To paraphrase the famous line from “Jaws,” Phil Jackson’s gonna need a bigger boat.
The great white shark terrorizing the Eastern Conference is LeBron James, who finished off a sweep of the Hawks on Tuesday to reach a fifth straight NBA Finals. That’s something Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird never did. And barring any unforeseen retirement to try his hand at baseball, there is no reason why James can’t extend that streak for several more years.
This is a major problem for the rest of the East, including the Knicks, who are trying to rise from the ashes behind a soon-to-be 31-year-old Carmelo Anthony, who is coming off major knee surgery.