If you've watched any playoff basketball this year, you've undoubtedly seen the new Nike commercials, in which clips of LeBron being awesome are interspersed with scenes of Cleveland, Clevelanders worshipping LeBron, and Clevelanders proclaiming and/or demonstrating that we are all, indeed, witnesses. There have been two of these spots so far--one for each round of the playoffs.

Since the clips go by so fast, I decided to capture a few screenshots and try to pinpoint each of the filming locations that Nike used. Some of the locations are harder to identify than others, though, so I'm counting on you readers to figure out the ones that I couldn't. The reader who correctly identifies the most unknown locations will be named Grand High Exalted Witness.

First, commercial #1, which ran during Round 1 of the playoffs. I've left out the shots of game footage, as well as any shots that weren't location-specific, such as extreme close-ups of individual people.

In screenshot #1, we are traveling down a Cleveland street:



I have no idea where this is, though if I had to guess, I'd say it was on the east side, near downtown. Anyone recognize the buildings?

In screenshot #2, we see a factory:



Unfortunately, I'm not really up on my Cleveland factories, so I'm going to need some help with this one too. Judging by the movement of the camera in this shot, the factory is being viewed from the freeway.

Update: I actually spotted this factory this afternoon on my way back from lunch. And loyal reader Alex (different Alex) recognized it, too. It's the former LTV Steel factory, just west of I-77 and south of I-490, located here. In the commercial it is being viewed from I-77 southbound. I think this dispels the possibility (suggested by at least one loyal reader) that the first two shots of the commerical are of Akron. I'm fairly certain the entire thing takes place in Cleveland.

Screenshot #3 is fairly self-explanatory:



In this shot we are on I-77 northbound, just before the interchange with I-490. More precisely, we are here.

In screenshot #4, we pass some storefronts:



Specifically, a church and a convenience store of some kind. Once again, I don't recognize these buildings and it's hard to make out the name on the sign. It clearly ends with the word "Foods".

In screenshot #5, we see the underside of a bridge:



I'm pretty sure this is the Detroit-Superior bridge, and that the red beams in the foreground are part of the Center Street Swing Bridge. I believe we are looking east. The exact location would be here.

Screenshot #6 shows some dudes playing basketball in a park:



This park will reappear in several more shots, as you will see, but I still can't figure out where it might be. At first I thought the lack of objects on the horizon meant it was a lakefront park, but now I'm not so sure.

Update: I have determined what park this is. See below.

In screenshot #7, we see a restaurant:



This is Sportsman's Restaurant on St. Clair, right near Public Square. The exact location is here.

Screenshot #8 takes us inside the restaurant:



You can tell it's the same restaurant by the neon sign in the window, the menu board that can vaguely be seen in screenshot #7, and the awning that can vaguely be seen in screenshot #8. Incidentally, this restaurant is near where Alex is working this summer. Perhaps he would be kind enough to go there for lunch tomorrow, and report on whether the "Quadruple Double" is indeed for sale right now, and if so, how it tastes. It looks delicious.

Update: I met Alex for lunch this afternoon at Sportsman's. The signboard no longer advertizes the Quadruple Double (nor does it say "Go Cavs") but when we asked the waitress about it we were assured that the Quadruple Double was available. It's essentially a double-decker sandwich with pastrami, corned beef, swiss cheese and cole slaw. We each had one. It was delicious indeed.

Screenshot #9 shows us a young witness being indoctrinated into the Church of LeBron:



This (along with another screenshot you will see below) is clearly inside a mall. It looks like Tower City to me--they are sitting on the ledge that encircles the coin fountain. Tower City, as if you didn't know, is located here.

In screenshot #10, a man on a motorcycle leaves an auto repair shop:



The shop, according to my painstaking research and analysis, is ProStyle Automotive, located on Carnegie, here.

In screenshot #11, we see an apartment building where, conveniently for the Nike Corporation, someone has decided to proclaim his witnessness:



I have no clue on this one. There is a word carved near the top of the building, but damned if I can read it. Anyone recognize this place? I can't imagine it's too far from downtown.

Update: Thanks to loyal reader Jon, a former resident of this building, we now know it to be the Merrell Building, located here on W. 25th in Ohio City. The building's website is all the confirmation we need.

In screenshot #12, we see a display with a familiar message:



At first I thought this was at the airport or something, until another shot of this same locale appeared in commercial #2. Read on; we'll come back to it.

Screenshot #13 takes us back to the unidentified park:



It still looks like it could be near the lakefront, though a brief look at some hi-res satellite imagery of the area yielded no possible candidates.

Update: I have determined what park this is. See below.

Screenshot #14, which ends commercial #1, shows us a banner we know all too well:



In case you're not from around here, this building is located on Ontario Street, across from Quicken Loans Arena, here.

Next we have commercial #2, which is airing during the second round of the playoffs (ie: currently). It features clips of LeBron being awesome during the series against the Wizards as well as additional footage of locations from commercial #1. It also focuses much more heavily on game footage and shots of individual people in unspecific locations, so I captured fewer screenshots.

In screenshot #1, we see another young witness who has been decorated in the native style:



This is the exact same location from screenshot #9, above. In fact, the little girl from that shot can be seen here, sitting on the right.

Screenshot #2 shows two guys channeling LeBron in some kind of warehouse:



Now, if you can name the warehouse from this evidence alone, I'll give you 100 points. I almost didn't even include this shot, but hey, you never know. Maybe this is the loading dock where you work.

Update: Loyal reader Roger has astutely pointed out that one of the guys in this shot is the guy on the motorcycle from screenshot #10, above. Thus, the warehouse is probably also ProStyle Automotive.

In screenshot #3, we see the giant LeBron banner once more:



In screenshot #4, we get another look at the display from screenshot #12, above:



Careful study reveals that it is indeed the same display. This time we are given the name of the establishment, modä. It's a nightclub on W. 25th in Ohio City, located here.

Commercial #2 ends with another shot of the gentleman from screenshot #12, above:



This time, we see the park from a different angle, though no clues jump out at me. I don't really know where there are outdoor basketball courts in the downtown area.

Update: Thanks to loyal reader Roger and a tip from another blog where some similar analysis was attempted, I've discovered that this park is the Michael Zone Recreation Center at the corner of W. 65th and Lorain, located here. Comparing the screenshots to hi-res satellite imagery confirms this to me in a few different ways. One, the colors of the pavement match. Two the placements and sizes of the trees match. Three, the patch of dead grass in the last screenshot is visible in Google's satellite image (at the northwest corner of the basketabll courts). The reason there is nothing on the horizon in two of the screenshots (which is why I thought it was near the lake) is because I-90 is there and there is a large berm that obscures the view to the south.

Well, there you have it. If, by some miracle of LeBron, the Cavs make it to the next round of the playoffs (or possibly even if they don't), I imagine there will be a third version of this ad, in which case I'll see what I can do. Until then, go Cavs.