02/05 Morning Minute: So Long, Bobby
February 5, 200802/06 Morning Minute: So Much For “Signing” Day
February 6, 2008That was a great win for the Cavaliers! Boston fans will no doubt lament the loss of KG, and certainly that was a factor for the Celtics, but the Cavs were without Varejao, Pavlovic and Drew Gooden who was injured early in the second half. Even without those three starters, the Cavs prevailed 114-113. (EDIT- should say two, Varejao in fact does not start.)
LeBron had 33 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in the game, but this one was a team win. Several Cavs stepped up and made big plays in this one. Certainly Cleveland fans will be talking about two plays by Daniel Gibson, the first being a running underhand floater that found the bottom of the basket despite a foul. The other being the strip of Rajon Rondo that essentially sealed the win. Gibson finished with 11 points, Also coming up big was Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Big Z had 21 points and 10 boards, but perhaps as important was a force with 5 blocked shots. Glen Davis had some success against him in the third, but overall Z played an excellent game. He did have 3 more traveling violations in this one, which by my count brings his total to 5 the last 2 games. Z, it’s called dribbling, look into it big guy!
Larry Hughes continued his Tuesday trend, finishing with 18 points and 6 dimes. Ira Newble had a strong performance, including a fabulous baseline dunk. Marshall was cold from the floor, but came in to get a few big rebounds after Drew got hurt. Gooden injured himself on a thunderous put back early in the third. It was being called a groin strain by the announcers during the game, likely meaning that Drew will miss a few. Not good news for an already hurting front court.
It was a quite physical game, with both sides in the bonus early on. In all 52 fouls were called, but both teams shot better than 50%. That was certainly impressive. The Cavs had the rebounding edge 39-29. Leading the Celtics were Ray Allen with 24 points, Rondo with 20, and Pierce with 19. Pierce was battling flu-like symptoms according to ESPN, but certainly played well.
The win was Cleveland’s second over the Celtics this year, giving them a 2-1 series advantage with one game remaining in Boston at the end of the month. The Cavs also moved 7 games over .500 for the first time this year. They are alone in 4th place in the conference, and will have some work to do to overtake Orlando for that 3rd seed. That would make a big difference come playoff time, as the better seed between the two would likely get Washington, and the lower seed would get Toronto.
Here’s hoping Gooden’s injury isn’t that serious, as the Cavs have 5 games in eight days. Two sets of back to backs, first the Cavs head to Houston for a game Thursday, followed Friday by a trip to Atlanta. Sunday they return home to face the Nuggets, Monday they travel to Orlando. Things don’t get any easier for the Cavs as San Antonio comes to town Wednesday as the last opponent before the All-Star break. If Gooden is sidelined this week, I would have to say 3 of 5 would be difficult for the Cavs.
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2 Comments
Varejao isn’t a starter.
Indeed sir, you are correct. Perhaps I should stop trying to write recaps at 2:30 in the morning.