WaitingForNextYear

(or: Enough with the Pyrotechnics already)

Understandable frustrated. A term you can use to explain anyone rooting for – or employed by – the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just a quick look at the box score and you have one of the bigger mismatched quarter-by-quarter games in recent memory. Not surprising though, given the Cavs’ knack for coming out flat in the third quarter. However, it typically isn’t preceded by an awful second quarter as well.

Yes, we should have scored more than 12 points going into the half, but I don’t think we would have allowed the run that the Celtics went on to pull ahead had things been just a bit different. All due to an allergic reaction?

And as much as we have given him hell this season, I had one question for a buddy of mine this morning: How different would it have been had Ben Wallace been able to play the whole game? Yes, he only played four minutes, and yes he wouldn’t have helped our offensive struggles in the least, but he was the only Cavalier starter with a positive +/-. This should mean something. Right? While Wallace was on the floor, he was responsible for the first points of the game – pulling down LeBron’s miss and kicking it to Ilgauskas. Two minutes later, he pulled down a Rajon Rondo jumper and then was the only guy to hustle back on defense during one of the sloppier-transitions in the game. The result was an errant pass from Rondo, that ended up being scooped up by Wally Szczerbiak. And that was all she wrote…

I know that Boston loves their introductions and all.  Heck, Getty Images makes it a habit to get great shots of the whole production. But for the first 10 minutes of every game to be played in a smoke screen has to stop. Now, don’t think I’m blaming the loss on this – as I’m not. The smoke wasn’t so bad that the Cavs couldn’t see the rims; and the first quarter was very fruitful. However, as many rebounds as Varejao was able to pull down in Wallace’s absence, his defense is not the same. I would just have preffered to have Wallce in there instead of Andy – at least for more than four minutes.

Good thing is, Wallace is reportedly doing alright and will be back in action when the series tips of in a less hazy, more-advantageous Cleveland, Ohio. As my friend emailed back after my Wallace inquiry:

We will see the Eastern Conference Champs Saturday for the first time in this series.

And I don’t think that “seeing” has anything to do with the aforementioned smoke screen.