Steve Jones

The NBA will get a Finals to remember: LeBron and Co. vs. Kobe and Co. Could anyone ask for anything better?

And in the end, the Cavs will earn the rings for a variety of reasons, No. 1 of which is King James. His time to win the NBA title has arrived. He’s been delivering the goods all season long. He’ll figure out ways to get it done, and he’ll do so by outdueling Kobe in what should be a riveting matchup of superstars on the league’s biggest stage.

Unlike when Cleveland got to the Finals in 2007, this time around the Cavs have a more complete team, and the impact of the addition of point guard Mo Williams can’t be overstated. James has been the Cavs’ Batman, but until the arrival of Williams last August, he lacked a Robin.

Williams has developed into a well-rounded point guard. He’s really upgraded that position for Cleveland. He can score and distribute, and is an excellent free-throw shooter while also defending very well on the ball.

He made a smooth transition to the Cavaliers, and he is proving to the league that he probably should have been a first-round pick in 2003 (Utah took him in the second round with the 47th overall selection). With his offense, Williams takes some of the scoring pressure off other key contributors such as Delonte West, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Anderson Varejao. Williams has drained some huge shots in big spots this season, and is shooting over 43 percent from downtown.

Without question, Williams is playing the best basketball of his career. I’ve always liked him because he has been a competitive, feisty kind of guy. He’s improved each year, and without him the Cavs would not be my pick to win it all.

In Milwaukee, it didn’t quite work out for Williams because he was a bit shot happy. But in Cleveland, he fits in with James, whose presence allows him to miss shots, make plays, and keep his teammates involved in the game.

In their previous Finals appearance, the Cavs were James, Ilgauskas, Larry Hughes, and a lot of hope. Now they have a superior roster to the one that was swept by the Spurs a couple of years ago. They have filled in the holes in the roster. West, Varejao, Ben Wallace, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Sasha Pavlovic give coach Mike Brown depth and plenty of options.

The Cavs are a quick strike, high energy team, but since Brown became the coach, he has always stressed that if the team is going to win a title, it will be with defense. For Cleveland, it all starts with defense. And with Brown pushing and prodding his players, the defense has significantly improved. No team is better than the Cavs in opponent’s points, opponent’s field goal percentage, and opponent’s three-point field goal percentage. That’ says a whole lot about how tough Cleveland is defensively.

Helping Cleveland secure its first division title in 33 years and set a team record for wins has been its dominance at home. The Cavs have only lost once at Quicken Loans Arena, to the Lakers on Feb. 8, with West inactive for that game. In fairness, the Lakers were without Andrew Bynum, and Kobe needed intravenous fluids. The loss to the Lakers aside, the Cavs worked extremely hard at securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Slideshow   Kobe vs. LeBron: Tale of the tape How two of the NBA's brightest stars compare. NBCSports.com

Kobe is on a mission to try and get a championship without having Shaquille O’Neal as his teammate, and fellow superstar Pau Gasol understands what he has to do for the Lakers to make a serious run at the title. And the recent return of center Andrew Bynum from an injured right knee is a real boost.

In Phil Jackson, the Lakers obviously have a coach who understands what it takes to win a championship, and they are clearly the best team in the West with a great belief they can win it all. But for all their talent, the Lakers are inconsistent defensively. And inconsistent defense will often lead a team into trouble, especially against such a sound and consistent offensive team like the Cavs.

By no fault of his own, it may be Kobe who put the finishing touches on LeBron getting to the level where he and the Cavs could win a title. LeBron and Kobe spent a lot of time together this summer in preparing for and playing in the Beijing Olympics.

Something from Kobe seems to have rubbed off on LeBron in the process. It’s like Kobe gave an intensity injection to his fellow superstar. Watch LeBron and you’ll see when he has to lock down and guard, he is a much better defender than he was last season. He avoids foul trouble, and there’s an arrogance about him but in a positive way.

LeBron has always been a tireless worker, but watching Kobe work out and observing up close Kobe’s entire attitude when he prepares for and takes on an opponent has made an impression on LeBron, and it’s one the rest of the league is paying for as LeBron is having fun and admits the direction the Cavs are headed in is everything that he expected and more. And now a title awaits King James and his court in a couple of months.

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