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?
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.