May 18, 2013

Cavs 102, Magic 93: The LeBron and Mo Show

November 12, 2009 by 27 Comments

It’s hard to look at this game and know with any certainty how the Cavaliers stack up against the Magic. Certainly Orlando is a much better team with Lewis on the floor, and playing the second night of a back-to-back is tough. That said, they were at home and the Cavs were also missing Delonte West. Yes, Lewis is going to be more productive than Delonte at the offensive end, but West will always be missed when he can’t go.

Billed as a battle of the big men, this game belonged to the guards and the King. Mo Williams had the kind of game that we would have killed for during last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. How about a 28 point (12-20) outburst? Mo didn’t miss a shot in the first half. Other than constantly running under screens, he played a nearly perfect half of basketball.

LeBron was also outstanding. Yes, he started to force a few bad shots towards the end of the game, but you will take his 36-8-4 performance. He shot a high percentage from behind the arc and at the foul line, and his cuts to the basket without the ball were fabulous.

So what happened with the battle of Supermen? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Krypton. Dwight Howard got into early foul trouble. Credit Mike Brown for going to Shaq early and getting Dwight in that trouble. It seems like the obvious move, but Van Gundy didn’t do it. Howard finished with 11 points in 31 minutes, but I’m not sure how he got that many. It felt like he was never on the floor. (Granted I wasn’t trying to box him out.)

Cleveland held a huge rebounding edge in this one until the very end (where once again the Cavs let a lead slip away.) The stat that jumps off the sheet to me though, is Cleveland’s assist total. On 37 made field goals the Cavs had only 12 assists. When you consider how many shots Mo Williams hit early in the clock I suppose it makes a little more sense.

So what does the win mean? Well for starters it was just nice to beat them in Orlando, something the Cavs have struggled to do since Howard came into the league. Sure they had a couple players out, and weren’t as fresh as the Cavaliers. But would you rather have lost or just barely pulled out a win? The Magic weren’t able to adjust to what the Cavs were doing well,  and they weren’t hitting shots like last season even though the Cavs really weren’t playing great defense.

Bottom line- take the win.

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(AP Photo/John Raoux)

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  • Alex

    Like what basically everyone has said going back to the Shaquisition, the Cavs match up pretty well with the Magic now. The question is how they match up with the rest of the league (IE San Antonio, LA, Boston).

  • hansolo1

    I think this was a good, and important early season win. Significant because it’s on the road against the Magic, regardless of the circumstances.

    I think Shaq’s boxscore may not show it, but he definitely had an impact in getting Howard in early foul trouble, thus helping to open things up for MO and Lebron and lessening the required effort on D overall. This is why we got him, and I feel he did his job, at least in this matchup. And the soon to be traded Z handled Gortat fairly well as well. This effectively neutered the advantage the Magic had on us last year. I know I know…they shot 3′s have stretch forwards, can hit the open shot blahblahblah…but it all centered around Howard in the ECF.

    Would it have been different with Lewis in, and/or if they kept Turkeyglue? Maybe…but that was last year, and this is this year. In case it’s been missed, the Cavs have won 5 of 6 and we still feel like they are not playing their best as of yet. So I think there is a lot to look forward to.

  • phil m

    I’m only echoing LeBron’s after-game comment when I say this, but it seems that the Cavs coaching did a good job in preparing the team. A lot of the early Cavs’ baskets came at the expense of what looked like a completely shredded Orlando defense. It bodes well for the team to think that their coaching staff has its act together.

  • Tsunami

    This was a good win. The Cavs were minus West and Z had possibly the worst game of his NBA career, and we were up 22 in the 4th.

    Specifically:

    -I loved the Cavs response after a couple bad calls went against them late in the 2nd quarter. There was like 3 straight possessions that ended in questionable calls: including the Z loose ball foul (after howard pushed over both Z and LeBron) the Shaq palming violation, etc. Anyway, because of turnovers and FT the Magic were able to slow down the Cavs and cut the lead to about 7. The Cavs called timeout, and came out ultra aggressive. JJ Hickson in particular made a couple of nice plays, and the Cavs shot 6 FT in about 30 seconds, because they were agressive. I was very happy with this effort.
    -The Cavs completely contained Howard. They had a plan. Double him when Shaq isn’t in the game (and live with the results) and let Shaq single cover him. Really, Howard wasn’t any better than Shaq in this game, which is exactly what you want, a wash. Their best player, for our 4th best player.
    -Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson hit some crazy difficult shots – but they were almost all contested. Mo Williams worked very hard tonight on the defensive end – he had a great game. He did whatever he wanted on offense. Completely shredding Jameer Nelson and getting into the teeth of the defense at will. The Cavs defense was stifling all game, even when it was in the bag.
    -I really do think the Cavs match up better against Orlando this year. Vince Carter is a great player, but he’s a prototypical 2 guard that we’ve had lots of success against. The same happened tonight, Carter cooled down and forced a ton of bad shots when they needed him to score the most. Pietrus was a complete non-factor, LeBron never gave him any room to shoot. Obviously when Lewis comes back they will be better, but Lewis isn’t a playmaker anymore, he’s a shooter. Someone has to be setting him up. Nelson isn’t a great playmaker and Carter gets tunnel vision. This team addressed some things they needed to beat the Lakers, but I think it will hurt them against the Cavs.
    -The Cavs rebounded so well tonight. JJ Hickson FINALLY boxed some people out, and Shaq looked spry. Andy Varejao got few minutes but he was his usual pesky self when he was in.
    -Boobie is still strokin the 3, hopefully this game jump starts Mos season.

    -I read the box score b4 I watched the DVR of the game so I figured we just got lucky since I saw so few assists. Not exactly. The ball moved from side to side quite well. I think the score keeping was a little off, and there were lots of situations where good passes led to FTs. The ball movement was solid for the first time since the 3rd quarter against Washington.

    After every win I say to myself, this team could still be MUCH MUCH better. I felt the same way tonight. If 4 of the 5 starters from last year can play the way they did last year, and Boobie can get back to 07 form, this team will be VERY good esp when Leon Powe gets back.

  • saggy

    it looks like JJ may be starting to come around – as Tsunami alluded. I am not saying it was a key to THIS game, but it will be one of the keys to our season. I am happy to see him finally thinking out there. His offensive arsenal is vast and he only needs to tame his movement to become more fluid and effective. I think as he matures physically (he’s still like 12 years old or something like that) he will gain more control over his body and become a dominant inside force. Well, one can hope anyways.

    I also love the fact that Mike Brown went for the jugular. He wanted to blow the Magic out. The Cavs started to play playground style at the end, and that is the only reason Orlando was able to keep it from getting out of hand.

    Great job on Wednesday!

  • oribiasi

    Anyone else LOL when Austin Carr was impersonating Dwight Howard crying about fouls?

  • joe in painesville

    oribiasi: my wife and i were…. in fact, we kept rewinding the dvr to hear it again

  • 5KMD

    I know I get what I deserve when I listen to the ESPN broadcast but did anyone else catch JVG saying his wishes that there were unlimited fouls in order to keep the best players in the game? I thought he was kidding at first, but he stuck to that statement after the other guys called him on it.

  • Isis

    You should include Shaq in your description of “The Show”. For all fo the incredible things that Lebron and Mo did, it was Shaq who bodied up man on man and took Howard (and the Magic) out of their game. While Shaq played only 20 minutes and doesn’t fill the stat sheet anymore, his contribution should be headlined as it bodes well for the long term. Recall the Cavs coming out and POUNDING the ball to Shaq in the low post (finally) to work Howard. That opening was game-changing and provided the lanes for LBJ and Mo.

  • Painesville

    Talk to me when they win one against ORL with Rashard Lewis on the floor.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    Best +/- of the night? JJ Hickson. Vacuum, yes. But still good to see.

    This ORL team has more chemistry issues than the Cavs. Lewis and Hedo being absent makes this a totally different team. We’ll see what they can do once Lewis gets back – will be interesting to see how Brown chooses to defend.

    Props to Brown for actually making coaching decisions and basing said thoughts on in-game play. Using the twin towers is completely okay by me if Gortat/Howard are on the floor toghether. Brining Andy off of the bench before Z was solid as well.

  • JK

    @ 2 – Z will not be traded this year. BOOK IT. (no sarcasm, just yelling)

    @ 11 – I like JJ and Im in favor of him getting more time, but he missed some very easy shots last night in the 3rd & 4th, so Im kinda surprised to see he was best on the + side.

  • Clown Baby

    oribiasi-

    That was definitely a highlight for me. Say what you want about Austin and his overused phrases but the guy loves the game (and the Cavs) and it’s fun to listen to him do a game.

    Z was 0-6 from the field last night and he looks like he’s about 80 years old. I can’t believe how suddenly his game deteriorated. My only hope is that whoever we trade him to will agree to buy him out so he can be apart of the postseason run.

  • DCBucks

    Howard should have fouled out at the 3rd quarter. His foul on LeBron was called a clean block, and he pushed Z during that horrendous 3 foul sequence against the Cavs. It’s games like this were the refs swallow their whistles to keep a star in the game that makes me believe all the crooked rumours about them.

  • http://shakesthesnowglobe.blogspot.com EZ

    It’s true that with Lewis in the game the Magic probably score a few extra points, but with West in the game Carter does not score all the points he does – and he was already pretty inefficient. You can’t overstate how much West helps this team on both sides of the ball. It’s interesting to see the rotations that Mike Brown uses in the backcourt to fill the gap.

    Loved seeing JJ for so long, and seeing him actually contribute. He made some mistakes, sure, but so did everybody. The games against good teams were the ones in which he tended to wilt last year and he held up fine last night. Starting Andy would give us the best starting 5 on any given night, but starting JJ this early in the season helps us out in the long run. He needs extended burn against quality opponents to develop and we can always sub in Andy if he gets over his head.

  • whipjacka

    Your really going to rip the cavs for losing a portion of their lead during garbage time?

  • 5KMD

    Hey Painseville.

    Maybe “Rashard Lewis” of last year would not have been “Rashard Lewis” of last year if he wasn’t doing the thing that made him miss this game in the first place.

    We will see how the Magic play this year when they are the ones that have huge expectations. We will also see if Rashard can repeat last year’s performance without his little “helpers”.

  • http://shakesthesnowglobe.blogspot.com EZ

    @16

    Wasn’t really garbage time, per se. Both teams were playing 3-4 starters till the end. When the lead was evaporating Cavs and Magic both had 4 starters in. We looked really good last night, but previous Cavs teams were notorious for letting teams back into the game. I thought we’d solved that last year. The Magic are too good to get sloppy with, even if we’re up by 20.

  • Karsten

    I was just glad to see the shots going in this game, especially early on. It really looks like the chemistry is starting to form, and with that comes confidence, and with confidence comes higher shooting %. Hopefully this trend continues.

  • Matt#2

    JJ took some good baby steps.
    Lebron makes gratuitous dishes to JJ every time they’re on the court together (i.e., where Lebron could have scored himself). It looks to me like Lebron personally wants to develop JJ into a force for NEXT year and possibly the playoffs this year. If so, I approve.

  • Cavalette23

    We have proven that a Delonte West-less Cavs team can beat the Magic. And JJ Hickson did well, in his start. Our team chemistry is improving! Now lets continue to win, and get past the Celtics. We have a strong shot at going back to the Finals.

  • P@

    I think Orlando got back into the game because Brown told our players to milk the shot clock. There was a lot of standing around and watching LeBron in the fourth quarter, which has certainly happened in the past, but I think this time Mike Brown wanted the Cavs to trade open looks for time off the clock. When we needed to run the offense and create good shots, it seemed like that happened. I remember when Orlando got within 7 points or so, Mo Williams got himself open for shots on back-to-back possessions and nailed them. His field goal percentage in the game was sacrificed because he took several shots at the end of the shot clock where he wasn’t really open.

    I loved how Mo played in the first half… he looked like he had no doubt that the shots were going to fall. Shaq and LeBron both had outstanding games. It showed a lot of veteran smarts for Shaq to go right at Howard and create the foul. Same with Mo when he had Howard guarding on a screen. Vince Carter won’t play like that against us every game in a 7 game series. He hit some ridiculous shots where Parker defended well. I found myself telling my wife on a bunch of his shots, “there’s just no way to get a hand on a ball if he’s shooting it that way.” Many of the shots that he hit were turnaround, fall-away jumpers with a hand in his face. Carter is a very good player, but he is not Kobe Bryant and he played a little over his head last night.

  • Jack

    Everyone is in mid-season form with these paragraphs.
    - When Mo is aggressive, everyone wins. Our offense is so much better. It leaves so much in Bron’s tank.

    - I’ll give you the Lewis thing, but back-to-back. That was game was against Charlotte right? It was a 55 minute flight? It’s not like they really exerted themselves.

    - We just needed that. We needed it in every way. Everyone can shut up now. And this team can develop. The offense finally made sense out there. Run through Shaq. Any team with a real post player will have a hard time beating us.

    - Z sucks. It’s over. He is only good to have to absorb fouls. I took it back the other day. But I have to reaffirm. He’s bad.

    - Can anyone remember the only time the Magic competed with us? I can: when Shaq and Z were together.

    - Needz more Hickson. Needz to trade Zz.

  • Christopher

    @ Painesville

    do you really thinkg Rashard Lewis would have been the swing point in this game for Orlando? Yes he stretches the floor for this team but with Dwight Howard no longer needing to be doubled the “inside outside” game of last year that made him so effective is lost.

    and please dont forget that when these teams meet up again not only will Rashard Lewis be back for the Magic but our guard situaiton of West or possible Antonio Daniels will be resolved and Leon Powe will be making his way back as well.

    this team took a HUGE step forward albeit early in the season with this win on Orlando’s floor and Mo shook off the cobwebs of last years ECF.

    now whether or not SVG’s publicly calling out of his entire roster works is a whole different story….

  • Jack

    Remember when all the announcers were saying, “The Cavs really don’t have anyone in that height range who is quick enough to stop Lewis out on the perimeter. He’s so athletic at 6’9.” Well the problem was they had two of those guys. Now, they do not. VC can be guarded by West or Parker; Hedo could not have been.

    Now, Lebron can shut down Lewis. No way he shoots so well with Lebron closing out on him.

    Then again, Lebron spent more of the ECF guarding Rafer Alston so he could play free safety and double team Howard because…Z was abysmally over-matched.

    This led to one of Mike Brown’s most historically preposterous and convoluted rotation schemes and a monsoon of triples.

  • Painesville

    @17/24 – I’m just keeping it real here. Great win, but I want to beat ORL with all of their pieces in place. We couldn’t do it against BOS and they brought the house. Granted that was game 1, we were rusty and not in synch…but at some point you have to show your mettle against potential playoff dance partners.

  • Tsunami

    People keep talking about how we only won by 9. Look, we were up 14 with under a minute to play. It’s not like Orlando ever got close to winning. At no time were the Cavs “nervous” in the 4th quarter.