Thread: Cav's bulletin board..
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**remy23** · 04-29-2008, 10:01 AM

Quote:

CAVS VS. WIZARDS
Charles Oakley would have protected Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter

of the many reasons Charles Oakley wanted to make a comeback this season, even at age 44, was to help provide some "protection" for LeBron James, as he did many years ago for Michael Jordan in Chicago.

Oakley, a graduate of John Hay High School in Cleveland, played 19 years in the NBA, mostly with the Bulls, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks. He played one season with the Washington Wiz ards and most recently played seven games with the Houston Rockets in 2003-04. He was one of the last enforcers in the NBA. His mere presence meant Jordan and Vince Carter - when Oakley was in Toronto - would not receive any harm from the opposition.

Or else.

"Guys didn't want to run into Oakley's screens, let alone make him mad and think they could run freely through the lane without any retaliation if they had committed a hard foul on Jordan or Carter," said Johnny Clark, former assistant director of player development for the Toronto Raptors.

"The Wizards would not have made those hard fouls [on James] with Oakley [around], if he was with the Cavs. A lot of guys just don't want to deal with Oakley."

Since the Wizards don't have to deal with him, Stevenson hacked James in the first half during Game 4 when James went in for a layup. Stevenson knocked off James' headband, and the two players came close to a confrontation before being pulled apart.

Stevenson received a flagrant 1 foul for his effort. In Game 1, James drove hard to the basket and was whacked in the face by Andray Blatche, but there was no whistle. In Game 2, Brendan Haywood shoved James while he was in the air on a layup attempt. Haywood received a flagrant 2 and was ejected.

"None of that would have happened if I was playing because they would have got it the other way," Oakley said. "If [James] was fouled hard with me on the court, it would've been taken care of, no matter how many fines [NBA Commissioner] David Stern would've given me. I once told [Stern] that I have a job to do and he has a job to do, and my job is to do whatever I can to help my team win, including protecting my teammates."

Despite the hard fouls on James, so far his teammates have not exactly retaliated, and that made Oakley laugh.

"I guess they don't have anyone cut like that," said Oakley, about the Cavs' non-response for James. "But LeBron is big enough to get back at them, but they can't ask him to fight, score, sell tickets, sell popcorn and park cars, too. Somebody else has to do something."

During the postgame interview Sunday, James said the Wizards were trying to hurt him. At the Wizards' practice on Monday, Haywood mocked James when he puckered his face up like a baby and said to reporters, "Oooh, they're trying to hurt me!"

Haywood said James wears No. 23 because of Jordan and should act like it.

"Mike got fouled way worse than this," Haywood said to the media. "You know what I'm saying? Nobody is trying to hurt him. Everybody is trying to play basketball, trying to win, trying to play tough. Leave it alone."

Haywood added that he has never heard an NBA player claim another team was blatantly trying to hurt him like James said.

"Back in the day, you couldn't have said that just because of the nature of the game with the Bad Boy Pistons, the Knicks . . . you would have been seen as flat-out soft," Haywood said to reporters. "But that is how the game has changed. They are not about flagrant fouls or tough play. It's all about fluid motion and scoring a lot of points, so it's different. When I was growing up, you never heard that. I never heard Magic [Johnson] say it. Or [Jordan]. Or Larry [Bird]."

Oakley said he never heard so much pregame and postgame trash-talking in his 19 years as a player. Oakley scoffed at Stevenson's "overrated" claim. He said it's also time for James to let his play do most of the talking.

"How can Stevenson call anyone overrated when he should be happy he's even in the league?" Oakley said. "LeBron should not stoop down to [the Wizards'] level. He's a superstar and will always be a superstar. LeBron shouldn't waste his time with them. Just play ball. Washington will be home soon, and if they have a problem with what I've said, I'm easy to find."

Fined:

Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson was fined $25,000 for making menacing gestures in Sunday's Game 4. After he made a basket in the first quarter, Stevenson came up court and brought his index finger across his throat.

Oakley has hinted at wanting to play again and while it's too late for him to come back, it's nice hearing the words of a tough, old-school veteran. I have no doubts he would have laid the hurt on the Wizards for what's taken place during the series.

And it's interesting for Haywood to say LeBron is complaining about people trying to injure him. In case Haywood forgot, he's the guy responsible for that outrageously dangerous play of shoving James out of midair. I've had that happen to me and on the way down, I was thinking "I'm gonna get ****ed up." So in light of that, being shoved out of midair is a dirty play and it's not a basketball play. But no matter of whether Stevenson talks some more, or Haywood says the clothes-line swings or midair pushes are intentional, Cleveland can end this series tomorrow night.

And despite all the trash talk (overwhelmingly coming from just ONE side) and physical play, unless you win, it's worthless. Pure and simple.

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