The elections may be long in the rear view, but the lobbying in Cleveland may be reaching new levels. As the Cavaliers dropped yet another nail-biter to one of the NBA’s elite teams, it was Anderson Varejao who continued to keep his bruised and battered team on the positive side of the ledger, pulling down 22 more rebounds, obtaining possession of balls which he had no business being near, holding the opposition to one of their worst games of the season, and even hitting a 20-foot jump shot at the buzzer between the third and fourth quarters, giving the Cavaliers a seven-point lead.
Though said lead would dissipate as the Cavaliers would convert on a mere 20 percent of their field goal attempts over the final 12 minutes of play, it was Varejao who, once again, provided one of his most well-rounded lines of the 2012-13 season, infusing non-stop energy, adding to his league-leading per-game rebounding average and making the most annoyed opposing fan bases even more so.
“Our All-Star guy did an unbelievable job once again,” said Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott of his energetic and charismatic center. “He single-handedly takes over on the defensive end — this guy is just something else.”
The Cavaliers tied the NBA’s consecutive loss record last night in Memphis with their 23rd straight defeat. It felt like this was the one to break the streak, but, as has been a trend, they squandered their opportunity with a horrendous fourth quarter to lose by 7. Over the course of about a quarter, from the 9 minute mark in the third to midway through the fourth, the Cavaliers went from winning by 11 to losing by 12. These Cavaliers have achieved a number of things never seen before but their mastery of the 20 point differential quarter this season is astounding.
During last night’s 111-109 overtime loss in Memphis, something was made abundantly clear to me: The Cavaliers under the radar signing of PF Leon Powe will pay big dividends later in the season and into the playoffs.
“Every eight games or so the Cavaliers have one of these games.” Austin Carr
