Cavs vs. Magic
Posted November 14th, 2007 by Brian Windhorst
Pregame
Starting lineups:
Magic: Jameer Nelson, Keith Bogans, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard
Cavs: Daniel Gibson, Larry Hughes, LeBron James, Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Officials:
Tom Washington, Leon Wood, Leroy Richardson
–Sasha Pavlovic is back from back spasms.
–Not to say the Cavs don’t know they are home yet, but they are wearing their road uniforms tonight and nobody seems to know why.
–Just to clear this up, LeBron before the game on Stephon Marbury: “I couldn’t have a guy like that on my team.” Somehow, I don’t think he’s alone in that thinking.
–The Cavs of course have nobody to defend Dwight Howard, but look for Dwayne Jones to go out there and foul him a bunch tonight. Then again, the Magic have no one to defend LeBron.
–Big matchup will be how the Cavs handle Rashard Lewis, who is playing power forward right now for Orlando. We’ll see how Gooden handles him, but he plays on the perimeter a lot so it wouldn’t be shocking to me to see Ira Newble out there on him for stretches. The resurgent Ira Newble, that is.
Halftime — Cavs 56, Magic 55
–This has been a well played and enjoyable game. Surprising considering one time is coming off a back-to-back and the other is just in from the coast.
–It seems to me that the Magic could score at will on the Cavs if they wanted to the way the home team is playing defense tonight. They have 16 assists on 22 baskets and Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo have no problem getting into the lane. Folks, Bobbie Gibson is just not a good defender right now. Plus Dwight Howard is on pace for an eight-dunk night. However, they insist on shooting all those 3s. They are 4-of-14 on 3s, yet have still shot 52 percent. What does that tell you? If the Cavs don’t pick up the defense, it will be a loss.
–The Cavs drive-and-kick offense has been excellent tonight, though. They have 13 assists on 21 baskets. LeBron has been great with 14 points and 7 assists.
–Guess I was wrong about Newble playing.
–Four of the Cavs starters have at least 10 points…Larry Hughes is 0-of-5.
–Gibson has 13 points on 4 official shots. The guy is amazing in that regard.
Postgame — Magic 117, Cavs 116 OT
Stars
LeBron James, 39 points, 13 rebounds, 14 assists, two blocks
Dwight Howard, 35 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks
Jameer Nelson, 21 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds
–According to my view and the play-by-play, the Magic had a foul to give in the final seconds. They committed just one foul in the final two minutes, but it was an offensive foul with 1:18 left. That’s not a team foul. So had Leon Wood called a slap and not a jump, there would’ve been no free throws. At least from what I can tell. Maybe I’m wrong. Considering it is LeBron James, he probably should get that call. I don’t think the officials wanted to call anything, but they had to.
–Last week they were fortunate on a foul with Kevin Martin, tonight they didn’t get the call. That’s the way it works in the NBA.
–Some guy threw something at the officials as they were leaving the floor. A few moments later there was a guy in handcuffs — still holding two LeBron bobbleheads, which was pretty impressive — not a great scene.
–Ultimately, if you are the Cavs you cannot give up 108 points in regulation and win. Now, the Magic have a great offensive style. Howard is unguardable, Nelson and Arroyo are too quick for any of the Cavs guards, and when the Cavs help inside on drives or Howard the Magic have 3-point shooters everywhere. They have a chance to be a great team. 31 assists in 40 baskets for Orlando. Part of it is fantastic offensive basketball. But the Cavs are ranked 25th in field goal defense in the NBA, last year they were in the top seven or eight all year. That is where they must improve.
–Great play call to get Dwight Howard the ball on Orlando’s last possession. Plus he made the free throws. A 62 percent free-throw shooter, he goes 13-of-16 on the night. But he did miss one late in regulation that helped get the Cavs to overtime.
–LeBron was off the charts again tonight. Get this, the last time someone had 39 points, 13 points and 14 assists in a game was in 1968 when Wilt Chamberlain did it. Of course, Wilt had 53 points, 32 boards and 14 assists, but still, that’s saying something. LeBron is a superstud and he’s better than ever right now. Yet it should be alarming that LeBron keeps putting up triple doubles and the Cavs are losing. Even with Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas playing well. That is an issue and it points to the defense, again.
–Larry Hughes is 17-of-58 shooting on the season with 14 assists and 10 turnover. The complaints about the structure of the offense aside, those raw numbers say all you need to hear. Obviously, he’s simply not getting it done right now.
–Mike Brown made a strange decision late in regulation when he subbed Devin Brown for Sasha Pavlovic for an offensive possession. Devin committed a terrible turnover and it led to an easy Orlando basket. Of course Sasha airballed a massive 3-pointer a few moments later, the second airball 3 he’s put up in a tight spot over the last week. Sasha is 14-of-50 shooting on the season, by the way.
–The Cavs were 19-of-22 at the foul line. Those were some pretty impressive free throws LeBron made to force overtime.
–Overall, it was an exciting and well played game. The Cavs have to like how well they are executing on offense and how well they are coming from behind in the fourth quarters, but at the end of the day they are not playing complete ballgames.
–Ilgauskas suffered a bruised shin, Hughes hurt his left leg again, and Damon Jones is having back problems. Injury bug is sticking around.
Quotes:
Mike Brown: “You hope LeBron James driving to the hole may get something, but I wasn’t out there and I didn’t have a whistle in my mouth. LeBron did the right thing, he drove the basketball to get a layup for trying to get fouled, the guy is 6-8 and 240 pounds with the speed and athleticism that he has it is almost impossible to stop him without fouling him or without him getting a shot off. Somehow, someway he didn’t.”
LeBron: “I got into the lane, he got some of the ball but he got some of my arm also. Once I felt a little contact, I’m trying to get the shot up. But it didn’t go our way. I am not going to harp on it.”
Stan Van Gundy: “Which call didn’t he get? I didn’t see too many. You’ve got to put together the film of calls LeBron doesn’t get for me.”
November 14th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Why does Larry Hughes continue to get minutes? If he’s on the bench the Cavs are up 10 easy.
November 14th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Austin Carr is the worst announcer…ever.
November 14th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I can’t believe LeBron made all three free throws. Awesome game.
November 14th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I’m in L.A. “watching” it on the internet. They have got to trade Hughes. He is just more and more of a non-factor.
November 14th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I’m in L.A. “watching” the game on the internet. They have got to trade Hughes, he is more and more of a non-factor.
November 14th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Go Cavs!
November 14th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
LeBron had three glaring problems in his game last year: his defensive intensity, his jump shot and free-throws. From what we’ve seen so far this year, the first two aren’t problems anymore. Making those three free-throws tonight to send this game to overtime might just be the cure to LeBron’s free-throw woes.
On a completely unrelated note, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has only missed 14 games in the past five seasons (33 straight playoff games in the past two years included). He’s averaged 15 points and eight rebounds in that time. The way he’s looked so far this year, I don’t see any sign of him slowing down. Thank you to the Doctors who rebuilt Z’s feet; thank you to Jim Paxson (I can’t believe I wrote that) for sticking with Big Z for those early years; and thank you to Danny Ferry to realize that consistent 7′3″ Centers with 18′ ranges come few and far between.
November 14th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I’m puzzled, how does Mike Brown continue with Hughes?
12 shots so far, while Gibson (whose been perfect) has ONLY 5, I don’t understand!
When, can they FINALLY pull the plug on him?
Buy him out, eat the contract or trade him for ANY other over the hill bad contract(s) that may contribute AT LEAST 2-5 semi-productive minutes without taking shots away from others or hogging the ball.
Ferry, I’ll throw the following possibilities at you such as Raef LeFrentz or even Antonio Daniels & Etan Thomas.
I know Thomas may not play again, but neither has Hughes!!!
November 14th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Dang!
November 14th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
The refs cost us the game tonight. It’s pretty effing awful when you tune in to watch a team, they do everything they can to win and then it’s stolen from them.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Who can look at a box like this and say anything other than Larry Hughes is killing us? I was stoked when he signed with us because he really did some good things in Washington, but this is a disaster. A triple double for LeBron with 39 pts and 14 assts, and Drew and Z both had double doubles with 23 and 18 poins. Add 16 pts from Boobie on 5 of 5 shooting and you’d think you couldn’t lose… Ah but Larry was 2-12 with 3 turnovers to go with his one assist. Larry, you can complain all you want about the offense, but its on you to get your shit together, man.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Drew Gooden, PF 42 7-16 0-0 9-10 4 8 12 1 1 2 1 5 23
LeBron James, SF 47 15-27 2-4 7-9 4 9 13 14 0 2 4 1 39
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C 36 9-17 0-0 0-0 3 8 11 0 0 1 1 6 18
Larry Hughes, G 30 2-12 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 1 1 0 3 1 4
Daniel Gibson, G 41 5-5 4-4 2-2 0 2 2 2 2 0 3 4 16
November 14th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Did Gibson get any shots in the second half? He was on fire the whole first half and then there were hardly any plays ran for him in the second half or OT.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Buy. Out. Hughes.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
The margin for error is soooooo small with this team when Larry is on the floor. It’s time to punt, even if it means bringing Jerome James, Jared Jeffries, and maliq rose to town.
Addition by subtraction if the Cavs can get rid of Larry.
The experiment is over.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Hughes & Varajeo for Mikki Moore & Artest? (Have to happen after a certain date though as Moore is recently signed? Anyway it could happen?
November 15th, 2007 at 12:29 am
I really don’t understand the people screaming for Gilbert to buy out Hughes’ contract. Gilbert won’t pay the luxury tax, but he’s going to pay tens of millions just to make a dude take the first Bentley down I-70 back to St. Louis?
November 15th, 2007 at 12:46 am
[...] ps - I really want to read what Brian Windhorst has to say about the end of this game, but he hasn’t gotten it up yet… it should show up at the end of this blog post. [...]
November 15th, 2007 at 2:00 am
An Open Letter To Brian Windhorst,
Sir, are you serious? I mean, really, your avoidance of any mere mention of the culpability of the refs in the these games is astounding!
Did you REALLY just compare LBJ to Kevin Martin??? Did you really compare a contested jump shot in which Martin was CLEARLY initiating contact to try and DRAW a foul at the end of a game to a drive by LBJ AT HOME against “noted defender” Hedu Turkolglu?? Did you just do that?
That was horrible call and YOU KNOW IT! Call it as such!
All season, albeit a still very young season, I’ve been telling you the Cavs are NOT getting the respect they deserve from the refs as defending Eastern Conference champions. Do you write about that? Do you mention that? The numbers speak for themselves, man. Or perhaps, to paraphrase Richard Pryor, perhaps we shouldn’t “believe our lying eyes?” The Magic took 9 more FT’s than did the Cavs tonight. Please don’t try and justify it as the Magic “being more aggressive” or any of that mess as the Cavs had more points in the paint and how many freaking jumpers did you have to see from Orlando tonight to realize they’re a jump shooting team with one post player? It’s crap and you know it’s crap. It was crap against Utah and Phoenix and it was crap when Hughes got T-up twice in 5 seconds! No one has ever seen that! Carr and McCloud even admitted on air tonight that they had never seen anything like it!
After the Crawford and Donagy messes of last year, you tell us time and again that there’s no problem with officials and they don’t effect the outcome of games. I’m sorry, i think you’re a fine sportswriter but your blind spot on this issue is damaging your credibility with a lot of readers.
The Genius has…thrown in the towel…
November 15th, 2007 at 2:00 am
I will blame every loss here on out on Mike Brown if Daniel Gibson does not start getting more shots. he was 5-5 while Hughes was 2-11.. abosolutely ridiculous. You want LeBron to leave? Keep spoiling his monster performances with losses. 2nd time this year we’ve lost when LB has had a triple double.
November 15th, 2007 at 2:05 am
“LeBron was off the charts again tonight. Get this, the last time someone had 39 points, 13 points and 14 assists in a game was in 1968 when Wilt Chamberlain did it. Of course, Wilt had 53 points, 32 boards and 14 assists, but still, that’s saying something. LeBron is a superstud and he’s better than ever right now. Yet it should be alarming that LeBron keeps putting up triple doubles and the Cavs are losing. Even with Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas playing well. That is an issue and it points to the defense, again.”
I strongly disagree. It doesn’t point to the defense, it points to the offense. Again.
James is simply phenomenal. Never mind everything else he did, he had 14 assists of a total of 25 team assists. You specifically cited Gooden and Ilgauskas as the other two guys that played well. How so? Played well for whom, those that have teams and follow individual numbers in fantasy leagues? In 42 minutes of playing time, Gooden had ONE assist, and in 36 minutes, Ilgauskas had ZERO assists. Out of 116 points scored! This is all due to the Cavaliers defense?
In that one game, Wilt had 14 assists. On a team without a point guard, in 9 games, Z has 6 assists. Total.
November 15th, 2007 at 2:14 am
“Larry Hughes is 17-of-58 shooting on the season”
According to this site, he’s actually shooting 17-57, not nearly as bad!
http://www.heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com
November 15th, 2007 at 3:35 am
ok first of all, you cant put complete blame on the refs for a loss. yes it was probably not the most sound call at the end of overtime, i was there trust me when you saw it on the big screen and hedos arms coming all the way across lebrons chest to grab at the ball you realized how bad of a call it was.
our defense WAS terrible. Windhorst is right on that accord. The cavs were so lazy in their rotations in a help and recover system that it was the cause for the score. had more cavs besides lebron and gooden (who did an excellent job on lewis) played hard aggressive defense it would have been a completely different game.
boobie’s man was staying home on him all second half, thats why he didnt get shots. boobie doesn’t get plays run for him he waits around the three point line waiting for lebron to dish him the ball. gibson’s second half ineffectiveness was caused by good coaching by stan van gundy, thats it. Anyone else see boobie get shook 20 million times by any little jerk nelson made all night, cause i know i did. the kid needs to calm down and just play some defense already.
ok and for the record, i feel bad for larry hughes. straight up the guy has been awful since being here, with the exception of one 37 point game against the 76ers in his first season here, but its not going to help when you have the entire home crowd booing him any time he takes a shot or checks into the game. He has become eric snow on offense but without the defense on the end. The cavs HAVE to find a way to move him. its best for both sides, because he isnt going to get any better here and hes just killing us. PS anyone see how at the end of regulation before half time while the whole cavs bench is going nuts larry is just sitting on the bench moping cause he cant make layups? seriously he missed two wide open layups. how can anyone call themselves a professional and miss wide open layups. $12 million a year for this? are you kidding me?
besides that great game, even with the loss. i can’t talk now and wont be able to a couple of days. Danny Ferry please do something soon, this “team” is struggling. get more players like gibson and sasha (when conditioned) who can make open jumpshots when given to them and this team will see a serious turnaround.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:15 am
There’s something different about Lebron this year. He has an edge, a fire to him that was lacking most of last year. I love when he gets pissed off at Gooden. I love that he’s driving more, posting up more, utilizing that freakishly massive body in a way that makes him unstoppable. Hell, he even made clutch free throws last night. You all realize we have the best player in the NBA on our squad, right? And we’re 4-5? How is that possible? Well let’s see. At the other end of the spectrum we start the absolute worst player in the NBA at shooting guard. Our point guard isn’t a point guard but rather a BJArmstrong/John Paxson-esque spot up shooter who simply gets shredded by opposing point guards. We have Z. I guess he’s functional. The wildly inconsistent Gooden. A bunch of bodies of the bench. Sounds like the eastern version of the Kobe Lakers to me.
November 15th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Brian,
PLEASE tell me there’s something we can do with Larry Hughes!!!
Please tell me someone will take him in a trade….how about the Wizards for Etan Thomas and Antonio Daniels?
What about Portland for some combination involving Raef LaFrentz? Or the Knicks for Quentin Richardson and Fred Jones? Wally Szcerbiak from Seattle?
There has to be something we can do…
Loser Larry is killing the Cavs on the court and his moping and attitude off the court doesn’t help either.
Please, please, please tell me there is a way to trade Loser Larry!!!
November 15th, 2007 at 10:15 am
The Cavs are going to have to suck it up and put Hughes on the end of the bench. Maybe he’ll mope his way out of the funk, or maybe other teams will forget how badly he plays. Or maybe his buddy down in D.C. will force the Wizards to try and trade for him. And maybe he won’t get hurt.
It looks like the Bobcats are going to have troubles signing Emeka Okafor. I wonder if they’d consider taking Verajao/Gooden and Pavlovic for him. Also, Z’s numbers are good enough right now that a contending team might think he would be a valuable low post scorer off the bench.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Unless Hughes signs a pact in blood (or tattoo ink) that he will stop shooting at all and will at least make some effort to play defense, he needs to be buried deep on the bench. Like on the other side of Shannon Brown and Nichols… Or maybe in the second row with Chris Jent. This guy may be the worst free agent signing in the history of the NBA!
November 15th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Dan
That’s ridiculous to say that the other coach just simply took boobie out of the game. You’ve got to be kidding me that cant get more than 5 shots a game. If the other coach makes adjustments on Gibson, then COACH BROWN needs to make adjustments to those adjustments. And seriously, how hard should this even be? We have LeBron James on our team, a man that draws 2 defenders everytime he touches the ball. So already the other team is down a defender, and you’re telling me that we cant get boobie some half-way open looks when we have 4 on 3? Cmon.
In the first quarter i saw Gibson drain a 3 with a man in his face, and make a nice jumper off the dribble. This shows me that he is capable of taking shots other than the “im so wide open here in the corner if i dont shoot ill look bad” shots. Hughes doesn’t have any gripes about chucking up shots. You’re telling me that you’d rather have Hughes force up 18 foot jumpers than Gibson force up 18 foot jumpers? Im sorry, i find it very hard pressed to think that if Gibson and Hughes took identical shots throughout a game that Gibson would wind up shooting 2-11 EVERY game. We finally have the shooter that we’ve needed and he isn’t utilized! But apparently that’s becuase the other coach “made adjustments” to him? Give me a fricken break.
November 15th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I didn’t like the jump ball call. If it’s not a foul and Turk doesn’t get anything more than a slap at the ball, why blow the whistle?
Anyone remember when the criticism of the Hughes acquisition was based on his style of play and not his production? Remember when people referred to him as a “slasher?” Does anyone call him that anymore? When’s the last time he shot more than 4 free throws in a game? Have all the injuries finally caught up with him and reduced his athleticism to that of a 7-3 center?
November 15th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
dc-so well put in regards to Larry Hughes. Aside from his abysmal shooting and shot selection (which of course, should surprise no-one who has followed his career .400 shooting percentage and lofting up jumpers indescriminately), his attitude will eventually tear down the CAVS. He’s s loner, a moper, and a pure individualist out only to collect the cash he feel’s he’s earned. He’s cancer in the early stages of life threatening diagnosis.
He’s simply untradeable based on the above-unless that is you want a Stephon Marbury cancerous type in return contract for contract. This will have to be dealt with no or later CAVS-best starting point is taking the sulking brick layer out of the starting lineup permanently and seeing if his ego will allow a 15/20 minute role off the bench.
November 15th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
The defense was indeed horrific tonight. 108 points should be plenty for a Cavs win — yet it wasn’t. Jameer Nelson owned Gibson offensively, and the Cavs could not stop Dwight Howard (but seriously, who can). If Gibson is going to get more time, he better learn how to play defense.
November 15th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
ok dk heres my response. i did not at any point say id rather have larry hughes chuck and miss almost every shot he takes. however if you really watched the game the couple of times boobie tried to do something he turned the ball over in the second half. and his man did stay home, jameer nelson or carlos arroyo did not leave him when lebron drove, they had their bigs close on lebron and that is going to make a difference. boobie can play, offensively, but hes not fully developed. if he doesnt have room to work the kid cant create his own shot consistently. hughes is quick and long enough to be able to get himself looks and thats why he takes so many shots, albeit he misses everyone because he doesnt know how to shoot. boobie is primarily a spot up shooter at this point in his career, hell develop further but understand man the kids super young and only around 6′, can’t expect the world out of him right now. this is basketball coaches make adjustments. devin brown and sasha were getting the open looks in the cavs back court and Z and Gooden had plent of looks too in the second half the guards just werent hitting them. that was the difference.
November 15th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Gibson has some improving to do to be sure, but no one can guard quicker NBA point guards one-on-one when they are hitting their shots, too.
The Cavs probably miss Varejao most in regard to his irritating flops in the lane. Z is pretty slow to help in the middle, and he’s going to get slower if he keeps playing big minutes.
November 15th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Alan T — are you seriously citing the reason why the Cavs lost last night as Gooden and Z not getting assists?
Those two go 23/12 and 18/11 hit 48% of their shots but it was their inability to set-up other players that was the main reason the team lost?
First of all, when do those two ever get assists? It’s not what they do and it’s not the offense the Cavs are trying to execute. So to cite THAT as the difference between them winning and losing is idiotic.
Howards goes for 35/16, dunking at will. Nelson gets into the lane anytime he wants and gets 11 AST, Hedo and Rashard hit their 3’s and that’s that.
The Cavs need LeBron to score to have a chance. They need enough offense from at least 2 other people too. They got all that last night and didn’t turn the ball at a horrible rate (15 isn’t bad).
So why they’d lose? Because they gave up 108 in regulation that’s why!
November 15th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
All this anti-love for Hughes. Lord. I miss Reghi telling Windy on their I-Pod chat (or whatever those things were called) that Hughes was wonderful and “I can’t be more *effusive* about it!”
Hey, speaking of those audio things, whatever happened to them? I enjoy reading these game-night blog postings, but I also liked some of those audio things, at least on the nights when Windy wasn’t talking with an eye-rolling homer, like a Reghi or a Pluto. That Tait one was entertaining. Or were there two, I can’t remember. I wouldn’t mind hearing some more of those, but only if it’s going to be with guys like Tait and other intelligent curmudgeons unafraid to call a spade a spade. Come to think of it, that eliminates everybody in and around town but Tait and Bill Livingston. But I don’t want to hear what Livingston has to say. So I guess I want to hear at least 30 more I-Pod chatty things with Tait, even if it’s just 10 minutes discussing how his wife picks out his sweaters for social functions.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Yes, Michael Reghi was more than irritating when he last did the CAVS games by constantly telling us that Larry Hughes was not only a stud but indeed the free agent plum of his class. Reghi CONSTANTLY told viewers that he’d take no one in the class (Michael Redd/Joe Johnson) over Hughes-I lost total respect for Reghi at that point. He then carried over into the post game shows during last years’ playoffs continuing in his “defense” of his man Larry Hughes.
What the heck was (and is) Reghi’s agenda on this one???
November 15th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
It’s not a coincidence, James. They don’t necessarily lose because Gooden and Ilgauskas absolute suck as ball distributors. But their eyes don’t look at what’s going on around the floor, just at what’s coming up in front of them. Their offense translates to their defense.
You know the other game that James had a triple-double? They also lost. Only gave up 101 points, which really ain’t all that bad. A lot of that has to do with the speed of game forced by the opposition, as opposed to the Cavs preferred brand of turtle basketball. They had 20 team assists in that game. James had 13 of them. Gooden had 0. Ilgauskas had 0. Given that James is unreal and has to play four of the five positions at once, when the actual guards don’t know how to pass, then it has to come from the center position. But it’s not.
Ilgauskas’ problem is more than just being slow, he’s downright myopic. So when he’s not looking around for guys to pass to on offense and just focused on the hoop, he’s also that much slower getting back on defense. As far as Gooden is concerned, well, that guy has attention deficit disorder, anyway. He’s entitled to a permanent medical excuse. It’s like getting mad at some kid for having Down’s syndrome. That would be wrong.
I’m like doc, I’m also getting a charge out of James getting frustrated, pissed and openly barking at his teammates. It’s about time. The only way any risks will ever be taken with this roster is if they keep playing .500 ball, and then James will finally lose his cool and say what’s really on his mind to the press. I mean, as long as he’s not like Phil Jackson, and talking about a Brokeback Mountain game with so much penetration and kickouts. Pretty funny and reporters thought it was hilarious, but for LeBron, probably not too wise.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Actually, now that I think about it, I could be wrong. Who knows, it’s the chicken and the egg argument. Maybe their bad defense makes their offense bad. Or maybe their bad offense makes their defense bad. Either way, when you get right down to it, it really doesn’t matter. Ilgauskas is only worth something to LeBron’s team when Z is facing an untalented dwarf. And Gooden should have his own telethon named after him.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Hey James - check out comaguys post from a couple games ago. Back then he was complaining about the team getting too many assists in a game and they shouldn’t be doing that or some such crap. The dude is a hater, plain and simple.
They can play the perfect game offensively, defensively and he’d still find something to nitpick about that day. Some people are just like that. You can either ignore them but seeing they post so many times, its kinda hard to do. Or you can point out to them how silly half their arguments or or how hypocritical the other half are. And in the end, nobody wins. /shrug
November 15th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Rageaholic Rick, my online stalking friend. Are you speaking of the Mike Brown’s nonexistent hockey assist stat that you jammed your feet in your mouth about? Or are you speaking of one game when they had 30 assists, and LeBron and Devin Brown, of all people, accounted for 17 of them. In that game, Ilgauskas, in 38 minutes, had 1. He now has a total of 6 assists in 9 games. For a finesse type of center playing major minutes, that is not good.
How many games is Devin Brown going to get 8 assists? Looking up the box scores of NBA games the past four weeks, all 30 team assists means is that the team won the game. More assists equals more points. In that instance, it was against the only team in the league that hasn’t won a game yet. Coincidence? They won, 108-104. So was it good offense, or was it bad defense? Chicken or the egg? Who knows. Who cares.
But hey, I’m nothing if not compromising. I’ll make you a deal, pal. If Devin Brown can average 8 assists a game, and continue giving James any semblance of distribution help throughout the playoffs, then Ilgauskas can keep on doing whatever it is that he does, and I’ll skip to my loo. Kind of like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrpT_OcHDqY
November 15th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I’ve been pondering a couple questions:
Which is the worse screw-up: allowing Carlos Boozer to walk for nothing, or blowing 20-odd million signing Hughes, Marshall and Damon Jones?
Has a player of LeBron’s stature ever had to endure such a screw-up, let alone two, in the first five years of his career?
November 15th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Rick is right, you won’t find anyone more moronic on this board than Tucker. Haha lamenting the lack of assists from Gooden and Z? Are you serious? The cavs’ play so far must be pretty decent if you’ve had to resort to this idiocracy. I somehow think we’ll manage if Z isn’t the next John Stockton, although i’m sure that’s what mike brown and everyone who is Tucker-minded are expecting.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Thanks, JoeHoops, jmoe, or whoever it is that thinks it’s been really, really clever to write TuckTuckSuckSucks. The point is, how can anybody not watch this offense and not lament the lack of assists from Gooden and Z if assists aren’t going to come from the guards? In last night’s game, in 73 minutes of playing time, Gibson and Hughes had a total of 3 assists between the two them. I remember a post from last season when Windy himself was lamenting this exact same thing I’m saying about Gooden and Ilgauskas.
Combine this with purported defensive issues. Unless Varejao has been secretly practicing with the Harlem Globetrotters, something radical needs to me done to remedy this distribution problem, because it’s not going to come from signing Sideshow or using their current guards. Bring Bill Walton in as an advisor to teach Z how to throw a pass.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
God! Why doesn’t Mike Brown have Boobie and Damon play in the post to grab all the rebounds and block shots so Gooden and Z can play on the outside and then alley-oop to the inside “big” men! Why can’t we have a coach to teach them these things? THESE are the keys to winning in today’s NBA, duh!
Hopefully coach Mike Brown reads this and when we go on a 50 game winning streak here soon, he can thank comaguy, er, alant, er jackass, er guy with all the answers, er guy who lives in his grandmomma’s basement and doesnt get out, er guy who has no clue, er what is his name again, well, “whoever” he is….
Brilliant, comaguy, just brilliant! That plan of yours sounds just radical enough.
Why do I get the feeling that our beloved comaguy 15-20 years ago was still one ignorant s.o.b. and complained about the fact Brad Daugherty had a lot of assists for a center, complained Nance blocked too many shots, complained Price’s head got in the way of a Mahorn forearm, yada yada yada. Wondered why we didn’t trade Daugherty for Cartwright, another center who couldn’t move but could pass the ball like nobody’s business.
Get over yourself. The team is what it is. People here have acknowledged the mistakes of the past. We have moved on to support the team as it stands, win or lose. Join us or go celebrate another coma.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
And to be more like comaguy, here’s another post, right after the last!
You were the ONLY one complaining about 30 assists in 41 baskets the other night or whatever ratio it was.
You are the ONLY one complaining now. You can’t have it both ways and then come back and say I told you so.
Dude, Thanksgiving is coming up - lets make sure to thank all the comas we couldnt fully appreciate during the finals last year. Go comaguy go!!
November 16th, 2007 at 12:13 am
I wasn’t complaining, Rageaholic Rick. All I said is that it was a meaningless statistic. And it is. 30 assists. Who cares? Teams win when they get 30 assists. It doesn’t really mean they played well together, it just means they scored a lot of points. Some statistics can mean anything you want them to mean, and I don’t like the use of statistics that seem to serve an agenda.
What’s your problem, pal? Do you want to sniff my cologne? There’s 44 posts here, all totally negative, except my post about how much I like Windhorst’s new game posts, and that I wouldn’t mind some more of those I-Pod things of his. In the meantime, you only post if I post or to write about me posting. Everything you write is about me, me and nothing but me. For years. See a therapist. Seriously.
Although, speaking of Daugherty, as soft as he sometimes was, he’d actually he’d be a very good center for James. He was one helluva passing center. Although Gibson is not a penetrator like Price, they’d still make a good combo. Toss it into Daugherty, the defense swarms in, then he’d toss it back out to James or Gibson. Or even to Hughes. The offense would really start to flow. Works for me. Very good player, even after the doctor botched his foot surgery.
Thanks for bringing up Daugherty’s name, Rageaholic Rick. Perfect example of the type of center that would really mesh with James and the current roster.
November 16th, 2007 at 12:26 am
By the way, Rageaholic Rick, why do you say “the team is what it is?” No, it isn’t. Or shouldn’t be. As far as I know, the trading deadline is in February, it wasn’t in October, nobody believes there is going to be an overhaul, and right now it doesn’t look any different for next season, either. Paxson, who wasn’t any brighter than Ferry is, unloaded Kemp’s contract, so nothing is impossible. Being conservative blows.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:56 am
being conservative blows, yet going after Stephon Marbury is a good idea? Mind you, the guy is doing so little that he can’t even start for the pathetic and lowly Knicks. Don’t get me wrong, his skills off the court are certainly still intact, luring interns into his car and what not, the guy is exactly what Cleveland needs!! Or let’s look at your other savior, Mr. Ricky Davis. He’s averaging a whopping 2.1 assists per game through 8 games! Why can’t Z or Gooden do that? Tucker, just when you couldn’t seem any nuttier, you pull an almond out of your ass.
November 16th, 2007 at 2:24 am
The Cavs offense needs to run through the center, JoeHoops or jmoe. And who, other than you, says that Marbury and Ricky Davis is a good idea? I certainly didn’t. But, hey, I’ll tell you what, I’d rather see Marbury and Davis in the backcourt than Hughes and Gibson. They’d win more games and the games would be exciting again. They’d fight on the court, they’d fight in the locker room, they’d fight in the street. Who cares if they’d be nutty and dysfunctional. Leave that to the team shrink. Then after they win the Finals, Davis’ contract would expire and Marbury’s would be a gargantuan trading asset. Then they could pass around that Knicks intern at Pavlovic’s bachelor party. It’s all a fairy tale come true.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:42 am
ALAN!!! Get off the internet! It’s 2:00AM!! You have to be at Dunkin Donuts at 6 dear. Go back to sleep on the couch in the basement. I put an extra blanket down there for you.
November 16th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Actually, Alan’s Mom, who I haven’t communicated with in over 10 years, your daughter-in-law just told me the same thing before you did. I’ll tell you the same thing I told her, I’m off work for a week, the company made me burn my remaining accrued paid-time-off before the end of the year or I’ll lose it, this is my vacation and only my vacation, and I’ll do whatever the hell I want with it. No, my defiant attitude isn’t going to get me any sex for at least another week, but I’ll live.
Hey, speaking of breaks, I just *luv* Larry Hughes. Don’t you?
November 16th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Um, did Alan just say that he told his mom that his defiant attitude isn’t going to allow him to have sex with her for a week? Eww.
January 6th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
[...] Cavs vs. Magic [...]
February 26th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Find A Florida Home for your Orlando Vacation…
7 Places in Florida Home Renters Should Go to during their Orlando Vacation…