Cavs 98, Clippers 84
–As you would expect without their two best players and playing on a back-to-back, the Clips crashed down the stretch. Their legs got heavy and it showed when they tried to jump. On the other end, the Cavs seemed to warm up as the game went on. As a result the natural order of things was restored.
–LeBron said his ankle isn’t feeling that well but he felt he had to play because if the Cavs lost to the Sonics and then the Clippers it would’ve negated the wins in L.A. and Portland. He didn’t seem to show too many ill effects, but he was hopefully he’d be much better by Tuesday’s game.
–The Cavs won the second half rebounding battle 32-11. Which is closer to what you’d expect with Chris Kaman out and Josh Powell playing center.
–Funny moment after the game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is being interviewed on the P.A. system and Mike Snyder says “Z, this was your 20th double-double.” Then Z says, “21st actually.” He was right, it is 21. Who says these guys don’t care about their stats.
Recap:
Pregame
Starting lineup
Clippers: Sam Cassell, Cuttino Mobley, Quinton Ross, Tim Thomas, Josh Powell
Cavs: Larry Hughes, Ira Newble, LeBron James, Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Officials
Joe DeRosa, Matt Boland, David Jones
–LeBron worked out before the game and determined he could go. He doesn’t look like he’ll be 100 percent, but he shouldn’t have to be to win tonight.
–Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette have been out with injuries. Both are on the active roster, but it doesn’t look like either are going to play. There’s not much there for the Clippers considering Elton Brand is also out. Thornton has been playing well of late, too.
–Clippers are hurt and tired coming off a loss last night in Minnesota, so the Cavs would be wise to try to jump on them early.
Halftime — Clippers 47, Cavs 45
–Can you imagine if LeBron wasn’t playing?
–Not a whole lot of energy being shown by the Cavs in this one, which is somewhat typical coming back from the West Coast. But, folks, the Clippers have nine guys in uniform and one of them is Dan Dickau. The Cavs are being outrebounded, which tells you all you need to know. Also, they have just two second-chance points. Not their usual effort level, especially against the likes of Aaron Williams and Josh Powell.
–LeBron attacked the basket in the first quarter and got eight free throws, then in the second he started hoisting up 3s. In fact, all the Cavs are. The other night in Seattle they shot them because they were way behind. Tonight they’ve taken 14 already. They are below .500 when they take more than 20 3s on the season. This is especially stupid because Z and Drew are actually making headway working out of the post.
–Damon Jones played a very productive 10 minutes, he hit a 3 and had four assists. He is the closest thing to a true point guard the Cavs have in their rotation.
–Al Thornton is pretty talented at scoring the ball, and he’s upset about not being named to the rookie game. It is showing.
Postgame
Stars
LeBron 28 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists
Z, 22 points, 13 rebounds
Al Thornton, 23 points, seven rebounds
Quotes
LeBron: “This was a tough game, it was almost like a road game because we had some jet lag. We just had to get some energy and we were able to pull it out.”
Mike Brown: “They had some guys out and it was human nature to let down a bit. They are in a tough situation, they were missing a lot of guys and they did what they were supposed to, they fought.”
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Doesnt everyone just love the way that the Cavs play to EVERY teams level?
50/50 chance they lose to the Wolves by 20?…check
50/50 chance the blow-out the Celtics by 20?…check
Congress should come to Cavs games in order to work on fixing Social Security….
….cause when the Cavs play, anything is possible.
How do you know that other teams aren’t playing to the Cavs’ level? You may have it backwards.
By the way, the sentence saying Damon Jones is the closest thing to a true point guard the Cavs have in their rotation is like saying that Arby’s is the closest thing to filet mignon in town. My guess is that if Ferry acquires a competent point guard before the trade deadline, Gibson will be in the deal.
Yeah, the Cavs aren’t the only team that lets weaker opponents hang around most of the game. Great teams like the Spurs have a way of controlling the game but only being up 4 points most of the way and then they put a team away by 10-12 points in the end.
Even teams like Minnesota, crappy as they may be, have guys that make shots and get hot.
OK SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW THE LAKERS GOT PAU FOR A WATER BOY??? IS IT JUST ME OR DID THE CELTICS AND LAKERS GET GREAT PLAYERS FOR NOTHING. DAVID STERN IS BEHIND ALL THIS. PLS CALL THE GRIZZLYS AND ASK IF THEY WANT TO SEND MIKE MILLER OUR WAY FOR DONYELL MARSHEL AND HAVE THEM THROW IN A PG TO MAKE IT KINDA FAIR (THEY HAVE 2 ALREADY). OH AND BY THE WAY RUMOR HAS IT THAT FERRY HAD HIS B@!!$ REMOVED ….. WHICH EXPLAINS ALOT.
Tucker… that backhanded compliment may be the first positive thing that you’ve ever written about the Cavs.
i’ve said it before and i will say it again. the lakers get gasol. the celtics get garnett and allen. last year the nuggets got alan iverson. who do the cavs get??? the cavs get . . . the cavs get . . . i got nothin’. i swear all the cavs ever seem to get are some nice rumors that never come to fruition. it’s just like the indians. the mets get johan santana. the tigers get miguel cabrera and dontrelle willis. the d-backs get dan haren. the mariners get erik beddard. the indians get . . . jamey carroll??? gimme a break. tell me this town isn’t cursed. it’s been 44 years people!!! last time i checked, the yankees won 26 world series titles, the celtics won 17 nba titles and the bulls won 6. san francisco and pittsburgh have both won 5 super bowls and new england goes for their 4th one tomorrow. shoot, even expansion teams have won multiple titles in all sports in the last 10 years. so why is it too much to ask for just one of our sports teams to win even one title for us??? wouldn’t it be nice to read this headline for once: “cavs get kidd”??? we can only hope.
For those frustrated with lack of trades, while it is in fact Ferry’s fault that we don’t have any tradeable assets (i.e: expiring contracts worth more than $5m), i think the plan is to stick with what we have and make a run at it again and develop the players we have and then this time next year we have almost $33m in expiring contracts that we can move for some star power. that give us 08 and 09 to make legit runs at the championship before lebron can make his decesion to leave. would i like kidd now? sure, but we just don’t have anything attractive for the team(s) we trade with at this point. heck, the way we’re playing right now (15-5) in last 20, who says we can’t make a run at it with what we got?
either way, next season is when ferry makes his big trade.. GO CAVS!
jeebus, windhorst makes ANOTHER completely ridiculous statement. this time he says that d. jones is “the closest thing to a true point guard the Cavs have in their rotation” which is utter hogwash, of course. one would think he actually watches the games so, if that’s the case he would’ve seen that gibson got to TRULY control the ball and run the point in seattle ( for those of you who know little about basketball, when LBJ is playing, he is the primary ball handler for the team ) and all he did was lead the team with 6 assists, while still getting 13 points. not exactly isiah thomas but to anyone with EYES he is CLEARLY the best PG on the roster. it’s just he adapts his game when LBJ is in.
come on, windy, you’re presumably better than that…
I am going to start keeping a running total of Alans postive and negative postings. So far…
Alan Tucker Bitchfest Post Count…
Negative: 1
Positive: 0
kj, the local Internet cops have a sneaking suspicion that you’re one of the guys that uses other screen names to throw soggy wet Rice Krispies at me.
Regardless, Jordan used to bitch to the media whenever he was forced to be the primary ballhandler. Both the years pre-Pippen, and after they got Pippen and he’d be out hurt, or during times the other guards weren’t doing anything and he’d have to shoulder the entire ballhandling load. He hated it, and didn’t hide the fact. James can’t do it all, and Ferry has forced him to do it all.
Gibson ain’t a point guard. He wasn’t a point guard in college, that’s why they eventually moved him to shooting guard in his sophomore year, and he’s not a point guard in the pros. He never will be a point guard. He’s a poor ballhandler, amongst his other glaring weaknesses, and ballhandling skills are learned when you’re growing up. He’s past that. Oh, he’ll probably get better in that regard after some years with whatever team(s) he plays for, but he’s nobody that anybody will ever want to rely upon for long stretches to distribute a ball. He’s a guy that’s most effective when he has time to stand around alone and get a jumpshot. Which I find totally ironic in this posting venue, considering Windy has a very curious major, major, major beef with the entire concept of the jumpshot, but that’s for another post.
So yes, as dumb as it may seem to read, I actually agree with Windy. Of all the guys the Cavs have, the fabulous Damon Jones is presently the truest point guard the Cavs have on the roster.
Haha, Mike Snyder can’t even get it right doing what he only does – stating the obvious. How does this guy still have a job?
Gibson is the only tradeable commodity we have right now. The ONLY one. He’s a 6′1″ shooting guard. You would think someone with that skill set would be easily replaced. Boatshoes should have offered him around the league by now. His value won’t get higher. Once the rest of the league figures out that all he does is stand on the three point line and wait for kick out passes, you won’t get anything for him.
Couple of other things:
1. Why does it seem like the Cavs have the loudest rims in the NBA? Do we really need to be miking up the equipment?
2. Ira Newble is not a good basketball player. He’s going to dominate the Darfurian league in 2010 though.
3. I agree; kj and The Genius are one and the same.
I miss The Genius’ signature phrase, so bring it back kj.
I don’t miss BW’s predictable articles about Ferry working the phones after some trade goes through in another town. It’s laughable. At least this time the information comes from “several league sources,” rather than just “league sources,” so I guess we’re making some progress.
The funniest parts are the references to Ferry trying to get Garnett last summer. Come on.
And this just in from Captain Obvious: LeBron James is the “purest” point guard on the Cavs.
Boobie has subpar court vision and is a decent ballhandler at best. He has SOME ability to penetrate but often he tries and ends up with nowhere to go, either wasting shot clock or turning the ball over. (A result of his poor court vision.) He is most like a very very very very very poor man’s Tony Parker with a jumpshot. (That is not meant as a compliment.) While we all have seen a few glimpses of talent here and there I doubt he will become more than a second tier, undersized shooting guard in this league.
ahh, yes, i point to actual statistics and games to prove my point ( no pun intended ) about gibson and the rest of you idiots just give your predictably dumb-ass *opinions* about how terrible he is. why do i bother…
oh, and furthermore, gibson has just about a 2 to 1 assist to TO ratio while LBJ has like a 2.2 to 1 assist to TO ratio. and considering gibson is second only to LBJ in ball-handling duties, i fail to see any EVIDENCE that he is such a “poor ball handler” as some of you claim.
again, when given the chance to be a true PG in the seattle game he lead the team with 6 assists. what part are you people not getting? he’s fully capable of being a starting NBA point guard and is CLEARLY the best PG on the roster, not jones.
brian, any chance you can include a copy of the box scores in with your blogs??? it would be very much appreciated. thanx, dave . . .
kj, you don’t need your Genius moniker to be able to process “evidence.” All you require is a pair of working eyeballs, which I presume you do indeed have.
What’s your Genius obsession with numbers, anyway? (Tip: At least Kevin Andress isn’t juvenile and unruly about it. You may want to look to Kevin for guidance.) For Christ’s sakes, that one season that Damon Jones took his annual bus ride and the Greyhound blew a tire in Milwaukee, he averaged 6 assists in a mere 25 minutes per game. Who cares? Using your Genius logic, Brown should promptly hand Jones the keys to the car. With those amazing ball distribution skills, and CLEARLY EVIDENCED by that Bucks season (loved your caps, by the way), Ilgauskas oughta dominate and average at least 30 a night.
Look out, LeBron, your streak at the top of the leader board is about to conclude. Now folks won’t have to read Windy and Pluto incessantly whining that nobody is getting ‘ol Z the ball. Which is a blessing in itself.
By the way, after again reading the top of Windy’s post, and after reading the kj/Genius stat nonsense, is there any more worthless “major” stat in basketball than the double-double? Seriously. It’s like the save and the hold in baseball, or the quarterback rating in football, what does it really mean other than next-to-nothing?
Starting centers and starting power forwards playing starter’s minutes should be getting a double-double or close to a double-double each and every game. It should be in the job description. It’s not an accomplishment, it’s an expectation. Maybe modify that silly stat to guys that get 20 points and 10 rebounds, so it has some small semblance of actually meaning something relevant. For that all-important statistical clarity, call it a double double-double. With cheese.
For all his flaws, Gibson is one of the best outside shooters in the league and is an excellent complement to Lebron. No Boobie last year, no EC championship. And he’s extremely young and inexperienced and still developing as a player. The Cavs would be foolish to let him go.
Steve Kerr or Craig Hodges are better comparisons than Parker — undersized but clutch shooting guards who could hold their own on the court and were perfect teammates for Jordan to drive and kick out to for the three.
I never thought of Craig Hodges, but actually Hodges IS a pretty good comparison. All the more reason that Ferry should unload Gibson while he still can. Gibson is destined for a long vagabond NBA career and is easily replaceable. Even a white shooter wasting away on somebody else’s bench can do the same things and are always available every season. Take Ferry’s blood brother Redick, for example. I agree with doc, Ferry needs to unload him now while there’s still a few guys out there who don’t realize what Gibson really is.
Alan T.,
I couldn’t agree more about the double-double state. It is akin to the save stat in baseball which was created to measure relief pitchers’ performances (read: more $$$). Any decent big getting 30+ minutes a game should get around 4 uncontested defensive rebounds and if the big is skilled at all or is playing with a great point guard he’ll get that 10 points.
A great example of this is Mikki Moore.
PS- If I hear Jeff Phelps talk about how many double-doubles Drew has I’m gonna…
Wheres Jabbar and Worthy when you need em.
Thoughts on the Cavs win over the Clippers:
- The word I would use to describe this game? Boring. There was very little doubt that the Cavs would extend the lead at the end of the game and go on to win. The energy at the Q was incredibly low for a Saturday night. The most suspense of the night came when Moondog had to take on new American Gladiator Siren.
- No Chris Kaman and no Elton Brand = no Clippers with at least 10 rebounds and the Cavs outrebounding the Clips by 15. When you don’t have competent big men, you don’t win very many games in the NBA. Which is why you never trade big for small.
- Another good night for Gooden. It’s looking more and more like his psychosis is less pronounced when he gets more minutes. His right-handed hook from the right block is becoming very reliable. The Cavs should run a play for that hook at least 5 times a game.
- LeBron’s 3pt% is down below 30% again. His form is never going to be picture-perfect, so he has to be more judicious in his use of the 3. The Cavs do get a lot of offensive rebounds off of missed 3’s, but against good teams (and especially good, fast teams), missed 3’s give the opponent the perfect chance to run.
Go Cavs. Looks like KG is going to be out tomorrow night, so take advantage and beat the Celtics.
Mike C.
DELONTE WEST Wants out of Seattle; he still hasn’t unpacked his bags.
DELONTE WEST
How does Delonte West’s game fit? Especially since Daniel Gibson is 5′6 and apparently cant tie his own shoes, much less dribble a basketball?
If it takes Gibson to get Kidd, I dont want any part of it…