Monday, May 19, 2008

Sorry Dudes - Part 2

You'd think I was on Windhorst's jock for quoting him all the time to prove my points, and well, I am. I think he's the best beat writer, and possibly sports (newspaper) reporter period, in N.E. Ohio and it won't be long before he's at ESPN. Ryan, here's another quote from his blog for your viewing pleasure...

–One thing that is not going to change with this team is Brown. He did a solid job in the playoffs, his in between adjustments were pretty strong for the most part and I thought in the Wizards series his management of matchups was very good at times. Sometimes he is unable to get the Cavs to make changes in the game, part of that is him and part of that is the team (um, LeBron) sort of doing what they want to do on offense and not running anything. He’ll have to look inward and decide how to fix it, that is his next great challenge. But he gets the Cavs to play a style that enables them to have a chance to win and his playoff record is very strong. Take your potshots, even those with merit, but he's proven that he is a good playoff coach and one that is still growing and learning.

I think Windhorst reads this blog and writes his accordingly.

Boston again. Really.

Game 7 Pre-eulogy: Oh well, not that I have time this morning to adequately sum up what a disappointing game that was Sunday afternoon's Game 7, but here's the 10 cent version. Missed shots, no contribution, can't stop PJ Brown, idiotic reach in fouls, and a lack of defense all contributed to the maddening chase that was nothing but an aborted come-from-behind attempt for the entire game.

The whole game felt like this summary of the last couple minutes by Brian Windhorst:

When James stripped Pierce and raced to the other end for a dunk with 2:21 to play, cutting the lead to one, the Cavs were involved in five crucial plays and came out on the losing side in each one.

James had an open 3-pointer from the wing that would have given the Cavs the lead, but it rattled out. Moments later, Delonte West had a chance from the same spot, wide open again, and it just hit the rim.

Meanwhile, 38-year-old P.J. Brown twice got the Celtics extra possessions by securing offensive rebounds off air balls that led to points. Once, Ben Wallace had Kevin Garnett perfectly defended, and Brown swooped in for a layup. On another, Zydrunas Ilgauskas stepped out to deny Rajon Rondo on a short jumper, and Brown again caught the ball, despite being out of position had the ball hit off the rim.

Then the final blow came in the final minute, when James couldn't convert a driving layup try with P.J. Brown all over him. The veteran Brown ended up with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.

All of that will plague the Cavs as they look back at this one. They didn't get a performance like Brown gave Boston. In fact, the only other player to step up alongside James was West, who had 15 points and five assists.

Thoroughly depressed today.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sorry Dudes

I'm sorry to do this to all you Cleveland Sports Torture readers, but I have to post something from Windhorst's blog... again....

–It is fair to criticize Mike Brown for his offense, heck knows I have been doing it for years. But the guy takes so much abuse in this town. His defensive principles are responsible for the win, maybe not as much as the star power of LeBron, but these are the types of games that Mike spends so much time preparing his team for. Perhaps the weaknesses will decide the game Sunday but there are strengths and important ones. The Cavs shot 32 percent and won. Think about that for a minute.

Maybe someday Ryan will understand what I am trying to say about Mike Brown. Then again, that day may be in 2015 and the Cavs may be playing in Seattle.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Game 4

Props to Vox for the great seats last night, as we sat just one section over from Joe Tait and the media section. Man, Terry Pluto was out of there by halftime. Branson stayed... he really seems to enjoy the atmosphere. Couldn't find Windhorst.


View from our seats - Game 4

I'm done (for the time being) arguing about the Cavs defense. I don't know how many more times they have to show something. 12 fourth quarter points, 30 something for the half. That's impressive.

On to Game 4 notes. I admit these are very superficial, not much insight:

  • The crowd was the loudest I've ever heard. Great atmosphere. Loved the "Wally" chant.
  • I've decided that the NBA playoffs is just insane. Nothing is predictable. And the difference in a series is such a fine line it's ridiculous. If Lebron has half a normal game or the Cavs get a couple defensive stops in Game 1, we're up 3-1. Instead we were down 0-2 and the whole perception shifts and it seems like the Cavs have no chance. Then we win and the perception totally flips again.
  • Props to Andy. Big game. Great defense on Garnett.
  • Garnett is kind of a punk. Mr. Intensity is a little bit of a thug and trash talker. I never realized it until earlier in the year when the Cavs beat the Celtics and I've seen it even more in these playoffs.
  • Gloria is down right insane. Don't mess with her baby.
  • When we made the trade, I said Joe Smith might be the steal and I think he might be. West is finally asserting himself. I think he's a better player than Rondo. Vox and I were discussing the trade on the way home. We basically gave up Newble and Marshall for West and Wally.
  • The Cavs are deep... maybe the deepest team in the East. You have Joe Smith off the bench as your 8th man basically. Z and Wallace didn't even play that much in the fourth quarter. With Wally, Z, Boobie and Smith, as long as everyone isn't off at once, our depth is going to be a huge advantage.
  • There's insanely hot girls at the Q. (And I mean the fans). Apparently Lebron and a good basketball team brings out the best Cleveland has to offer.
It's probably a good thing I went to the game instead of Mrs. Vox, or Vox might be divorced this morning:
  • My final count on Vox outbursts include:
(2) Jesus Christs
(1) OVER THE BACKKKKK!
(5) That's a FOULLL!
(3) Hand Ups
(1) NO Andy!
(1) Get off the court Doc!!!
(1) FUCK!!!

Vox outbursts are great because they always seem to happen just when the crowd gets quiet. Seriously, I love the outbursts. Vox, please don't get self-conscious. Be yourself!

In a flash back to our days at the Richfield Coliseum, Vox took some loose popcorn pieces from a bag while we were waiting in line... ala Nate and the Relish Incident in Canada. The only thing missing was the Arab guy saying "Ey man... you can't do that man!" Instead a hot chick behind us in line caught him.

There was another hot chick sitting in front of us. She had to have had at least 10 beers during the game.

Speaking of hot chicks... Rachel Nichols (ESPN reporter) is on Rizzo right now. I love Rachel... and she's pretty damn good at her job too.

FYI -Lebron was on Mike and Mike this morning. Weird... Lebron never comes on any local talk shows and I think Mike and Mike is the first time he's been on a national show (not counting Oprah, SNL, the ESPYs, or SportsCenter Sunday Conversation etc.) I've never heard him on any of the local shows.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Are you kidding me?

The scoreboard says it all! What a dunk!

And the defense in the last quarter was absolutely Celtic-like. I still am worried because in the first half KG looked so tough, he doesn't miss 18 footers it seems. If the Cavs can play defense, Wally and Delonte and Boobie, keep hitting shots, Wednesday should be a lot better game than last time we were in Boston.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Boston-Cleveland, who knows?

Well all the best analysis I can find in this series basically says "we don't know what the heck is going to happen in this series." Personally I think both teams have the opportunity to look really bad at times. We've probably all heard the stat that LeBron has the worst FG percentage over three NBA playoff games EVER. Yes, ever (well since they kept track of such things.) That can't keep up. But the Cavaliers "other players" (besides Z) also are quite unpredictable, and everything basically falls on Delonte, Joe Smith, and Wally.

And Anderson...please still, don't ever dribble. Ever ever ever.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

"Boston's great defense..."

I am so sick of hearing about the "Boston D Party" and the rest of the garbage being said after the Cavaliers laid a giant egg Thursday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. What a crock of crap that is. It had nothing to do with the defense being played. Stephen A. Smith called it right at halftime, it was the absolutely pitiful offense being played by the Cavs. If you can't make a shot, and even LeBron can't finish a layup, you can't stay close. Ugggh.

I felt sick to my stomach the entire game. And that includes only the last three quarters since I forgot about the time difference and thought the game started at 7 central, not 6. By the time I turned it on the Cavs looked like a 15 win team, not the Eastern champs they are capable of playing like.

Uggggh. Again.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Defensive "Style"

Ryan, please read this note from Windhorst's blog...

–If the Cavs play them this closely the rest of the series, they like their chances. If they lose all the close games, then they’ll tip their cap. Regardless of whether the Cavs shoot 31 percent, which is an all-time low in the playoffs, or shoot 50 percent, they were ahead by a point with 1:30 to go and down two with 20 seconds to go with the ball in LeBron’s hands. The Cavs’ offense was terrible at times but their defense was excellent for much of the game, especially their rotations and backside protection. This is why Mike Brown preaches the style he does, the defense enabled them to stay in the game when they were awful.

"This is why Mike Brown preaches the style he does, the defense enabled them to stay in the game when they were awful."

Sound familiar?

Another comment from his blog:
"This series is probably going to be ugly, both teams are good defensive teams"

"...good defensive teams" - straight from Windhorst's keyboard.

Defensive "Style"

Ryan, please read this note from Windhorst's blog...

–If the Cavs play them this closely the rest of the series, they like their chances. If they lose all the close games, then they’ll tip their cap. Regardless of whether the Cavs shoot 31 percent, which is an all-time low in the playoffs, or shoot 50 percent, they were ahead by a point with 1:30 to go and down two with 20 seconds to go with the ball in LeBron’s hands. The Cavs’ offense was terrible at times but their defense was excellent for much of the game, especially their rotations and backside protection. This is why Mike Brown preaches the style he does, the defense enabled them to stay in the game when they were awful.

"This is why Mike Brown preaches the style he does, the defense enabled them to stay in the game when they were awful."

Sound familiar?

Defensive "Stlye"

Ryan, please read this note from Windhorst's blog...

–If the Cavs play them this closely the rest of the series, they like their chances. If they lose all the close games, then they’ll tip their cap. Regardless of whether the Cavs shoot 31 percent, which is an all-time low in the playoffs, or shoot 50 percent, they were ahead by a point with 1:30 to go and down two with 20 seconds to go with the ball in LeBron’s hands. The Cavs’ offense was terrible at times but their defense was excellent for much of the game, especially their rotations and backside protection. This is why Mike Brown preaches the style he does, the defense enabled them to stay in the game when they were awful.

"This is why Mike Brown preaches the style he does, the defense enabled them to stay in the game when they were awful."

Sound familiar?

Game 1/2

Game 1/2? Yeah - because due to a frickin' power outage AND unrelated cable outage, I only saw the second half of Game 1... and I had to see it on a 15" tv at Rummy's. The bonuses being that 1. I learned a bunch of cool new features for my iphone and 2. I got to see Vox slam his fist down on the table, spilling his water all over.

I think you can look at this two ways:

  1. You can say Lebron was HORRIBLE, we shot 30%± and we still only lost by 4.
  2. You can say Game 1 was there for us to steal and we missed a golden opportunity and that could come back to haunt us.

One thing appears clear to me... the Celtics are not the greatest team in NBA history, despite what the media portrayed during the regular season. This is going to be an ugly battle between two DEFENSIVE teams. And that "defensive" label doesn't come from me.

Once again, the Boston/NY bias reared it's ugly face again in the MVP race. No problem with Kobe and Paul, but Garnett finishing ahead of Lebron is a joke. I'm going to research this in more detail, but just the fact that everyone wrote off Lebron at the end of the year ticks me off. 1 first place vote? Come on.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Lets hear some predictions...


Well after reading the PD today and seeing Bud Shaw and Bill Livingston pick the Cavs in six I was a little surprised. It sounded like Terry Pluto also likes the Cavs in 6 as well. What am I missing?
I will say the Celtics did look vulnerable allowing a very young, inexperienced Hawks team to take them 7 games and now I at least think the Cavs could win, I just don't think it is likely. Keep in mind the Cavs didn't look all that great against an average Wizards team.
In my opinion the Celtics have too much talent for the Cavs average defense. If Ben Wallace is good enough to stop Garnett, a big "If", who is going to stop Pierce and Allen? Also, I think the Celtics home court advantage is huge. They were nearly unbeatable at home during the season and blew out the Hawks by I believe an average of more than 20 in their 4 home games.
Lebron's pretty good but the Spurs showed last year he can't beat a real good team all by himself.
Celtics in 6.
Now let me hear your predictions.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Awww...filling in a slow sports day

The softer side of LeBron...

Sunday, May 4, 2008

23 cent pizza? NICE!

Papa Johns (one of my favorite chain pizzas, btw) is giving Cleveland "residents" 23 cent pizzas on Thursday. Y'all better take advantage of it!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Poetic Justice



Now that Ryan and I have sort of come to an "understanding" about Mike Brown, let's move onto Game 6. What a performance. It's almost more satisfying that Lebron closed out the Bullets in superstar triple-double fashion in their own building in front of those idiotic D.C. fans who had been chanting overrated and crybaby all series. Overrated - how'd that feel D.C.? Stevenson backed up his talk in superb fashion didn't he?

I saw two signs that really annoyed me. Crybaby! and Overprotected!. Let's address each one:

  • Crybaby - Crybaby? Brendan Haywood mocking Lebron and saying MJ didn't complain? Are you serious? First of all, MJ DID complain. Secondly, is it me or did Lebron pretty much take all the hits like a man. Get up, go to the line, move on. Sure, he got pissed a couple times... that's human. He said, when asked, that they were trying to hurt him. That was obvious. The Bullets said they were going to hit him before the series started. Mike Brown defended Lebron a few times, "complaining" about the hits... but that's the coach's job - protect his players. Brian Windhorst says in his blog–After all the talk about the officiating in the series, the Cavs were called for 139 fouls, the Wizards 137. The Cavs shot 175 free throws, the Wizards shot 174.
  • Overprotected - This could have been the single dumbest sign I've ever seen. Overprotected? Neither Haywood or Stevenson got suspended. Sangaila didn't even get ejected. Then the league decides to suspend Sangaila as a message to the Bullets to cut out the crap. If anything Lebron wasn't protected enough. I get rooting for your home team, but please, at least make sense. Then again, look at the team that these fans root for.

I have to give props to Wally. He still shot a lot, but this is what we've been waiting for. Combine his shooting with Boobie's and opposing teams have a ll sorts of trouble. Throw in an inside game with Z and the court becomes Lebron's oyster.

Also, give Mike Brown some credit (Ryan). He confused the Bullets with defensive switches and full court pressure. And he didn't call off the dogs. They were pressing when they were up 15. Brian Windhorst gives Coach Brown some credit:
–Mike Brown and the coaching staff get points tonight for making some fixes in the offense, especially with where the 3-point shooters were positioned. Washington had a hard time finding them after really doing a good job in Game 5 of protecting the corners because they knew Gibson and West would always be there.
–The Cavs defense in this series may have been overlooked a bit since there were three blowouts. They ended up giving up just 92 points a game, four times holding the Wizards to 88 points or less, and just 43 percent shooting. Tonight after the first quarter they really cut down the Wizards’ drive-and-kicks. By using crisper rotations, the Cavs forced lots of late shot clock shots and many were low percentage. Also, double teams on Caron Butler were effective.

Ryan, is he wrong too? And please don't tell me I'm saying he's a great coach... I'm saying give him some credit.

This doesn't compare to beating Detroit to win the Eastern Conference last year, but as far as pure satisfaction, it ranks up there at the top. After all the talk, it was just poetic justice for Lebron to triple-double against Stevenson in front of the D.C. crowd. Lebron is at his best when the odds are against him. How's that for overrated?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Cavs Bedamned! Game 5 Notes




Oh where to begin. If I didn't witness it with my own eyes, I would have never believed we blew a 5 point lead with 1:15 left, with the ball, at home. This one hurt.... like a shot to the jimmy. I'm so confused by what I saw there may be some incoherent ranting, but here are my thoughts on the disaster that was Game 5...

1. Many words can describe the performance - bad, disgusting, hellacious, horrible, putrid. I'll pick pathetic. Pathetic effort, pathetic defense, pathetic offense, pathetic rebounding, pathetic play calling, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.

2. Speaking of pathetic - Wally Z. If I was coaching this team, Wally's ass wouldn't come off the bench for the rest of series and maybe the playoffs. 3 turnovers in the first 4 minutes? Are you serious? Caron Butler ate him alive. I thought "Coach" Brown emphasized defense. So why is Wally more deserving of time than Damon Jones? I'll get back to that.

3. Andy Varajou - holy crap. He can join Wally on the bench. I can live with him getting some more time than Wally because at least creates a little havoc for the other team. Problem is, he creates havoc for his own team too. If he misses one more bunny, I'll break something. And when he drove from the three point line (yes, our 6'10" backup center/forward with no offensive skill drove to the basket from the 3 point line) and then air balled a finger roll, my remote came within a second of getting thrown through the tv.

4. Devin Brown - oy vey. I like Devin. I think he's been good for us. But he's a deer in headlights this series. He does realize he isn't Lebron right? Taking it one on three isn't done by normal people. If it wasn't the playoffs, I would've cracked up laughing on that out of control fast break. That looked like one of the Three Stooges trying to play basketball.

5. Lebron - I'm not going to criticize Lebron after saying he's the best playoff player since MJ... I still believe that. But what was he doing in the first half? And even though he filled the stat sheet, he did not play well. Too many turnovers and bad decisions.

6. Mike Brown - "Coach" Brown (and I put it in quotes because I thought a coach is supposed to call plays) needs to read coaching 101.

  • First I need to know why Wally deserves time, but Damon Jones doesn't. I thought Jones was in the doghouse because of defense, but he's no worse than Wally! Let me repeat that, because any time you compare someone's defense to Damon Jones, it's worth repeating... Damon Jones is as good a defender as Wally Z. And at least Damon handles the ball well, makes good decisions, and has been hitting his shots... my God... we waited 3 years for him to shoot well and he finally is and gets benched!? HUH?
  • Second - their center fouled out with what 2 - 3 minutes left? You're up by 5 with a little over a minute left. Their backup center (Darius Sangaila) is 6'9" tall. Z is 7'3". Quick math tells me that's a 6" difference. Why not work the ball inside to get high percentage shots? Worse case, he's gonna get fouled and he's a good foul shooter. How many years do we have to live with Lebron pounding the ball at the 3 point arc and shooting a bad shot while everyone else stands their watching?
Did Ferry play with Avery Johnson on the Spurs? I know it'll never happen, but I would consider it. You wouldn't lose the defensive emphasis, and you'd be bringing in a former point guard, who knows what it takes to generate offense.

Not that it cost us the game, but I have to ask the NBA what the hell they're doing? How the hell was Sangaila not ejected after punching...errrrr.... bitch slapping Lebron? It figures that in true ironic fashion, he's the one that got in Lebron's way on that final play. By the way, how the hell did that not go in?

I just can't figure this team out... players have changed, but we have the same problems finishing teams off, delivering that knock out blow, getting motivated, etc. Now we have to go back to D.C. and deal with a hostile environment. I'd be shocked if we aren't playing Game 7 back here on Sunday. Then again, this is the Cavs... anything is possible. They lose when they're not supposed to and win when they shouldn't. I'm betting on a Game 7 but I hope I'm wrong.