All about the team

"I never focused the light on just me. That's just who I am. To this day I'm all about my teammates. This is a team game. If I was a tennis player, it'd be a totally different story. But I've always liked team success over individual accolades."

Work ethic has LeBron shooting for an NBA title

From a couple of weeks ago about LeBron's work ethic

Arriving at the gym some mornings to see the lights already on and hear a bouncing basketball doesn’t surprise Mike Brown.

The Cavs head coach doesn’t bother peeking outside his office. He knows LeBron James is working up a sweat already at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

“He puts more time in than most anybody in the league, in my opinion,” Brown said. “That right there is a guy that understands if I’m going to be the greatest ever, I can’t take a day off, a play off.”

“He’s really increased his workload,” Cavs assistant coach Chris Jent said. “It was not every day in the summer and also during the course of the year. This year, it has been every day. Each and every time he walks into the gym, he puts forth a great effort.”

Most of James’ trips to the gym include Jent. The two have spent countless hours together honing James’ game, in particular his shooting.

Jent, a former standout shooter at Ohio State, is in his third season with the Cavs and has been impressed with the development of James’ work ethic. A hard worker to begin with, James has become “a workaholic” in the words of Brown.Jent credits James’ maturity and experience with USA Basketball the past three summers.

“(He was) seeing how everybody else was doing things, I think especially Kobe who always had the reputation of being a hard worker,” Jent said. “I think all of that stuff is contagious. ... He put that work in and he saw a result, and I think that made him even hungrier to work even harder.”

Brown said less than a week after last season’s disappointing Game 7 loss at Boston, James was back at Cleveland Clinic Courts working on his game. When Brown brought his son to the office one morning after that series loss, his son was stunned to see James in there just after the season ended.Brown remembers his son saying: “He’s not supposed to be here.”

That’s when Brown let his son in on a secret.

“Buddy, LeBron doesn’t just show up at the games with a Superman outfit on. He’s a great player. But he puts the time in.”

Some were surprised last Sunday to see James on the floor at The Palace of Auburn Hills in game mode two hours before tipoff. He went through an aggressive half-hour shooting session with Jent, even acting as if imaginary defenders were harassing him.

“When you see things like that, that’s LeBron,” Brown said. “That’s what he does.”

Later that afternoon, James returned to the floor to finish off the Pistons and complete a series in which he averaged 32.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

“LeBron is so focused right now and obviously so focused for that game that I think it’s easy for him to get into that mode,” Jent said.

Watching James go that hard in a pregame workout gives Jent a satisfying feeling.

“I just appreciate the fact that he’s doing it,” Jent said. “That was a big thing for us a couple years ago. You got to do it. You got to do it every day. So just to see him being in that routine and to see that focus, the way he’s locked in, yeah, it’s a pleasure to watch.

James’ hard work doesn’t just benefit his own game. It trickles down to the rest of the team.

Brown constantly talks about how James makes his job as head coach so much easier.

“He’s our biggest influence,” Jent said. “He allows us to coach the other guys because of his willingness to let us coach him. The way he brings it every day in practice and every day to the gym really raises the level. Whether it be in the weight room or on the floor or in the locker room, he’s been a great leader.”

LeBron makes 1st team All NBA Defense

“It was a big goal of mine to become a better defensive player,” James said. “I decided to take a little more onus on that end of the floor. It’s humbling and a great feat for myself because I really enjoy that side of the floor. I thank the coaches for seeing that I picked up my game on that end. It’s humbling.

“It’s all about pride. I just take pride on that end of the court. I’m just as locked in on that end as I am on the offensive end.”

LeBron's commitment to defense

Excerpt from Chris Sheridan of espn.com

But the real focus for James and the Cavs has been on the defensive end, where they were ranked first or second in the league (along with Boston) all year long. James, never a truly great defender before, became a feared stopper whose fabulous blocked shots rivaled his thunder dunks for highlight appeal.

Daniel "Boobie" Gibson said he and his teammates noticed the difference in James as soon as training camp began. While resting on the sidelines during practices after helping Team USA win Olympic gold, James kept yelling about defense, encouraging his teammates to sell out on that end of the floor. Obviously, he backed up his words once he started playing.

"I had never seen him like that before," Gibson said. "All he was talking about was defense."

Coach K on Jim Rome

Heard a great interview on Jim Rome's radio show yesterday with Coach K. Here are some notes from the interview about Team USA & Duke Basketball:

*When asked if he was tired from doing both Team USA and Duke Basketball

-You can’t get tired out when your are invigorated into something. All of us were invigorated. All of the players said it was the best thing to happen to them.

*In the first practice Kobe Bryant talked to Coach K and said, “Coach I want to guard the best player and I promise I will destroy him.” In the first practice Kobe did not take one shot. He gets it.

*Kobe is passionate about his preparation. He had to adjust his practices. He thought they needed two a days to prepare. Players told him that they didn’t need it. Coach K then realized they were lifting & doing their own skill work in the morning, and then coming back at night and shooting. Kobe never left the gym.

*LeBron wanted to learn from the best. Although he is one of the best passers in the NBA, he wanted to learn the fundamentals from teammate Jason Kidd. He wanted to learn how to prepare better so he wanted Kobe. Coach K said the best thing about practice was how everyone wanted to learn from each other to get better.

*Jason Kidd was the most valuable player on the team. He understood legacy, he had been there before. He had his finger on the pulse of everyone there from the coaches to the players. He had the respect of everyone there. Coach K said they don't win a gold medal without him.

*Shane Battier is Coach K’s favorite. Usually a point guard knows what everyone’s position is. Battier knows this better than most point guards. Coach K likes to huddle up to say something motivational. During Battier’s senior year coach is ready to say something and Battier takes over the huddle before practice. He decides he can’t say anything better than Battier so he doesn’t talk. It says that way the rest of the year with Battier leading the huddles before and after practice, they win a championship.

Putting in the Time

LeBron James made 3-pointers from every angle, drove into the lane for dunks and leaned into low post moves.

He was just getting warmed up -- 2 hours before tipoff -- and his regular routine provided another demonstration of greatness.

James had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, sweeping the Eastern Conference first-round series.

The 24-year-old superstar said his work ethic has been "everything" in a breathtaking career that has surpassed unprecedented hype.

"You're only born with a certain amount of gifts," he said. "You have to take advantage of them, and put in the work. My work ethic has helped me be the player I am today."

Cavs coach Mike Brown said James is a "workaholic," and relayed an anecdote about his son being in awe of James lifting weights and going through individual drills during last offseason.

"I said, 'LeBron doesn't just show up at the game with a Superman outfit on,'" Brown recalled saying to his son.

Hunger to Win

Good article from ESPN the Magazine's Chris Broussard on how the greatest basketball players all have one thing in common; an insatiable desire to win. Thanks to Coach Spilker for sharing this article with me.

No words were spoken, but the volume was louder than a roar. Moments after scoring 45 points in last year's winner-take-all Game 7 Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Celtics, LeBron James hustled off the court in a huff. Chin buried in his chest, he stormed into the locker room -- blowing by security guards, bumping past teammates -- never once taking his eyes off the floor.

He was ticked.

And that was a good thing.

If you want to know what drove the Cavaliers to their 66-16 record this season; if you want to understand why they protected their home court (39-2) like a SWAT unit, where they shellacked opponents by more than 15 points a game; if you want to understand why James suddenly looked like the NBA's most fearsome defender, well, your answers start with that angry walk through the bowels of the Garden last year.

How do I know? Because I've seen versions of that walk a few times since I started covering the NBA 20 years ago. And so I can tell you that for the first time on a basketball court, James was probably experiencing real pain. Hunger pain, you might call it, but it has nothing to do with food. It's the kind of ache that Michael Jordan felt after losing in the playoffs year after year to the Pistons, what Isiah endured when his Pistons kept falling to the Celtics, what Magic and Bird went through each time they lost to one another. Stomach-churning losses make ravenous competitors hungrier. It's why the postseason brings out the best in the best. "The playoffs are all about having hunger to the point where you're never satisfied," James explains.

Hunger is not an emotion, not quite a mentality and certainly not a skill. What it is, though, is as vital as anything drawn up on a whiteboard or honed in a gymnasium. Coaches come up with syrupy speeches and perform wild pregame stunts in an effort to generate it, and moderately talented players -- "energy guys" -- earn millions for providing a form of it. It's unquantifiable and only vaguely identifiable, and that allows every baller to think he's hungrier than the man he's facing up. Only some of them, of course, have a case. "It's that old cliché: 'Don't talk about it, be about it,'" says Hornets coach Byron Scott, who won three rings with the Lakers. "A lot of teams talk about how hungry they are, how dedicated they are. But until you go out and show it, it's just talk."

Now, some examples of hunger are textbook: Mine are Willis Reed limping onto the court in the 1970 Finals. Dominique and Bird dueling it out in Game 7 in 1988. MJ's 38-point performance while battling defenders and the flu in the 1997 Finals. Derek Fisher sinking a clutch three in 2007, an hour after flying 2,000 miles from his daughter's eye-cancer surgery.

LeBron's hunger has infected his teammates. Not that they can't have a good time.

Where will it come from this year? Who's going to commit to playing D for all 48? Who's going to fight through screens or risk lumps and lacerations lunging into the stands after the rock? We offer some guesses elsewhere in this story. But know this: It's not about physical effort only. That's the easy part. The hard part is using discipline and maturity to apply your brain as much as your body. Take it from a reporter who's spent a lot of days with players during series: There are guys who scour scouting reports and those who skim them -- and the difference is clear come tip-off. When I look at a player and try to guess how he'll impact a series, I begin by asking how dialed-in he is, on off-days and on-nights. Does he watch film in free time, seeking every edge possible, or just in coach- mandated sessions? Does winning mean enough to him that he'll sacrifice touches, feeding the hot hand even if it's not his? These are the kinds of questions coaches and captains ask all season as they scan the practice court and locker room. If they don't like the answers they see, it's their obligation to ratchet up the hunger quotient.

Exhibit A: Early December in Boston, when Kevin Garnett nearly brought Glen Davis to tears. KG felt the Celtics' subs were squandering a 25-point lead against the Blazers. So during a timeout, he got in Davis' grill and let him have it. The C's won, and kept right on winning for eight games.

Exhibit B: Kobe's bizarre "trade me" rants, delivered in July 2007 following back-to-back first-round exits. Kobe told me later the episode motivated teammates and created a "win now" sense of urgency upstairs. See, front office execs can show their hunger as well. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak responded to his star's cravings by adding a necessary post threat in Pau Gasol.

Exhibit C: Denver trading for Chauncey Billups, which wasn't just a way to get rid of AI. Nuggets personnel boss Mark Warkentien knew Billups had plenty of practice whetting the appetites of his old Pistons teammates, who once fluctuated famously between famished and full. Billups' priority in Denver has been to coax the Nuggets, longtime opening-round fodder, to at least the second round for the first time in 15 years. "I'm not good at playing it off or playing with people who don't have the same passion or desire that I have," Billups says.

Some guys, I have come to believe, are just wired with a particular and insatiable desire. "CP3 and me are similar in our desire to win," Utah's Deron Williams says of New Orleans' Chris Paul. "We both hate to lose in whatever we do." Sounds like a cliché, but it's not. It's hard to describe what it's like to be in the presence of some of the most competitive people in the world, but you can actually feel their heart when you are. I was on the set of last season's NBA preview photo shoot for The Magazine when Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were locked in a game of table tennis that was anything but two guys killing time. Allen's eyes trained on the ball; beads of sweat formed on Pierce's brow. Watching them, I got the feeling that if they were half as intense during the season as they were on that late September evening they'd be champs -- and nine months later they were.

Winning does little to sate hunger for such guys. Michael Jordan still wants a seventh ring. The three titles Kobe won with Shaq might as well be ancient history now. He won't retire happy until he gets ice for his pinky without help from the big man. "I'm always starving," Kobe says. "I'm going to scrape the plate, whether it's now or five years ago." Tim Duncan owns four rings with the Spurs, but that's not enough. "You don't want to see somebody else holding the trophy because you know what it feels like. It makes you want it that much more."

So does actually believing that your team can win, as opposed to just hoping or wanting. The handful of teams with a real reason to think the Larry O'Brien Trophy could be theirs grow hungrier with each step toward that goal. Which brings us back to our cover subject. LeBron says he's hungrier than ever this season, and you believe him, if only because the Cavaliers are on the short list of favorites to win it all for the first time in his career. "It reminds me of the days when I was back in high school," he says. "Every time we went out on the court we knew we were going to win. So, yeah, this is the hungriest I've been. I see the potential in our team."

Having the best record in the league will do that.

It's been almost a year since LeBron took that surly walk after the Cavaliers swallowed a very bitter pill. This spring, King James & Co. expect nothing less than a four-series meal. And they're saving room for dessert.

How can I help my teammates?

LeBron James on 60 Minutes Sunday with Steve Kroft:

But of all the weapons in James' basketball arsenal, he thinks the most powerful may be his brain. Asked what the strongest part of his game is, James told Kroft, "The way I approach the game mentally. I think, team first. It allows me to succeed, it allows my team to succeed. Because I'm always thinking about, 'How can I help my teammates become better?' I've always approached the game that way, ever since, I mean, I was a kid."

LeBron's Commitment to Defense

There is a reason that the Cavs are off to a tremendous start this year. It starts and ends with their defense. Good article here on LeBron's new found commitment on the defensive end. Here is what LeBron says:

"Everybody says they want to play defense. They say they want to make a defensive stand,'' James told me Wednesday. "But are you really going to go out there and take pride in your defense and guard your man one-on-one? It took me a few years to realize I wanted to be a really good defensive player, and I've kind of turned that corner to where I am today. ''

"Communication is the biggest thing on defense,'' he said. "If you don't have that, you can easily break down. Me spearheading the defense with Ben and Delonte, we do a good job of trying to make sure guys are in the right spots. We try to help each other. It's not always going to be right, but you have to be able to cover for each other. When you make mistakes, by talking and communicating, you can get through it.''

Says coach Mike Brown:

"He just doesn't do it one time. He does it quite a bit,'' Brown said. "You hear him from the back side of our defense. We may have two people involved in a pick-and-roll, and he's yelling to our guys what they should do, what type of coverage we're in. That's very exciting to hear and see.

"Then one thing I talk to him about is his weakside defense. I thought [in Wednesday's victory] we didn't come up with all of them, but he got his hands on a ton of balls coming from the weak side because he was in the correct position defensively. And he was aware. When you've got your leader doing that type of stuff on that end of the floor, it's very contagious.''

More from Coach Brown:

Talking your way through defense is a big step forward from just talking about it. To demonstrate how thoroughly indoctrinated his club has become to the task, Brown -- in the middle of a pregame chat with reporters -- interrupted his comments to stop Williams as the point guard walked by.

"Hey, Mo! Mo!'' Brown said. "What's the one thing we have to do tonight? Yeah, one thing ...''

Poor Williams. Suddenly, a dozen people were looking at him, the silence lengthening. He might have been thinking about his Christmas list, pondering world peace or solving quadratic equations on his way out to shoot some warm-up shots, but now he was on the spot.

"We ... have to defend,'' Williams finally said.

Brown beamed.

"Now look at his face,'' the coach said. "That's a sincere young man there. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. That's just how my guys are. And you've got to love it. It just comes from within them. We've talked about it, and they believe it. I can ask any one of my guys that and they'll give you the same answer.''

LeBron James takes on different role for Team USA

Courtesy of Xavier Basketball (from 2007)

In his third pro season, Cleveland's LeBron James became one of the NBA's most prolific scorers, averaging 31.4 points per game and 30.8 in the playoffs.

Then he went to Japan and became......a point guard? In the FIBA world championships, James has averaged 12.5 points per game. He's third among the Americans in scoring, behind fellow captains Dwyane Wade (20.0 points) and Carmelo Anthony (19.7).

James isn't lighting up the scoreboard. But he's making his teammates better simply by being on the court. As the U.S. prepares to meet Germany in the quarterfinals Wednesday night,

James is second on the team in assists, with 3.5 per game. That's fifth among the tourney's remaining players. "I still think that's the best thing he does -- his presence, especially the passing," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He and Wade are incredible passers."

It would be natural fora world-class scorer to fret over his point production. But James said he's not concerned with his numbers.

"If anybody knows my game, they know I don't play like that," James said after a Team USA workout this week. "I play just to help our team win. Whatever our team needs for us to try and win ballgames, that's what I'm going to do.

"I can go out there and take no shots, but if I can rebound and assist and play defense and help our team win, that's what I'm going to be," James said. "I never cared about personal statistics. Never. Never in my life."