LeBron James’ Play Calling: Brian Windhorst Responds To Chris Webber’s Criticism
ESPN basketball writer, Brian Windhorst, used his Hey Windy! radio show to respond to criticism from Chris Webber after the former NBA All-Star took Windhorst to task for brining up that LeBron James calls his own plays.
Windhorst’s comments shouldn’t have been news, yet the words stole headlines earlier this week.
Webber, an analyst for TNT, didn’t call out ESPN or Windhorst by name, but it was pretty clear whom he was addressing during Thursday night’s national broadcast between the Cavs and Heat.
Webber said:
"“My take on it is that whoever reported the story, the editor that paper needs to go back to them and say wait, ‘that story happens every day of the year. In my opinion this is a story trying to be sensationalized. If i said let’s let Steve Nash call his own plays. Kobe Bryant call his own plays. Isaiah Thomas, Magic, and by the way this is the best passer that we’ve had in the last 20 years of the game…”"
Friday morning, Windhorst took the opportunity to respond.
Windhorst said (10:12)
"“I don’t think anybody called me out, and I didn’t make a story of it. I said it in the podcast, breezing through, and some people who felt that was news made a story of it. But, you know, when you work in the media, and somebody tries make something of your words, that’s part of the gig. That’s fine. It’s accurate. I was saying it because it’s accurate. I was not saying it as an indictment really on anybody.”"
But Windhorst does seem disappointed with the reporting of longtime NBA insider David Aldridge. Windhorst is a polarizing media figure in his hometown of Akron/Cleveland, but he does make a great point. If you watch the clip I linked above, it’s like Aldridge doesn’t have a firm grasp on what he’s discussing.
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Windhorst says of Aldridge (11:40):
"“I didn’t like that David Aldridge, who is somebody who is very thorough and one of the best reporters who’s covered the league; he completely got it wrong when he said the report was that LeBron was contradicting David Blatt’s play. I never said that. I’ve never believed that. I’m not even aware of that. I do know there are times where LeBron will ignore a play, or even change a play, but that has been going back to when he was with Paul Silas…”"
Windhorst went on to explain the context of what he said on the B.S. Report podcast. He detailed how Blatt was coaching some type of modified Princeton-offense in the preseason with some degree of success. Windhorst even reminded us that James described Blatt’s offense as “cerebral.”
But by Thanksgiving, theCavs were basically done with this offense, except for some sets coming out oftimeouts. That, according toWindhorst, is whenLeBron started calling plays (13:10)
Windhorst
"“What I was explaining in that, was that they had stopped running that offense, quite some time ago. you know, around about where LeBorn started playing point guard, which he did without really informing David Blatt. That’s not a secret. LeBron said it right to the media. And, I started also to notice that when the Cavs would come out of timeouts, they would run Princeton-style sets….But within the flow of the game, the Cavs would run a very basic offense with LeBron and Kyrie generally calling the plays…I do not believe it’s controversial at all to say that. I was just explaining they had gone from a system David Blatt basically created, to a style that Lebron basically controls. I was saying this as a statement of fact…I did not intent for it to be a shot at David Blatt. Now when it’s pulled out and parched into two paragraphs out of a 45-minute podcast, it looked pretty damming. And as somebody who’s in the media, who I have a 45-minute interview with a player, I pull out three or four quotes, that’s what happens to them.So you know, I did say it, but I in no way wanted or implied it to be a headline and for somebody to say that I was purposely going after him with something…trust me, i have gone after David Blatt for plenty of other things this year…More from Factory of SadnessBet $1 on ANYTHING to Unlock $200 Guaranteed with Crazy Bet365 Ohio Promo!3 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers have a good shot to win the East next yearIt might be too soon to say it but it looks like the Cleveland Guardians are backAre the Cleveland Browns a Top 10 roster heading into the 2023 season?Eastern Conference Solidarity: Back the Heat with $5 Bet, Win $200 Bonus INSTANTLY with DraftKings PromoIn this case i believe it was miscast, and to be honest with you I don’t even think Chris Webber or David Aldridge even seemed to know the origin of what I was talking about. It didn’t seem like they had gone and done their homework on it. But I’m sure the same thing could’ve been said about things I’ve said on TV in the past. So that’s just life. We move on. I’m sure David Blatt was not happy with me, but that has been the case on a regular basis this year. It’s regrettable, that it has seemed personal, but really, I just try to do my job.”"
Enough drama. When do the playoffs start?