Like the Stench of a Dead Woodchuck Rotting Under the Porch…
November 3, 2008The Big Ten: Hoping For More Breaks
November 4, 2008Cavaliers Use Stellar Defense and Offensive Explosion From Mo Williams in the Second Half to Topple the Mavericks in Dallas 100-81.
Monday night the Cavaliers made their first real statement of the season. They opened the season by playing the Celtics tough in Boston and giving them all they could handle before succumbing late in the game. They bounced back and thrashed an inferior Charlotte at home. They kept the Hornets’ hands full in New Orleans before again letting the game slip away in the 2nd half.
Monday night’s game looked for a while like it was going to be another repeat of the other 2nd half collapses against playoff teams, but this time Mo Williams found his shot and the Cavaliers’ defense slammed the door shut before Dallas even knew what hit them. This was a book-end game for the Cavaliers as they destroyed the Mavericks in the first and fourth quarters (28-16 and 28-15, respectively) and just hung on through a couple rough middle quarters (23-26 and 21-24).
The Cavaliers jumped out quickly to and built a comfortable early lead thanks to some great rebounding and some inspired play by Delonte West and some excellent shooting by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The Cavaliers extended their first quarter lead to 12. They would lead by as many as 16 points in the 2nd quarter before Dallas would make a little run, but the Cavaliers answered and pushed the lead to 9 points at the break after LeBron knocked in a couple free throws with 0.5 seconds left in the half.
A familiar sight was back in the 3rd quarter as the Mavericks opened the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half with an 11-4 run to close the gap to 55-53. The Mavericks would eventually tie things up at 63 all on a Jason Terry 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the 3rd quarter, but the Mavericks would never again even tie the score as the Cavaliers went on to outscore the Mavericks 37-18 over the duration of the game.
LeBron James had his best offensive game of the year. He finished with a season-high 29 points and added 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block to go with only 1 turnover. LeBron shot 8 of 20 from the field, but where he really made his mark was by drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line, hitting 13-15 FTs. After the Mavericks tied the game, LeBron really began to assert himself as he scored 13 of his 29 after the game was tied.
It was when LeBron was on the bench, though, making his usual rest to open the 4th quarter, that the Cavaliers really pulled away, lead by Mo Williams. Mo had been struggling a bit with his offense so far in a Cleveland uniform, but tonight he showed what he’s capable of, doing to Dallas what he had done so many times to Cleveland. In consecutive possessions early in the 4th, Mo hit a 19 foot jumper, followed by a 20 foot jumper, then off a Varejao steal Mo found a cutting Szczerbiak for a nice assist, and then Mo drilled a long three pointer to cap a 13-0 run to open the 4th quarter.
This game, though, was all about Cleveland’s dominating defense. With the exception of the start of the 3rd quarter and a little Dallas run in the 2nd quarter, the Cavaliers defense confused and annoyed the Dallas offense all night. Only 2 Maverick starters were in double digits (Josh Howard with 18 and Antoine Wright with 10) and Gerald Green was the only Dallas reserve to crack the double digit mark with 10 points of his own. Dirk Nowitzki was a complete non-factor as Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao, and LeBron James all took turns keeping the Mavs’ star PF out of any kind of comfort zone, as he finished with just 8 points on 3 of 11 shooting from the field. Jason Terry, normally an instant-offense guy coming off the bench was held to just 5 points. The Cavaliers help-defense was the best it has looked all year, as the Cavs took away the lane from the Mavs and they closed out on their perimeter shooters.
This was just a complete game for the Cavaliers. Ben Wallace was ferocious on defense once again and was a monster on the glass grabbing 13 rebounds (8 of them…yes, 8 of them…on the offensive end). Four of the Cavs starters were in double digits in scoring as, in addition to LeBron’s 29, Ilgauskas chipped in 17 points, while Delonte and Mo each notched 14. Delonte was all over the place once again, showing that he really is capable of defending bigger guards. West also had 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Mo Williams looked completely comfortable with the offense, and was able to grab 4 rebounds while dishing a team-high 6 assists. The Cavaliers bench was able to get involved as well. Daniel Gibson struggled with his shot, but still managed to get 7 points. Wally Szczerbiak had 10 points, including one monster dunk that seemed to energize the entire Cavaliers team. Anderson Varejao wasn’t a factor on offense with only 2 points, but he grabbed 6 rebounds and had 4 steals and one blocked shot.
More than anything, though, this game showed what kind of team the Cavaliers are capable of being this year. People will continue to criticize this team, for sure. People will continue to say that LeBron can’t win with this team and is already looking to get out of Cleveland. People will continue to stereotype the Cavaliers as a slow, boring, lumbering team. But the Cavaliers have a chance to be so much more than any of that. With Mo Williams unlocking the offense, this team has been exciting and fun to watch. Yes, they still have their 3rd quarter issues and they can’t keep letting teams come back on them. But even when Mo Williams is off, Daniel Gibson is on. And when Gibson is off, Delonte West has a huge game. The Cavaliers’ backcourt is quick, athletic, versatile, and deep. Mike Brown has plenty of options with his rotations in the backcourt, and has thus far been creative with his lineups while not going away from whoever the hot player is on any given night. More important than any of that, the Cavaliers are showing that they can score enough points with LeBron James on the bench to not have to overextend him with his minutes. That’s where Mo Williams’ biggest value to this team lies. He keeps setting up the offense and keeps the Cavaliers in the flow of the game.
This is a team with great chemistry right now, and a lot of things are working for them. Led by LeBron James’ example, the Cavs bench was jumping up and cheering with unbriddled enthusiasm throughout the 2nd half. At times it was like watching a college team. These are guys who all get along great and who all feed off of LeBron’s exemplary unselfishness and dedication to the team. You can never underestimate the impact of chemistry in the NBA. Look at the Cavaliers last season, when the chemistry was off at the beginning of the year, when Pavlovic and Varejao were holding out and bad feelings were permeating throughout. Look at how long it took for the Cavs to click after the big trade last year, before the chemistry was there. This year, though, the Cavaliers are a true team in every sense of the word.
This was only one game, and the Cavaliers are not yet an elite team. They’re getting there, though. And for one night, we all were treated to a vision of what will hopefully be things to come. Nobody is crowning the Cavaliers with anything yet, nor should they, but if this team learns consistency and learns how to play from ahead with a big lead, the rest of the Eastern Conference had better be careful. The Cavaliers are a team that can play with anyone right now, and LeBron James has yet to even get warmed up.
21 Comments
The Cavs are inconsistent right now, both offensively and defensively. Yes, the third quarter looks again to be the Achilles heel, but look at what the starters are doing at the beginning of the game. The good news? It shouldn’t surprise anyone that with a new point guard, Delonte playing a new position, LeBron learning to play the 4 on occasion, and new players learning the defensive patterns they would take a little while to get up to speed. The better news? The flashes of greatness we’ve seen early on in this season. Moving without the ball, using a fourth or fifth pass to find the man in the best scoring position- these are things we’ve waited years for. No, it isn’t complete yet. But with a year to work on these things, I don’t care if the Pistons bring in the rest of the ’99 all star team, they are going to have their hands full with the Cavs.
“More than anything, though, this game showed what kind of team the Cavaliers are capable of being this year. People will continue to criticize this team, for sure. People will continue to say that LeBron can’t win with this team and is already looking to get out of Cleveland. People will continue to stereotype the Cavaliers as a slow, boring, lumbering team.”
Very true.
I thought the Cavs played very poorly for long stretches tonight. However, it was poor decision making, not lack of talent. That is something that can be improved with coaching, practice, and more continuity.
It has been nice that the Cavs have brought defensive intensity to start the season. If the Cavs follow the same pattern as the last few years, their defense will improve as the season continues.
LeBron hasn’t played anywhere near his best so far, and we have two impressive double digit wins. That’s the bottom line.
Reading between the lines, however, and you can see so much room for improvement in many areas.
First the good:
Mo Will should definitely get time WITHOUT LeBron in. He’s a short first guy by nature, and what he did tonight when LeBron was resting will be HUGE for the Cavs. Basically, it’s a completely different look for the defense and it keeps the Cavs from going through big offensive droughts.
Delonte West has been an All-Star through 4 games.
Ben Wallace has been very effective on this team – which is a great sign. We will need his D against Boston (Garnett), Detroit (Sheed), and Philly (Brand).
Now the places we need to improve:
Decision making!
Stop giving Z and Ben Wallace the ball in the high post and them leaving them out to dry. This almost always leads to turnovers and if it doesn’t, our best O-rebounders are out of position.
Stop Forcing. Getting out and running is fine – because it leads to high percentage shots. Getting out and running JUST BECAUSE when it DOESN’T lead to high percentage shots, is TWICE as bad as playing slow and methodical because you don’t have chance for O-rebounds and your defense is out of position on the other end.
Watching Boobie go 1 on 4, getting blocked, and it leading to a FB dunk at the other end is not good. It feels like the Cavs are often forcing because they are trying to establish an up-tempo identity. That is fine, but you have to have the right personnel on the court for that. Trying to push the tempo when LeBron isn’t in doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
I think the lineups need to be tweaked too. Sasha needs more minutes (can’t believe I’m saying that) but he has looked very athletic.
Boobie should play more with LeBron. I haven’t seen enough of those two on the court at the same time.
The Cavs should get out an run LESS when Ben and Z are in – instead, control the tempo, win the half-court battles, and grab every rebound.
Windhorst was very pleased with the effort tonight – he’s a big fan of ball movement, and so tonight was fun for him to watch. It has been nice that the Cavs have been so unselfish to start the season. They have all the tools and the right mindset to improve as the season continues. If they can avoid injuries, they are going to be a very tough out in a playoff series.
Just a great win tonight…except for the usual third quarter lapse. Does Mike Brown even say anything at halftime? Does this even have his attention? I sure as hell hope so…each and every game this year, this team has come out of the locker room wishing they had an extra 20 minutes to just goof around. The day this stops, and stops consistently, is the day we’re talking about a 55-plus win squad.
Things Mike Brown does at half time to cause third quarter slump #2543:
“Hey, that was a great first half! Philly cheesesteaks for everybody. Eat up quick everyone, we only have a couple minutes!”
My two observations from tonight were 1. that LeBron James played a lot with his back to the basket making post moves. That was totally exciting to me because he will really confound defenses if he adds this element to his game in any meaningful capacity. 2. Sasha Pavlovic only played 3 minutes. I don’t listen to play by play so there could have been I reason, I guess. But to me, this means that Mike Brown is hopefully tightening up that rotation a bit. We can’t have all of our starters resting at the same time very often. While the Cavs are deep, they aren’t two lines deep and hopefully Mike Brown has learned that already.
Things Mike Brown does at half time to cause third quarter slump #2675:
“People have been complaining about my half-time preparation. So I thought I’d switch things up and bring in a motivational speaker. Give it up for Romeo Crennel!!!”
“Ok everyone, it’s time for our 20 minute nap.”
Swig, that was great!
Things Mike Brown does at half time to cause third quarter slump #1:
Decides to motivate team by reading newspapers excerpts about Cavs. All say Lebron is leaving in 2010. Team spends rest of halftime trying to console crying coach.
Most important # of night = 34…. Lebron’s minutes.
We won by 19. Really?
On the road. Really?
Over Dallas. Really?
Dirk played. Really?
LBJ was on the bench for decisive minutes. Really?
I think the 2 best things in this game were West and Wallace playing like we need them to, and Wally actually earning some of that paycheck. We pay the guy alot of money, and tonight he actually contributed to the team, in a positive way. He actually did not hurt us, and even helped out on offense. He didn’t seem to force too many shots like he sometimes does, and for the most part held his own on the defensive end.
Overall, a great game to watch, had me excited the whole time, for what could come if the Cavs play this way more often.
Game looked great. Though Varajao scored only once, his score was awesome. Anyone else expect him to put the ball on the floor and blow by the defender for a dunk?
The 3rd quarter can’t be blamed on the coach anymore. They gave up 3 straight turnovers and last i checked the coach not on the floor dribbling the ball. Players stop moving and it starts wit the players. Mike brown always says its a problem and so does lebron. Z does not move in the 3rd quarter and idk why. They didn’t even do bad in 3rd yesterday anyway. Got outscored by 3 points in 3rd.
Loved the game. Listened to the NBA.com stream and just hearing the net snap from a swish with shot after shot Mo took was refreshing. Definitely a big road win early in the season. Only thing now is (and i don’t mean to be a party pooper), but Chicago has presented HELLACIOUS matchups for Cleveland in the past and now that they are even more athletic with Derrick Rose in the lineup (Delonte is gonna have to guard him and trust Mo with K.H. or Gordon). I’m willing to bet we will see a lot of the lineup with LeBron at the 4 just to matchup with Tyrus Thomas (in other words, give LeBron a break on the defensive end cuz homeboy can’t hit a shot to save his life).
How about WALLY’S DUNK?!?
Time Warner doesn’t offer the Cavs games here at BG because they are too busy airing the hockey games over the Cavs. How this makes sense I couldn’t tell you. I don’t have a radio and since I don’t wanna pay for NBA online I don’t know wat to do. We should start a petition!!!!
NBA.com audio is free and thats how i do it. Its behind a few minutes from real time but hey as long as i’m not watching sportscenter while listening its fine.
S-Dub, it’s on some weird channel in columbus. Was 24 for me (don’t remember what 24 was). It won’t show up in the guide, just flip channels next time a game is on.
That sucks ya’ll can’t watch every game like northeast ohio.
S-dub I have the same problem in Dayton, but I am working on a solution, send me your email and I’ll see if I can help you out too.
thomas.pestak@gmail.com
D’OH!