Is Mike Tomlin From Philly?
December 24, 200812 Days- Merry Christmas Eve!
December 24, 2008
Cavaliers 99Â Rockets 90 [box]
In a game that often felt like a playoff game in both atmosphere and in physical and intense play, the Cavaliers were able to hang on to beat the Houston Rockets 99-90. The game was everything it was supposed to be. A tough, back and forth affair between two similar teams who both pride themselves on their defense. The Rockets defense did a great job of forcing the Cavaliers into a pretty uncharacteristically high 14 turnovers compared to only 16 assists. This game was far from the Cavaliers best offensive night, but much of the credit must go to Houston’s defense. In the end, though, the Cavaliers did just enough to get the big win.  Â
In some ways, this feels like a game the Cavaliers were fortunate to win. Yao Ming was able to play only 23 minutes in this game as severe foul trouble kept him off the floor for the vast majority of the first 3 quarters. He had only 5 points through the first 3 quarters. In the 4th, though, he showed exactly why he’s so valuable to the Rockets. In the 4th quarter, Yao scored 14 points to finish the night with 19 total. In the 4th he managed to get Ilgauskas to foul out and he went 12 of 12 from the free throw line in that quarter as he helped the Rockets get back into the game. When the Cavaliers were doubling down on him, he was kicking it out to open 3 point shooters. When the double team didn’t come, he was using his quick spin moves to draw fouls on the Cavaliers and getting to the line. He was simply dominant in the 4th quarter and you wonder how different the game could have been had he been able to play more minutes.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers defense was sensational in its own right. The Cavaliers had 5 blocked shots, 8 steals, forced the Rockets into 16 turnovers, and despite allowing the Rockets to shoot over 50% from the floor in the first half, the Cavaliers buckled down in the 2nd half as the Rockets ended up shooting just 43% from the field. Tracy McGrady, whom LeBron James was guarding most of the time when Ron Artest wasn’t on the floor, was completely shut down, going just 2-7 from the field in 30 minutes for a mere 4 points. The biggest defensive play of the game, though, came from LeBron James. With a minute left in the game and the Cavaliers hanging on to a 7 point lead at 96-89, LeBron lost the ball on a Rafer Alston steal. The Rockets came back the other way and tried to go quickly inside to Yao Ming for an easy basket. LeBron, however, had different ideas, as he snuck up behind Yao and unleashed one of the nastiest blocked shots you will ever see a 7’6″ player succumb to:
From that point, this game was over, and any thoughts of a Houston comeback were put to rest.
For the Cavaliers offense, this was another game of LeBron getting his, and then the team riding the hot hand to another 20+ point night to go along with LeBron. Tonight, that hot hand was Mo Williams. Mo looked like the Robin he was brought here to be all night long in the toughest home game of the season for the Cavaliers. He was active in trying to get the offense started, and he was superb on offense, going 8-13 from the field, 2-5 from 3P, and 5-5 from the FT line to finish with 23 points and 4 assists, including a sensational alley oop to LeBron on which LeBron seemingly had to duck his head so as not to hit it on the rim.
LeBron ended up with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 monster blocked shot. He had his mid range jumper going pretty well in this game, and he was all over the place defensively, as he took turns alternating between defending Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, and Luis Scola. This was one of LeBron’s most complete games of the season, and he made his impact felt in every single facet of this game.
The Cavaliers bench wasn’t overwhelming, but they did some nice things. Anderson Varejao did his best in fronting Yao in the post defensively in the 4th quarter, and when Z was already fouled out, Andy was able to force Yao to take some tougher outside shots that didn’t go in. The big player off the bench for the Cavaliers, though, was Daniel Gibson. When Mo Williams hit an 18 foot jumper and then came back down on the nest possession after a missed 3 by Battier and drilled a 3 pointer of his own to make it 82-69 in favor of the Cavaliers with 10 minutes left, this game really felt like it was over. It looked like another game the Cavaliers would cruise to an easy double digit win in the 4th quarter. But credit to the Rockets, as they came storming back. After Mo Williams put in another layup with 9:30 left in the game, the only Cavaliers points over the next 4 and a half minutes would be one LeBron James layup. The Rockets closed all the way to within one point of the Cavaliers at 86-85. That’s when Daniel Gibson nailed a huge 3 pointer, and then one minute later he drilled another one to restore momentum in the Cavaliers favor.
The Cavaliers defense took over from there. In fact, the Rockets last FG of the game was an Aaron Brooks layup for an ‘and-one’ opportunity with 6:45 left in the game. For the remainder of this contest, the only points the Rockets would score would have to come from the FT line, as the Cavaliers defense just slammed the door of opportunity shut on the Rockets. This was a great win for the Cavaliers. Currently, their lead in the Central Division stands at 8 games. They are 2.5 games behind the Celtics in the East and 2 games ahead of Orlando. But more importantly, this was the toughest team the Cavaliers have faced at home this year, and other than Boston, this is the best team the Cavaliers have played this year period. And the Cavaliers answered the calling. Sure, the likes of Utah, Atlanta, and Denver were all tough opponents at home, but this Rockets team is a team the Cavaliers have historically had major problems with. The Rockets size has always been a bit too much for the Cavaliers to overcome. So in the scope of this game being a lithmus test, the Cavaliers came out looking pretty good. Last year when Rafer Alston caught fire like you wouldn’t believe, the Cavaliers couldn’t overcome it. In this game, Alston once again was unbelievably hot hitting 4-7 from three point range and scoring 20 points to lead the Rockets. But this time around, the Cavaliers made the proper adjustments and didn’t let Alston be any kind of factor in the 4th quarter at all. When the Rockets erased the late 14 point deficit to close to within one, the Cavaliers didn’t panic. Instead, they rediscovered their focus and fought through their shooting slump to pull away at the end for the 9 point win. Granted, you only say it’s a good thing to blow a 14 point lead late when your team rebounds from it and finds a way to still win, but this game was a very nice December test of a playoff type game and the Cavaliers proved they were up for the challenge.
30 Comments
Anyone watch the four lettered network this morning? They introduced the highlights with the following….”Knicks forward Lebron James and the Cavaliers taking on Houston…..”
I am so sick of them. After they finished gushing over the Yankees and Texiera, they move to that. But they just report the highlights…whatever.
I love MacLeod’s comment that the b-ball Lebron blocked “will never be the same” as if counseling sessions will be in order, hahah. Great stuff, literally and figuratively. Continues to be pure pleasure to watch this team play…I almost feel unworthy of it, but that’s only my Cleveland inferiority complex kicking in!
I want to attend opening day in New York (CC vs. Cliff presumably) with a sign that says, “Money can’t buy happiness… or LeBron!”
I hate new york, but my sights are set on boston and their obnoxious fan base. I cant wait for Jan 9, but as the cavs manta goes, “one game at a time”
Kind of a bush league tech on Artest with 19 seconds left. I think that will be the type of thing that keeps Houston from taking it to the next level…
And HUGE block on Yao that definitely sealed the deal.
BOOBIE.
who thought Andy’s panick shot with clock expering late in Q4 was going in??? (dejavu the SA finals) big shot bob indeed. Lebron also was bush league pounding the ball upcourt with the game decided when protocol called for holding the ball. He was so razzeled he even stepped out of bounds. First time I saw him out of control in aw hile. Let’s see what Stevensen can do to him tonight!
@#5- Ok, LeBron had to take the ball up the court or there would have been a 4 second call. He would have been quite content to dribble out the clock except Ron Artest was draped all over him.
And the Cavs and Wizards don’t play until tomorrow. Merry Christmas.
That was just a great game, both teams playing hard and well. Houston played great, disciplined defense and early on was hitting those long, difficult jumpers like they were lay-ups. Don’t envy the Western Conference playoff teams that will face those guys. Wonder if the Cavs would have played as tough as the Rockets if the roles were reversed: on the road against a great opponent and fourth game in five nights. We’ll find out soon, I guess.
Just so you know it is coming, someone is going to discount the Cavs win because it was the 4th game in 5 nights by the Rockets. The Rockets certainly showed up to play, so I don’t think it matters. Just warning you all that somebody is going to say it. 🙂
I hate a lot of the media around the country, but at least they are predictable, right?
The Rockets would have a much better record if they could just stay healthy, T-Mac just got back from an injury, Yao has missed time with injury, and I think this was Alston’s first game back from an injury. If they are healthy by the playoffs, they will be a force
Why does Ron Artest fail at life so badly? When he pushed Lebron and got the tech, he had already gotten the foul called, so whats the big deal, why does he have to try and be such a hardass? Few people FAIL as badly as Ron Artest
Another point missed by a lot of people is the fact that early when the Rockets were letting Ben go, the Cavs began to run the offense through him and he produced for us. That’s big because it shows other teams on tape that they can’t just not guard Ben because he will hurt them on the offensive end with easy buckets. Also his energy was through the roof today, come playoff time he’s going to be ready (barring injury). I love it.
Delonte did a nice job on T-Mac also.
Boobie may be back to form with his shooting, and what a great effort by him all along.
Mo Will is the truth.
Z for another 3!!!
Andy’s offensive game is A LOT better this year, I mean a running hooking from all over the court haha, that was great.
GO CAVS!!!
Just in time for the holidayz…
http://www.amazon.com/My-World/dp/B000TEPFES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1230140441&sr=8-1
I just watched the ESPN.com video recap…and of course they open the video by stating that people shouldn’t be impressed by the Cavs home win streak because the Magic and the Bulls had streaks twice as long in the 90’s….I truly hate the people who work at ESPN.
Why do people get so worked up about ESPN?
Pretty simple, don’t watch it, or visit the site….I don’t and haven’t in a long time.
Gotta give Sasha some love for last night’s defensive efforts while Mike Brown was trying his best to destroy our chances to win in the second and third. He finally realized we needed a bigger body, and Sasha took the challenge getting his hands on some balls in the lane and changing shots. Sure, there were a couple of missed 3’s and a turnover, but he also nailed a huge 3 (he couldn’t have been more open) and made a couple of nice passes, including the dribble-drive kick to Andy who laid that beautiful face-up reverse off the glass.
At least Coach Brown realizes his mistakes faster now!
How about the Cavs attacking Yao when he got into foul trouble? How many times do you see someone get that 4th or 5th foul and you know they are vulnerable, but the opposing team refuses to exploit it? Good job by the Cavaliers of attacking the paint knowing that Yao was going to avoid contact.
Have to disagree with Rick. Thought the Cavs did a terrible job of exploiting it. Yao had his 4th foul very early in the 3rd and didn’t pick up his 5th until the 2-3 minute mark in the 4th. Earlier in the 4th LBJ needed to take some of those drives at Yao’s body. He would get inside with ease and then readjust at the basket with a left-handed floater or some contorted finish. You have to leave it up to the refs; let them make a call in our favor. I was at the game and was pretty upset by the lack of strategic attack. Yao didn’t get one drive taken into his body. The only one where a little contact was made, LBJ got blocked. Then his pride takes over and he doesn’t want to get blocked again. Around the 3 minute mark, LBJ finally took a drive into Yao’s body. Yao and Co. were upset because they thought he had position, but LBJ finally just went at him and forced the refs to decide. Learn from Boobie. He knows he can’t finish inside if the floater isn’t available, so he hangs in the air and keeps the ball away from the defender to draw the foul…
@IRB?: my favorite part is the 2 star rating users give it. You’d think that the only people buying this would be hard core Crazy Pills fans who would give it a 5 star rating no matter what. Evidently even Crazy Pills fans think his “music” is awful.
@RPC: “while Mike Brown was trying his best to destroy our chances to win in the second and third.”……You mean that 3rd period when the Cavs outscored the Rockets 26-19????
“Yao had his 4th foul very early in the 3rd and didn’t pick up his 5th until the 2-3 minute mark in the 4th.”….ok, now I’m pretty sure you might not have even watched this game. The Rockets took Yao out the INSTANT he picked up his 4th foul and never came back in the game in the 3rd quarter. And when Yao came back, Rick is absolutely correct….the Cavaliers went right at him. It’s just that Yao was backing off to make sure he wouldn’t pick up the foul. Then, there were a couple times he fouled but got away with it. Just because he wasn’t called for fouls doesn’t mean the Cavaliers weren’t driving into the lane on him.
@#18
You’re absolutely right, I was going to say the same thing. Yao got taken out the second after that 4th foul was called.
There was a play in particular that even the announcers said Yao certainly got away with one. I can’t remember who the Cavalier was though. Could have been LeBron…
The Cavs did seem kinda fortunate to win the game but at the same time, the Rockets were hitting 3s like they were the ’04 Suns. I mean, they have a few shooters, but come on they were like 10-18 on 3s at one point and most of them were contested. I knew that wouldn’t last, and even though Yao heated up, McGrady is a shell of his former self and the 3s stopped dropping.
Does anyone else have such intense emotional outbursts whenever Wally plays? I mean, the guy simply CAN NOT hit an open 3 if his life depended on it. He has to have one foot on the line at least. He can’t do the things he’s supposed to do and it makes me want to scream (sometimes I do) and then he’ll take a charge now and then or grab an important rebound.
Anyone notice he’s like the ANTI-SASHA? Sasha is this out of control turnover machine that plays solid on-ball defense and makes his fair share of impressive jumpers. Wally spots up for 3 and always misses – but in some ways has become a little glue-man-light.
Oh well, Mo Williams has finally broken the Cleveland free agent curse. A guys that does what he did before we signed him.
Technically Mo was a trade…
Yes, Yao came out the minute he racked up that fourth foul. You all may have noticed, however, that Yao played the entire fourth quarter.
He played that entire quarter without having a layup taken into his body.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=281223005
If you look at the play-by-play it tells a different story other than one that suggests they attacked Yao. Until 2:16, when we were up 7, there were only 5 layups attempted. One was (I think) the Andy out-of-nowhere floating hook – lucky as hell. The next was the ONLY time Mo took it inside on the 3-4 consecutive Z screens sequence (the rest were jumpers over Yao). The next was 2.5 minutes later when LBJ lit a one-man fastbreak. Then he misses one at 6:31. Why? Because he was not taking it at Yao, but trying to float it over him with the left hand. Then another miss from LBJ. Not a make; not a charge because we was trying to draw contact; not a foul on Yao–just a miss because he was trying to avoid being blocked. (Yes, Yao got away with a foul on one of these misses, but it was because he reached over the top and swatted Lebron as he drove left of the lane, not because LBJ drew body contact.
Now, based on your argument that we were taking the ball inside and Yao was just readjusting so as not to pick up fouls, one of the following things has to be true. We are either making layups, or getting to the line. We clearly did not do any of that. You may also have noticed that Yao’s biggest stretch of playing time, the whole fourth quarter, again, during which he had four fouls, the Rockets managed a 15-2 run from 9:48 to the 5:00 minute mark. During that 4:48 minute span, the Cavs scored two points on an LBJ layup. Two points. Do you know how many free throws they attempted during that stretch? Zero. Do you know how many layups were attempted? Two. One made, one missed. How many of those were taken into Yao’s body? Zero. Do you know how many JUMPERS were attempted? SIX. One of 12 ft. Two at 19 and 21 ft. And THREE 3s. So, during this crucial period, we certainly were not taking it at Yao.
Now, you can say that penetration led to kick-outs. But that wasn’t true either. The Gibson 3s, for instance, were LBJ past-initial-defender-one-pass-and-bomb, not kicks from the paint. And even if you are creating outside shots, they clearly were not falling because Houston went on a 15-2 run. So you might as well take the ball inside and TRY, just TRY to draw a foul. Jump into him once! During that span 25% of our attempts were in the paint. Over the period as a whole we took THIRTEEN JUMPERS and FIVE layups while their best player sat under the basket the whole quarter with FOUR FOULS. We attempted FTs only ONCE during the period (before the intentional foul on Mo). We did NOT ATTACK YAO. Meanwhile, Yao managed 14 points in the quarter.
Is there something I’m missing here guys? I was at this game and was getting pretty frustrated at long jumpers from Z (who clearly was laboring all game) and a steady stream of jumpers from Danny, LBJ, Mo, and Andy. You have to want more from a team this good with the best in the paint scorer in basketball. For 4.5 minutes we scored TWO points on only two layup attempts with ZERO free throws while the opposing team went on a 15-2 run.
Oh, and by the way, Houston didn’t pick up it’s first team foul in the fourth until 3:49 to play. If you are attacking the center in the paint with the best finisher in basketball YOU ARE EITHER SCORING LAYUPS OR GETTING TO THE LINE BECAUSE YAO MOVED AND HELP DEFENSE GOT THERE LATE!!! None of that happened and we gave up one of the most painful runs on our home floor of the season. EIGHT+ minutes for their first team foul. 8+!
Geez…
First off, LeBron didn’t even enter the game in the fourth until the 8:00 minute mark…
“Now, based on your argument that we were taking the ball inside and Yao was just readjusting so as not to pick up fouls, one of the following things has to be true. We are either making layups, or getting to the line.”
Um…or, we were missing said lay-ups, or turning the ball over.
There were also several offensive rebounds by the Rockets that led to lengthy possessions on their end of the floor. I would say that 5 lay up attempts in a quarter, IN THE HALF COURT SET, is most certainly attacking the basket. More so than what they were doing the rest of the game.
And don’t forget that LeBron was being guarded by a multiple time defensive player of the year in Ron Artest.
Z’s jumpers were mostly wide open looks, and that is part of the Cavaliers game plan EVERY night. He was knocking down more than half those shots. And Mo Williams was 8 of 13…how can you get upset at that production? The only bad decision was Andy’s drive and hook that happened to go in.
Two layups during their huge run? C’mon. With LBJ there for 75% of the time. Somebody better be making layups, getting to the line, or at least drawing a charge. And Z’s shots were almost exclusively open looks but he clearly wasn’t feeling it last night and was expending a great deal of energy D-ing up Yao. One of our players has to get inside. Those 5 layups were not all in the halfcourt set. I’m not necessarily upset with the production – but we can’t always wait for Boobie to bail us out in the fourth.
Point being, if you are going to laud the Cavs for attacking Yao/the basket shouldn’t someone make body contact with him? other than to have a shot blocked? and if he is playing soft so as not to pick up the foul, shouldn’t we draw fouls elsewhere on help D? attempt more than one pair of free throws? That’s all. Yao should have been forced to foul someone, or draw a charge, sometime before 2:16 if we were attacking him.
As I figured…..you looked at the ESPN play-by-play and didn’t watch the game.
“and if he is playing soft so as not to pick up the foul, shouldn’t we draw fouls elsewhere on help D?”
Hahaha, ok, I suppose so…..you know, if the team is playing that kind of help D. The Rockets played a Zone most of the 4th quarter to limit the penetration off of picks, and as a result, they weren’t playing help D.
Again…there…saw the few minutes of zone. All this proves is that the Cavs settled while Adelman went zone to protect Yao. Settled for long jumpers that they had not been hitting all night. If the Cavs had lost would you still be content with the number of free throws in the quarter? Or the fact that Yao was not forced to commit a foul until 2:16? If it were the playoffs and you knew KG had four fouls for the ENTIRE 4th quarter and we continued to play into their hands by jacking up 19+ ft jumpers instead of working patiently (and not even that patiently since LBJ roasts zones like Christmas chestnuts) in order to get some body contact on Yao, wouldn;t you be a little perturbed?
Again, the Cavs made a choice. Take what the defense is giving you. Long jumpers out of the zone. Until Danny went back-to-back. We were drowning. That was not how you attack their best player who was their only hope in the period (other than the Christmas miracle Rafer Alston). Every time you saw LBJ get to the rim he twisted away from Yao’s hand instead of taking his body into his. That is indisputable. Just saying—they made the wrong choice. And paid. Until Boobie bailed us out.
We are all on the same team here. I just think praising the Cavs efforts to go after the player who scored 14 pts in the fourth was not very well executed as they weren’t sticking the J’s available from the pinch zone the Rockets employed.
Merry Christmas everybody! The best to you and yours.
I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. Merry Christmas to you to RPC! Hope the Cavs deliver a Christmas day win for all of us to enjoy!
This isn’t video game basketball. You can’t just throw your body into the guy, or you’ll pick up an offensive foul. Yao simply did a GREAT job of making sure he didn’t pick up his 5th foul. You’re acting like all the Cavs have to do is choose to make Yao foul them. What you’re forgetting is that Yao is a human being with free will who can make a choice not to foul.
There is no disputing that the Cavaliers went at Yao right away in an attempt to draw that 5th foul. Yao was just getting out of the way, and then he got away with 2 fouls that weren’t called. Then, when the Rockets went zone, it was much harder to get to Yao. You can’t blame the Cavaliers for that.
I have no problem with criticism, but it has to be warranted. Your criticism here just isn’t what happened in the game. The Cavaliers tried to draw the foul, Yao just did a great job of making sure he didn’t pick it up.
http://xkcd.com/386/