StowCbusCleveland
Jackson Township, Canton, OH
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Game 3 is tonight against Orlando at 8:30, and I can't wait. I figured there should be a thread to document this and other Cavs occurrences for the remainder of the playoffs.
Anybody got any Cavs comments, or any sweet game-watching plans? I'm probably just watching this one at home with my roommates, eating some pizza/wings, and praying that Mo Williams reverts back to his usual self.
Nate
Suburbs
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What I can't understand is why they aren't attacking the basket when Dwight Howard is in foul trouble. You have the best person in the NBA at getting to the rim and he's taking step back jump shots?
They looked flat last night and had way too many turnovers, but they were still in the game. I'm hoping the Magic's shooting cools off and the Cavs can even it up, but they haven't played a consistent 4 quarters this whole series so it is going to be tough.
Manatee
The eternal present
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Oh, I am so heartbroken over this. This is why I don't watch sports.... there's only so many times this Clevelander can be lured down this path.
I hope the rest of the guys can get it together and help LeBron. With how things are economically up in Cleveland right now, it'd sure be nice to have a little ember to glow in our hearts.
:(
freddie
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Mo Williams and Delonte West would be great if they were coming off the bench. However, Since they are starters, they should step up and start playing that way. The King needs these 2 to start scoring. If they step up, this series could go 7 and Cavs can win.
Manatee
The eternal present
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Yeah, Howard was like a hornet. It's like he had a limitless supply of energy. I started to feel bad for poor LeBron, not much rest and you could tell he was pissed and kind of unfocused. I do agree that at least the rest of the team kept pace for a while there. Some nice three pointers from Booby.
Well, at least the next game is at home. But I have a sinking, sinking feeling that we will win this next one, only to lose the one after! It's just how it goes for Cleveland. Oh well, guess I'll just cuddle up with my John Elway voodoo doll and drink until the river catches on fire :(
honavery
Arizona
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They survive to fight another day......Lebron had a huge game.....but still I hate when they do that "Lebron dribble at the top of the key and everyone else stand around" play, even when Lebron is making the shots. It's just not good basketball.
mellotron
Arena District
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honavery wrote >>
They survive to fight another day......Lebron had a huge game.....but still I hate when they do that "Lebron dribble at the top of the key and everyone else stand around" play, even when Lebron is making the shots. It's just not good basketball.
Sometimes I wonder, if Lebron was a mere mortal, they might actually be a better team.
Mo keeps referring to Lebron as "the Great One". It's obviously true, but I think that mentality leads to the Lebron clear-out and passiveness from his supporting cast - "ok, Lebron, take it over from here."
That said, I don't think they pull that crap nearly as much in the regular season.
gramarye
In Exile
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mellotron wrote >>
honavery wrote >>
They survive to fight another day......Lebron had a huge game.....but still I hate when they do that "Lebron dribble at the top of the key and everyone else stand around" play, even when Lebron is making the shots. It's just not good basketball.Sometimes I wonder, if Lebron was a mere mortal, they might actually be a better team.
Mo keeps referring to Lebron as "the Great One". It's obviously true, but I think that mentality leads to the Lebron clear-out and passiveness from his supporting cast - "ok, Lebron, take it over from here."
That said, I don't think they pull that crap nearly as much in the regular season.
Yeah, I was going to say, a 66-16 regular-season record and only two losses all season at home do give them at least some reason to say that they're more than just LeBron. They're on the ropes now, of course, but that regular-season mark is going to be hard to top.
honavery
Arizona
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Pretty good article on SI about LeBron last night.
The Cavaliers won Thursday, but after the game ended, Charles Barkley was stuck between awe and disgust. "That was too hard," he said, and those were the perfect words. That was too hard. LeBron James had beaten Orlando singlehandedly. And it was too hard.
But for one night, LeBron did it. And it was epic. it was like LeBron James was saying, "I don't know what will happen tomorrow. But we're not losing tonight."
StowCbusCleveland
Jackson Township, Canton, OH
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Role players showed up in a meaningful way last game and it was a pretty solid win, here's to hoping we can find a way to get that kind of production again tonight! If Mo Williams can get it going like he did in the last game, then I'm pretty confident this can be another win. Send it back to Cleveland boys!
On a side note: Does anybody know of any locations that might be showing the game AND be pet (small dog) friendly? Trying to balance the needs of a few different people in my circle of friends tonight...
StowCbusCleveland
Jackson Township, Canton, OH
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Well that was an awful end to a remarkable season. I know others may disagree (and I don't blame them given the result), but I still am not convinced that we weren't significantly better than the Magic. What made us so lethal all season was the fact that this was the first season where LeBron was not required to be the only source of scoring. While he did have his best statistical season yet, the reason the Cavs were the best team in the league all year long was that his teammates provided so much. The supporting cast was the reason the team was virtually unstoppable. And then in 6 games against the Magic, they really only got 1 good game out of the role players (Game 5).
With the Cavs playing awful (When compared to their typical day at the office), they still essentially played the first 5 games to a complete tie (In the first 5 games, each team won a game by 10, each team won a game by 1, and the Magic won an OT game by 2). The Cavs role players picked an awful time to hit a cold streak, and they STILL had a decent chance of winning. A lot of people talked about how the Cavs would have already been out if LeBron didn't hit that ridiculous game winner in Game 2, but at the same time, the Magic were 1 Rashard Lewis miss away from a loss, and 2 Rashard Lewis misses away from being out themselves. In a series where the Cavs played poorly, they were only a couple plays away from being in the Finals themselves. The talk on ESPN is how the Cavs were outmatched, but I don't think that analysis is right. The Cavs playing poorly and the Magic playing as good as they can possibly play turned out to be a fair fight that Orlando won by a nose.
Another tough loss to swallow, and the Cavs will be forced to begin the retooling process of a team full of old players and expiring contracts. The front line in particular needs to be rebuilt. Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are 33, 34, and 33 years old. Wally Szczerbiak is as good as gone, as his $13M/year contract is (finally) expired now. Z has an $11.5M player option that he will be picking up, and Varejao has a $6.2M player option that he will potentially opt out of in favor of seeking a new deal in the 8-10 range. I think the Cavs would do well to re-sign Joe Smith since his production is still pretty good as a 3rd or 4th big for around $1.5M.
My personal hope is that the Cavs can turn some combination of Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao, Boobie Gibson, JJ Hickson, Ben Wallace's expiring contract, Z's expiring contract, and draft picks into a quality starting PF or C. I'm not sure who is available, but I know I'd like to see the Cavs make their move before the Summer of 2010 when they'll be forced to simultaneously keep LeBron in Cleveland and turn their additional cap space into a good player. The sooner they pick up a 2nd stud player, the easier it will be to pitch LeBron on Cleveland as the single best place to be, both in terms of the money AND the winning prospects.
I guess from here on out, this is the "Official 2009 Cavs Offseason Thread". Dammit...
Nate
Suburbs
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They are going to have a lot of money freed up now with Wally and Ben Ballace's contracts expiring and hopefully with big Z thinking about retirement. The only problem is how weak this year's free agent market is. There aren't many quality players available let alone big men, unless they can make a trade.
They are really set to make a move and have the money available for LeBron. I just hope they don't throw money away this offseason in hopes that it will keep LeBron around but not make them a better team overall.
honavery
Arizona
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Watching game 6, I felt the problem in the series was their defense....they just aren't built to win games when the other team is scoring over 100 points. They had no answer for Dwight Howard. I feel against the Lakers or even the Celtics, they would of matched up much better. The combo of Howard's dominance in the middle, and having 4 viable 3 point shooters waiting for him to pass to was just too much to overcome. I'm interested to see what the Laker's try, because I don't think Gasol can guard Howard either....maybe Odom + Gasol, but that's going to leave someone open...
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