"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown..."

This is a Shakespearean quote from 1597's Henry IV, Part II, but over 500 years later, it applies perfectly, to the king of today - LeBron James.

The Cleveland Brons, excuse me, Cavaliers, finished the regular season with a 66-16 record, the best in the NBA, earning them home-court advantage throughout the playoffs - the first time had ever done these things.

With their performance throughout the season, the Cavs seemed primed for a legit Finals run. Looking at the Eastern Conference playoffs team, I figured the Cavaliers would only hit a wall in the Finals. For the first two rounds my assumption was correct, as Bron and his sidekicks swept the Pistons, then the Hawks.

I even anticipated that the Magic style of play would hold them back against the Cavs, outweighing the defensive matchups where the Cavs had their shortfalls. I know, being a Knicks and Nuggets fan, that teams that shoot a lot, usually lose whenever they had bad shooting games.

Looking back, not only did the Magic shoot well for the series, Dwight Howard was virtually unguardable at points throughout the series. The Cavs starting center, Zydrunas Ilguaskas, couldn't put the clamps on Dwight Howard to save his life because he's so slow. The duties fell, for the most part, to Anderson Varejao, who probably wouldn't start on any other NBA team.

So, the Cavs lost the series 4-2, and of course the topic of discussion went straight to 2010 and LeBron's plan. From my point of view, I think that if the Cavs DON'T win the 'ship next year, LeBron is gone. His team had a great chance of winning in the Finals and to fall short the way they did is a HUGE disappointment.

LeBron was angry, deciding not to speak to the media postgame, and now the attention shifts to the Cavs front office. The Eastern Conference finals and the 2007 Finals proved LeBron's greatness, but also that he cannot do it himself. The same thing happened with the Michael Jordan Bulls of the late 80s - Jordan would drop big numbers, and lose.

LeBron needs teammates that can get the job done along with him, as opposed to some of these jokers. The Cavs need a post player that can get it done on both ends, and a distributor, as opposed to a streaky shooter with limited point guard skills.

If the team does not improve, LeBron is as good as gone. He owes nothing to the team, as they've had nothing but time and opportunity to give him a good supporting cast.

"Can I get some help??? PLEASE!"

Nike Zoom Soldier III

Although LeBron James is one of my least favorite players, I'll start off this post highlighting his Zoom Soldier III. Every year, LeBron goes through the season in his latest signature model, then switches into a new one for his playoff run.

The first, the Zoom Soldier, was a great shoe, and I had the original Navy/White colorway. The Zoom Soldier was the only thing that ever made me like LeBron.

The ZS3 are a decent looking shoe, and the POP, or playoff pack colorway is the best. This colorway remindes me of the Air Jordan XI a little bit, with the white upper and black patent.

With LeBron being arguably Nike's biggest athlete, all of his shoes come out in MANY colorways, even his team shoes. The ZS3 is no different. So far, four have released - This home one, an away, an white/navy for the Cavs alternates, and a HORRID camo colorway.

As LeBron always likes to bite Michael Jordan, his teammates have begun wearing his signatures like the Bulls did in the 90s. When the Cavs took the floor for Game 4, wearing their alternate jerseys, it seemed like EVERY Cavalier was wearing Soliders. I'm not sure, but I imagine that Joe Smith was the only not, because he is signed to adidas.

Here you can see Boobie Gibson wearing them, and he usually wears Nike Hyperdunks for every game. Mo Williams wore adidas his whole career before coming to Cleveland, but this season he's worn Hyperdunks, and now he wears LeBrons.

Perhaps the Cavaliers should stop wearing LeBron's sneakers - Because it sure didn't help them win...

Lakers - Nuggets Game 4

After squandering a chance to take hold of the series in Game 3, the Nuggets bounced back had with their Game 4 performance against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets led throughout Game 3, but Kobe and the Lakeshow took over the game in the fourth, and the series lead. The Lakers regained the home-court advantage they had lost in Game 2 in LA.

Last night, Carmelo Anthony had his worst game of the playoffs, but it did not matter. He shot horribly, was injured, threw up before the game, and received an IV at halftime. The second half was much better than the first, where he struggled to even complete a field goal. He played with much more strength and purpose which helped motivate his team.

Although he has not been shooting as well as he did during the season, JR Smith has been proving himself as a very valuable player in the Nuggets organization. He has been showing great court vision and surprising every one with it. He is feeding the Nuggets bigs with great efficiency. His alley-oop with Chris "Birdman" Andersen last night reminded Jeff Van Gundy of one of Chris Paul's to Tyson Chandler. JR is a very good player, but with him finally breaking out this season, his fifth, proves that he should've went to school.


Kobe and Pau Gasol have been playing well all series, and Andrew Bynum finally broke out of a slump last night, but that was pretty much it from the Lakers. The Nuggets speed and intensity was simply too much last night. Hopefully they can carry it over to Game 5, as the series shifts back to Los Angeles...

Game 4 Box Score

2009 NBA Draft - Thoughts So Far

The draft lottery was last night and this is the perfect time to get into some draft talk. Check for the info and draft order.

The Clippers, who had the 4th best shot at the first pick, won the lottery, and will obviously draft Blake Griffin with the first pick. As you can see here and below, Clips President Andy Roeser had already predicted the team's draft plan - picking first, and taking Blake Griffin. The Kings dropped from 1 all of the way to 4th, the Grizzlies will pick 2nd, and the Thunder have the 3rd pick.

The Thunder will be a playoff team by the 2010-11 season, if not sooner. With there three stars still having room for improvement, and the third pick this year, this team is set for big things. In my opinion, the Thunder should trade the pick to bring in some proven talent. Blake will be gone, the Thunder don't need Rubio, Jordan Hill plays the same position as Jeff Green, and James Harden is a pure scorer, something they already have in Kevin Durant.

The Clippers will be faced with a dilemma, because with Blake Griffin automatically going there, the Clips have four big men, who can all start on an NBA team - Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby, and the rookie. At least one, if not more, will be traded by the start of next season. As a Knicks fan, I would like to see the Knicks explore acquiring MC.

The Knicks are the only lottery team I have a vested interest in, and I want us to trade the 8th pick. Ricky Rubio could be the PG of the future, but there is no way he'll be around at 8. All the superior talent in this draft will be gone by 8, and the rest of the picks will be based on achievements in college or just potential.

This draft class is WEAK, which is why we see so many upperclassmen coming out. Some players that go first round this year would be second rounders any other time, and second rounders from 2008 would move up into the first.

All in all, I'm not going to put too much focus into this year's Draft. Mostly because it's the same time as graduation...

Sunday's Game 7s...

I'm very satisfied with outcomes of yesterday's games. My second-least favorite team in the league, the Boston Celtics, are out of the playoffs. The Cavs are still in, which is saddening, but which ever team comes out of the West, they'll lose to.

I missed the beginning of the Lakers-Rockets game, because I was out getting these:

and some prom stuff...By the time I got home, it was halfway through the second quarter, and the game was already out of hand. It was a blowout throughout, and Pau Gasol went to work! With Yao out, the Rockets had no answer for the Lakers' size and strength inside, and the overall quickness of the team is going to make beating them tough for their upcoming opponent, the Denver Nuggets.

The Celtics-Magic series was a real snoozer, and I decided only to watch the fourth quarter of this game. When I tuned in, the Magic were up 9, and started building on their lead. Soon enough, the lead was double-digits and I tuned out of that game as well.

Now...the Conference Finals are starting Tuesday night and these stand to be two GREAT matchups. Will Nene, Kenyon Martin, and Birdman be able to contain the Lakers' frontline? Will the Lakers be able to contain the explosiveness of the Nuggets?

How will Big Z, Varejao, and Ben Wallace and the rest of the Cavs frontcourt respond to the athleticism of the Magic? Will the Magic be able to defend The Beast, also known as LeBron James?

The answers will become more apparent after the Game 1s on Tuesday and Wednesday...

My Next Purchase...

These are the Nike Zoom Flight Club, and they retail at $110.

I walked into a Footlocker a few weeks ago, and as I browsed the store, they caught my eye like no other pair. The shoe takes design cues from older Nike models like the Hyperflight, Flight 89, and the Zoom Glove. The Zoom Glove was Gary Payton's first signature sneaker, and it also featured a full-length zipper and an inner bootie.

The ZFC is actually the signature sneaker of Tony Parker, but there are several colorways for general release. The colorway pictured above is obviously a classic, taken from the Black/Cement Air Jordan IV. Numerous NBA players have been wearing the ZFC, including Andre Iguodala, OJ Mayo, Parker, and Erick Dampier was sporting them throughout Dallas' playoff run - tragically cut short by the mighty Nuggets...

Welcome

Welcome to Nautical Nonsense...my blog.

The purpose: for a class called Sports Business Communications

I'm going to use this blog to discuss basketball and the material objects associated with it - mainly sneakers.

Enjoy the nonsense.