The 10-man rotation, starring how LeBron James makes you rethink everything
A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C: The Triangle. Zach Lowe on how LeBron James’ one-man-army act in these NBA Finals could force the Cavs to reconsider the way they build around him.
PF: GQ. Bethlehem Shoals on how Game 5 reminded us of why we started to like basketball in the first place, which had nothing to do with trophies or rings: “Winning a title is everything. But as a fan, getting to finally see Curry and James duke it out at full-strength was its own reward.”
SF: The Diss. I love Jacob Greenberg on the helplessness that you feel while watching LeBron operate against your favorite team with stakes this high: “At this point, I cannot say that taking the LeBron final — or, rather, watching my preferred team take the test — is a pursuit of happiness […] There is even — deep down, in a place I visited with Warriors teams in the past — a feeling of just wanting it to be over, so I can get on with life, and stop screaming at the television.”
SG: Sports Illustrated. Lee Jenkins on what makes Andre Iguodala uniquely suited to do the job he’s doing on LeBron in the Finals.
PG: ESPN.com. Another banger on Iguodala from Baxter Holmes, who found a very rare story of the playmaker extraordinaire being booed as a ballhog by a very unlikely source.
6th: Bleacher Report. Jared Dubin considers how David Blatt should look to deploy Timofey Mozgov in Game 6 after moving away from his 7-foot Russian mauler in Game 5.
7th: Waiting for Next Year. Kirk Lammers looks at several small things that absolutely have to go the Cavaliers’ way in order to extend this series.
8th: Ball in Europe. Emmet Ryan offers a European observer’s view on likely top-five 2015 draft pick Kristaps Porzingis, whose recent workouts have led some to suggest he could come off the board as high as second overall: “Well, he’s a well-rounded European big but if a team drafting him thinks they are getting anything other than that, it’s their own fault.”
9th: Clips Nation. Now that they’ve swung a buy-low deal for Lance Stephenson, what’s left for the Los Angeles Clippers to do this summer? In short: a whoooooole lot.
10th: At the Hive. Derek James looks at Stephenson-for-Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes from the Charlotte Hornets’ side of things, and comes away feeling unmoved: “Overall it feels like the Hornets did the Clippers a favor.”
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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