Pregame
Starting lineups
Cavs: Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, LeBron James, Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Pacers: Jamaal Tinsley, Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger, Troy Murphy, Jeff Foster
Officials:
Bob Delaney, Monty McCutchen, Olandis Poole
–Jermaine O’Neal was not cleared by team medical staff with a left knee issue and isn’t playing. This is a break for the Cavs, but the Pacers are 3-0 without O’Neal this season so Indy certainly can cope.
–Based on the mood in the Cavs locker room before the game, I get the impression they are not thrilled they’re here on an afternoon back-to-back. There may be some low-energy and interest issues. Of course, this is the easiest game of the next week as two games with Boston, one at Detroit and one at Toronto await. So that has to be in their minds, too.
–Granger has been playing great for Indy and has been attacking so expect him to go at James today. And vice versa, of course.
–The Pacers under Jim O’Brien like to push the tempo and shoot a bunch from the outside. This is how the Cavs have been playing lately, too. Even if it doesn’t suit them and doing on the road in the second game of a back-to-back doesn’t seem all that strategic.
Halftime — Cavs 54, Pacers 46
–The Cavs are having a lot of fun out there and it has picked up their energy. They are talking a lot and laughing a lot. Normally this wouldn’t be ideal, but considering they needed something to pick up their mood it has probably been good. While LeBron got to sit for nine minutes he was practically working as a color commentator on the sidelines by joking with and even instructing his teammates. Once when Drew Gooden took a long jumper, LeBron yelled: “He’s feeling himself…” then…”Drew, run the offense!” when it missed. All of it can be heard because Conseco Fieldhouse is so quiet today. Like after LeBron made a layup and screamed “I’m a beast” to the Cavs’ bench.
–Early in the game I thought LeBron might slap Drew when he fumbled away two passes and messed up a few times on defense. But Mike Brown stuck with him (does he have another choice) and Drew ended up having a good half.
–Jaamal Tinsley just attacked Daniel Gibson, who sat the last 19 minutes of the half. Boobie couldn’t stop him. But once Eric Snow went in there, Tinsley’s drives stopped quick. Boobie will be needed in the second half, but this is an example of where Snow is valuable.
–The Cavs have been excellent on offense, picking up 12 assists. The 7-of-10 3-pointers has them in the lead including two from Sasha, Devin Brown and Ira Newble. Not something you want to rely on on the road. But the Cavs have eight offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points which is also helping.
–Triple double warning…LeBron’s got 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Postgame — Cavs 111, Pacers 106
Stars
LeBron James, 30 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals
Drew Gooden, 23 points, 12 rebounds
Sasha Pavlovic, 22 points, five assists
Jamaal Tinsley, 24 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists
Marquis Daniels, 25 points
–So LeBron had another triple double, he’s great and everyone knows it. The interesting thing about it is watching him get them because the offense is running better than it has in three years. Also the spacing has been strong of late. Everything looks good when guys are hitting 3s, but for the most part the Cavs are getting quality shots with the game on the line and that was usually not the case last season.
–Pacers went on a 24-4 run in the second half when the Cavs got lazy. Yes, in the NBA home teams using go on runs when they get down but the Cavs turned the ball over eight times in the third quarter. So that continues to be an issue. However, the Cavs get credit for getting their minds right in the fourth quarter when they had just one turnover and scored 38 points.
–Mike Brown said after the game that he thought the Cavs were pretty good in halfcourt defense and I tend to agree. They gave up a lot of points but 24 were fastbreak points from all the turnovers. The Pacers shot 43 percent and 35 percent in the fourth and the Cavs did force a lot of contested shots.
–The Boobie Gibson ejection was comical. The foul call was wrong and when McCutchen saw the replay I am sure he knew it was wrong. It fouled Gibson out because he’d committed some poor fouls earlier. It’s automatic when you throw something that you get tossed and Boobie tossed the mouthpiece. Eric Snow was trying to argue that the mouthpiece didn’t leave the floor and they were pointing at it sitting on the baseline like it was a bloody glove. He’ll learn from that one.
–Pavlovic was under control today. He plays out of control sometimes, especially when he drives to the basket. He didn’t force anything and found a rhythm. We’ll see if it continues but this could be a game when he turns the corner after being pretty bad since signing.
–The Cavs didn’t get a lot of foul calls today because they didn’t drive the ball much. They had just 28 points in the paint to the Pacers 42, which is a large reason why the Pacers got 13 more free throws. There were bad calls both ways.
–Crazy play with David Harrison getting called for goal-tending when he hung on the rim with 50 seconds to play and Jeff Foster’s putback was called off. Cavs came down and hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, which made it a five-point swing. That break went the Cavs way and they took advantage. Not sure why Harrison felt the need to hold onto the rim.
–Ilgauskas had eight points and eight rebounds, an average game for him. He is probably going to struggle on back-to-backs because it wears on him so much.
–The Cavs going 3-1 this week was important with two games with Boston, one in Detroit and one in Toronto next week. Going 2-2 would be a plus, 1-3 is a reality. But with LeBron playing the way he is right now, anything is possible.
Quotes:
LeBron on Boobie’s ejection: “His mouthpiece is too big first off and it’s red and white. It’s easy for the refs to see, if he had a clear one like mine the refs wouldn’t have seen it.”
LeBron on the 3-pointers: “There’s no way you can guard our team if we’re making shots like that when they double me. We’re shooting the ball outstanding.”
Damon Jones: “I’ll be glad to keep taking open shots that LeBron gets me. I love ‘em.”
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Wow, Sasha is getting embarrased out there. He is eventually going to find his rhythm, isn’t he?
Go ahead, tell us again how the calls “even out” over the course of a season! Horrible officiating again!! And again!! And again!!!
I realize the Cavs are playing very sloppy right now – but every single whistle is going towards the Pacers. This is nauseating.
It’s like the Cavs don’t even care at this point. I’ve seen 2 straight possessions where Sasha just decides – “ok my turn.” I’m sorry but when LeBron James is on your team you don’t FORCE 3s or wild layups in traffic. That’ll fly in the 1st quarter. Not with 2 minutes left when ur team is down. Do they think LeBron is going to bail them out with a buzzer beater or something? This is pathetic basketball right now.
I simply cannot understand this. “Reach in touch fouls” on the Cavs and I can hear bodies slamming against each other when LeBron drives to the hole and of course no whistle. I really thought we’d get a few calls after that horrible call Boobie got thrown out on – this is absurd.
Well, Sasha was able to find *some* rhythm, and it did make a difference. Lots of love for Damon Jones too, first knocking down a three to keep the Cavs in striking distance, then knocking down another one to stretch the lead late. And LeBron with another ho-hum 30-11-10 triple-double.
It wasn’t a pretty game, and it got scary there in the beginning of the 4th, but any win on the road on the second night of a back-to-back is a good win.
Go Cavs. Get some sleep, because this week is going to be rough (Boston at home, then a road trip through Detroit, Toronto and Boston again).
Mike C.
Another season, and James is once again carrying the entire team on his back, but I believe the young man is a tad confused. I mean, would Jordan have ever screamed, “I’m a beast!” to his OWN bench? I thought when you talked trash, as Jordan was often known to do, you’re supposed to scream the trash at the OTHER team’s bench.
I have to disagree with Mr. Windhurst who is unquestionably the best Cavs beat writer in town when he says this doesn’t fit the Cavs style. The Cavs don’t have the depth right now to win defensive struggles. Frankly the way the Cavs are playing now is easier because it is less taxing mentally than the grind it out style we saw in so many games last year.
What I see is the Cavs playing good defense in spurts and that is usually in the fourth quarter, which is when it really matters.
Finally I think the Cavs are a 3 pt team and have been sign DJ and Marshall came. LBJ has always created wide open shots and I would rather have a wide open 3 than a contested 15 foot shot. The problem is when Hughes is on the floor with Snow the ability to hit open shots disappear due to lack of floor spacing. The other key is having the right people shot the 3 and that is LBJ, Gibson, Sasha
and DJ. Not Hughes or Marshall. The reality is Brown is going to have to sacrifice some defense this year because the issue last year wasn’t the D, but the O.
The difference is no Snow or Larry playing to clog the O. The experience from last year taught these guys how to win games with defense in the end, but in order to effectively compete against the top teams this team will need to score.
They will never win a championship averaging 93ppg like last year and I believe the defense will improve in the second half of the season.
Only Alan T can complain about Lebron when he’s throwin down triple doubles like this. Go ahead Alan, keep whining about stuff like this. Its good to get it off your chest. Lebron is an emotional guy, so he’s gonna yell stuff. And yes, he has an ego. So the fock what, you would too if you were making the money he is and getting triple doubles every night. But the only time you’ll be yelling “I’m a beast” is when you win a chess match.
I think the Genius thinks Brian is out on the floor making all the calls against the Cavs.
An example of how Snow is valuable. Wow. Good job Eric.
JoeHoops, I’m not whining about James’ game. It’s great. But why is he talking trash to Mike and Shannon Brown? It kinda defeats the purpose of talking trash. Gary Payton must be spinning in his grave.
I was laughing hysterically when Gibson got tossed. The poor kid takes two elbows to the face from Foster and then gets called for his sixth foul. Foster…the same guy who tried to trip LeBron while he was in the air earlier in the game. Does this Foster idiot think he’s Laimbeer Jr? Anyway, adding insult to injury, Gibson, this nice kid, gets thrown out of the game after he fouls out of the game. It was like bad WWE officiating. Welcome to the NBA, kid. You got totally screwed.
Nice to see some other people pick up the slack after Gibson got jobbed. It can’t be the same two guys every night. Players like Damon Jones and Sasha have to become more reliable options.
Why do I think things will get worse when Hughes returns? Devin Brown contributes more than the porcelain prince.
Oh, and in case anybody missed it, there was a new Varejao episode on “The Simpsons” tonight. He was stymied yet again. Keith Olbermann also had a cameo as himself.
On another subject, why won’t the Cavs say what’s really wrong with Marshall’s wrist? From all appearances, he’s done until next season. Gilbert must be giggling like a schoolgirl, disability insurance is going to be picking up the tab for Marshall’s paychecks. Maybe that has something to do with it, they need to show the insurance company that reasonable non-surgical measures are being taken prior to heading into surgery and finishing his season. But I still don’t understand the rationale of hiding the truth of the severity of this injury from the public, what do they hope to gain by it?
Nice spam above ^^^^^^
Anyways, Alan T, he’s not talking trash to his own teamates you dolt. HE’s excited about the play he made and showing his enthusiasm by yelling towards the bench. Haven’t you ever played hoops before…when you make a good play, sometimes you get excited. Its the equivalent of when you yell “check mate” during a chess match.
I live in Indy and attended the game today at the Conseco Fieldhouse. A few observations: Pavlovic can drive to the hoop but “closes his eyes” once he gets there. But at least he tries, and he can shoot. He made a clutch three at the end of the game. Damon Jones is fearless; he also made a huge three at the end. All of a sudden, Ira Newble can shoot threes. He made two in a row during the game, and more than that consecutively in the shoot arounds. Drew is very talented offensively and at rebounding, but he’s a knucklehead. Two brilliant Lebron passes bounced right off Drew’s head. Gibson had a ton of trouble guarding the bigger Pacer guards, especially Marquis Daniels, but heck can Gibson shoot.
“LeBron on Boobie’s ejection: “His mouthpiece is too big first off and it’s red and white. It’s easy for the refs to see, if he had a clear one like mine the refs wouldn’t have seen it.”
LeBron appears to be correct, but you be the judge:
http://deadspin.com/sports/college-basketball/oh-if-only-they-wore-cups-in-basketball-158168.php
Harry, i think no such thing. What i *know* however is that Mr. Windhorst constantly and consistently feeds his readers the BS line that calls “even out” and there were “bad calls both ways.” I have seen zero evidence of that this year and one wonders if Mr. Windhost thinks we’re blind or stupid or both…
JoeHoops, if I’m playing chess, I say “checkmate” to my opposition. Perhaps you’ve been playing too much chess with yourself, because I still don’t see the point of yelling “I’m a beast!” at your own bench. I believe Chris Jent is already aware that LeBron is a beast.
There’s far too much hugging and kissing in the NBA nowadays. The tipoffs look like the honeymoon suite at the Holiday Inn. If James wants to be even scarier, then improve at trash talking. I miss Bird and McHale getting into people’s faces and letting the other chump know they were just eaten by a white beast.
Marksal, Newble is awful, but finally making a few shots is doing Ferry a favor. There is only one logical reason for Newble now getting time in the rotation, and it’s that he and his expiring contract are going to be dealt. Perhaps in a package with the very same knucklehead you described. You’d think James could give dirty looks to the opposition like he gives dirty looks and the evil eye to Gooden each and every night. Combined with his evil game, it would make the enemy instantly pee in their shorts.
Yo Alan T, wake up man. THis isn’t the good old days of the NBA where players could trash talk and really get physical with each other on the court. The damn refs call a foul pretty much every trip down the court as it is, so if players start jawing at each other it will only get worse. Lebron yelling “I’m A Beast” to HIS bench is OK, but I would almost bet if he yelled it to the oppositions bench he’d get T’d up. THats just the way the refs are these days. Shoot, Duncan got tossed last year for laughing while sitting on the bench. Crazy.
It seems to me that LeBron was trying to motivate his team, which at several times yesterday looked lethargic, undisciplined and unfocused.
I have to agree with Brian though, this is not the Cavs’ game. At least, it can’t be if they want to repeat the success that they’ve had in the playoffs. You can make a lot of threes against the Pacers and the Raptors; those teams are not very solid defensively. But good defensive teams like the Pistons and the Spurs are much faster in their defensive rotations. Those wide-open threes will be much more closely contested, and the percentages will drop like a rock. A wide-open three might be slightly better than a contested 15-footer, but a contested three-pointer is a fast break waiting to happen.
Still, it will be fun while it lasts. And it might be the only way they can stay in the game tomorrow against Boston.
Go Cavs.
Mike C.
Who says he has to be ridiculous about it, JoeHoops? That one time he walked up to Gilbert Arenas and whispered to him at the foul line, that was a little too egregious and politically incorrect for today’s game. But most refs wouldn’t have a problem with him trash talking and getting into guys’ heads so long as he’s not talking about anybody’s mama. Want proof? Watch Dikembe Mutombo block a shot.
Yo Alan, Cavs must be playing pretty well if all you can find to complain about is Lebron yelling “I’m a beast” at the Cavs bench. Time for you to get back to that chess game or shooting for high score in Frogger down at the local pizza joint.
Question for the almight Alan T:
Who was the last player to record back-to-back triple doubles like Lebron just did?
Word out of Philly is that the CAVS and HEAT are the prime suitors for Andre Miller. Danny Ferry hasn’t shown all his cards yet-and Anderson Varajao has burned his bridge.
Andre Miller at the point……..it’s gonna happen, just check Philly in the daily standings.
If 22 points is embarrasing Mike C, I wanna be embarrased too…
Andre Miller…Can we put the point guard situation to rest for the moment? We are averaging almost 102 points per night.
Offensive is not the issue. What we need right now is to step it up defensively. We are paper thin down low.
Mooch is right: The Cavs are paper thin down low and trading big for small is not be the way to go right now.
Big Z has scored in single digits two of the last three games. His rebounding numbers are still good but he’s now averaging less than 15 pts. a game. Bosh put up 41 the other day too, which is pretty hard to blame on Gibson.
I have to wonder if the big fellow’s getting tired.
We need Andersen V back!! I say offer him $5 million a year and every time the team scores 100 points HE gets a free chalupa.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3128446
Come on Windhorst. Chad Ford got the Varejao interview before you did? Pick up the slack.
If getting paid $6 million to play basketball makes Varejao unhappy, I don’t want him here. I don’t think Ferry has handled this situation as well as he could have, but I commend him for sticking to his guns and not handing out another bad contract. If Andy wanted to be unrestricted next year, he could’ve signed the one year $1 million contract when it was offered.
Here’s hoping Ferry is on the phone with Philly planning Andre Miller’s homecoming.
Chad Ford got the interview because he told a completely one-sided version of the story. Didn’t even mention that Drew Gooden gets paid what they are offering Andy even though he has a lot more production and doesn’t shoot horrible-looking hook-layups in the Finals.
I just finished reading that crap “Interview” and am very disgusted with Ford. He does nothing but try and show the Cavs as being greedy punks while praising Andy, calls him the 22nd best player in the league.
And yes I threw up in my mouth when I read that, just wanted to share it with everyone.
I think Chad Ford deserves to have Charles Barkley farting on his face for a good hour, hell I would even pay to see it.
Chad Ford doesn’t have an agenda, no more than Ric Bucher has an agenda being Bryant’s personal mouthpiece. It was high time that Varejao’s agent set up the interview so people can finally hear the other side of the story.
Ferry showed up unannounced at Varejao’s parents’ house. This guy should be fired based upon this fact alone. Incredible. I hope he at least brought them a fruit basket.
If Andy would sign a 5 year, 45 mil deal, the Cavs have no choice. Our front line is one major injury away from the apocalypse. We’ve been shopping Gooden and his dim lightbulb for 2 years now, Lebron doesnt like him cuz he does dumb things and cant catch a pass, and we could get Andre Miller for him. Sign Andy for what he wants, trade D-student Gooden for Miller, and get rid of the dead weight contracts on this roster as soon as possible so we can make a run at a marquee guy in 08/09.
I wish I could click my fingers and make Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall just disappear. Maybe Ferry can pawn them off for some useless draft pick or something. Just dump em Danny, and swallow your pride so Andy can get back to taking charges and doing the dirty work. Pronto.
And PS.. if you think the King isnt watching this whole situation closely, read the article twice. The Cavs REALLY dont have a choice in the matter, unless they dont mind losing the best player they’ve ever had…
And PS, if you dont think the King is watching this whole situation closely, read the article again. The Cavs truly have NO choice but to sign Sideshow, unless they dont mind losing the best player to ever don “Cleveland” on his jersey…
Brian can you PLEEEEASE post some good stuff on here- the recaps are nice but I need some meat and potatoes….give me some rumors or something. What’s up w/ my boy Andre Miller?? Any trade ideas/offers for Anderson?? Please, give me something, I am dying here!!!!
Little mr. t., you are *truly* beyond any and all help if you think Ford or ESPECIALLY Bucher do not have agendas! Bucher has been a LBJ basher from the word “go” on ESPN and one can only surmise that his role as Kobe’s mouthpiece is the main reason for that.
As for Ford, if you do not think that story is skewed and essentially a P.R. release for Varejao and most ESPECIALLY for Feagan, well, again, i question your reading comprehension skills.
Mr. Ford’s article contains quite a lot from anonymous sources about what LBJ thinks and what Ferry’s options are. That is not good journalism, even for a *sportswriter* and even for ESPN! It was almost pure P.R. fluff from Feagan and Ford acted as “court stenographer” and wrote what was dictated to him so he could get his own little box at the top of ESPN.com saying “exclusive interview with Varejao!” Nothing more, nothing less. As i recall, Ford doesn’t even have a journalism background…
Forget about Andy, he’s gone. That bridge is way past the burning point.
There is NO point guard on this team-Lebron will wear out if he’s asked to carry that load. Andre Miller is not only a floor general but a very physical defensive presence. He’ll look just fine running this team, and then we can go out and sign Chris Webber to a one year deal to help the lowpost game.
Watch this happen.
In the SI article, Varejao says he hasn’t been asking for $10 million, which he has said before. He implied it’s Ferry spin. BW left that part out of his BJ article today.
BW does say in his article that Varejao’s camp has finally “broke its silence.” I wonder where he has been getting his info these past five months.
It seems disingenuous to be self-righteous about “leaks from both sides” when Varejao’s camp just broke its silence yesterday, to say the least.
Also, it sure looks like Ferry pulled a big one by flying down to Brazil, as alan t. pointed out from the start.
It’s curious to me how, in an area of the country where unions used to be so strong, Cleveland fans turn into management lackeys whenever a player holds out. But it doesn’t surprise me when it comes from Beacon sportswriters.
I read the Varejao comments disseminated through an interpreter and by Fegan’s Office.
Interesting to say the least!
I say, sure let’s get it done, a sign-and-trade for Varejao and that team would have to take Hughes also!
Why not, two birds with one stone!
One clashes with Lebron’s style and the other meshes with Lebron so let’s work the two together to get Lebron some help.
I liked the idea of sending them both to Seattle with Shannon Brown for Swift, Wilkins, West and Szczerbiak.
This could give Lebron a young “big” who takes up space & block a few shots (almost a young Z, almost), an athletic wing in Wilkins, a combo guard who can run a team in West and a basketball savvy player who CAN SHOOT and play multiple positions as long as he’s healthy, which you can’t say for Hughes.
Seattle needs some defensive prowess which Varejao has shown and Hughes, when he can play, does give them a nice on the ball defender to go with that young team.
Just a thought!
taco time.
ferry is a douche – going to brazil to negotiate with andy without his agent is against the rules. he should’ve known better. andy is also a douche, and when we finally do sign-and-trade him, we’re not gonna get equal value and he’ll be viewed as a malcontent for the rest of his carreer.
and all these trades you guys are proposing are hilarious. i’ve got one – let’s take all the players we don’t like and ship them to some other team for a bunch of players we do like. then, we can have a pizza party and sing songs and stuff. get real, you guys.
our guards – boobie and sasha – can shoot, and get to the hoop, so we don’t need a point guard as much as we need a big man who can pass (yes, they do exist). donyell is probably done for the year, drew has his head up his dick most of the time and Z, god bless him, won’t have much left in the tank down the stretch. our super sweet frontcourt is not gonna hold it together.
big game against the celtics tonight. let’s get this win – i’m really really really sick of boston right about now…