Game 3 to the Cavaliers, and it wasn't pretty. Started slow, with only four points about halfway through the first quarter. The entire game, I thought Delonte West looked just off his game. You know those mornings when you drip coffee on your pants, bump your head on the cabinet, and then toothpaste drips on your shirt when you're about to leave? Then you forget your sunglasses and have to go back to get them? That's what I thought Delonte was playing like. He lost his handle a ton of times, couldn't make a shot to save his life---0 for 7 with four turnovers. But he never stopped trying. Neither did Mo, who went 1 for 11. That's the Cavs, they don't stop trying. Unlike the Pistons who still seemed like they weren't all there.
But the story tonight was Joe Smith's huge plays. In the second half he was everywhere, grabbing rebounds (he had 10, including 4 offensive dogs) and using his size to just pull the Cavaliers up (he was 6 for 8 for a total of 19 points, including a huge three pointer that seemed to deflate the Pistons some.) Speaking of threes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas hit a three, too! Maybe they were trying to teach the guards some stroke!
LeBron was his normal fabulous self, finishing one assist short of a triple double. That, of course, 
had a lot to do with all the blown assists by his teammates, including at least four during a stretch of the third quarter. The highlight of the game was when Mo Williams threw a HIGH alley-oop (reminiscent of a too-high one in the first quarter) to LeBron and he came out of the rafters to slam it down. Made me pine for Michael Reghi!
Some notes: Sacha and Wally are virtually nowhere to be seen in Coach Brown's rotation tonight...some feedback about the second team's performance on Tuesday night? Add in Ben Wallace's ineffective performance, and the Cavs are playing a virtual seven-man rotation tonight.
Brian Windhorst (@PDCavsInsider) twittered about a huge brawl between fans between the third and fourth quarter tonight, he said one fan got jacked in the face and fell down two rows, and all the players were watching. The AP said that one fan (landed) the hardest punch at The Palace since the infamous 2004 brawl in which the Indiana Pacers tussled with the Pistons and their fans...."
Credit Paul Sancya of the AP for that photo of LeBron after the alley-oop!
Seems like there are lots of seats for the taking for Cleveland fans in Detroit on Sunday. Should we make the drive?
And although I know there's "13 more to go", I'm holding off and taking it one game at a time!
If possible, we'll send in-game tweets at @CleveSpTorture. Follow us there!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Not pretty at all, but 1 more to go
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Just don't do it again
Another take on Cavs-Pistons Game 2:
I can’t say I’m overly upset by the fourth quarter of last night’s win over the Pistons. However, Detroit's 20-2 last-ditch barnstorming certainly takes some of the luster off what should have been a big-time chalupa giveaway starring Tarence Kinsey and the rest of the reserves.
The Cavs just didn’t have Detroit beat; they had them demoralized. What’s disappointing is the Cavs essentially took their boot off Detroit’s neck and at least give them a small spark heading into Friday’s Game 3.
There is no excuse for the second unit’s loss of focus and energy that allowed the Pistons’ bench to storm back, forcing the return of the starters in a matchup that was a laugher for three quarters. The comeback won’t make a difference in the series, but yesterday’s head-scratching finish was avoidable and unnecessary.
TNT’s announcers compared last night to Game 2 of the 2006 Eastern Conference semifinals when Detroit relaxed on a double-digit cushion and allowed visiting Cleveland to get within a possession or two of the lead. That contest, although a loss, served as a catalyst—what should have been a five-game coast for favored Detroit ended up a seven-game battle the Pistons were lucky to win. (See Murray, Flip and the Rebound That Got Away.)
That won’t happen this year: Like Pucky said, the 2009 Cavs have just too much firepower for the aging Pistons to deal with. Detroit has some nice up-and-coming players, but those young guns are not enough to offset the dearth of overall talent. The first quarter of Game 3 will be telling; the Cavs have to come out fast and set the tempo as they have over the first two games. Win on Friday, and everyone will forget about yesterday’s half-dozen minutes of atrocious basketball.
LeBron James - More Than a Game Trailer
A trailer for the upcoming documentary about St. V-St. M and the LeBron James team.
Closing it out
Well what can be said about Game 2. The Cavaliers played so flawlessly the first three quarters that the Pistons appeared as if they had given up, rented a vacation cottage, and would be (barely) playing out the string over the weekend in Detroit.
The Cavs, as projected, weren't fazed at all by the Detroit defensive strategy. LeBron's line was incredible--29 points on only 14 field goal attempts. When that is happening, you know the Cavs are rolling. Delonte, Z, Mo all picked it up.
The unbelieveable fourth quarter run, however, when the Pistons cut a 29 point lead to 7, will undoubtedly lead to more chatter from the uninformed about the "lack of Cavs depth". But the truth is that the Cavaliers are not only a much stronger team than Detroit, but that they have a much stronger "team"--in that they want to win, and will bust their asses to do it. The only evidence of that with the Pistons last night was from the bench players, and that's not going to get it done.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Oh, so THAT'S how you do it??
Seems like the Pistons have a new trick up their sleeve for Game Two tonight--or at least they think they do. Stop LeBron from driving to the hole. Of course! Who knew it was so easy? From Ohio.com:
''Either we have to get the ball out of his hands a little more or make sure perimeter-wise we're keeping him in front of us and making him be a contested jump shooter,'' Pistons coach Michael Curry said. ''If we do those things, we'll be much better off with our overall defensive game plan.''So, they will be "much better off" on defense if they "get the ball out of his hands" or make him "be a contested jump shooter". Genius.
While Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince will continue to guard James, Cavs coach Mike Brown suspects the Pistons will blitz, hit and double-team James in an attempt to get him out of sync. The Pistons also might focus on speed, putting a smaller guard on James in an effort to keep up with him.
Prince knows what to expect.
''It's tough and that's why we have to continue to put different guys on him, move some things around and see what works,'' he said. ''Obviously, the last few times that we played them, dating back to the playoffs, we stuck with the same scenario going into each game with the things that we did. We're going to try some different things and hopefully it works out.''
Pretty much like any player on earth. Of course, we've all seen LeBron get frustrated with defense
some times, and settle into ill-advised jump shots. (In fact, some national columnists who shall remain nameless think the Cavs should fine LeBron every time he takes a three-pointer.) But one of the obvious huge reasons that the Cavs have won The Jordan Rules of fouling him hard every time he looks at the rim seem to be the only chance. And fortunately, I don't think that can stop him either.