Hornets 100, Cavs 99
–Not to repeat what I wrote in the paper, but many times I come on here and tell you the last shot didn’t really decide a game, it was just the final line in a book, etc. Tonight the final play perfectly summed up the game. Chris Paul got into the middle and knew exactly where his teammate was going to be. And that teammate was perfectly positioned to execute something he is good at, a mid-range shot. Considering this was what Paul did the entire game, this was the cherry at the end. From the Cavs’ perspective, if you froze things with 2.5 seconds left you would have Paul in the air with three Cavs around him and nobody in his sight. Then he makes a great play. Tip your hat, ladies and gents. He did it all night. 20 assists and one turnover and, folks, the one turnover was sorta fake. It was when LeBron tied him up and there was a jump ball.
–Technically, Joe Smith messed up on the last play, he was supposed to stay attached to West because the Cavs wanted to use LeBron’s length on Paul and not give him an open man to pass to. The problem was there was a screen and Smith figured he better pick him up or Paul may get a layup. Normally in this situation, Anderson Varejao would be there and the Cavs would execute a switch on a screen because they believe Andy is quick enough to defend a guard. But Mike Brown, I believe, was still upset at Varejao for letting Tyson Chandler get a putback dunk on him with 47 seconds left and he was done with him.
–The two lowest scoring games in the last 40 LeBron has had have been against the Hornets, 21 points both times. I believe their traps and double teams are very sound, but I still think LeBron was very passive at times. He was better at moving the ball in the second half, but I believe this was a game when he went with the flow too much. But as I said at halftime, the Cavs offense was still strong. They shot 50 percent and had 56 points in the paint. That’s a win more than 90 percent of the time. The Hornets are freaking good.
–That said, LeBron’s final shot was excellent. He saw the double team was set up for him to go left for whatever reason and he went right to get around it. Then when he saw Tyson Chandler commit to James’ right, he switched hands and went around him to the left. Super high-quality effort. Plus he was right to try to leave a little time in case of a miss, the game was not tied.
–LeBron got all fiery at some of his teammates at times for leaving guys like Peja Stojakovic and Jannero Pargo open. But the way the Hornets play and the way the Cavs help on defense, it is so tough to stay attached at times. Besides, LeBron himself shaded towards Chandler to defend the lob and left Peja more than once. Listen, this is going to be an awfully tough team to beat four out of seven times especially if they have homecourt throughout the playoffs.
–I believe, and I have for about two weeks now, that the Cavs will finish with 45 or 46 wins. This will probably get them the No. 4 seed and many of you will be disappointed. It was certainly a disappointing regular season. Especially after they got it going in January before all the injuries started to bite. But you must consider this: this was the third game they lost at the buzzer this season (Deron Williams in Utah, Michael Redd in Milwaukee); they were 0-6 without LeBron, who missed the most games of his career; Z missed the most games in seven seasons, 17 of 21 back-to-backs had the second night on the road. I’d say winning 4-5 fewer games than last season is explained right there. Not that I am giving them a pass.
Recap:
Pregame
Starting lineups
Hornets: Chris Paul, Morris Peterson, Tyson Chandler, David West, Paul Stojakovic
Cavs: Delonte West, Sasha Pavlovic, LeBron James, Anderson Varejao, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Officials
Joe DeRosa, Michael Smith, Eli Roe
–Ben Wallace and Daniel Gibson are sitting this one out. With Wallace, the Cavs are trying to give him the week off to try and get his back as healthy as possible. With Gibson, it sounds like the training staff just said no. He said he wanted to play yesterday, although now he’s toeing the company line. I guess it’ll be Saturday for his return.
–The Cavs are getting the Hornets on a back-to-back, but that won’t make the matchups any easier. There’s nobody in the league that can stay in front of Paul and the way the Cavs play defense when a PG gets to the middle it’s over. Especially one with Paul’s passing skills. Supreme test for the Cavs defense.
–Drew Gooden got embarrassed by David West the last time these teams played. We’ll see how Andy and Joe Smith do. He’s got a good mid-range game and can score from the block, it makes him a challenge to guard.
–Let’s see how the Cavs come out after a couple of hard practices. They’ve been a different team at home, but this will be one of the toughest challenges they’ve had in awhile.
Halftime — Hornets 56, Cavs 50
–For those of you who get tired of watching the Cavs offense, pay attention to the Hornets. Now, obviously Paul sets all of it up and without him it may not work. But when the Hornets run a play, they set a pick and then give Paul three options. There’s a guy rolling to the hole, usually Tyson Chandler, there’s a guy who sets up for a mid-range shot, and a guy that goes to the 3-point line. The spacing is perfect and so when Paul get space and draws in the defense, he gets to pick the correct man. And if you stay home, he’ll just shoot. A great machine that has parts that work. Very impressive.
–All that said, I’m not sure the Cavs can stop it and I know Delonte West cannot stop him. About the only chance the Cavs have is if the shooters miss more. With their style of shrink the floor defense, I don’t think they are equipped to handle it. We’ll see, but the Hornets I think just played average and are on pace for 112 points.
–New Orleans is choosing to blitz the pick-and-rolls with LeBron, which means they are double teaming him. Neither he nor his teammates are handling this very well. The proper way is to isolate the pick and punish the defense for leaving the other man. But the Cavs spacing has been off when LeBron’s had the ball. That is why he wasn’t very effective. He just had one assist, usually when teams play him this way he piles them up. But overall, the Cavs have done well on offense thanks mostly to Z.
–David West has 14 points in the first half, showing his value. But he has zero rebounds and Anderson Varejao has seven including five offensive, which has helped the Cavs to 12 second chance points. So is West playing well? Um, kinda.
Postgame
Stars
CP3, 15 points, 20 assist
Peja, 25 points
Z, 29 points, 15 rebounds
LeBron, 21 points, eight assists
Quotes
LeBron: “That’s why (Paul) is the best point guard in the league. He’s got eyes in the back of his head.”
Paul: “I call David West the “17-foot assassin.” I knew he would be somewhere behind me, so when I saw him I was like thank goodness.”
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“Plus he was right to try to leave a little time in case of a miss”
I knew You would say that… But I think its Your Opinion… I was weary and for good reason that there were over 7 seconds left
Uh oh…looks like comaguy found a cause worthy enough to post every hour for. Someone made a faux paus and he’s running with it. Gosh, if people pointed out every contradictory and wrong statement he’s ever made, this blog would break whatever record there may be for longest web blog ever!
Let’s continue the recent quoting trend and guess who wrote it and also guess who it could be written about…
“you lost every ounce of credibility at that fateful moment”
“It was insane nonsense of a kid talking ridiculous. I ain’t gonna go back and find it, I’ll leave that to somebody out there who…”
If you guessed the one and only comaguy, you win future worthless posts from that inane idiot! Woohoo!
hey, before I go, let me add a silly metaphor comparing third world lepers to a poor man’s Michael Crichton and just say thats the bball equivalent to Devin Brown knowing how to read a book. Yah, I am teh smart! You all have been schooled.
Oh, and Windhorst sucks…Ferry is a baldfaced monkey boy, Gilbert is having a financial crisis and Lebron is levaing you losers!
NOW, you’ve been schooled!
wow, so nice to see some people actually pointing out the ludicrous stupidity of the tuck and his lackey tph. i’m surprised doc hasn’t jumped in to try to defend his miserly hero alan yet. thanks josh and rick.
Of course he was right to leave time in case he missed. You guys haven’t watched much basketball in your days, obviously. At home down by one, you get a basket as quickly as you can IN CASE you miss. If the game is tied, you leave no time on the clock. Not really hard to understand. That’s been standard practice in basketball for years.
As far as James’ overall game? He was way too passive. I forgot who mentioned it above, but he wasn’t looking to exploit Peja at all. James should never, and I do mean never, take only 13 real shots (the last and 14th shot was the 65 footer at the end) in a close game. That made no sense. The game before he took 25 jumpers (an exaggeration but not too much of one) and this game he hardly looked at all to score. Unlike the majority of commenters here, I won’t speculate as to why he played that way in the last two games. Although, I will say, it was not a good way to play. They need him to score or they won’t win. But as an aside, a great game by Z. Fantastic game by Z. Knocked down his open jumpers and abused a good defender like Chandler in the paint. But as usual, nobody stepped up to help him or James.
And Jay, yes James is the best. If you watched Kobe as closely as you do james, you’d nitpick him, too.
See the problem with this blog is there are 2 extremes that dominate the subject matter. The fans who are the supporters and the fans who go out of their way to point out every little thing wrong with the franchise. Nothing the team does is right and by gosh, if this kind of fan was running the team, they’d go undefeated every year and make untold billions in profit. Because only one team wins a championship every season, this type of fan will almost always be vindicated in the end and will never concede defeat or a lost argument. On the off-chance the team they “root” for does win, they will disappear into the void with lame reasoning only to make their magnificent re-entry into the debates the first chance something breaks down or goes wrong with the team.
The first type wants the team to succeed while the 2nd can’t wait to say “I told you so.” The first are what you call homers, the second aren’t really fans at all, are a lot more vocal and will twist anything that is said with a negative spin. The two will NEVER see each others side nor will they agree to disagree and reach any kind of medium, constantly bickering at one another at every opportunity.
Then there are those who are fans but also realists in knowing only one team will win a championship every season. They see flaws in their team but they also see whats good about the team. They will acknowledge the bad without the rabid hate of the naysaying “fan” and they will support the positives of the team without being blinded by thoughts of a future dynasty in the making. The majority of the fans for any team are of this variety but they are also in the vocal minority and anything they have to say gets lost in the shouting of the homer fan wanting every fan to be an unwavering supporter and the screaming of the naysaying fan to doubt and hate and ridicule.
This blog, save for 2-3 people who choose to dominate it, is actually pretty good and has a nice mix of thoughts, and opinions (positive and negative). The extremes, however, do ruin it. Such is the way of the internet I suppose. As long as they are anonymous, they will have the power to post and say whatever they want. I was watching All Bets Are Off on Sportstime Ohio the other day and wondered what would happen if a certain comaguy would call in and try his typical nonsense on air. He would be ridiculed, laughed at and berated for the nonsense he is able to get away with here. I guess as long as he is able to be the number one bestest ass in this type of venue, he can continue to assume he is a big fish in a little pond and barring a Cavs title, feel vindicated at every opportunity. If and when Lebron leaves, the biggest and loudest “I told you so” will come from him and then as the Cavs struggle after that to win 20-30 games a year, he will be the happiest man alive…excluding any sudden coma emergencies, that is.
Is kj also Rick? Is Rick also kj? Is Rick also ttss? Is ttss also kj? Is The Genius Rick? Is The Genius kj? Is Joe Taint kj? Is Joe Taint Rick? Did Michael Reghi actually say that Larry Hughes is wonderful and he can’t be more “effusive” about it? Did Rick just write a dissertation or a novel? Will the FCC approve the Sirius/XM merger? All deeply profound questions.
Why is everyone so obsessed with this alan fellow?
wow josh , you are a fool ,huh ? where did i agree with anything he said , i found it quite funny . but in your case i guess hit dogs holler .
gomer , your so called pet peeve means nothing to me
gomer , your attempted mock was rather lame , even the genius that is josh did not get it .
Nick, save your run-on sentences and 2nd grade punctuation for a debate you can win, tough guy.
Gomer, thanks for the material, and I appreciate your mature response to my obvious attempt to lighten the mood.
Alan, I suggest you go back and find it, because I remember making the comparison, but I certainly never tried to make the point that Drew Gooden was even in the same Universe as Pippen. I’m sure your simple mind loves to twist it in such a way, but this time, trust my young brain with a functional memory, grampa. Just because you cant remember things, dont make things up to fill the empty void.
Here’s a deeply profound question…
If someone claiming to be a Cavs fan constantly and consistently berates, criticizes, and roots against the Cavs, at what point does his right to call himself a Cavs fan come into question? At what point should he just do what feels right and root for Boston?
Go ahead Alan, hop on out of that closet with your Celtics gear on. We all know your true colors, just make it official and get it over with.
Josh…
Don’t ever change. Your mind is a medical marvel. At first I thought you only lashed out at people who disagree with you.
But in your response, you’re calling me a moron for AGREEING WITH YOU. I’m not “anti-Lebron,” you twit. I called him the best player in the league. And you respond with
“How dare I point out that your anti-LeBron bias is completely ridiculous considering you’re a Cavs fan yet all you do is rip the team rather than pointing out what they do well.”
It doesn’t matter what anyone writes. You’ll read into it whatever you want to. I’m willing to bet you’re either schizophrenic or (worse yet) still in high school. Either way, I can see there’s no way to debate with you civilly or logically.
Therefore, I surrender. You’re right about everything, you’re smarter than I am, and you’re a better Cavs fan.
Long live the Wine & Gold regime.
Ooh I know the answer to this one…”If someone claiming to be a Cavs fan constantly and consistently berates, criticizes, and roots against the Cavs, at what point does his right to call himself a Cavs fan come into question? At what point should he just do what feels right and root for Boston?”
Because he is the antithesis to being a fan. If he were a fan of any other team (doesn’t have to be Boston), he would take the same pot shots at them as he does the Cavs. The things he praises other teams, other players, other writers, other franchises for are the same things he would degrade on any team he would “root” for.
The guy has one sad pathetic life and is the type of personality that can’t take joy or happiness from anything and wants to bring everything down to his level. Simple as that.
Gomer, how in the world can James develope a post game playing for Mike(only defense matters) Brown? I’ve said before and I’ll say it now, Lebron is not being developed and is having his talent wasted playing the Cavs.
Speaking of pathetic lives Rick, why are you on here every second of the day waiting to battle somebody over the internet. Loser.
Because my one single mission in life is to prove how pathetic comaguy is and I will not rest until I have won!
Thanks for the support Jonny/Alan T./Tucker/Comaguy
Besides don’t you know thats how all meaningful battles are won in this new age…anonymous verbal sparring in the cyberworld. Get with it Jonny/Alan T./Tucker/Comaguy. Sheesh!
what’s the matter josh , you’re mad that you were called out for having a man crush ? next time i won’t laugh , did not know you were so sensitive(obvious you’re no tough guy)
Gibson’s a vital piece of this team because he hustles and is constantly the best shooter on the team better than LBJ as well. Simple. Any comments about the game or the last shot? He also is better in his second year than most in their 8th or 9th year…
Well, Art is Art, isn’t it? Still, on the other hand, water is water! And East is East and West is West and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh… Now you tell me what you know.
Yo BW! Cleveland has been locked out of the #3 spot for weeks, they’d have to beat Detroit cuz even if they did get more W’s than Orlando, Orlando would win their division and be #3.
Who cares if Lebron gets screwed out of a third MVP by a bunch of yuppies? I believe that Cleveland will be Eastern Conference Champs (thanks to LBJ going OFF!)and the fakers will lose early, making him just another Western MVP with a fancy record and no rings. Lets face it, Shaq had more to do with those rings in LA than Kobe and the fakers have been shitty ever since he left. Cuz Kobe can’t do it alone like Lebron, and Lebron is gonna prove it again.
This team is still in big, big trouble.
Jim, that’s not how the seeding works. If you win your division, you’re guaranteed a spot no lower than 4th. They changed it a few years ago. So, hypothetically, if the Cavs were to pass Orlando in the standings (which they won’t), the Cavs would be #3 and Orlando would be #4.
The way things are going now though, the Cavs oughta be worrying about becoming #5.
Rick on 3/28 at 10:18 am — GREAT post.
Uh… Rick/tsstc/and/or whatever your multiple screen names are. Considering I left for work at 11 AM, then went straight to the Blue Jackets game from work, I hate to break the news to ya, pal, but twas not my post. There are other people out there who see you for the trolling instigating stalking creep you are, an Internet sniper, a fellow with way too much time on his hands. Nice try, though.
By the way, great job Kobe! Losing AT HOME to the Bobcats and Grizzlies. No No, really great job Kobe. There really is no doubt that you are the mvp now. You, the new teamwork oriented version of Kobe, really rallied your troops and almost beat the worst two teams in the league at home when it mattered most.
It really is sad that with this country’s sports media constantly jock sniffing the large markets, that a guy like Kobe will almost assuredly win the MVP when he is probably only the 3rd best choice after Lebron and Chris Paul. Kobe is a great player, but there is ZERO excuse for what has transpired in LA in the last 3 days. Enjoy your “Lifetime Achievement Award” Kobe.
I don’t know … regardless of those two losses, when Shaquille O’Neal himself says he thinks Bryant deserves it, then maybe Bryant does indeed deserve it.
Thank you Cedric, thank you Jim, thank you Brian, thank you Rick…. wow, how refreshing! People with brains posting on this forum. What a difference a day makes! Kobe… Memphis? Charlotte? That’s gotta hurt the cause.
TP’s hair… You are at a crossroads, and I actually feel sorry for you. It seems you have been on this site reading Alan’s blather for so long, he has broken you and you now view the world with the same putrid negativity that he does. I think there is a loyal Cavs fan inside you somewhere, so go ahead and let it out. Pointing out LeBron’s occaisional bad game is one thing, but I have been back on here posting for the better part of a month now, and all I see are “Alan-esque”, armchair quarterbacking comments from you. Backhanded compliments are not compliments, and saying “LeBron is the best player in the league, BUT…” rings hollow every time you say it.
I’m sorry if I made your ovaries hurt, but the time finally came where I couldnt read it anymore without dropping my 2 cents, which has now turned into 20 bucks due to the extent and quantity of the elephant dung I read on this site. It was not my goal to isolate you, and you arent even the worst one.
Take a deep breath and hang in there till the playoffs. Dont forget last year so easily.
I don’t know…regardless of those two losses, if Shaquille O’Neal himself said he thinks Lebron deserves it, then maybe somebody here would have mocked it and ridiculed the statement, as well as Shaq himself, and probably thrown in a jab at Windhorst for mentioning it. I don’t know…
How funny that this comaguy thinks there is only *one* person on this blog who has problems with his posts and this *one* constantly posts under different monikers just to make it seem like a whole army of folks have disdain for Mr. Coma. You gotta be smarter than that don’t ya? How egoitistical or idiotic do ya have to be to assume only one person rejects you as a human on these boards?
Hey, by the way, you never did say how last years coma emergency turned out. Is that person in a much better place now that they don’t have to be near you anymore or are they hoping for another coma just to get you to shut your negativity for a while? OR, here’s a thought, was there really no coma emergency but because the Cavs were doing real well in the playoffs, a coma was the best thing you could come up with?
Not to mention that IF this roster comes together and players like Wallace get healthy, the exact same scenario could happen again in this year’s playoffs. I’ll never forget how foolish people were made to look last year. The Cavs made a ton of people eat crow, from Charles Barkley all the way down to the bottom of the societal totem pole where Alan resides. It made last year’s run even sweeter, so keep it up guys. I’d love a repeat.
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