Indians 7 Tigers 4: Yes, They Actually Won
May 10, 2010Antawn Jamison’s Bethesda, MD House Hits the Market
May 10, 2010
I know the image hurts, people, but it is true. After plastering the Celtics by almost thirty points in the previous game many Cavs fans thought that the series was all but over. Surely the same Cavs team that answered so many questions after game two had figured out how to play the rest of this series and finish Boston, right? Wrong. The Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo, in particular took it to the Cavs most of the game yesterday. The Cavs hung around and even flirted with a victory into the second half. Ultimately though, the Cavs had to settle with just winning back home court on their two game trip to Boston. That isn’t the end of the world, but we all hoped for better.
The story of the game on this one is obvious. Rajon Rondo. After Anthony Parker did such a good job slowing Rondo down in game three, you might as well call game four Rondo’s revenge. Rondo shot a pedestrian 9-21 from the field, but that was about the only pedestrian thing Rondo did yesterday. In 47 minutes he compiled a stat line for the ages. He was plus 14 with 29 points, 13 assists and 18 rebounds. I didn’t mistype that. Rondo was doing a Dennis Rodman impression and grabbed 18 boards. On top of that, Rondo took contact like nobody’s business with a game high 16 free throws. I am not complaining about the refs, mind you. The refs were a little out of hand, but they were consistently bad both ways, I thought. Still, Rondo drove and initiated action, and benefited from it. Yes, he hits the ground on almost every drive to the hole, but he was quicker to the spots than everyone on the Cavaliers’ roster yesterday.
That has been the one consistent thing so far in this series between the Celtics and the Cavaliers. Whichever team has injected the most energy into the game has gotten the most out of it, and it makes sense, really. No matter what refereeing crew is working a game, tell me something. Who is more likely to commit a foul? An energetic, quick team or a lethargic one? You know when they say you make your own luck? That’s what they mean.
The Cavs didn’t do a good job of making their own luck yesterday. They jumped out to a quick lead in the beginning of the game and then seemed to stop their hustling. They didn’t win the 50/50 battles on the way to losing the rebounding battle by 14 boards. Come on. They gave up 18 boards to a guy who is listed at 6’1″ and is probably shorter than that.
Even some of the things that look like bad luck are actually probably manifestations of effort. Two examples. KG shot a bad three pointer because of a shot clock situation. Long rebound came out and the Celtics got it. Bad luck, right? Also, Ray Allen was driving and the Cavaliers swarmed to defend it and swatted him unceremoniously. The ball went straight to Rondo. Bad luck, right? Maybe. Or maybe the Cavaliers were a couple steps slower than their counterparts all game long and it just looked like bad luck.
Make no mistake. This series isn’t over. The Cavaliers proved that in game three. I am not even saying you should or shouldn’t have doubts the rest of the way. You could make a clear case for either. There is no clear scape goat any more. Mike Brown can’t have the perfect rotation every time. LeBron James can’t score 21 points in the first quarter every game. Yesterday the Cavs got great efforts from Shaq and Antawn Jamison while LeBron, Mo, Parker, and Delonte seemed to falter. The point is that this series is within the Cavaliers’ grasp. Whether or not they want to take it is up to them. I know that seems overly simplistic, but what else is there to say when you think a team is good enough to win every game and they don’t?
(Advance Box Score – Basketball-Reference)
(Pic Edited by Doc Funk)
48 Comments
I’m not worried. Like I said in WWW, I still think we’re tinkering and trying to get some guys involved psychologically. I expect to see more LeBron on Rondo, Parker/Delonte on Pierce. I think we’ve got a great chance at stepping it up and taking it in 6.
I thought the Cavs gave a good effort last night. Most people tend to say they didn’t play with “energy” every time they lose. I thought Lebron letting Rondo get to the FT line more than him, turnovers and rebounding really hurt them. They still had a chance to win but they got nothing out of Mo again.
I was on the road yesterday during the game. Did Parker guard Rondo most of the time?
Rondo > LBJ this series. No one can deny that.
If an alien just landed from outerspace and you brought him to all 4 games and you asked him who the league MVP was (because that is clearly what you would do if you found an alien in your back yard) – he would say Rondo.
consistently inconsistent. I realize the playoffs can be a rollercoaster, but more than 50% of the time it seems like the Cavs would rather just get off the ride and go home.
I HATE that the most- no urgency, no effort, either they think they just deserve to have the trophy plopped in their laps, or they don’t care. depressing.
Mike Browns rotation aside, we didnt score a bench point until Andy’s slashing move to the hoop with 3 min to go in the 3rd quarter.
Im also pretty sure he forgot it takes 6 fouls to foul out in the NBA. Shaq should’ve stayed in the game with 5 fouls (after he picked up his 5th in the first minute of the 4th) if he was just gonna bench him the rest of the way.
I;m nervous for game 5 just like I was for game 3, but this time we are at home. It would be sweet to win game 5 and have a chance to close them out in Boston game 6. Sneaky suspicion this is going 7 though…
I’m not worried b/c, until those first 4 possessions of the 4th quarter, the Cavs looked like they were poised to win the game. Even after going down 10 in the 4th, a Cavs team not playing all that well was still in the game.
What frustrated me most was:
– 18 rebounds from Rondo. Really? REALLY? They guy is listed at 6’1″ (generously in my opinion). No one can out board him?
– The Celtics were in serious foul trouble at the beginning of the 4th and the Cavs failed to continue to attack and take advantage of it. Even when they did, they let some guy named Tony Allen score 15 points.
– 4-21 from three CANNOT happen again.
Two Points:
1. Could somebody please let Mo Williams know where and when the next game will be played. I don’t recall seeing him on the floor yesterday.
2. I’ve figured it out. We are the Kevin Garnett Minnesota Timberwolves. One superstar…witness protection supporting cast. No titles.
Don’t get me wrong…this version of the Cavs is way better than the Ricky Davis version of the not-to-distant past, and LeBron is better than KG was at that point in his career, but I’m starting to get that sinking feeling I get every year as a Cleveland fan. I call it “Tragic Inevitability.” I’m not ready to panic, but come Monday night, if they don’t win, look out below!
Cavs guard play was just terrible yesterday…Mo/Delonte/Parker shot 6 of 23 from the floor and got absolutely destroyed by Rondo.
The 7 turnovers from LeBron hurt too…he made several bad passes into lots of traffic. Gotta tip the hat to the C’s though, they were swarming on D and played with alot of intensity yesterday.
Still, the Cavs did what they needed to do and split on enemy turf. Now let’s hope they get fired up and that the Q is rockin’ on Tuesday.
If Mo can’t knock down a shot, why is it so hard to give Gibson a shot? I mean, there’s a reason the Cavs won 13 straight games with Mo and Delonte on the bench. Boobie is a better defender than Mo, can run the point just as well (because really everything goes through LeBron) and if Mo isn’t creating his own shot off the dribble drive, Boobie is a better spot up 3 ball shooter. And I’ve been watching Mo just stand in one spot for literally the entire 24 second clock without moving. It’s maddening. When Mo’s good he’s good, and definately helps, but if he’s slupping bench is @$$ and make him realize he needs to perform if he wants to play.
@Turk #1 and @Logan Cash #4
You could make the argument Rondo has outplayed Bron this series so far, but he has stepped up for the lacking Paul Pierce. With “the truth” a non-factor, I hope we see more Bron on Rondo in game 5. Then we will see who has the upper hand!
Logan,
I understand what you’re saying, but wouldn’t the alien vote for Rondo b/c of his blatant homerism for one of his own?
@Logan: I can deny that. Rondo’s game was amazing without question – but so was LBJ in Game 3. And, even on a “bad” day for LBJ, he was still just shy of a triple double.
Rondo is overwhelmingly the second best player on the court right now, but let’s not go overboard.
Sam Cassell is an alien. rondo is one of the Zombies from the Thriller video.
I can’t say I’m shocked that the Celtics have won a couple games in this series – I knew it would be a battle, and given the way the other series have shaken out, the Cavs probably got the hardest draw of any team in the NBA for the second round.
What has surprised me is the lack of consistency from this team. LeBron didn’t look “right” again out there down the stretch. Windy pointed out in a tweet that the defense the Celtics were using, LeBron had seen countless times, yet he couldn’t figure out how to attack it yesterday. Dumping it off to Andy for a 17 foot jump shot during a crucial possession tells you everything you need to know about how LeBron played yesterday.
I’m not going to harp on Mike Brown too much for his rotations. I did think Shaq should have played until he fouled out and would love to see more Jamario off the bench as he seems to be able to generate energy and is a great rebounder for a wing player. But I’m not going to get on Brown for not playing Boobie – the guy has barely played in the last two months or get on him for not playing Z, which for some reason to know-nothings at ESPN wanted to harp on. If Boston is killing you in transition, how does slow-footed Z help you? Jon Berry is a moron.
The Cavs just seem out of synch. Kind of like they were at the beginning of the season and right after the All Star break. They just don’t seem to have put it all back together, which isn’t all that surprising given they took the last week and a half of the regular season off and Shaq wasn’t playing the last month and a half of the season. All that said, it doesn’t explain the lack of intensity the Cavs have had. I thought the intensity level was much better than in Game 2 – the Cavs actually played very solid defense in the second half of Game 4 – but getting beat on the boards and playing discombulated offense shows the Cavs did not bring the right amount of focus to this game.
Much will be made of Rondo’s effort, which was surreal, but he wasn’t all that efficient in terms of his scoring. It was his rebounding and assists that killed the Cavs. The Cavs should not overreact to this performance by Rondo. He can get his as long as the Cavs don’t let players like Tony Allen go off like he did yesterday. If overcompensating for Rondo makes Pierce come out of his coma or leaves Allen and KG with better looks, then that’s not a trade I want to make.
Game 5 is at home, which is a good thing, but it’s now a must win
game. The crowd is probably going to be a typical Cleveland crowd, meaning Boston will be able to take them out of the game with any sort of run. The Cavs should win this series still, but it’s tough to feel confident about this team given the lack of consistency.
Just a side note… Those refs were awful, and in my opinion, it was completely one-sided. Only it was one-sided in OUR favor. That’s right… we lost the game with the refs giving us calls.
I agree with everything you said except this:
“LeBron James can’t score 21 points in the first quarter every game. ”
I bet if he wanted to, he could.
I think this team, even with all the new parts, is hungover from the last post season. They blazed through the first two rounds and it got them nowhere. They don’t see the urgency in expending the energy to get it done quickly this post season. Why bother winning home court advantage if you’re not going to use it, right?
Different topic: Steve Nash is a stud.
Is Rondo wearing tights? Looks like in the picture. Hey, I got to critisize the guy for something, cant pick on the way he has been playing.
It just is what it is at this point. LeBron’s elbow, Mike Brown’s coaching acumen (or lack thereof), the refs, and all else aside, it is what it is: No heart. From anyone.
I don’t know how ANYONE watching that game could have thought we gave a good effort yesterday. The rebounding stats alone tell the entire story. Everyone keeps bemoaning Rondo getting 18 boards. Wanna know how? Effort. It’s not so different from when the relatively undersized Rodman would crash the boards against guys bigger than him. Best case scenario this team doesn’t have a lot of heart (which can be overcome when you have a talent like LeBron … maybe) and worst case scenario, this team doesn’t have the BALLS, LeBron included, to win it all.
Yes, we all know how good LeBron CAN be, but history is rife with great talents who never put it all together. I hate to tell you guys, but right now LeBron’s a lot more Dominique Wilkins than Michael Jordan or even (ugh) Kobe. It’s become a lot more apparent now that there is talent around him. He used to just go out and gun for it when he was younger and had literally no one around him, back in the Piston killer days. Now, I think the legitimate expectations really weigh him down. If he’s a champion, he has to get past that. He has to show up.
And don’t tell me we don’t have talent. Talentless teams simply don’t have the best record in the league in a year when so many teams were on the up and up. What we don’t have is balls from our supporting cast – where’s our Derek Fisher or Robert Horry? It’s not about talent, it’s about stepping up.
This loss was a bummer. But, I wasn’t surprised the Cavs lost. This is a good, experienced Boston team and winning two in a row on their home court was going to be tough.
The postive thing, is that in the two games the Cavs lost they played bad. This isn’t like the Orlando series last year where they actually played well in every game (except game 6) and still lost.
I think the Cavs will win in 7. Then, maybe they can benefit from a rusty Orlando team coming off a bye (which is what the Hawks have been the equivalent of) in the Conference Semis.
this falls squarely on LeBron. LeBron sets the pace of this team and when he’s off, the team is off. He just plays with no energy sometimes and the rest of the team can’t pick up the slack. When he looks hungry the team does, but when he doesn’t…well you know. This guy has the potential to be better than Jordan, but it looks like he’s more concerned with the free agent bonanza awaiting him in the offseason than winning a championship for the Cavs.
@ 16, not sure how you could watch the beginning of the fourth quarter yesterday and come away with the impression that the calls were completely in our favor…so I’m going to go with troll.
=========
Anyway, the rebounds by Rondo don’t bother me so much, really. The ORebs have to do with the defensive choice to double Garnett with Parker, who is guarding Rondo. Parker of course played 42 minutes, and he’s old, so there’s basically no chance he’s going to recover to Rondo and box out for the rebound.
DRebs have a lot to do with luck, so I’m not sure how people want to “fix” Rondo’s 14 DRebs. Offensive rebound more? Having Shaq and Varejao crash the offensive boards isn’t going to matter if we miss 17 3-pointers and those all go for long rebounds to their guards.
The way they let Rondo run crazy does not make sense. In the entire game, I seen no Cav block any of his shots or passes. The way Rondo advertised what he was going to do, I could have blocked him and I’m a girl. Can’t the Cavs jump up anymore other than LeBron? I really do not get why the Cavs play so inconsistent (other than Bron). I agree with Kevin who wondered if Mo was on the court yesterday. Mo should stop trying to be a pretty boy and play some real basketball. Who told him all he had to do was pass the ball and stand there watching everyone else work? Without a killer instinct they will not win. It angers me to see how hard Bron, Parker, Jamison, and a few others play, and they can’t get the others charged. Perhaps, some B12 may help Mo and few others, or they need to stop partying at night. Danny paid for a winning team, and whomever doesn’t step up is out of here after the season….guaranteed.
I do think that effort and the lack there of comes down to a coach being able to truly motivate his players to give it their all. I do not think Mike Brown motivates this team at all, LeBron motivated the squad in game 3 by coming out gunning, but LBJ needs motivation from someone too and that’s where I think Brown falls short.
Maybe Brown should study some of the great motivational tools used in the past. Note: I do not blame Brown 100% for the game 4 loss, but in regards to this article’s argument for the lack of effort, I think this falls on Mike Brown.
Parker 42 minutes yesterday. Sorry guys, any team that is playing Anthony Parker 42 minutes in a playoff game isnt winning a title.
@23 I am no fan of Mike Brown and don’t think he brings it motivationally or technically, but if LeBron needs someone else to help him get motivated for a ‘ship run against a hated rival, then he’s certainly not the best player in the world.
Tron, you are so right. Sit Mo down and put Boobie in. In case the couch forgot, Boobie helped us get to the playoffs. At least when he gets playing time he can shoot 3’s more consistently than anyone on the team. Just think if had been in there and gotten 3 or 4 3 pointers….we would not be in this situation now. Also, what about Moon. At least he has energy, can jump, and works very had when on the court. Sit the dead beats down and teach them a lesson. Boobie is not getting a fair shot, and that is not right. Mo, we love ya, but you are not energetic and accurate enough. Perhaps, a view from the bench may wake you up.
@24: I agree to an extent, but at times even the best in the world at something need additional motivation to continue to perform at their best on a day-in-day out/night-in-night out basis… why prize fighters always talk about their fmailies motivating them to always do their best, etc etc. I do see what you’re saying though, but in the end I thinkw e are all human and can’t possibly be 100% motivated 100% of the time.
When ever there is effort we seem to succeed. For whatever reason the effort is not consistant. That being said, we’ve shown the effort when needed. I think we win in 6.
Remember when everyone was saying ‘all the Cavs have to do is win one in Boston to get home court advantage back’?
They did.
@Denny: Totally agree. This weekend went as I thought it would with splitting the games and I’m happy with that.
I’m 100% less worried than after game 2. This series should go 6, but will probably go 7 with the home team winning out. Hopefully we put the smack down in Cleveland both times and it’s a close loss in Boston.
It’s about winning the series, not winning every game, right? (Although it is less fun this way)
@17
I’d wager the Cavs would expend less energy if they tried for 4 or 5 games and won than if they tried on and off an had to play 6 or 7 full games.
The Cavs’ offense is maddening. If we have good off-ball movement and good passes the team can be terrifyingly hard to stop. Alternately when Lebron takes the ball into isolation and is just hot the team is terrifyingly hard to stop.
They can’t run the offense both ways, though. If Lebron isn’t going to try and dominate by taking (and hopefully making) a lot of shots and taking it to the rack then the Cavs shouldn’t be standing in place while Lebron calls for the ball out on the wing and dribbles the clock down.
So many times our go-to play last night was take the ball up, run off a couple of screens and then dribble for a while letting the defense re-set. Even if the Cavs get a favorable switch in this scenario, since everybody else just settles in this is a great way to take a defended, horribly rushed shot with the clock ticking down.
If the Cavs are going to run plays, then they should run plays aggressively. It doesn’t count if they run a play and then settle into isolation because they took too long to take advantage of the set.
@ Denny. Agreed. Like I said, winning two in a row in Boston is very hard to do. This Boston team is better than your average 4 seed. If they had been this healthy/motivated during the regular season, they would have finished ahead of Atlanta and pushed Orlando for the two seed.
I really beleive that being pushed in this series will help the Cavs in later rounds.
It is worth noting that the last two champions had seven game series in the second round.
Am I nuts for yelling for Z in this series in particular? I think his height alone would help us on the glass… no way a guy my size should be grabbing 18 boards against us. I know there’s a give and take in that Z is slower than my grandpa on his way to the doctor’s on defensive rotations (which Rondo could potentially take advantage of)… hence why Z shouldn’t be used much against ORL, but against this Celtics team I wouldn’t mind seeing him some at least… worth a shot at least.
Hypothesis on uneven play:
1. A team’s game depends on their preparation.
2. Preparation depends on mysterious biological things, which I will call “harmones” (not to be confused with hormones).
3. Harmones are based on ACTUAL expectation (The ACTUAL expectation cannot be ratcheted-up by one’s self any more than setting one’s own watch ahead changes his knowledge of what time it is.).
4. The expectation is either competitive or non-competitive.
5. The competitive expectation is of the game necessary to win the next match as gauged against the their ACTUAL perception of the appropriateness of their game were they setting out to simply win the match most recently played.
6a. A team with a non-competitive expectation to lose will not prepare.
6b. A team with a non-competitive expectation to face a team described in 6a will prepare to kill.
6c. A team with a non-competitive expectation to face a team described in 6b will prepare to surprise.
I live here in Chicago now and was talking with a buddy of mine (die-hard Bulls fan) who was remembering Game 6 of the 1992 NBA finals. I didn’t remember that game specifically, but he was telling me that the Bulls were down 15 to the Blazers in the 4th quarter and MJ was struggling. “You know what Phil did? He sat down MJ and put in Pippen, BJ Armstrong, Scott Wiliams, Stacey King and BOBBY HANSEN. I couldn’t believe it and I thought he was out of his damn mind.” Turns out that motley crew of reserves closed the gap to 4, Phil put in MJ and the rest was history. Now, that decision by Phil could have gone either way. But it was the only in-game adjustment that he hadn’t tried, and he was not afraid to sit down MJ to see if another rotation could get them back in the game and if it would let MJ re-motivate and recollect himself for a final push.
Ask yourself this: do you really think that a guy like Mike Brown would have the moxie to make a decision like that? I agree that Mo Williams is maddeningly inconsistent and Shaq isn’t what he once used to be, but let’s face the facts. Look at the last ten NBA championship squads, and let’s look at their coaches: Phil Jackson (4), Gregg Popovich (3), Pat Riley, Larry Brown, and Doc Rivers. I’ll give you that Doc is a good (but not elite) coach. Can you really say that Mike Brown belongs among this list of names? Honestly, his coaching M.O. consists of “listen and obey to whatever LeBron says.” Could you imagine Phil Jackson bowing down like that to MJ or Popovich to Duncan or Riley to Wade? If Larry Brown or Rudy Tomjanovich was the coach of this team, do you think they would just do whatever LeBron told him to do? I think we all know the answer to those questions. Championship teams have championship coaches, period.
Brown has the most talented and deepest roster in this league and he still has no idea how to modify his rotations based on the matchups with the other team. He has the most versatile physical freak the NBA has ever seen and still insists on running the same offensive set EACH AND EVERY POSSESSION regardless of who the opposing team is playing on the floor, especially in tight games. Do you really think that a guy like Phil Jackson or Popovich or Riley or Larry Brown wouldn’t figure out how to adjust his rotation with this squad? He is the sh*ttiest in-game coach and hasn’t demonstrated the consistent ability to make in-game adjustments.
I really think it’s a shame that we don’t have a coach who is just as talented as the guys on this roster. If we come up short again this year, I really hope that Gilbert and Ferry reconsider who is running the sidelines.
The only problem with losing yesterday is that the Cavs had a chance to win the game going into the 4th. Everyone knew and wanted 1 game in Boston, but they could have taken yesterday that is what is tough.
Rondo got his, and he is a stud. Tony Allen though getting his makes need to do some patch work on the walls after punching holes in it.
very pleased we split. I am getting very annoyed with everyone that expects us to sweep every series. If we plan on beating Orl and LAL, we are going to lose 4-6 more games.
Yes, Orlando is likely going to be 8-0 and in the ECF. So were we last year. I am glad we are getting tested.
All that being said, we better win tomorrow night.
The problem with “at least we’re getting tested” is that I completely feel like we gave away games 2 and 4. As well as Rondo played I am totally convinced that if the Cavs had brought their A-game they would have taken at LEAST game 4. Being tested isn’t an advantage if you’re losing games because you’re just not trying. It’ll only sharpen you if you’re actually giving it your all in every game. So far the only thing the Cavs have learned about themselves is that they lose when they don’t try.
Even with Rondo’s great games, most of the adversity the Cavs have faced this post-season has been self-inflicted.
@33: Yeah, Tony farce Allen had the game of his darn life. I think he’s the one that actually killed us because at this point for us it’s basically let Rondo get his, but hold down everyone else.
EZ- We have lost 3 games in the playoffs. Other than game 2 vs. Boston you can’t really make an argument that the Cavs didn’t try to win.
They are playing other NBA teams, good ones at that. Yesterday it looked like the Cavs were trying very hard, they just came up short. We need to win 4 out of 7. Yesterday we almost took 2 games in a row in one of the toughest places to play in the league against a team with 3 HOFers and an up and coming superstar. It is time to be a little less critical of our cavs.
Once again, that being said-we better win tomorrow night.
Can we PLEASE just go super big?
Jamario
Lebron
Antwan
Hickson
Shaq
PLEASE.
I’m not overly concerned, but the problem when you let a series drag on like this, is that one hot shooting night by your opponent can put you in an elimination game. Not good. Having said that, Cavs in 6.
@37 right on point. M. Brown is not a Championship caliber coach and this is the only thing (it’s a big one though) that worries me about the Cavs chances. Still with their talent and experience, I still believe they can win it all. Although, L.A. in a seven gamer with PJ at the helm, LBJ is gonna need to be MVP’ish every night. I think as the stage gets bigger, so will Shaq. The key component is Jamison. If he can consistently show-up they’ll be fine. Forget about Mo delivering. But the others: Parker, West, Varejao, Hickson and Moon can do their parts respectively.
@43 Good lineup with Varejao, Moon and West coming off the bench and maybe even Gibson at the right time. Mo??? He can score at times but he has no D at all.
All in all, ring or no ring, I see LBJ leaving and possibly playing in Miami with Wade and Riley at the helm.
I really hope this site is not like “fearthesword”. Their little disclaimer said all the good things about good language and no badgering, but all I got from them was a bunch of paltry badgering and never anything to do with the point. Groupies! Is this a “groupie” site too or is this an objective one? I’m just looking to hang thru the championship – objectively that is. Because I could easily make a point for picking L.A. all the way thru but I want Cle all the way.
We’re cool RC. We debate, but we don’t badger. Unless you’re referring to badgerbadgerbadger, which we sometimes do. Also we do jokes.
@47 I’m here, let’s roll and Go Cavs Go Cavs Go Cavs! Gotta go watch a game now though… enjoy.