Cavs vs. Lakers
Posted December 20th, 2007 by bwindhorst
Pregame
Starting lineup
Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum
Cavs: Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, LeBron James, Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Officials
Ron Garretson, Derrick Collins, Zach Zarba
–So everyone is talking about Bumpgate. Well, nobody here because it is a complete non-story, but it was an interesting piece of video that was great fodder for the commentary shows today. Well, it happened about 15 feet from me. In case you missed it, LeBron and Mike Brown bumped into each other in the fourth quarter of the Knicks loss. Both men had scowls on their face when it happened, so it looked like something. What really happened was, LeBron was complaining to official Greg Williard about a call. As he was doing that, Nate Robinson made a layup as all the Cavs watched…including LeBron. That upset Brown, who called timeout. He was angry about that and was walking out to meet with his coaches and LeBron was still angry at Williard and they bumped into each other. That’s it. I saw it live and didn’t think about it for a second. If anything, I’d point to the second quarter when LeBron was yelling at the bench during a timeout as an incident, but that wasn’t on film. Here are the quotes, though:
Brown: “It was one guy looking one way and he was looking the other,” Brown said. I was kind of shocked when somebody told me (it was an issue). “If LeBron has a message for me, he’ll come tell me and if I have a message for him I’ll go to him. I think we have a great relationship.”
LeBron: “I didn’t know nothing about it until somebody just told it to me,” James said. “So no issue.”
–The Lakers are a more complete team than the Cave right now, especially off the bench. I assume Bynum will be licking his chops after watching the Cavs interior defense last night. It likely won’t just be about Kobe, they’ve been winning with good team efforts.
–We’ll see if the Cavs come back tonight looking to get pride back on national television. In the past, I’d have said yes. Looking at the attitude on this team of late, I just don’t know.
Halftime — Lakers 53, Cavs 51
–Nope, this isn’t going to work. Lakers shooting 53 percent and Kobe is just 4-of-10. Cavs are trading baskets and allowing lots of easy shots. Maybe they get by somehow tonight, but if they don’t start playing better defense it won’t last.
–This is the best Anderson Varejao has played since he’s been back. Not only is his jumping better, his timing seems to be back. Let’s see if he can keep his wind. He’s got four steals in the first half.
–LeBron had 19 points on 13 shots and is looking like he really wants to win. Still he’s posting up too far from the hoop and dribbling a lot. He had just two assists in the first half, he needs to look to get the ball moving more.
–This is the best Lamar Odom has played in weeks, he’s 7-of-8. He’s a hard cover but he’s not this good.
Postgame — Cavs 94, Lakers 90
Stars
LeBron James, 33 points, 10 rebounds
Anderson Varejao, 11 points, 15 rebounds, four steals
Kobe Bryant, 21 points, five rebounds
Lamar Odom, 19 points, 11 rebounds
–Pretty exciting finish for a game in December. Kobe and LeBron were guarding each other down the stretch, each of them telling their coaches and teammates they wanted the other guy. LeBron said he told Sasha “go defend someone else.” Not the best shot for Kobe to take at the end, a long 3-pointer over a taller defender, but he’s made thousands of those shots in his life and probably a handful to win games. His groin was bothering him and he said it limited him from driving, he didn’t look as active as usual.
–I hear lots of complaining about officials and the Cavs getting the short end of the stick, which as you know I ignore. The Cavs got a favorable call off Kobe’s miss, Derek Fisher slammed Daniel Gibson, but Boobie didn’t have position on that play. Coud’ve gone the other way.
–Ok, so the reason the Cavs won tonight was because of defense, of course. They got down 11 in the third quarter it looked like a carbon copy of so many other Cavs games this season. The Lakers were shooting 54 percent after three quarters. But you could just plainly see the changeover, they started showing more energy and contesting more passes and next thing you know the Lakers are taking long, contested jumpers and the Cavs are getting rebounds and running. Bam, 16-0 run and much of it was with LeBron on the bench. Lakers shot 5-of-22 in the fourth, that is why the Cavs won.
–The offense is regressing, though. That includes LeBron, he had 33 points but he was not good in the second half. Boy, it was like a throwback to last year with him dribbling so much and standing around. The Cavs shot just 35 percent in the second half and won.
–The bench was huge in this game. Varejao had 11 points and 15 rebounds and was a factor on almost every defensive possession. That was him at his best and it could be a sign that he’s back to form. If he played like that most nights, he would be worth $9 million a season. Devin Brown had eight points and two rebounds and a big steal and dunk in the fourth. Although when he’s running the point, it’s downright scary. Even Larry Hughes, who was booed by the crowd tonight, did a good job on defense in the fourth.
–The Cavs had just 11 turnovers tonight and were 23-of-30 at the foul line. They have been improving in both those areas of late.
–The Cavs had 25 second chance points tonight. Jeez, defense and rebounding and a low-scoring victory. Bad, LeBron dribble-heavy offense. Just like old times, eh?
Quotes
Kobe: “I look forward to those matchups, that’s what I do as a defensive player.”
LeBron: “If you want to win ballgames, you have to be able to defend the best player. I think we both took on the challenge.”
Derek Fisher: “I felt I got to the ball first and there was contact. But I had two hands on the basketball, so had a pushed (Gibson) first, then pushed him, it would’ve been a foul.”
December 20th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
At least we’re keeping it even after the first quarter, but Hughes is certainly playing to form. How did he go from 30+ points to lousy so quickly? Is he hurt again?
December 21st, 2007 at 12:30 am
I missed tonight’s game, how did Devon Brown play?
December 21st, 2007 at 12:45 am
I like that hair star thing that Lamar Odom has shaved into the back of his head. Pretty snazzy.
December 21st, 2007 at 1:18 am
I CANT BELIEVE HOW AWFUL LARRY HUGHES IS!!!! ITS TIEM FOR THE MEDIA TO GET TOGETHER AND START TRIPPING HIM. IF WE LIVED IN NEW YORK, THE MEDIA WOULD HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THIS GARBAGE!!! BE ANGRY THAT THE MEDIA ISNT GOING AFTER HUGHES AND FERRY!!
December 21st, 2007 at 1:49 am
I’d rather win the way we did last year with good defense and 2nd chance buckets than the way we have been winning this year. The way we did it last year got us to the Finals, the way we have been playing this year has been leading us to a losing record. I’ll take boring wins over exciting losses
December 21st, 2007 at 1:55 am
The offense did regress a bit for sure Brian.
I’ll tell you what though, I’ll take a good long stretch of solid defense anyday right now and let that offense work its way back later.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:06 am
the fact is that the call on fisher was the the proper call as boobie did indeed have position. all you have to ask yourself was if that play happened, say, 5ft. from the basket rather than 25ft., what would the call be? of course the answer is over-the-back on fisher.
December 21st, 2007 at 7:24 am
I have a hard time watching this team play right now… I can’t believe you can play basketball as much as these guys do and shoot the ball so badly. These are suppose to be the best basketball players in the world. They are paid millions and millions of dollars. Larry Hughes is paid13 million dollars a years plus some ridicious bonus because of 50 wins and plays like a person who has limited basketball ability. Hughes should get together with his buddy there in Washington and have him define his jump shot because it is apparent that Hughes has no idea of how to shoot the basketball properly. Oh well, it’s just December. I am just glad that I am not stupid enough to shell out $150.00 per game to see this limited basketball show.
December 21st, 2007 at 10:00 am
Alan T. worries too much about the haircuts of NBA players. It must be a hair envy thing.
December 21st, 2007 at 10:11 am
Actually, in this particular instance, if our esteemed blog host’s shaky sources are credible, they have to win a mere 49 games, not 50, for Hughes to get his “ridiculous bonus.” I would say, “Hey, it’s not my money,” but since I have family members who are being indirectly pillaged and plundered by Gilbert’s nauseating behind-the-scenes greed involving negotiated major tax breaks concerning the arena and the practice facility, I’m not sure if saying, “Hey, it’s not my money” is altogether true. So, when you really stop and think about it, part of Hughes’ neck ink belongs to me.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:22 am
JoeHoops, my worries have little to do with hair envy or haircuts on NBA players. With that being said, I’m a Jew, so I only have a picture of Browns guard Lennie Friedman shaved into the back of my head.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:50 am
Hopefully they can find a way to get both the new offense and the old defense on the floor in the same games.
BTW, can any one explain to me the +/- column in the yahoo box scores?? It just appeared last week and I don’t have a clue to figure it out. Help appreciated.
Cav fan in Montana
December 21st, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I believe the +/- is the point deferential that happened when that specific player was playing. If Sasha has a +/- of +10, when he was on the court, the Cavs scored ten more points then their opponent. If you add up all the +/- you should get 5 times the difference of the final score (since five guys play at once).
December 21st, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Alan is jewish… boy that explains an awful lot. Do you have a Ben Stein-esque voice too? Let’s have a Clear Eyes commercial in the near future.
Ugly wins are still wins, but as much as I hate to give Charles Barkley credit for anything, he says it every time the Cavs are on national TV and he’s right… the Cavs need a point guard. Doesnt have to be Jason Kidd, but a guy like Andre Miller would get guys where they need to be and put players in positions on the floor where they can score. The offense sucks because it lacks a quarterback to get people going where they need to go.
Guys like Hughes and Gibson are too worried about whether someone will steal the ball from them, Eric Snow can handle the ball, but he is to offense what alan tucker is to comedy, and Lebron bringing the ball up is foolish because he’s our finisher. Bad situation all around. Speaking of which, who is this guy posing as Sasha Pavlovic? Looks like a Serbian Larry Hughes lately.
Bring in a PG Ferry, even if it costs a draft pick…
December 21st, 2007 at 12:48 pm
LeBron does hold the ball too long but he has always proven he will hit an open man who has a chance to make a basket. He’s obviously the least of the offensive worries.
A far bigger problem is the fact that the team’s supposed second, third and fourth options are all black holes. They catch the ball, decide if they should shoot, then decide they want to try and make a move. Everything has stopped by the time they think of passing the ball. You can see that progression every time Z, Hughes or Gooden get the ball.
It’s what Brown was trying to get at with the hockey assist stat he tried to institute this summer. But I haven’t read much about it since.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Hey B-
I met you at halftime of the Bucks game, you called me dave but thanks for the shout out! Keep up the good work and tell Coach Brown to get some movement going on offense. It’s horrible watching LBJ poung the air out the ball and then heave up a jumper, but a win is a win! Happy Hoildays and Go Cavs! Also Kent State is 9-2 well on their way to 10 straight 20 win seasons!
December 21st, 2007 at 4:28 pm
The Cavaliers needed this one. The first three quarters it looked like more of the same. Varejo played great. I would still like to see the Cavaliers package Gooden (where was he?), Hughes (awful again), and Shannon Brown (star at the YMCA) for Miller.
December 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I fthat trade works $$$ wise, Ferry should be fired for not doing it. However we’d need another big, Dalenbert maybe?
December 21st, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Do you have any idea how much Dalembert makes a season? If you did then you wouldn’t say we need him.
December 21st, 2007 at 9:06 pm
hey josh, u would kill them down at the comedy club.
December 21st, 2007 at 10:51 pm
MY EARLY SEASON PREDICTIONS:
Eastern Conference Finals:
Boston over Detroit in 7 games
Western Conference Finals:
San Antonio over Utah in 7 games
NBA Finals:
Boston over San Antonio in 7 games
December 21st, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Josh, seriously dude, back when you wrote that Gooden is as good as Scottie Pippen was, that was the comedic moment of a lifetime.
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:45 am
Alan T. you are so right. I don’t think Gooden would make the top 1000 NBA players in its history let alone the top 50. Gooden is incredibly soft mentally. He disappears for whole quarters. The only way he is similar to Pippen is that, like Pippen, he allows the opponents to get in his head. Remember when Michael Jordan said of Pippen against NY, “I can’t allow the Knicks to get in Pippen’s head.” Larry Hughes was supposed to be the Pippen for the Cavaliers but we all know how that worked out.
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:54 pm
hey bob montana. make that 2 cavs fans in montana.
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:58 pm
hey bob montana! make that 2 cavs fans in montana.
December 22nd, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Hey, JoeHoops, why are you jumping on the Celtics band wagon, what happen to your beloved Cavs. Give boatshoes a chance to pull something out of his sleeves. I believe if the Magics tweak there rooster they could give the Pistons and Celtics a run for there money.
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:35 am
When is BW going to get an actual player quote that even hints that they’re all mad at Varejao for ‘blasting the team,’ like he keeps claiming in his articles?
The only attributed quote I’ve seen was LeBron’s, who said he wasn’t mad because he knew the media was twisting things. What the hay?
December 23rd, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Hey Billy, I am jumping on the Celtics bandwagon after watching them play a bunch of times this year. They have 3 superstars on the team…. that each know how to be team players and not individual superstars. Rando is playing pretty damn well too. I think they are only going to gel more as a team throughout the year and by the end of the season watch out. Detroit, as usual, is very impressive as well.
I’d love the say the Cavs will be back in the playoffs, and they might just barely make it, but only if they start overachieving again at the right time….and Lebron starts playing like a madman again. Otherwise I almost agree with Barkley about how they will finish the year.
February 1st, 2008 at 6:06 pm
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