May 22, 2013

Cavs 107, Suns 90: Z Leads Cavs In Romp Over Suns

December 2, 2009 by 27 Comments

Z DunkOk, I admit it. The title of the post is a little bit of a stretch. Zydrunas did finish the game with 14 points, more than any other Cavalier tonight, but this one was an absolute team win. It is fitting that on the night Big Z breaks the Cavaliers’ all time games played record he also moved into third place on the team points scored list as well. With a little over a hundred points between Z and Brad Daugherty’s second place total, here’s hoping Z breaks that record soon as well. At his current pace, he will need 17 more games to do it.

The game itself was kind of strange. First, you give the Cavaliers credit for good defense, but the Suns were absolutely dreadful shooting the ball. They were missing shots that they make on a regular basis. Whether it is jet lag, or a Knicks hangover we’ll take it. Offensively the Cavaliers had 7 players in double figures, and were only 5 points shy of having 10. Read that again. 45 field goals and 29 assists. They out-rebounded the Suns by 10. If Phoenix hadn’t shot the three relatively well in the second half this one would have been worse.

LeBron James came just short of a triple double. He didn’t look too pleased either in the closing minutes when a rebound was muscled away from him by a teammate or when he came off the floor with a minute left. Truth be told I didn’t think he should have been out there as long as he was in the fourth.

Delonte West continued his hot play by staying aggressive on the dribble drive and topping Steve Nash in assists despite playing a third less minutes than the Suns’ guard.

Speaking of Nash, the Cavaliers did a good job of containing him tonight. They also managed to cut off some of his passing lanes and forced him into 6 turnovers. Well, five anyway. One ball went off his arm and out of bounds because he wasn’t paying attention to Lopez on an inbound pass. It was that kind of night for the former MVP.

Mike Brown had his now infamous ‘minutes chart’ working overtime in this one as 8 Cavaliers finished the game with over 20 minutes. A nice distribution of playing time. Zydrunas entered the game at about the 4 minute mark in the first quarter to a roaring applause. There was no stoppage in the game or ceremony at all like we were led to believe would take place. The cameras found Danny Ferry standing and applauding just outside the tunnel giving his appreciation to Z, but then he walked back inside. No game ball. No posing for pictures. Perhaps they will acknowledge the feat before the start of the Bulls game on Friday.

(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

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  • Scott #2

    Gotta give props to Z, who has been there through it all and has persevered through multiple injuries. Let’s hope he can retire as a Cavalier and an NBA champion despite his relatively lackluster play.

  • TSR3000

    God I love the orange and blues.

  • http://www.twitter.com/azv321 Amin

    I couldn’t watch the game here. How did the throwbacks look (I see TSR3000 liked them)?

    Also, Danny Green played 1 minute, and got a steal? Good work.

  • Eli

    Zulu Cthulu enjoyed shows his approval for this performance.

  • Eli

    And apparently has massive editing and syntax problems.

  • REEPJP

    Danny Green should have put that one in at the end….I know we were blowing them out and some people would have thought it was in bad taste, but how many more for sure opportunities is he going to have to score his first NBA points this year? For those who weren’t able to see it, Green was all alone at the end of the game and ran towards the basket like he was going to dunk, only to pull up and run out the clock….Lebron, Jamario, and Co. were all anxiously waiting for him to score as was evidenced by their giggles as time expired

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Rick

    Danny Green scored before. Against the Bobcats.

    And the Cavs’ blue and orange looked as glorious as it did when Nance, Price, Hot Rod, Ehlo, and Daugherty wore them!

  • http://bitmatt.com bitmatt

    On the radio before the game they said Z had requested no stoppage of the game or special treatment for the record setting accomplishment when he came in. I thought it was fitting that the fans were so loud and awesome for him anyway.

    Cavs blow out Orlando (on the road), Dallas and now Phoenix. They beat Utah and Miami teams to end hot streaks. Outside of the opening night loss to Boston with a roster coming out of a shaky, flu ridden training camp- when are the Cavs gonna get some props for putting last year’s failures against other “elite” teams to rest? I like their chances against the Lakers and Celtics on the road a lot better this year than I ever did last year, even when the Cavs seemed unbeatable. Shaq looks like he’s adjusting to sidekick status better than I expected. If Z’s bad shooting slump is over (and signs say it may be), who matches up with this team? A suddenly together-looking Delonte West off the bench? Crazy you say? I’ll tell you what’s crazy- the Cavs’ depth. They didn’t draft an NBA ready rookie because he’d never ever play. Leon Powe awaits.

    I actually can’t wait for the first long west coast trip. Going to have to take some naps or something to stay up for those games- can’t miss ‘em.

  • Tsunami

    bitmatt – great post. The Cavs ceiling is so much higher this year than last year.

    No one is paying attention to them and that is fine with me.

    The throwbacks were glorious – they should just go back to those.

  • http://www.zfcomics.com dgriff13

    caught the highlights, nice to see team ball. Especially that sequence down court– Delonte to Lebron to Andy to JJ for the finish.

    BTW, totally approve of the new site design.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Jacob

    What a game, what a game. Now we just need to kick some Chicago butt on Friday. That would feel really good after that stupid loss at the United Center earlier this season..

  • S-Dub

    I feel like they’ll really give Z a great ceremony for this years accomplishments when he moves into #2 for all time scoring. Who knows though. Cavs and Lakers are by far the 2 best teams in the NBA. Hopefully that translates into a ring and Z rides off into the sunset.

  • whipjacka

    Did any of you guys see the interview with Z after the game? Man is he pissed! Rightfully so. Don’t get the impression that he is going to forgive Mike Brown any time soon (I wouldn’t either).

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    I get it – a stretch! Because Z is tall!!!

  • http://www.NoLogoNeeded.com Don_NoLogoNeeded.com

    The play was only slightly better than the unis. Those looked great!

  • Jay

    This was the most complete team win I’ve seen this year. I loved the ball movement, the unselfishness, the bench doing their part. Total TEAM effort.

    The uniforms made me feel like a kid again. Absolutely beautiful. I may have to spring for one, although I’m hoping Santa brings me one.

    Z is the consumate professional, and best teammate around. At his request, he did not want play stoppage, or any special accolades. He didn’t want the focus on him, like the rest of his career. I can’t wait until he mives into the #2 scoring spot. Here’s hoping we get that ring for the city, and for Z who probably would have one by now, but he loves us…he really loves us!

  • Swig

    At first it was weird seeing all the new players in the old Unis, but after that initial reaction it was cool. Still my favorite logo.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    While the uni’s were great, the intros, the imagery and timeout videos were even better. Big props to whomever was responsible for the production last night.

  • http://twitter.com/nullster nullster

    I was surprised there was no Rick-Rolling at the end of the night considering the score and the theme

  • Ron

    This team has the look of a true championship contender. While last years team was awesome, LeBron had to carry them in too many of the games. This team has others that can score and some crazy good athletic bigs besides Lebron. They are learning to play together and the ingredients for a finals run appear to be in place. Thank God we have the Cavs to ease the sting of the Browns and Tribe.

  • mike

    i think the cavs lost earlier to the bulls at home, did they not? arent the 2 home losses to boston and chicago?

  • http://twitter.com/nullster nullster

    Yes they lost to the bulls … when Delonte doesn’t play, athletic guards who can penetrate (i.e. Derrick “SAT” Rose) can really kill the Cavs

  • AMC

    After his blunder not playing Z on Saturday, I really like what Mike Brown did with the rotations last night. LeBron, Mo and Andy had the most playing time with over 30 minutes, AP, JJ, Shaq, DWest and Z all had around 20-25 minutes, and Boobie and Moon each had around 15. All contributed in different ways. This team is legitimately 10 deep, and if Powe can come back, it’s 11 deep.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com DP

    The true addition of Hickson to the rotation is paying huge dividends. You could see at times last night that he and Shaq (but mostly Hickson) are starting to figure out how to play next to each other.

    And honestly, the thing I love about Hickson more than anything else is that he goes up STRONG to the rim. I can’t remember the exact play, but AV had a path to the basket and didn’t score because he apparently can’t jump more than 3 inches. I yelled something to the effect of: “COME ON!! Dunk the [bleep]ing ball! You’e 6-foot-10 for cryin’ out loud!”

    Apparently I’m turning into my grandfather…

  • http://www.60bpm.com Robbie

    Loved the throwback uniforms last night. It was cool seeing them dismantle another team in those. I don’t remember seeing too many games during that era.

  • Jack

    DP, so right about Hix. He had those early foibles until Lebron revealed that you can, in fact, dunk the ball with one hand. He has had a couple of those solid reverse one-handed slams. I was saying that I can’t remember having a player who could dunk since Shawn Kemp. I mean really dunk. Watching Hix and Shaq rattle the rim a few times a game is such a nice change-up: as much as I love the Brazilian Ballerina Reverses and Z’s Tip-Toe Up to the Cookie Jar “Dunks.”

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  • Cavalette23

    I am glad that Z played and now holds the record for appearing in the most games. Now the Cavs should get focused on achieving their One Goal of finally winning an NBA Chmapionship in their 40th Season.