We did it!
After being with the organization since 1971 - and getting close as a player, but not quite making it - and then now pushing over the hump - and because I’ve been with these guys every dribble, every pass, every mistake - it almost feels like I was there with them.
But we still have unfinished business.
Still, I really feel for guys like Donyell, Damon, David Wesley, guys who’ve been in the league a long time and are now experiencing their first Finals. I’m so happy for those guys. At the same time, I’m awfully proud of people like LeBron, Drew, Eric, Larry, and Z- Z has been a trooper because he was chastised for a lot of things, but he stayed true to himself and made sure he picked up his game this postseason and it's made a difference. To see LeBron embrace him like that - man, it was something. Then, to top it all off, we get a diamond in the rough in Boobie Gibson – in two weeks he’s become a household name, not only in Cleveland, but around the country. It’s ironic that he’s going back to his home state to play in the finals. It’s just a great situation all the way around.
Larry Hughes to me has to share some of the MVP ranking. To take what he did pain-wise, it really galvanized the team. He made them realize it was about the team, not about individuals. And he gave them some great minutes, even under adverse conditions. I think what he went through this series pretty much dispels the criticism he's endured. He showed big heart. I took those same cortisone shots and when they wear off it hurts, man. And to have to recover in one day and go out and to do it again – I really take my hat off to Larry Hughes, because he deserves a lot of credit.
LeBron showed me and everybody in the world how astute a basketball player he is. He understands the game so well, and as I told him in the locker room after the game, it seemed like he empowered his teammates to step up, like he did in high school. And he's matured so fast - not even just one year to the next, but from Game 1 to Game 6, he matured so quick.
The coaching staff has also stayed true to itself while adjusting when necessary. They actually took the team they finished games with and made them the starting team. Plus, again, they got the team to believe in their philosophy. Of course, you have to win games to get a team to believe in your philosophy and they won those games with the defense-first approach.
And then there's Coach Brown: two years in the league, 50 wins each year, brings this team to the Finals, and still doesn't get the credit he deserves. And he himself tweaked his own philosophies during the playoffs, developing a shooting lineup, learning when to call timeouts.
Even Danny Ferry and Lance Blanks reinforcing that we're a no-excuses team after Game 2 - what that did, it made the team forget about the calls that were going against them and focus more on winning the game. That was a major turning point in the series and Danny and Lance knew that they had to interject themselves into the equation to keep everything stable. That was a huge.
On this team right now, everybody knows their sweet spots. And once you learn that, you can start to develop a solid unit where everybody knows where they fit in and it all works together. Z's got his pick and pop. Drew and LBJ are the post-up guys down low. Larry’s a slasher, Sasha’s a slasher and a shooter. Eric's our defensive specialist.
Finally, you have to give the ownership group credit. To be able to reach their goal in two years is amazing. They empower their people to make decisions and make things work and all of that takes the franchise to another level off the court. That massive power of everyone making decisions is really a massive powerful flow of energy that rises to the top...He definitely keeps you on your toes, too.
This team knows they’re going up against a dragon in the Spurs - as LeBron says, the Big Bad Wolf - but they’ll be ready because they match up well with San Antonio. It’s gonna be interesting because San Antonio defends the same way, and it’s gonna come down to individual efforts. We were fortunate enough to beat them twice in the season because of matchups, but they play totally different in the playoffs. They were able to slow down Utah, slow down Phoenix; on the other hand, we were able to slow down New Jersey and we were able to go toe-to-toe and bang it with the Pistons.
It'll come down to which team can impose its will on the other team, which is gonna be some battle. And that’s gonna be a beautiful thing to watch.
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