find complements the past couple of seasons. They brought in Donyell Marshall and Larry Hughes a few years ago, and Lorenzen Wright came here last year.

All are gone now.

They brought in Mo Williams and Delonte West last season. They remain, serving as an able supporting cast for the player that David Stern dared to suggest might be a better talent than Michael Jordan.

Stern’s high praise seems premature, if not downright blasphemous. For Jordan won more than a handful of championship rings. LeBron, well ... he has none.

But that has less to do with LeBron and more to do with his waiting for the Cavs to find him a dependable Scottie Pippen. They are counting on Shaq to play that part, too – to be Reggie Wayne to LeBron’s Peyton Manning.

Is that asking too much of Shaq?

Without a doubt, he will be an upgrade over the plodding Zdrunas Ilgauskas in the middle, which is faint praise. For Ilgauskas might have a hard time beating Bill Russell up the floor, and Russell’s 75.

Shaq’s no young man either, though he’s a lot younger than Russell. Age isn’t but a number, Satchel Paige used to say. It’s what you can do, no matter what the number next to your age reads.

That’s the question about Shaq: What can he still do?

He has a lot of miles on his tires, and a man of his age doesn’t have the wheels to run the court like a gazelle. Up-tempo basketball is what LeBron favors, and he might not have the patience to wait for Shaq to settle into the paint.

Running the floor isn't one of Shaq’s strengths these days. What is his strength is his ability to dominate inside, giving LeBron someone who can occupy Magic star Dwight Howard and push around Celtics centers Kendrick Perkins, “Big Baby” Davis and Rasheed Wallace.

That’ll be the difference in these Cavaliers. They should be a stronger team on defense, a point of emphasis with Cavs coach Mike Brown. Yet as much as he preaches tough defense, Brown knows the Cavs have to score, and scoring is what LeBron does best.

He’s an unstoppable force inside and out, but he’s no one-man team. No player ever has been in the NBA, including Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird.

Shaq was once as close to that one-man team as anybody who ever played the game. Those days are in his past. He’s still good; he’s not great anymore.

In LeBron’s mind, greatness would be nice, if it were possible. It’s not, so the Cavaliers and LeBron will have to settle for good – or at least better than Ilgauskas -- if they hope to win anNBA championship.

To 'Air' might be costly for Jordan's son

Marcus Jordan needs to know he ain't Michael Jordan. The dude has been cursed to live all his life in his father's gigantic shadow, an unsettling prospect for any aspiring athlete.

Hasn't he been there long enough?

At some point, Marcus Jordan has to stand on his own merits.

That time is now.

But it seems like the sawed-off Jordan, a freshman guard at the University of Central Florida, has put the university in a tough spot because of his refusal to wear adidas, the brand of sporting gear that the basketball program there is contracted to wear.

To put on adidas, Marcus Jordan insisted, would be an affront to his father, whose Nike shoes and clothing have been staples of big-time sports for two decades or more. "Air Jordan" is an iconic brand like Apple, McDonald's or Coca-Cola, names familiar to people in America and around the world.

The Nike label holds a special place in the Jordan household, so for Marcus Jordan to wear adidas would be like one of Henry Ford's great, great grandchildren riding around in an Audi. But that's what the young Jordan has essentially been asked to do, although he understands what his decision might mean for the university.

It risks losing $3 million, which is what adidas pays UCF, a Conference USA team, each year as part of a five-year deal. The university seems to have no choice here, and neither does adidas if it wants to get its money's worth.

What's the solution here?

Simple ... either Marcus Jordan laces up his UCF adidas or sits out the season. Then, he will need to hope that Nike swoops in and ponies up cash for the program to wear its gear next season. Nike will get a chance to do just that next June when the adidas deal with UCF expires.

Before then, you have to ask this question: Didn't Marcus Jordan know that UCF was an adidas school?

And if he didn't, who's fault is that?

I'd blame his father. For Michael Jordan should have known even if his young son didn't.