Wiedmer: NBA begins a new chapter of Spurs vs. LeBron

photo Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, right, drives past Miami Heat's Luol Deng during their game in this Oct. 11, 2014, file photo.
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Visiting San Antonio's AT&T Center to deliver the world champion Spurs their championship rings Tuesday night, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said of the best team and organization in pro ball:

"To this spectacular Spurs team ... that represents the essence of team basketball and respect for the game."

Few truer words could be spoken. And no sport may more desperately need both its college and pro teams to follow the servant leader mindset practiced each and every game by San Antonio.

Heck, the Spurs even have the NBA's first woman assistant coach, 16-year WNBA veteran point guard Becky Hammon having joined the staff during the offseason.

Not that anyone much is focusing on the five-time champion Spurs these days. Not with LeBron James switching allegiances from the Miami Heat -- with whom he won two rings before being flattened 136 days ago by the Spurs -- back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, with whom he began his pro career in 2003.

While both the Spurs and Chicago Bulls may appear at least a little better than the Cavs, Cleveland definitely deserves some serious consideration as a title contender, and not only because of King James. The gradual yet steady improvement of point guard Kyrie Irving and the addition of the polished and versatile Kevin Love give the Cavs a better trio than James had with the Heat.

That's right. Better. Maybe much better.

While fellow Heatles Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh often appeared more like a U than a perfect triangle, two of the sides never touching, Irving, Love and James seem to be a perfect fit, each man's skill set expertly complementing the other two.

Does it mean they'll be able to topple the Bulls if long-injured point guard Derrick Rose is again healthy? Possibly not. But Rose has to remain healthy for the first time in three years. And 7-footer Pau Gasol has to prove he's worth the $19 million he'll make this season to take some offensive heat off Rose. And rookie sharpshooter Doug McDermott must show that he led the nation in scoring last season at Creighton for more reasons than because he played in a weakened Big East and for his father, who was the Bluejays coach.

No less than TNT analyst Kenny Smith believes the Bulls "have everything they need" to reach the Finals.

But there's also a reason James has played in five of the last nine Finals, winning it all with Miami in 2012 against Oklahoma City and against the Spurs in 2013. He's simply the best player in the game. And with apologies to the currently injured Kevin Durant of OKC, it's by a fairly large margin.

In fact, so excited is Cleveland for LeBron's Thursday night return against the Knicks that as of 8 p.m. Tuesday the 72 tickets that could still be purchased were priced from $701 up. That's right. Up.

This doesn't mean the Cavs unquestionably will become the Haves come the postseason, especially since David Blatt has never previously been an NBA head coach. The Bulls may be better. The Spurs -- assuming the ageless of trio of Tim Duncan (38), Manu Ginobili (37) and Tony Parker (32) can avoid acting their ages for one more season -- should be better. The Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder could be better if Durant's broken foot heals quickly and correctly.

Nor is James necessarily proclaiming his team worthy of a title, as he did when he first arrived in Miami.

"We haven't done anything right now," he told TNT. "We've got to lose a game we thought we should have won. Got to get in an argument now and then. We've got a long way to go."

But during Tuesday night's pregame, TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal -- who won four NBA rings -- said something that shouldn't be ignored, noting of James, "You need to compare him to Magic (rather than Michael Jordan), because Magic was the master of making people better."

So here we go, the best team of our time (San Antonio) again attempting to overcome the best player of our time (James).

Who wins? Allowing our favoritism to show, we'll go for a Spurs repeat. A second prediction? If the Cavs fail to reach the Finals and Kentucky wins the NCAA championship, expect UK coach John Calipari to join his good friend LeBron a year after Cal reportedly turned down over $80 million to coach the Cavs.

But that's close to eight months away. For now, it's time to sit back and watch the essence of team basketball attempt to subdue the best team player since Magic on its way to at least one more championship.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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