Cleveland Cavaliers playing Atlanta have Terry Talkin' about how it's time for ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The man who assembled the first Atlanta Hawks team ever to make the Eastern Conference Finals doesn't go to the arena to watch his own team play.

That man is Denny Ferry, who is on "an indefinite leave of absence" from his job as the the Hawks general manager.

The former Cavaliers player and general manager has turned the Hawks into one of the top teams in the NBA after only three seasons. His team won a franchise-record 60 games. The only players still with the Hawks from before Ferry took over are Al Horford and Jeff Teague -- and he even matched the offer sheet given Teague by Milwaukee in 2013 to ensure the point guard remained with the Hawks.

Why was Ferry suspended? He isn't and wasn't suspended by the NBA. He is still being paid by the Hawks. The "leave of absence" came about as part of a dysfunctional ownership group.

Ferry caused some of his own problems because he made some dumb and racially insensitive remarks about Luol Deng during a conference call with the Hawks owners. Ferry read a scouting report stating that Deng "has a little African in him ... he's like a guy who would have a nice store front and sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back."

That was only a small part of what Ferry said about Deng. He praised Deng's leadership ability, and how the players and coaches in Chicago "loved him." He talked about Deng's injury history. He talked about how he liked Deng.

Deng was one of several free agents that Ferry discussed during that conference call. Carmelo Anthony also was discussed.

FERRY TRIED TO SIGN DENG

Here's a point that many missed: Ferry made those dumb remarks from a scouting report that he should have paraphrased on June 6, 2014. But when the free agent period opened on July 1, 2014, Ferry made Deng one of his top targets to bring to Atlanta.

That's right, the scouting report was not Ferry's way of dismissing Deng. He offered a two-year, $20 million deal. He believed it was his job to give a full picture of Deng to the owners -- and saying he still planned to bid for him.

USA Today and others reportedhow Atlanta pursued Deng, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal with Miami. The difference is that Deng can opt-out of the contract this summer after one season. Ferry refused to give the opt-out. His reasoning was if Deng played poorly or was injured, they had to pay him for two years. If he played well, then he could leave after one season.

He viewed the Miami contract as one that favors Deng, who followed the lead of LeBron James. It was James whose agents went with the one year, plus one-year option demand when he signed with the Cavs. Paul Pierce signed the same kind of contract with Washington.

That's because the salary cap is expected to take big jumps in the next few seasons -- meaning more money for the players.

But this is an important point -- Ferry wanted Deng, who is from the Sudan.

As he was negotiating with Deng, Ferry signed Thabo Sefolosha to a three-year, $12 million deal. A former member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sefolosha's father is South African, his mother is Swiss.

Some critics have said the harsh report on Deng actually was Ferry's own words.

"I never believed that," said Mike Brown, the former Cavs coach. Brown talked about how he has known Ferry since 1997. They became close friends. When Ferry was the Cavs' GM from 2005-10, Brown was his coach. Brown visited Ferry last month in Atlanta.

"The moment I heard about this, I knew Danny was reading a scouting report," said Brown. "That's not how he talks. That's not him."

Ferry's mistake, other than reading verbatim from the scouting report, was that he didn't say, "That's garbage." He left it hanging out there, and one of his enemies would eventually use it to try and hang him.

NO NBA PENALTY

Ferry is not under any NBA discipline. When the story broke in early September about Ferry's comments in a private meeting, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at the time that there was no cause for Ferry to be fired.

On April 20, 2015, Silver appeared on WFAN'S Boomer and Carton show to talk about a variety of NBA topics. The Hawks were mentioned, and Silver said the following:

"Danny is not under any type of suspension."

"There was a dispute among (ownership partners) and Danny was collateral damage."

"He read a scouting report and knew it was inappropriate."

Silver said the league is not preventing Ferry from doing his job, it's the leave of absence that was worked out with ownership.

The Hawks are in the process of being sold and it's up to the new ownership group to determine if Ferry should return to his job. Silver also praised the job done by Ferry.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED

One of the Hawks' owners is Michael Gearon Jr. He doesn't like Ferry and believes Ferry was given too much power by fellow owner Bruce Levenson, who hired Ferry. The GM believed he only had to report to Levenson. This didn't thrill Gearon. He taped part of the call where Ferry discussed Deng.

Eventually, that was leaked to the media in September.

Ferry had made some enemies with the Hawks. He fired some popular people. He made gutsy trades and decided not to bring back Josh Smith, who was one of the team's best players and had grown up in the Atlanta area.

But the real battle was between Levenson and Gearon. The investigation was conducted by the Atlanta law firm of Bird and Alston. They went through all of Ferry's emails with the Hawks. They read thousands of documents and interviewed 19 people.

Nothing else negative was discovered about Ferry. But the investigation found a 2012 email from Levenson that was racially charged.

He wrote: "I think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority. ... I have been open with our executive team about these concerns. I have told them I want some white cheerleaders and while I don't care what the color of the artist is, I want the music to be music familiar to a 40 year old white guy if that's our season [tickets] demo. I have also balked when every fan picked out of crowd to shoot shots in some timeout contest is black. I have even [complained] that the kiss cam is too black."

Embarrassed, Levenson has put up the team for sale. He is the majority owner. The Hawks have been been purchased by a group headed by Anthony Ressler. Former Duke player Grant Hill is part of the group.

THE FALLOUT FOR FERRY

Ferry apologized twice about the comments. He reached out to Magic Johnson, who initially believed Ferry should be fired. Johnson has since changed his mind.

Ferry would not comment for this story, but others close to him spoke out.

"This is the team that Danny built," said former Cavalier GM Wayne Embry. "I know Danny well. He is not a racist and deserves to be back (as general manager)."

Embry traded for Ferry in 1989, bringing the former Duke star to Cleveland. Embry has been a mentor during Ferry's front office career.

Embry mentioned that former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young has supported Ferry.Young told WSB-TV that "h**l no," Ferry should not lose his job. He's not excusing Ferry's comments in the meeting, but it's "unfair" to judge Ferry solely by this one incident.

Ferry was the Cavs GM from 2005-10. Because Ferry found himself in a racial firestorm, it's worth noting that he had minorities in key positions with the Cavs. In addition to Brown, one of his assistant general managers was Lance Blanks. He hired Max Benton as the head trainer.

"What happened to Danny was most unfortunate," said Blanks. "It happened with the backdrop of the Donald Sterling (racist comments) and other (racial) things happening in our country. I've known Danny since 2000. In Cleveland, he had one of the best work environments (for minorities) that I've ever been in."

Blanks was a scout with the Spurs when Ferry was the assistant general manager. He was an assistant to Ferry with the Cavs (2005-10). Blanks then was the Phoenix Suns GM for three seasons. He now works for the Longhorn Sports network and still stays in contact with Ferry.

"What Danny said was insensitive," said Blanks. "I talked to him about it. He explained about the scouting report. He gave the entire context, talking about how he actually wanted to sign Luol, but was giving the full report that he had. He has a lot of respect for Luol."

Deng told reporters he has talked to Ferry and accepted his apology: "I talked to Danny and really believe he is sorry for what he said."

This has been very hard on Ferry and especially his family. Once labeled a racist, it's almost an impossible tag to shake.

Ferry likes Atlanta. His five children want to stay in the city and he wants to continue his work with Hawks.

The new ownership group hasn't made a decision on Ferry. If you take a close look at the events, it's clear Ferry made some mistakes -- but after a year on shelf, Ferry deserves to have his job back.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2015/05/cleveland_cavaliers_playing_at.html

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Cleveland Cavaliers: Iman Shumpert gets last laugh on Chicago Bulls

Opposing teams should learn a valuable lesson: Never try to harm Iman Shumpert.

Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic clotheslined Shumpert on a drive to the basket with 5 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter of Game 6 in Chicago.

After Shumpert did a quick check to make sure everything was still attached, he went on a run that turned a nip-and-tuck game into a blowout.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Shumpert ignited a 13-2 run in the next 2:33. He scored nine of his 13 points in the scoring binge, as the Cavs lead grew from 42-40 to 55-42.

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I think that was the wrong guy to clothesline in his hometown, Cavs coach David Blatt told the media after the Cavs 94-73 victory. He is really a tough guy besides being a heck of a basketball player. It seemed to really wake him up.

Not to mention the Cavs.

They closed out the Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals, 4-2. They begin the conference finals at 8:30 p.m. May 20 in Atlanta. The Hawks clinched their series May 15 against the Wizards, 4-2.

Everyone needs to be inspired by something, Shumpert said. At that moment, instead of trying to win the fight, I wanted to win the game.

Still, he wasnt thrilled with Mirotic, who was assessed a flagrant-1 foul.

Oh, yeah, that wasnt smart, Shumpert said. I didnt like that at all. There was no need for it, and then to stand over me ... That wasnt smart.

He let the 6-9, 235-pound Montenegro native know about it, too.

I dont even know what I said, Shumpert said.

Shumpert started all six games of the series at shooting guard. The Cavs intended to start Shumpert when he was acquired from New York on Jan. 5. However, he was recovering from a shoulder injury at the time.

Veteran J.R. Smith, who came over from the Knicks with Shumpert in the three-team trade with Oklahoma City, took over at shooting guard and played extremely well.

Smith, though, was suspended for the first two games of the series. Hes come off the bench since hes returned.

Shumpert averaged 10.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 block in the Chicago series. He shot 40.6 percent from the field (28 of 69) and 35.9 percent from behind the arc (14 of 39).

Being on a team like this, we have so many guns, he said. I think I still had an important role before Kevin Love went down and J.R. got suspended. My role was always big. Sometimes it didnt show up in the stat sheet.

When J.R. got suspended, I got more looks at the basket and it showed up on the stat sheet. People got more eyes on it.

Many experts were skeptical the Cavs would advance past Chicago after Loves season-ending surgery. However, the Cavs were the first team in the league to advance to the conference finals. They might be favored to get to the NBA Finals.

If anything, it (being dismissed) motivated us more, Shumpert said. Were doing this for (Love).

Shumpert, 24, got a special feeling from eliminating the Bulls in Chicago. He grew up in nearby Oak Park, Ill.

This was definitely big to close it out here, he said.

When you come from losing all those games, everything is about winning. I didnt try to make it about the Knicks traded me. This is my team now.

Shumpert has evolved into being an important cog in the Cavs pursuit of an NBA championship. He teams with Kyrie Irving to give the Cavs an exciting, young and talented backcourt. Irving will use the time off to try to regain his health, as hes been suffering from a sore left knee and a strained right foot.

This team has put in a lot of work, Shumpert said. We hang our hat on the defensive end. Were grinding it out.

Source: http://www.news-herald.com/sports/20150515/cleveland-cavaliers-iman-shumpert-gets-last-laugh-on-chicago-bulls

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3 Factors That Will Decide Cleveland Cavaliers' Series Against the Chicago Bulls

Following some late-game heroics by LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers have evened their second-round series with the Chicago Bulls.

Standing at two games apiece, the Cavs and Bulls head back to Cleveland in what now becomes a best-of-three series. This Central Division rivalry is already shaping up to be one of the best matchups in the 2015 NBA postseason, fueled by star power, existing bad blood and two game-winning shots by James and Derrick Rose.

Unfortunately, injuries are also taking their toll. We knew Kevin Love (shoulder) would miss the remainder of the postseason, but now Kyrie Irving (foot), Iman Shumpert (groin) and Pau Gasol (hamstring) are hobbled as well. James rolled his ankle late in Game 4 but said he would be active for Game 5 in Cleveland.

If the Cavaliers hope to wrap up the series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, the following three factors will have to go their way.

Rebounding Battle

Entering the series, it was natural to assume rebounding would be an area of concern without Love.

After all, the Bulls possess a terrific glass-cleaning trio with Gasol (11.8 boards per game), Joakim Noah(9.6) and Taj Gibson (6.4). Love was the Cavaliers' best rebounder this season, finishing 12th in the NBA with 9.7 a night. Cleveland would have to get significant help from Tristan Thompson, Timofey Mozgov, James and others to make up for Love's absence.

What we've witnessed in the first four games should come as no surprise. The team that's won the rebounding battle has also won the gameevery single time.

Team Rebounding vs. Game Outcome Bulls: 42 Cavs: 45 Bulls: 54 Cavs: 44 Cavs: 39 Bulls: 37 Cavs: 39 Bulls: 40 Game Winner: Bulls Game Winner: Cavs Game Winner: Bulls Game Winner: Cavs

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James (11.3 rebounds per game in the series) and Thompson (10.0) have been fantastic, making up for Love down low.

Thompson came off the bench in Game 1 before starting the past three games at power forward.

"My role hasn't changed all season," Thompson told ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "Just come in and play hard. Go hard, rebound, defend, get extra possessions and just run the floor."

If the Cavaliers want to win Game 5 and beyond, they'll once again rely on Thompson to control the glass. While James has edged him in rebounding this series, one can't expect the natural small forward to continue his torrid pace.

At 6'9", Thompson doesn't have the size to match up with Gasol (7'0"), instead relying on his quickness and athleticism to gain position in the paint. Mozgov (7'1") is a load to handle for anyone wearing red and black and moves well for someone his size.

The trio of Thompson, Mozgov and James must be better than Gasol, Noah and Gibson for the Cavaliers to come out on top.

Kyrie's Foot

After enjoying the healthiest season of his four-year career, Irving has been noticeably limited in the past few games.

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal provides further detail:

Irving injured the foot in Game 2 of the series against the Boston Celtics, but kept it quiet. He shot just 3-of-11 in Game 3 against the Celtics and acknowledged after the game he had no acceleration, but didnt mention the injury.

The week off between series seemed to help, but Irving stepped on another players foot early Friday and rolled his right ankle, which also exacerbated the foot problem. The Cavs denied during the game there was anything wrong with Irvings ankle, then after the game acknowledged he had imaging done on his foot within the past week. He was diagnosed with a strained foot.

After scoring a combined 51 points in the first two games against Chicago, Irving has looked worse and worse. He finished Game 3 with 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting before dropping a measly 12 on 2-of-10 in Game 4.

Irving's explosiveness has been nonexistent, and the 23-year-old All-Star has struggled to get much lift on his jumpers, too.

The Cavaliers are already without their third-leading scorer (Love) and now face the possibility of playing the rest of the postseason with a watered-down second-best offensive threat. As good as James can be, he can't carry the Cavsoffensive attack by himself.

Irving, when healthy, is arguably the Cavaliers' best one-on-one offensive player. He's a far better shooter than James, and, while not as big and strong, is crafty enough to finish in traffic around the rim.

How important is a healthy Irving to winning the series? In the regular season, Cleveland scored a whopping 10.3 more points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

Unfortunately, it's gotten so bad now for Irving that he's actually asked teammates if they want him out there, given his current state.

James offered his response to Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group:

The kid is a warrior with what he's going through. No one can relate. He's playing 40 minutes on one foot. His presence on the floor, no matter if he's playing on one foot or not, you have to account for him because of his ability to make shots and commanding things on the floor. That goes a long way. It's not just about basketball what this kid is doing for our team right now. He's giving us everything that he's got, and that's all we can ask for.

If Irving can make it back to 80 or 90 percent of his regular-season self, the Cavaliers will advance.

If he remains the same pedestrian, decoy guard we've seen in the past two games, Cleveland will struggle to crack 100 points again.

Containing Derrick Rose

Forget the "Rose can't play on one day of rest" rumor. The 26-year-old former MVP has looked just fine in the past two contests.

After registering 14 points on 6-of-20 shooting from the field in a Game 2 loss, Rose has averaged 30.5 points while also knocking down the game-winning three-pointer in Game 3. He's looked explosive once again, even after so many past knee injuries.

Obviously, a healthy and productive Rose means the world to Chicago. He averaged 18.8 points in wins this season and just 15.7 in losses.

During the playoffs, however, Rose is on a completely new level.

The Bulls are an astounding 25.0 points per 100 possessions better with Rose in the game. He's been not only their leading scorer in the series but also an active and willing defender.

Tom Ley of Deadspinnoted the difference in Rose's play:

Its not even so much the numbers from these games that are encouraging, but the style with which Rose has been playing. The tentative version of Derrick Rose that weve grown so accustomed to watching over the last few seasons seems to have been put back in the garage, and hes been replaced by the springy, attacking Derrick Rose of old.

The Cavaliers initially used Irving to guard Rose, but given the former's foot injury, this isn't an option anymore.

Cleveland's best bet is continuing to start Shumpert at shooting guard and forcing him to guard Rose on defense. Shumpert has been the Cavaliers' best perimeter defender all season, and he is holding opponents to 29.4 percent shooting from deep during the playoffs.

What's the most important factor for the Cavaliers?

J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova are plans B and C, with Irving being used as an emergency option only at this point.

The key word here is containment. Shumpert needs to keep Rose in front of him, forcing jumpers and three-pointers. It's also a good idea to keep Mozgov in the game with Rose, as the Russian center is Cleveland's best rim protector by far. Between Shumpert and Mozgov, the Cavs have a good defensive combo to help limit Rose's impact on the offensive end.

While Jimmy Butler and Gasol (when healthy) can carry a team for stretches, the Bulls ultimately depend on Rose for their success.

The Cavaliers have to improve their defensive assignments on Rose if they hope to make it past Chicago.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2460313-3-factors-that-will-decide-cleveland-cavaliers-series-against-the-chicago-bulls

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Cavs' youthful roster excites LeBron James but has him wary for playoffs

Dave McMenamin, ESPN.com

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• Cavs and NBA writer for ESPN.com
• Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14 and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09
• Syracuse University graduate

CLEVELAND -- As LeBron James embarks on his 10th trip to the postseason Sunday in what he hopes will finish with his fifth straight appearance in the Finals (and sixth overall), there is a degree of trepidation mixed in with his excitement.

• As he prepares for a playoff run that could bring Cleveland its first NBA title, LeBron James says he intends to stay on top of his game, writes Dave McMenamin.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers' 34-9 record to close out the regular season was an ample sample size to prove his team's legitimacy, James is quite cognizant of the fact that half of the Cavs' principal eight-man rotation has zero playoff experience to its credit heading into Game 1 against the Boston Celtics.

"I think from top to bottom, we're just very balanced team and we have experience with youth, and I think that's a great combination in the postseason," James said this week as part of a wide-ranging sit-down interview with ESPN. "One thing that scares me a little bit is just us coming together for the first time, our experience.

"We have guys that have played experienced basketball, but then we have guys that we have to rely on a lot that haven't played experienced basketball, and that's Kevin Love, that's Kyrie Irving, Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson that've never played a postseason game. So, that kind of scares me a little bit. But at the same time it scares me, [there is a feeling] of excitement as well, and not much of failure.

"I don't fear failure in my teammates, but I fear just them never been a part of it. You can talk about the postseason. You can watch games of the postseason. You can clip it. You can watch film. But until you actually get out there, that's the only way you can really understand what it's about it."

The playoffs will be a whole new ballgame for Cavs coach David Blatt as well. Despite his championship accomplishments in the Euroleague, Israeli League, Adriatic League and the Italian League overseas, he admitted recently he has never coached a team in a best-of-seven playoff format like the NBA uses. James spoke about the transformation his relationship with Blatt has undergone from late December when he said, "I don't pay no bills around here, I play," to late February, when he told reporters in Washington, "I respect him as a coach and he respects me as the leader of this team. And we got some good chemistry right now."

What changed in the span of two months?

LeBron James is 9-0 in first-round series in his NBA career (5-0 with the Cavaliers). He's averaging 29.5 points in this round, trailing only Michael Jordan (36.8) since the NBA playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1983-84.

ResultHeat, 2014Won, 4-0Heat, '13Won, 4-0Heat, '12Won, 4-1Heat, '11Won, 4-1Cavs, '10Won, 4-1Cavs, '09Won, 4-0Cavs, '08Won, 4-2Cavs, '07Won, 4-0Cavs, '06Won, 4-2-- ESPN Stats & Information

"What changed? I think you just look at the dates, it's just how the presence of time [affected the relationship]," James said. "I think Dec. 29, they were just trying to figure out someone to blame, and I think Coach was doing the best job he could under the situation. Then you go to February, I think he's still doing the best job he can.

"The one thing about Coach, he's learned every single day and I'm always happy to see him every day and to see him grow every day. I mean, if you just see the first day of practice to now, it's night and day, and you can respect a guy that continues to work and continues to learn and a guy that knows a lot, but still wants to learn even more."

James' relationship with Love has also been intriguing from the outside, from Love admitting that the two were "not best friends" and endorsing Russell Westbrook for MVP, to James admitting he directed a tweet about "fitting in" toward Love and then, just this week, sarcastically saying that he would vote for Love for MVP.

Despite the apparent disconnect, James spoke about how important it is for him to personally get Love involved in the postseason.

"It's my utmost responsibility," James said. "I think Kevin has not had the season that he's accustomed to having the past few years, but in order for us to win, Kevin Love has to play at a high level, and it's my job to help him get to that point as well. And I'm looking forward to seeing what he can bring to our team in the postseason. I know he's very excited, what is it, Year 7 for him? He's going to make his first appearance [in the playoffs] this weekend. So, I'm looking forward to it. I'm happy to be part of his first encounter with the postseason."

Knowing no doubt what his back-to-back championships in Miami did to make over his own reputation, James added, "My responsibility to get the best out of [Love] is ultimately going to define who he is."

James was also asked about his statement in his Sports Illustrated essay co-authored with Lee Jenkins last summer, when he wrote about his return to Cleveland, "It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010." He was asked if the sentiment still applied considering the Cavs enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the East after boasting the best record in the league from Jan. 15 until the end of the season.

"I'm very excited with the position that we're in," James said. "I'm never pleased. I can never be pleased until the end result. And I'm never satisfied. I demand excellence out of myself. I demand excellence out of the people around me. And so, I think the process is still going to be a long process even though we're in the position that we're in today.

"So, the expectations are a little bit changed now because we've played better basketball, but we're still a first-year team coming together. I wouldn't put all the expectations on us on a first-year team that's still learning each other every day -- both on and off the floor. But it's the postseason and we have a chance. And that's all you can ask."

Source: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12720601/lebron-james-wary-cleveland-cavaliers-playoff-inexperience

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In changing times, LeBron remains constant

Dave McMenamin, ESPN.com

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• Cavs and NBA writer for ESPN.com
• Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14 and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09
• Syracuse University graduate

CLEVELAND -- The world's changed since LeBron James made his first trip to the NBA playoffs back in 2006.

Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Britney Spears is no longer married to Kevin Federline. "We ain't ready to see a black president," one of the more poignant lines from Tupac's***t, "Changes," no longer rings true.

The NBA's changed in that time, too, of course. David Stern, the commissioner largely responsible for turning the league from a mom-and-pop operation to an international force, retired to make way for his longtime protg, Adam Silver. The league introduced, and subsequently scuttled, a new composite leather ball. Basketball luminaries such as Shaquille ONeal, Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd have moved on, opening up the door for a new wave of superstars who go by names such as Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.

What hasn't changed in that time is James' place in the game. From Cleveland, to Miami, back to Cleveland. From No. 23, to No. 6, back to No. 23. From Beijing to London. From headband to unfettered hairline. From chalk toss to not. From a Finals loss to San Antonio, to a Finals loss to Dallas, to a Finals win over Oklahoma City, to a Finals win over San Antonio, to yet another Finals loss to San Antonio, James has kept constant as the gold standard in his craft.

"It's part of my drive," James told ESPN in a wide-ranging sit-down interview this week. "I've been at the top for a long time and I plan on being here for a long time as well. It's part of my drive. It's part of my hunger. When you get to this position -- I feel like I'm the best. It's just how I feel about my game, how I feel about my knowledge, my IQ of the game -- you don't really want to go down."

With a whole region at his back, LeBron James embarks on the 2015 playoffs.Gregory Shamus/NBAE/Getty Images

He was in his third season and just 21 years old when he had that first taste of the playoffs a decade ago, registering a 32-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double while playing all 48 minutes in a win over the Washington Wizards.

Now a 12-year veteran and 30 years old as the Cavs open up the first round against the Boston Celtics on Sunday, James isn't the exact same guy who made that memorable postseason debut. He played a career-low 36.1 minutes per game this season, missed a career-high 13 games because of rest and injury, while averaging his least amount of points (25.3) and rebounds (6.0) per game since his rookie season.

Then again, he's not that far off, either.

James will most likely finish in the top five in MVP voting for 2014-15, marking the 10th straight season he will have done so. He will tie Bill Russell for the second-longest such streak in league history, putting him only behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was voted in the top five for the league's most coveted individual honor for 12 straight seasons from 1969-70 to 1980-81.

And any talk about his body betraying him or his athleticism beginning to atrophy must take into account that he finished eighth in the league with a PER of 26.01 (making him the oldest player to rank in the top 10 and the only player in that group, other than Chris Paul, older than 27 to do so) and was 16th in the league in total dunks with 88 (more than Blake Griffin's 84 and Andrew Wiggins' 79).

"I do know one thing that Father Time is undefeated, but right now I'm not facing that wall," James said. "I'm just going to try to maximize my career, maximize what I can do individually and for my team as long as I got the opportunity to do it."

While 11 of the 13 teammates James had for that initial playoff run back in '06 are now out of the league (only injured center Anderson Varejao, who is still with Cleveland, and Washington reserve big man Drew Gooden remain, while another, Damon Jones, is still around, albeit as a player development coach for the Cavs), he has a new supporting cast headlined by the 23-year-old Kyrie Irving and the 26-year-old Kevin Love that could help bring him even greater postseason success than he had in his early 20s.

"I'm very excited with the position that we're in," James said. "I'm never pleased. I can never be pleased until the end result. And I'm never satisfied. I demand excellence out of myself. I demand excellence out of the people around me. And so, I think the process is still going to be a long process even though we're in the position that we're in today."

By stringing together so many days over the years without a drop-off in his on-court dominance, records started to fall like dominoes this season. He passed legends in Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish, Charles Barkley, Iverson, Ray Allen and Patrick Ewing on the all-time scoring list. He edged out Mark Price for the Cavs' all-time franchise lead in both assists and 3-pointers. He eclipsed Scottie Pippen as the league's most prolific passer from a frontcourt position, topping Pippen's all-time assists mark for a forward.

He's accomplished so much, yet looks at basketball in terms of what's in store rather than the trophies and awards he's stored up.

"I love the game," James said. "I love the game and I still have so much to give to it. I feel like I would be cheating the game. I'd be cheating the game gods if I gave it up right now, or if I gave it up next year. I got too much to give. Too much knowledge, too much actual game on the floor, and I got a lot to give to my teammates.

"I feel like at one point if I just can't give what I know I'm capable of giving to my teammates, or to this franchise, then I'll start to think about what's next. But right now, the way I'm playing, the way I'm seeing the game and my ability to go out there and dominate the game still and also the competition -- that feeling of knowing that you're going to compete versus the opposition every night -- I love that."

And he would love to deliver a championship to Northeast Ohio and the city of Cleveland before he's through.

"Every day, I have that vision," James said. "Every day when I work on my game I have that vision. Is it promised? No. Nothing in life is promised. But that's what I work towards."

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-cavaliers/post/_/id/708/in-changing-times-lebron-remains-constant

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