Two Up, Two Down
April 25, 2008Cleveland Bail Bonds?
April 25, 2008Daniel Gibson, LeBron James, and Ben Wallace Sulking
The fact that the Cavaliers lost this game is not surprising. They had won 8 straight playoffs games against Washington. The Wizards were motivated and they were getting some much needed home crowd nourishment. What is surprising, however, is the way in which the Cavaliers lost this game. Even more surprising, was the final margin, 108-72.
Then again, maybe it shouldn’t be all that surprising. Let’s face it, we’ve said all along that this team is a team with shaky focus and motivation. When it’s clicking, they can look unstoppable, but when it’s not, they can look like one of the worst teams in the NBA. Ususally it’s somewhere in between, and the Cavs play a close game until LeBron takes it over in the 4th and single handedly wins the game. Thursday night, however, it was not working. LeBron was mediocre, and everyone else was even worse. LeBron finished with a quiet 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. He also had 1 steal, 1 block, and 4 turnovers. The only other Cavalier to hit double figures was Devin Brown, thanks to a couple late 3 pointers. Otherwise, it was grim. Ben Wallace? 5 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas? 9 points. Wally Szczerbiak? 6 points. Delonte West? 5 points. Andy Varejao? 3 points. Joe Smith? 8 points. Daniel Gibson? 4 points. Dwayne Jones, Damon Jones, and Billy Thomas were all scoreless in garbage time.
The bottom line in this game was composure. Washington had it, Cleveland didn’t. The Cavaliers only had 17 assists as a team after having 24 in Game 1 and 27 in Game 2. Furthermore, the Cavs had 23 turnovers which led to 30 points for the Wizards. Conversely, the Wizards had 20 assists and just 11 turnovers which led to 9 points for the Cavaliers. That difference of 23 points is a great place to start when trying to figure out how the Cavaliers managed to lose by 36 points in a playoff game. The next place to look is in shooting. Washington shot the ball 52.1% from the field and 42.1% from 3-pt (8-19) compared to the Cavaliers, who shot 39.7% from the field and 12.5% (2-16) from 3-pt. The Wizards were also more agressive getting to the hole and drawing fouls as they managed more FT attempts than Cleveland for the 2nd game in a row. All in all, the Cavaliers did nothing well in this game, and for the Wizards, with the exception of Arenas’ lingering injury, it was a night for nothing but smiles.
The Cavs were simply awful on defense as well. The were slow on their defensive rotations all night (another sign they give off when they’re having one of “those” games), which was leading to easy baskets underneath. And when they were slow on their rotations, it also led to wide open perimeter shots, which the likes of Roger Mason were more than happy to take advantage of. Mason played a key role off the bench in this one, hitting two of three 3-pt shots and 8 of 14 from the field overall for 18 points. Caron Butler was able to take advantage of the Cavs porous defense as well as he had his best game of the series so far with 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. All in all, 5 Wizards ended up in double figures (Butler, Jamison, Haywood, Stevenson, and Mason).
Looking big picture, how will this loss affect this series? It’s hard to say. The Cavaliers still have a 2-1 advantage, they still have home court advantage, and they still have the best player in this series. What the Wizards managed to do, though, was steal momentum in this series in a big way, and even more importantly, they found their confidence, their stride, and their strategy for beating the Cavaliers. Their swagger has never waned in this series, and now they have even more reason to feel good about themselves. I could see every game in this series being won by the home team, but trust me on this….the Cavaliers do not want this to go to a Game 7. The Cavaliers need to regroup, shake off this loss, and get back to focusing on taking care of the ball. 23 turnovers, many of them unforced, are just unacceptable at this point in the season. The Cavaliers know it will be hard to play another game this poorly, but it will also be hard to play another game as well as they did in Game 2. Both teams have now gotten their awful games out of the way, and we’ve had 2 straight blowouts. I look for both teams to buckle down now and I expect to see some great games from here on out.
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20 Comments
Nobody, and I mean nobody that has FOLLOWED this team all season expected them to win this one. No way did I think they would lose by 150 or whatever, but I didn’t think they would sniff a 5 point defeat. Sunday will be a better test of what this team is made of. If they lose that game it’s going 7.
Remember, a series doesn’t get really interesting until a home team loses.
I always say that the series gets interesting when you have to pull the remote out from inside the screen of your television. needless to say…
I just can’t get over the turnovers. Watching them needlessly throw the ball away or expose it to the defenders over and over and over and over again…..yeah, it was easy to throw the remote at the TV in that one.
Once again “coach” MB fails to find an answer to the aggressive double team pressure on Lebron. Seems like he cannot adjust his pregame strategies on the fly, and in the playoffs that will kill you. Also, interesting that LBJ continued to sit like 5 min in Q2 while the Wiz gained momentum and padded the lead. He plays 44M a game during regular season, but in the playoffs he needs to rest al 5 min during a crucial stretch? give me a break. Also genius move staying with wally world who was having yet another off night. Time to have Snow lead this team!
***For those of you who haven’t been reading us long, Anon is talking about Snow coaching the team, not playing point guard. That is all.***
West was trying waaaaaay to hard at the beginning of the game. Wonder if he read the article comparing his stats to Kidd/Bibby?
First of all, thank you Scott for not literally throwing the remote through the TV.
Last night was just awful. It was hard to watch…especially for an optimist like myself. I am anxiously awaiting what happens on Sunday. I think the Cavs can take the Wizards and their crowd out early if they come out intense. Anyone who watched the game last night knows you could hear a pin drop in that arena in the beginning. The crowd didn’t start making noise until the Wizards were up 16. I think the fans will quit if the Cavs run out to an early lead
Mike, Scott? Is there something we should know? Are you two roomies?
We’re not – but I could find myself visiting more often if he keeps the pizza rolls coming…
Scott is actually just someone who wishes he has the fantasy football skills that I do.
I think as Cavs fans we should all send our support to Gilbert Arenas. We really need him to play on Sunday. The Wizards are a completely different team when Gilbert is on the bench
By “skills” he means “commissioner rights.”
And I agree. Sunday will be very telling. Gilbert could wind up being the Mateen Cleaves of Washington…
*sniffs* I smell a vicious WFNY Fantasy Football league…
Scott’s just angry because no one will ever trade with him. And I am always a sucker for a fantasy football league.
So, if Gilbert rides the pine for the playoffs now and opts, do the Cavs go after him?
I don’t want arenas. Washington plays just as well, if not better without him (not just counting him coming back from injury). Seems to be somewhat of a disruption in the locker room, and doesn’t play great defense.
I agree…I would not be a fan of Arenas coming here
I am still laughing about Matene Cleves
As far as fantasy football is concerned…scott is the deshawn stevenson of fantasy football
Would that make you the Brian Scalabrine?
touche
Jose is the Aaron Brooks…oh sorry, couldn’t resist!