THE WASHINGTON TIMES

JUNE 11,2007

A Role Model

By Tom Knott

Bowen expects to see a different James in Game 2 tomorrow night.
"They'll adjust to some of the things that we did, and we'll have to adjust to the things that they're doing," Bowen said yesterday. "One thing I can try to do night in and night out is try to make things as tough as I can. That doesn't mean taking things away from a player, but it means doing the little things. Maybe it's denying him the basketball at certain times. Maybe it's getting a hand up each and every shot. Those are the things that you can control."
James was held to 10 points in Game 1 of the conference finals and eventually devastated the Pistons.
James the quick learner is one of the sentiments being expressed here. Another is that the Spurs are not the Pistons, as Cavaliers coach Mike Brown noted.
"It's just a matter of time when a player of his magnitude can figure out the defense and get himself going," the former assistant coach of the Spurs said. "But I couldn't tell you if it's going to be one game, two games or three games. The Spurs are a great team, so it could be a tough series for us the whole way."
James watched a replay of Game 1 late Thursday night.
He said he planned to re-watch it last night.
"Sometimes it's about being more aggressive and then sometimes it's about reading things and preparing yourself the best way to counter some of the things they do defensively," James said. "They may have caught some of our guys off guard, including myself, in Game 1. But I think we've played enough playoff games to know how to make the adjustments the next game."
No one envisions James having another 14-point game. A media-amplified challenge has been issued to him.
Bowen has been smart enough to temper the talk.
"Anyway I can gain 40 pounds overnight?" he said after Game 1, making light of his physical disadvantage against James.
There he was poor-mouthing himself to keep the mood light.