LeBron James can’t do it all, or can he? Well, he couldn’t in the first game of the 2007 NBA Championship series against the San Antonio Spurs.
A few things happened in this game. First, for the Spurs, Tony Parker found the mark, sinking 12 of 23 and totally up 27 points. He was the game’s leading scorer. As of late, Parker has been struggling. Tim Duncan put in 24 and Manu Ginobili hit for 16 points. Of the 85 points scored by the Spurs, 63 came from these three players. (As a team, the Cavs scored only 76 points total.)

Duncan was also massive on defense, blocking five shots and stealing the ball twice. He handled 13 rebounds.

Off the boards, the Spurs topped the Cavs—43- 32.

On the other side of the ball, Cleveland saw another solid game from rookie Daniel Gibson. He was seven of nine from the field and two of three from downtown for a total of 16 points. But shooting guard Larry Hughes, still troubled and hobbled by a leg injury, only scored 2 points over 23 minutes.

And as for James, he had a tough time scoring, going four for 16 (25%). He was also two for six from the three-point area. James turned the ball over six times.

So, what’s it mean? Not a whole lot as of yet. If the Cavaliers can adjust, they’ll make a game of it. James has to step up as he did in the Detroit series. It was the Spurs’ small forward Bruce Bowen who has in charge of defending against James. Bowen kept James out if the lane, forcing him to the perimeter and side. James and the Cavs must figure out the extremely tough San Antonio defense.

Also, Hughes, unfortunately, may be better off sitting down, and Gibson better off seeing more playing time.

Finally, the Spurs played good, solid basic pick-and-roll ball. The Cavs have to get them out of their rhythm and comfort zone.

Can that happen? I don’t know. This San Antonio club may be too much of a team to crumble. The next game is Sunday at 9 pm—plenty of time for the Cavs to adjust but not enough for Hughes to recover from his nagging injury.

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