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December 5, 2009A look at the Buckeye’s season before the Rose Bowl
December 5, 2009The Basketball Cavaliers took it to the Bulls last night at The Gund, winning 101-87. More specifically, they took it to the Bulls for 24 minutes. Luckily, those 24 minutes were in the second half. The Cavs opened up the game with 10 turnovers in the first half and numerous misses at the free throw line. Though up by one at the half, not much was going very well for the Cavs as they took on a Bulls team that dressed nine players due to widespread injuries.
Luckily for all of us, the Cavs decided to actually play good basketball in the third quarter for once. In the third and fourth quarters the interior passing was excellent. The Cavs’ defense held the Bulls to 15 points in the third. Jamario Moon caught a great alley-oop from Mo Williams (which prompted the Bang/Zoom quote from Eli over IM). The Cavs started to display the ‘outward chemistry’ that has been seemingly lacking this season. Lots of dancing happened.
At one point LeBron did a shimmy or a flexing thing or something after a foul call, and Joakim Noah called him out on it from the bench, which led to LeBron leaving the foul line and jawing at Noah. At first it prompted a bit of ‘WTF’ from me, but after I read Eamonn Brennan’s tweet that said Noah told LeBron his flexing was ‘so corny’, I changed my tune. I think it’s 1) good on Noah for having the cajones to say this and 2) funny. As I wrote last weekend, LeBron act is starting to wear on me a bit. His whining and posturing aren’t my jam. So to see somebody call him like that is respectable in my mind. Granted, I don’t know what exactly was said (LeBron called it ‘disrespectful’ after the game), but I still think Noah was fine. I’m likely in the minority (especially here) on this one, but whatever. That’s my opinion.
A few other things of note from the game, mini-bullet like.
– The pink shoes and sleeves were a nice look from the team.
– Jamario Moon’s offense is so limited to alley-oops that he gave a couple of alley-oop head fakes. This induces laughter from me.
– The Cavs opened the second half with no turnovers for at least the first 16 minutes, and then I lost track.
– Delonte didn’t play the second half after 4 first-half minutes. The broadcasters states that Mike Brown told them in pre-game that Delonte was having a very rough day. Boobie’s shooting streak as of late alleviates this somewhat, but the Cavs still miss the lockdown defense on the perimeter that Delonte brings.
– Shaq’s foul shooting motion is beyond jacked up. He was 0-5 from the line. This is bad. The team overall was 17-31. This also is very bad.
– It’s a lot of fun watching LeBron and Luol Deng play against each other.
So the Cavs played a solid second half, which was good to see. Still, this game shouldn’t have even been as close as it was.
24 Comments
The corny part doesn’t bother me – it is corny, but I think that’s by design. No chance that LeBron actually thinks that the air guitar is “cool.”
The part that does bother me is that Noah reportedly called him a “bitch” (per Rick Bucher) while he’s on the bench and LeBron is at the foul line. This crosses the line regardless of one’s opinion.
Kudos to James for his postgame quote about Noah being “frustrated for not doing enough to help his team win.” There’s a difference between saying something while on the floor and running your mouth from the bench. Tell me who the bigger “bitch” is there….
In regard to the game, FT% was not so good – but you don’t add Shaq to increase that mark. You add him to increase FTA and the foul total of the other team, both missions accomplished.
I love the bench play as of late. 49 points against PHX, 41 last night – I believe is the correct totals; didn’t look it up this morning.
Gibson, Moon, Andy, etc – solid marks. Now lets just hope Delonte comes back this weekend.
For all you Honeymooners fans out there, I am aware that the actual quote is “Bang, Zoom, Straight to the Moon.” Mine fits better in this context.
May Lebron have mercy on your soul for questioning him.
Got to disagree Denny.
LeBron is having fun out there during an excellent 3rd quarter. He was taking the reins of a team that was struggling throughout the 1st half. To me it is always refreshing to see him enjoying himself out there. The day we don’t see this from LeBron is the day we should all start worrying. As for “Joke Him” Noah, he was exactly as LeBron said, frustrated for not doing anything to help his team. Noah wishes he was half the player that Varajeo is.
‘Half the player that LeBron is’ is second in the league in rebounding. I don’t like him much but I give him props for speaking out. He may have been frustrated with how he and his team were doing, but that still doesn’t mean LBJ wasn’t being over the top. ‘Just having fun, Oh, Cavs.. LOL!!!’ doesn’t cut it for me.
Actually the quote was’half the player varajeo is’ not lebron. Andy is avg 8 bds a game at just 15 minutes per. And besides andy’s intangibles are much better than noah’s (read: upsetting the nba’s best player in a game already out of reach). Not smart on noah’ part.
Good to know I’m not the only one who still calls it the Gund.
Denny calls it the Gund and calls out LeBron in the same post. Yikes! Are you from Cleveland?
Moon’s offensive game is hardly limited to alley oops! Though they are quite electric and entertaining. Moon’s shooting has been solid and has even been draining 3’s with consistency.
on a side note, did anyone catch boobie’s head art in this game? I nearly died when I realized it was himself with a star on his head
A little swagger in a Cleveland sports team is such a rare thing, I’d say, enjoy it while it’s here. I can’t remember seeing a team other than these Cavs have so much apparent fun while winning since the days of Carlos Baerga.
Did anyone on the Cavs break a rule by expressing their joy during a game? These guys aren’t working for the Vatican.
As to the viewpoint that says, “well, how would you feel if it was the other team that was dancing or giddy with their success?,” well, I’d feel like it was just average day in Cleveland sports; that’s how I’d feel.
Did I like it when Noah was dancing like a buffoon at Florida? Not one bit. Do I like it when LeBron dances? Sure do. It was that same infectious chemistry that made that Florida team so good (and made everyone else in the country hate them so much), and when LeBron dances around like that, it serves the same purpose for the Cavaliers. It bands the team together in an us against the world kind of way. I feel sorry for Cavs fans who don’t like it, because it’s not going away any time soon. And I’m shocked to see Denny take such a “play the ‘right’ way” kind of mentality. The NBA is about fun and entertainment, more so than any other sport.
And Noah calling LeBron a “b*tch” from the bench wasn’t heroic. It was childish and small. It’s one thing to say “Stop dancing around and just play basketball.” It’s quite another to call him a b*tch while you hide behind Bernie Bickerstaff on your bench. If Noah doesn’t like LeBron’s antics, he should either do something to stop him, or else write a blog post about how much he dislikes it. No need to take cheap shots from the bench.
Also, in regards to “Jamario Moon’s offense is so limited to alley-oops that he gave a couple of alley-oop head fakes.”
77% of Moon’s shots are jump shots and his eFG% on those is 51.6%. Not sure if you meant it the way you wrote it, but I wouldn’t say Jamario’s offensive game is “limited” to dunks. Not saying Moon will be confused for a complete offensive player any time soon, but people are always underestimating his offensive game because of how unorthodox and ugly his jump shot mechanics are.
Right on Andrew. Fans pay to be entertained by the product on the court. I have no problem with the Cavs entertaining themselves in the process.
JajajajajaJokim you’re joking right? Nice game mate. Cavs win. End of Story.
@ Scott – re: Shaq and FTA – that’s great to increase them, and I know full well that he’s not going to go 0/5 often, but that was egregious. There’s also a difference between calling somebody out while actually at the game, instead of through the media or online. At least he did it from where he was, rather than later on.
@ Du – I screwed up the quote there, meant to write Varejao. At this point though, I’d say that Noah and Andy are quite similar and I certainly wouldn’t say that Noah is ‘half’ the player that Andy is. It’s silly to claim that Andy’s ‘intangibles’ are better, because all he does is annoy people on the other team – just the same as Noah. They’re the SAME EXACT PLAYER. And FWIW I’m from Sandusky, not Cleveland. I still call the house that the Indians play in the Jake, so pardon my being nostalgic. I neither pray to LeBron nor to Dan Gilbert.
@ Kunal – I saw that and it made me giggle something fierce. That was awesome.
@ phil – Swagger is nice, I agree. But my take is the fact that the bench didn’t do anything until they were up about 12 and it was clear the game was done. If they want to be swaggery, why not do it all game? It comes off as contrived to me. No, they didn’t break a rule (though if you really want to go by the letter of the law, LeBron was dancing onto the court while on the bench, so SOMEBODY FIX THIS IMMEDIATELY), but they also just looked like a bunch of bags of feminine products.
@ Rock – Did I say it was ‘heroic’? Not at all. But honestly, I find it laughable when Dwight Howard blogs about how crappy the refs were, or when the Celtics cry to reporters about how the Cavs were dancing. At least Noah has the balls to say something during a game. Yes – he was on the bench. But he wasn’t in the game at that point. Is he supposed to ask his coach to go back in, just to call LeBron out? He said something straight up. In my opinion he wasn’t ‘hiding behind Bickerstaff’ – he stayed in his seat and called LeBron out. Calling him a bitch was maybe a bit over the line, but I don’t really disagree with him on that one. And re: Moon, I just find it ridiculous that he’s put the fake alley-oop into the repertoire.
I said it last night, and I’ll say it again, albeit in a more sober tone: The dance moves last night by Lebron were more than lame. Whether it is an opponent or our guy, I just don’t see the need or reason for it. Did Jordan tapdance on the sides? No. And if I was a player on the other team, irregardless of being on the bench or the score, I’d prolly have a few words to say as well. Noah said his peace and didn’t budge or twitch from there. I’d take him on our team pretty much any day of the week.
@Denny: re Swagger – the Cavs were dancing around and having fun coming out of the locker room before the game even started. Of course they’re not going to do that when they’re losing or the game is close. But obviously this is a team that’s going to have fun when they win.
@han: So if LeBron should do everything Jordan did, should he also rack up massive gambling debts and quit basketball for 2 years to play baseball? I don’t judge LeBron by Jordan’s standards, I judge him on the player that he is today. I’m not going to get all upset because LeBron has some fun out there on the court. The fact that we wouldn’t like it if we were opponents is precisely the point. The Cavaliers are in this for themselves, not the feelings of other teams.
@Denny – For someone wanting to be nostalgic, you seem awfully angry today. Watch the Browns tomorrow. That should relieve you of any lingering emotions re: LeBron, Cavs dancing, and Moons alley-oop fakes.
Jeez, all I’m saying is that I am pretty much against any kind of SHOWBOATING. As a rule. Includes sack dancing or ocho cinco or whoever else. I just think it’s immature and bush when it goes beyond raw emotion. Lebron dancing was not fun for me and was NOT raw emotoin., and rather embarrasing to tell the truth. I am not holding him up to Jordan standards in this day and age, but all the same, Jordan was THE QUINTESSENTIAL INTENSE athlete there ever was, and I think LBJ is not even close, in terms of intesity. I certainly do wish I felt differently.
Shaq? why cant you make a free throw?
Havent you watched sports science? when Sasha makes freethrows with shaq sized hands ?
Aside from everything, I do hope we can all agree that Danny Ferry has done a somewhat decent job of turning this roster over and getting decent players to go along with the chosen one.
My vote for non-LBJ MVP has to go to MO. MO is the theme I will keep harping on this until the man finally gets his due on this site (I know he has before but it is more deservED now). Our backcourt is pretty much sh* but way much betterER with MO.
The thing about the posturing that bothers me is that they haven’t won anything yet. Remember last year with the picture-taking and the heat checking hot players and blah, blah, blah. Then they got took in the conference finals… didn’t even make the finals! I don’t know. Pro basketball is all about flexing and posturing, I guess. I’d rather see them focus more on the game. I’m just desperate for a championship like the rest of us.
[…] “Bang..Zoom..Right to the Moooooon!” or, A Tale of Two Halves: Denny of Waiting For Next Year recaps the Bulls/Cavs game from last year. He’s not much for LeBron’s dancing, either, and thinks it’s a bit of a tired act. […]