Desparately Seeking Scottie

If last night's Game 5 of the Boston-Cleveland series taught us anything, it taught us that LeBron James needs a sidekick. Guys named Boobie, Wally, and Zee need not apply. Despite James' 23 points in the first half, the Cavs only led by 3 (after squandering a 14-point advantage minutes earlier) at the intermission. James ended with 35, but was essentially a non-factor in the second half. At this stage in his career, James is Michael Jordan (Kobe is the best player, but too old to take the role). James plays on a team of fourth and fifth scoring options. The Celtics were not too heartbroken when they had to part with Delonte West, who is an exceptional backup point guard. In their first three trips to the playoffs (1985-1987), Jordan's Bulls won one game (this stretch included two sweeps by the Mighty C's). In the 1987 NBA draft they added Scottie Pippen and immediately began winning in the playoffs, including a trip to the conference semis in 1988 and consecutive losses to the Bad Boys in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990. We know what happened next. The point is, Jordan needed help to get over the hump. The Bulls might have won a title had the Sonics not traded the rights to Scottie Pippen for the rights to Olden Polynice, but they would not have gone on to be the second most dominating team in NBA history (a distant second at that to the 1960s Celtics). It is here where the parallel to James is clearly exhibited. Not to take away from the Cavs and their superstar, but they have over-performed the past three seasons. While Jordan was playing the likes of Larry, McHale, and Parrish in the first round, LeBron has faced the Wizards, a franchise that passed out t-shirts celebrating their making the playoffs in consecutive seasons. While teams that made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference in the 1980s deserved to be there, one can question the credentials of the playoff teams from the Least over the past three seasons. The fact remains, the Cavs will not win the championship until they get LeBron a guy who can score, run the offense, and play shut-down defense when required. That might be asking too much, but how about just a decent player...