Would You Want Jim Thome Back One More Time?
January 21, 2010While We’re Waiting… Jets Jinx, Best MLB Farm Systems, and LeBron James Haters
January 22, 2010
Los Angeles Lakers (32-9) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (32-11)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Thursday, January 21, 2010
8:00 PM EST
TNT, FSOH/WTAM
Iâll take the blame for this one. I just mentioned the other day to a friend of mine that I was concerned that the Cavaliers have been remarkably healthy for the most part over the past 2 seasons. Well, now the seemingly unthinkable has happened, and Mo Williams is out with an injury. Other than LeBron himself, Mo Williams has shown himself to be a physical specimen over the last couple seasons in Cleveland, impervious to injury and fighting his way through any little tweaks/twists he might incur along the way. Now he will be missing some time with his sprained shoulder (upgraded from the initial âstrained shoulderâ diagnosis) and the Cavaliers are in some trouble.
If anything, this signifies why the Cavaliers still need to make a trade, because an injury to Mo leaves LeBron without a scoring sidekick. Someone is going to have to step up in a major way for the Cavaliers in this game. Last time out the Cavs had their way with the Lakers, but thatâs all going to change tonight without Jamario Moon and Mo Williams. Hopefully Jawad Williams can continue to play admirably in Moonâs spot and Boobie Gibson can knock off all his rust and pick up right where he left off. Otherwise, this could be an ugly one tonight.  Â
Projected Starting Lineups
Los Angeles Lakers:
-G Derek Fisher (7.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 8.86 PER)
-G Kobe Bryant (28.3 ppg, 4.5 apg, .316 3P%, 23.47 PER)
-F Ron Artest (11.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 12.96 PER)
-F Pau Gasol (17.0 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 22.99 PER)
-C Andrew Bynum (15.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 19.76 PER)
Key Reserves: Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell, Luke Walton
Injuries: Kobe Bryant (probable), Luke Walton (probable), Sasha Vujacic (probable)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-G Delonte West (7.5 ppg, 2.9 apg, .371 3P%, 13.75 PER)
-G Anthony Parker (7.3 ppg, 1.7 apg, .473 3P%, 9.77 PER)
-F LeBron James (29.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 7.8 apg, 31.30 PER)
-F JJ Hickson (6.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.4 bpg, 12.75 PER)
-C Shaquille OâNeal (10.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 16.40 PER)
Key Reserves: Anderson Varejao, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson, Jawad Williams)
Injuries: Mo Williams (out), Jamario Moon (out), Leon Powe (out)
Team Efficiency Stats
Los Angeles Lakers:
-Off (103.5 ppg, 45.2 rpg, .458 FG%, 22.2 apg, 13.7 TOpg, Eff-105.7, Rank-12)
-Def (96.4 ppg, 43.0 rpg, .435 FG%, Eff-98.4, Rank-2)
Cleveland Cavaliers:
-Off (101.1 ppg, 42.0 rpg, .484 FG%, 21.5 apg, 14.7 TOpg, Eff-108.2, Rank-5)
-Def (94.6 ppg, 37.7 rpg, .438 FG%, Eff-100.4, Rank-4)
Previous Matchups
- Cleveland 102 at LA Lakers 87 â 12/25/09 [box]
Future Matchups
None
Game Notes
I really donât have a great feeling about this game. The Lakers are just too good of a team to have to try to figure out how to get by without your 2nd best player for the first time all year. The Lakers are an even better defensive team than the Cavaliers are as it is, and now the Cavs must try to find ways to score without Mo. This is not going to be easy.
Historically Ron Artest has done a pretty solid job on LeBron James, holding him to an average of 24.7 ppg when the two have played against each other. However, in recent years as age has begun to catch up to Artest, LeBron has been getting better, averaging 27.0 ppg against Artestâs teams. Well, for the Cavaliers to win, either someone unexpected is going to have to have a monster game to replace Moâs input in the victory on Christmas Day or else LeBron is going to have to score a lot more than 27 points.
Not having Jamario Moon this time around is another serious challenge as he played very well against the Lakers last time, helping the Cavs hold Lamar Odom to 6 points. Jawad Williams has shown himself to be a pretty solid replacement for Moon. In fact, looking at their numbers, when Jamario is in the game, the Cavs score 108.9 points per 100 possessions and give up 102.1 points for a net +6.9 per 100 possessions. When Jawad is in the game, the Cavaliers score 109.8 points per 100 possessions and give up 102.8 points for a net +7.0 per 100 possessions. I kind of scooped myself out of a subject that really deserves its own post there, but the point is that Jawad Williamsâ numbers in Moonâs place have been staggeringly similar. The Cavs will need that kind of production out of Jawad in this game.
Just as they did last time, the Cavaliers will try to bother the Lakers with size by using plenty of big lineups. That means Shaq and Z together again, and that means heavy minutes for Varejao. Last time out, Varejao was +20 and Ilgauskas was +21 while Gasol was â21 and Odom was â18. Bynum was never much of a factor with Shaq and Z defending him, recording just 4 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes of action. The Cavaliers defense in the paint is stellar, and we know this, but itâs up to the Cavs to come out with the mindset to live up to that reputation.
The biggest thing the Cavs have going for them is that the Lakersâ offense plays right into the Cavaliersâ defensive strengths. The Lakers have one of the worst PG corps in the NBA, and none of them are serious threats to break down the Cavs with the dribble. Plus, thatâs not the Lakersâ style. The Lakers donât get out and run at all. Instead, they will set up everything in their half court offense and try to generate opportunities from there. The Cavs will welcome this with open arms, as they are more than comfortable with that kind of game, especially this season now that the Cavaliers have the weapons and the intentions to properly to defend the interior.
If you can keep a seal in the paint on defense, you can seriously frustrate this Lakers offense and get them to panic and start shooting more from the outside. Once youâve done this, youâre in good shape as the Lakers are not a good shooting team at all. In fact, again, looking back to last matchup, Kobe Bryant had 35 points on 32 FGA. This is precisely the type of game the Cavaliers will hope to force Kobe into once again.
Now, having said all that, the Lakers are the best team in the NBA and they boast a 32-9 record for a reason. This is a great, great basketball team and even though you know exactly how you need to play them to beat them, they are so good that it often doesnât even matter. They will still operate their offense and generate easy basket after easy basket until your defensive will is broken, and then Kobe will take over and put the game away. If the Cavaliers donât come into this game with their focus properly in place, thatâs exactly whatâs going to happen.
On offense, the Cavaliers need to run their offense more than ever against the Lakers. LA is the best team in the NBA at defending the 3, and with Mo out anyway, the Cavs need to find other ways to score. The Lakers are surprisingly susceptible in the paint, and this is why the Cavs need to keep the ball moving and to keep swinging it from side to side. You can create some easy baskets of your own inside against the Lakers, but you have to be patient and you must, must, MUST have weak side movement away from the ball. Without it, the Lakers will force you to shoot contested shots from the outside with the 24 second clock expiring. This will be the challenge tonight for the Cavaliers.
Vegas Line
Cleveland â2.5
Over/Under 193
From The Outside Looking In
Forum Blue & Gold
Lakers Blog
The Lakers Nation
Lakers Of Fire
Next Game For The Cavaliers
Saturday, January 23, 2010
7:30 PM EST
Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers
FSOH/WTAM
58 Comments
We match up good with the Lakers. Infact, i think we’re the only team that could beat L.A in a 7gamer. I KNOW we’re the better team but It wouldn’t surprise me if L.A won this game off pure determination. They will be very angery after what we did to them on Christmas Day. The only team that im afraid of is Boston, when KG get back and if they get Nate Robinson at the deadline., they’ll be the team to beat in the NBA.
*angry
I’m piqued to see Boobie shoot it.
I think they should give him touches early and often.
Maybe he gets hot.
When he’s hot, he scores a ton.
Delonte should be able to just destroy Fisher. Big advantage for us @ PG tonight.
curse of WFNY…..ask where Boobie has been and you will be shown the Boobie.
i wish we would start Gibson though….he more closely resembles Mo Williams in playing style and Delonte is a part of that 2nd unit, which gives the Cavs such an advantage over other teams.
since we all can’t stand jay mariotti, i just thought i would remind everyone how ignorant he is. Just now on “Around the Horn” he stated that the Cavs have no injury problems and they’re home free, when he assessed the importance of tonight’s game.
Why is he still allowed to write about sports?
I hope Mo doesn’t miss the season. Have a bad feeling about this.
Saggy just watch that show and you will know why he is even allowed on it. Kornheiser said on PTI this game is not a big deal, well I think it is. It could give the Cavs a lot of confidence to beat LA twice.
@JM: I really don’t think this game is that Big for the cavs. I think its big for the Lakers because if they lose to us with mo williams out, they’ll have to think that they can’t beat us at all. We know that we can beat L.A in L.A but if they beat us without mo then we can say our #2 guy wasn’t there but if we win they’ll have to go back to the drawing board to the point were they might have to make that Bosh for Bynum deal.
As cavs fans we shouldn’t be worried about L.A, we should be worried about Celtics with KG.
Could we see some Danny Green tonight? Jawad would have to play SG or SF then Boobie at PG Z and Varejao down low. So whos the SG or SF when Jawad is at one of those two positions?
Man the cavs just lost the game. Mo is there leading scorer (besides lebron) with out him we wont get enough points. Unless the cavs shut down MEGA D i say the lakers got this & i hate the lakers. Ill post moer during the game for i wouldnt miss it.
@ Nicko – Windy reports he’s out 4-6 weeks. No surgery required. Of course, if he doesn’t heal and he needs surgery, he’ll be out for the season. Thankfully the Cavs have some depth at guard (though not at PG), so hopefully they can navigate this stretch alright. It’s amazing that Mo has only missed one game since he joined the Cavs. Makes it impossible to evaluate how this team will play for an extended stretch without him, but I think it just reinforces how badly the Cavs need another legitimate scoring threat besides LeBron and Mo. Maybe the big fella will take it on himself to provide a boost in scoring. Delonte and Boobie will need step it up.
Former Bullet guard Antonio Daniels?
LeBron vs. the Lakers won’t get it done tonight. I expect Andy to play lots of minutes too. The Cavs can survive Mo being out, but Z, Anthony Parker, Delonte and Boobie will all have to have reasonable games, I think.
I’ll even take a loss if I can see Phil Jackson make fun of Craig Sager on live TV again.
I wonder what Mike Brown was just saying to Boobie as he put him in…
Yikes, this is going to be ugly. Lakers want payback and we can’t score. Over/Under on this loss has to start at 20.
@Shaun, nobody knows why Boobie hasn’t been able to sniff the floor for the last few weeks as it is… Mike Brown and his rotations will ALWAYS be a mystery, I guess.
WOW thats all i have to say is wow. Ok mabey not. If I mike brown i say ” Lebron go in drive the lane all day and garud kobe in his face. PRESS HIM. press him like there no tom.” Step up lebron.
Daniel Gibson hits a three…. that would be a nice sign if it continues…
@ jackson 20????? more like 30
opps i blog to much i just realize we only down by 4
14 points for kobey not good
Wow, have we always been this quick to panic?
Definitely not panicking… Getting the Mo news today certainly escalates the situation though.
All Philly wants for Iggy is cap space. Lets get him at the 2, Delonte at the 3. We are good to go.
No more Jamison talk please……him shaq and Z are over 100 years old.
There’s not much to do when Kobe takes silly shots 3 seconds into the clock and makes all of them, but the rest hasn’t looked good so far. JJ scored ok but that’s about it – he’s done squat on D and as I type that foul was just called.
Down by 2 after a crappy 1st half? Not bad…
We could have easily went down by 16, but the Cavs imposed their will and kept it within two. So long as this defense keeps up, Boobie will hit a few key threes and the Cavs manage to pull this one out.
Lets do it.
Alright, for the Cavs’ first half of basketball without Mo, they don’t look too bad. And this is against The Lakers, the best team in the NBA (right now), not The Nyets. Judging by the last two minutes of the first half, it looks like it might be a Bron Bron vs. Kobe shootout in the second half. Bring it on!
Some speculation on bringing in Nate Robinson. Opinions please?
Kobe getting every call tonight.
Cavs take their first lead of the game 60-59…
We need to sit Bynum with two more personal fouls. Shaq and Andy can help there; LeBron, too. I’d like to see a little Wild Thing intensity for this fourth period. That may carry us to victory. Oh, that, and a third straight 19-point period from the mighty Lakers.
Dribble dribble – doink offense. đ
But this time with good defense on the other end!
This is a great game… Cavs defense needs to keep standing up. Good closeouts on three point shooters thus far.
This is the kind of game I hope for whenever the Lakers are on the schedule.
Boobie seems to be playing some decently tight D here in the second half.
just hit your FTs
VARAJOED!
That’s some damn fine hustle
The level of bitterness on most other message boards is at a ridiculously high level right now. Go Cavs!
Oh, that has to hurt, Kobe fans.
Send the tape over to ESPN Classics.
This just goes to show how great a Cavs v Lakers final would be!!!
Our front line really seemed to give them trouble. Z did a great job on Gasol. Man, what a nice win!
Wonder who/what the Laker fans are gonna blame this one on… God forbid they own up to the fact that their team got outplayed.
WOW! What a game and kudos to our fans for making this one feel like the playoff sign was on the floor. Playoff like atmosphere and Lebron showed why hes the best in the game. Late heroics from the king and now we got the edge if the season ends in a tie.
I was so wrong about us missing Mo. Thats the type of game were we would have needed Mo. I don’t think it would have been that close. D.West just didn’t look comfortable at the 1. I can’t wait til we play Boston again. I WANT REVENGE!
Initial reaction from Laker fans seems to be “we lost to Orlando twice last year too”. While that may be true, this has to huge for the Cavs’ confidence since they struggled against the good teams last year.
It also looked like there were plenty of people willing to step up in Mo’s absence. Shaq was key in the early 4th quarter as well. He abused Bynum a couple of times.
I’m glad I watched this one a little delayed on DVR instead of just reading #11’s post.
Some of the same old junk (LBJ 1 vs. 5, sloppy turnovers) but damn if it doesn’t feel great to beat the Lakers! Z got big and played like a man out there. Lots of different rotations from Mike Brown with Mo sidelined. Quite a few seemed to work well. We can nit pick the Cavs performance to death but like the winners always say, good teams find a way to win.
Championship?
Just got back from a bar to watch the tail end of the Cavs game. People at bars are 100x more irritating with Cavs games than Browns or Indians games… This is a sample of what I got in 1 quarter:
A. “Why isn’t that traveling?”
B. Below-the breath comments about all the players being black.
C. Guys don’t hustle/are crybabies
D. Players are all idiots/druggies.
E. Free throws should be made 100% of the time.
FML. Thank God we won and I didn’t have to erupt on the alkies.