Game ugly, LeBron uglier as Celtics take 1
Posted May 6th, 2008 by Brian Windhorst
Celtics 76, Cavs 72
–The Cavs shot 31 percent, LeBron James probably had the worst playoff game of his career, and they were playing on the floor of the No. 1 seed. The Cavs having a chance to tie the game with 20 seconds left is pretty remarkable. Then, the other side of the things is Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were as bad as LeBron on offense and the Celtics got away with 23 turnovers in a game they easily could’ve lost. So what do you call it? 1-0 Celtics.
–If the Cavs play them this closely the rest of the series, they like their chances. If they lose all the close games, then they’ll tip their cap. Regardless of whether the Cavs shoot 31 percent, which is an all-time low in the playoffs, or shoot 50 percent, they were ahead by a point with 1:30 to go and down two with 20 seconds to go with the ball in LeBron’s hands. The Cavs’ offense was terrible at times but their defense was excellent for much of the game, especially their rotations and backside protection. This is why Mike Brown preaches the style he does, the defense enabled them to stay in the game when they were awful.
–LeBron shot 2-of-18 and so did Pierce and Allen combined. LeBron had 10 turnovers, so did Pierce and Allen combined. You can break it down and analyze it, but history says none of those guys will play like that again. Allen hadn’t gone scoreless in 852 games over the last 11 years. So I guess call it a wash. This series is probably going to be ugly, both teams are good defensive teams.
–The Celtics didn’t do anything super special to LeBron. They stayed up on everyone, which made it tough for LeBron to find shooters a lot of times. They doubled him on pick-and-rolls, which happens like every game, and many times he found guys, he had nine assists. But he made a bunch of bad decisions, too with those 10 turnovers. Him getting those two offensive fouls in the third quarter caused him not to be very aggressive in the fourth for awhile, he took three or four bad jumpers. At the end of the game he was aggressive in getting to the basket he just couldn’t finish. He got to the rim with nine seconds left and had a great chance to tie, he just missed it. That play summed up the night, but so did another play late. When he got trapped and traveled with the ball in front of the Celtics’ bench. It was a breakdown, he didn’t know what to do. Again, part good Celtics defense, part him not handling the game well.
–A big moment in the game was when Mike Brown put Joe Smith in for Ben Wallace on offense with 50 seconds left. That made sense at the time, but it backfired when the Celtics didn’t called timeout after Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ tip in that tied the game. The Celtics went right to Kevin Garnett, who made a great move for the go ahead layup. Wallace played pretty good tonight, he made Garnett get most of his points shooting jumpers and that is something they’ll live with. Maybe he couldn’t have stopped that move, either. But you’d rather have Wallace in there than Smith at that point. Z could’ve come over to double, which was what they were doing with him, as soon as he saw him make his move but he didn’t.
–The Cavs specifically made defensive moves aimed at slowing Pierce and Allen and letting Rajon Rondo go. They are going to live with what he can do. In the first half, he killed them. In the second half, Sam Cassell did. The Cavs can’t guard everyone with the way they play, so this is where they appear to have decided to take their chances.
–A couple other things I noticed: During the preseason junk, Garnett does a throat slash thingy. Is that a menacing gesture? After not shaking hands with the Wizards during the last series, LeBron greeted all the Celtics before the opening tip. Doc Rivers acts like a catcher at times and signals plays to his point guards under his jacket so the Cavs can’t see. There was smoke in the air for the first five minutes of the game. Was it the pregame fireworks or all the power KG and LeBron throw in the air?
Pregame
Starting linueps
Cavs: Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins
Officials
Eddie F. Rush, Scott Foster, Michael Smith
–The Celtics are experts at blowing out people at home. They will come out with a lot of energy and try to build a big lead. The Cavs will have to try to absorb it and stay close. Their goal is to get it to the fourth quarter and try to win it in.
–Huge key for the Cavs is how well West and Daniel Gibson handle the pressure, which the Celtics will bring on them heavy. Both have been inconsistent in handling it, though they were both pretty good after that bad Game 3 in D.C.
–The Cavs have some matchup issues defensively, especially Ray Allen. I don’t think Wally can stay with him, they run him through lots of screens and all over the court. You also would prefer not to have LeBron on Pierce for huge stretches. The Cavs are going to have to rely a lot on switches and help defense, especially when Allen is lurking on the backside.
–The Cavs traded for Ben Wallace to deal with players like Garnett. Obviously he’s not going to shut him down, but Ben needs to be effective in guarding him around the basket where he sets up in the post a lot. The Cavs don’t want to have to bring double teams, they want Ben to be effective 1-on-1 even if KG scores, they want the scores to be hard.
Also, Nike started a new viral marketing campaign for LeBron. Touching but not nearly as cool as the Kobe viral spot with him jumping over that car.
Halftime — Celtics 41, Cavs 37
–LeBron James has one basket, the Cavs are shooting 29 percent, they have three second chance points, they have not made a 3-pointer, they are on the road. And they are down by just four points. All in all, they have to be thrilled. They have stayed in the game by forcing turnovers (Boston has 12) and by getting to the foul line and making them. The Celtics are upset with the calls, but all in all other than a miss or two it has been pretty fair.
–Whenever Gibson is on Rondo, the Celtics see a green light. From the Celtics perspective, Pierce has two points and Ray Allen has none yet they are still winning. Most of it is due to Rondo and his drives. The Cavs are willing to give up the mismatches because they are deploying their defenders elsewhere.
–Garnett has 16 points and he’s played well, but most of his shots have been jumpers either contested from the mid-range or long range. The Cavs will have to live with that.
–Mike Brown has altered his rotation, putting Sasha Pavlovic in for Devin Brown. Sasha was back in midseason form, playing seven hollow minutes with a missed layup. I understand the need to kick the tires with him, but Devin Brown is a producer and a junk scorer and this has been a junk scoring game.
–The Cavs have been very active in trying to swat at the ball as the Celtics come into the lane, as a result they have nine steals. This must be the result of a game plan tactic, they are not usually as aggressive.
–Assume Pierce and Allen will start making shots in the second half, but the Cavs have to shot something respectable, like, say, 43 percent, to have a chance. The Celtics have done a good job of taking them out of their sets by staying so close to everyone, but there’s also been oodles of missed open shots.
Postgame
Stars
Kevin Garnett, Celtics, 28 points, eight rebounds
Sam Cassell, 13 points
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 22 points, 12 rebounds
Quotes
Mike Brown on LeBron: “He one thing he tried to do in attacking the rim, he didn’t get the call, especially down the stretch. Guys have nights like that, but it is unusual to see him have a night like that from the field. He very seldom has a game like this, but he will bounce back and play a terrific game in game 2.”
LeBron: “I missed a lot of shots that I can usually make. A few layups I know a can make, a few pullups I know I can make. That (late play) symbolized the night I had, those layups I’ve made my whole life, I put it right over the rim. That play right there was the type of night I was having. I’ll watch the film, get a better grasp on the game and come back in Game 2 with a better approach. We still had a chance to win, they made one more play than we did. It’s going to be like this almost every game.”
May 6th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
it appears at least at the start we are getting the timid version of lebron..when he comes out that way the rest of the team follows suit…oh well lets hope the second quarters a bit better
May 6th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Yikes, 15 pt first quarter. Not looking good. Lebron needs to take over.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Worst start possible for the Cavs.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Other than Garnett and Rondo, this game has not been a thing of beauty for Boston either.
The Cavs are very fortunate to only be down 5 right now (I’m writing this with 6:45 to go in the second quarter).
I will say Cleveland has a glaring size advantage in the post. I really hope the figure out a way to take advantage of that.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Cavs aren’t taking advantage of opportunities. This feels kinda like game 3 against the Wizards.
Joe Smith has to make that foul line jumper. That just kills us when he can’t hit that. Also, I see ABSOLUTELY on idea why Devin Brown and Damon Jones are always in Mike Brown’s doghouse.
Devin Brown has GOT to be better than Pavlovic in a game like this.
Ray Allen is going to get going, and so is Paul Pierce. I don’t expect LeBron to have a big game offensively since his outside shot isn’t falling. This series is going to go a long way to improved LeBron’s growth as a player. Boston is a nasty team.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
A rare mental gaffe by Lebron commiting that foul on Rondo at the end of the half. That was a 2 pt. gift to the Celtics in a game where points are hard to come by. I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt the Cavs.
But….I’m pretty pleased Cleveland battled through that horrible start and is very much in this game.
Phenomenal team defense in the second quarter. Am I seeing things or is Wally Sczcerbiak doing a solid job on Ray Allen?
I like that they Cavs are not settling for jump shots. They recognized that their jumpers weren’t falling and Lebron, Sczcerbiak, Gibson, West and even Pavlovic all began attacking the basket. That’s experience paying off. The Cavs of yesteryear would have continued to shoot jumpers and would be down by 20 right now.
Charles Barkley just said at the half that he thinks the Cavs have a better bench and I agree. Brian, I meant to give you a little flack over that. I believe you gave Boston the edge over Cleveland’s bench in your series breakdown today. I think Cleveland has the best bench in the Eastern Conf. And I as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Cavs have a glaring size advantage in the post.
What does Mike Brown have against Devin Brown? Brown could really help the Cavs in a rough-and-tumble game like this because he can get to the rim and he defends. I don’t understand why Sasha is getting his minutes.
Still a ton of work to do to steal this first game. Cavs have to do a much better job on the offensive end, but there’s no reason to think they can’t win this one.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
This is some phenomenal defense by the Cavs right now (7:07 left 3rd quarter).
May 6th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Cavs take the lead! This could be an awesome win if we can hold on. And Lebron is playing his worst game of the playoffs…. if he gets going, watch out!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Hey LeBron, if we lose this fricken game, it’s solely on you. This is one of the most pathetic performances of your career. Why don’t you get your head out of your @ss and start playing team basketball? You’re playing about as well as you did in the Finals last year….what, is this stage in Boston too big for you? You suck.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
i want to punch mike brown’s potato face. sasha should be a bench jockey and varajao is still playing like crap. i’d rather see dwayne jones than that brazilian suckwad.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Worst game of Lebrons career? 10 turnovers, only 2 baskets. And we’re still only down by 3?
Damn!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
This is the worst game I’ve ever seen LeBron play as a Cavalier.
If we find a way to pull this game out, the series is over - Cavs will win.
LeBron won’t play this badly again.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
God at least the game is over now. That was a truly awful display of offensive basketball.
LeBron 2 for 18? Wow.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
great offensive plan coach potato. garbage.
i think somebody was poking a lebron voodoo doll tonight.
oh well, boston looked pretty bad too.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Brian, do us all a favor and please tell us what LeBron was smoking prior to the game. My guess is that is was not just marajuana. Crack? Crystal meth? Wet? Please give us the juicy details on what drug caused LeBron to have the worst game of his career.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
That game took a whole year off of my life.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
I agree I am definitely aged during that game. Can we not run that high pick and roll anymore? But I think LeBron will bounce back.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
wow, negative vibe here tonight, surprising.
i think the best that the Cavs can ask for on the road is being in the game up until the very end with a chance to win it, we had that, lebron missed the shot. I’ll take that every night.
the pace of this game was, in my opinion, the Cavs pace. if the rest of the series plays out like this the Cavs should win. If Boston is running and gunning they are much better.
Doc helped us out by playing Cassell so much, i have no idea why he does that. Rondo was killing us.
If we take anything from this game, it’s that lebron had an awful shooting night, we still had a shot, and Sam Cassell hit some threes so he should spend the rest of the series jacking them up.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Ha well said Zach. I think an artery just blocked up.
This loss is on Mike Brown. Unbelievable embarrassing display of offense. I’m speechless.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
It happened again, Biff. People turned all pollyanna-ish after the drubbing of the Wizards, but Mike Brown’s incompetence was just there, lurking, like jock-itch… It’s not going away…
May 6th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
The loss is on Mike Brown? We know they’re inconsistent on offense, the story is that they kept PP and Ray Ray in check, and for that I give Mike Brown credit. His defense allows them to be in games they have no business being in. Let’s not act like the Cavaliers are a good offensive team. You guys blame Mike Brown for that, I blame it on a poorly put together team.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
This loss can’t be on Mike Brown!!! Wally went 0-8 in the first freaking quarter and had wide open looks at the basket. Why is he still starting though? The guy can’t seem to hit shots until the second half. The Cavs should’ve won this game but the foul to give that Posey committed on the final drive wasn’t called for what ever reason when you could see that it truly altered LeBron’s shot and path to the basket. Not to mention the foul that Perkins committed on LBJ. And, how about NONE of our players following to get the possible tip or rebound. I would think someone would come in for the close for a possible tip, even though Z set the screen high. The Tics’ got lucky to win this game. I still think we can win Game 2 on Thursday. We need to keep playing good D and obviously LeBron has got to make some shots. But, if someone asked you before the game if you would take ten turnovers, 9 boards, 9 assts, 12 points on 2/18 from LeBron and had a shot to TIE/WIN at the end of the game, I know EVERYONE would have taken that.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Brown’s offensive “sets” were completely worthless tonight. The TNT crew ripped him for his LBJ up high set where he ends up driving into 5 defenders. Where were all the sets that won Game 6 vs Washington with LBJ coming off the wings or posting up? Barkley called the Cavs’ offense “crappy” and reminded everyone he’s been saying that for three seasons. Utterly frustrating! Mike Brown is looking more and more like LBJ’s Doug Collins. The Bulls couldn’t get over the top with His Airness until Collins was removed from the Bulls’ head coaching position. Who will be LBJ’s Zen Master? Let’s hope our ownership gets that coach into Cleveland before a frustrated LBJ leaves town!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
[...] Z, foul on the deck, good foul to draw. …nbaroundtable - http://nbaroundtable.wordpress.com|||Cavs-Celtics, Game 1Cavs: Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas Celtics: Rajon [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 12:06 am
[...] Cavs-Celtics, Game 1Cavs: Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins. Officials Eddie F. Rush, Scott Foster, Michael Smith …Brian Windhorst on the Cleveland Cavaliers - http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Get ready for Lebron to leave for NYC.
This is the end.
http://www.nycforlebron.net
May 7th, 2008 at 12:06 am
[...] Cavs-Celtics, Game 1Cavs: Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins. Officials Eddie F. Rush, Scott Foster, Michael Smith …Brian Windhorst on the Cleveland Cavaliers - http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 12:09 am
good god, why this implicit faith in sasha, mike brown? What has he done to earn this trust–does he have pictures of a potato-head concubine that he uses to blackmail the coach? He promptly rewarded the cavs with a few quick fouls, and gave pierce the confidence to start attacking once he knew he had a slow-footed and weak sasha doll following him around. i guess the one thing you do get with sasha is reliability and consistency–you know as soon as you put him in things are going to go downhill, and there’s a certain amount of comfort in knowing what’s going to happen. it’s the same as when you pass to andy on offense, you know it’s going to be some wild twirling shot that will lead to a celtics’ fast break, and i think mike brown appreciates knowing what he’ll get from a player. as far as what lebron was smoking, perhaps it was panama red. I don’t know what else could explain him jacking those threes throughout the second half. but it was the worst offensive game i’ve witnessed from him for sure down the stretch. i guess it’s somewhat encouraging that we were still so close with lebron playing like that, and figuring we won’t get such a dismal performance again from him throughout the series. but i’m sure the celtics are thinking the same things about pierce and allen, and figuring they will be back to form as well. lastly, i think they should have a contest between garnett and wally world for who can look more enthusiastic and emphatic after making a shot, to determine once and for all who the biggest jackass is.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:35 am
John - Tell me you didn’t bet the money line on the Cavs… There were just too many ways to screw up a game like this…
World
May 7th, 2008 at 1:15 am
WorldBfor3,
I came to my senses and took the +10 for $50. Doesn’t ease the pain of giving away a very winnable game. Going to be a long day at work tomorrow. Definately won’t be listening to Boston talk radio on my commute in. Sigh…
May 7th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Why does nobody grill Mike Brown on his terrible offensive schemes? Lebron had the worst game of his career, but the Cavs coaching staff didn’t even attempt to mix things up or make things easier on him. He gets zero post ups? Where were the pick and pops with Z? Pick and rolls with Wallace? God, even it’s wrong, try something different.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:32 am
I like that blog headline, but let’s be serious, whenever you see a game that includes the mugs of both Sam Cassell and Delonte West, it is axiomatic that things are gonna be really, really ugly. They make those hard plastic masks for guys who break their cheekbones and noses, they should make some stylish paper bags for the really ugly guys. Cassell could wear the fancy schmantzy Tyrone Hill model, West could opt for the Gheorghe Muresan.
And Pierce and Allen owe me $6,800. Bastards. All Allen had to do was score 6 instead of 0. Was that too much to ask?
May 7th, 2008 at 7:19 am
It’s too bad that Ray Allen and Paul Pierce didn’t play well. Because if they had, the Celtics would have destroyed the Cavs. Oh well hopefully the Celtics will do so on Friday.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Coach, why did you not play Devin Brown last night. why did you allow James to manipulate you again. Your game plan during such crucial moments are always the same ever since you took over. Tomorrow, you better do something, or else go fishing
May 7th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Thoughts on the Cavs loss in Game 1 to the Celtics:
- I’m not too disappointed with the loss. Yes, Game 1 would have been a great opportunity to steal one in Boston, but losing Game 1 doesn’t end the series. If anything, Game 1 should scare the Celtics, because they couldn’t pull away from a Cavs team that shot just 31%. The Celtics went from beating the Hawks by 20 a game in Boston, to sneaking by the Cavs in Game 1. If all the games come down to the last minute, the Cavs are going to be successful.
- I don’t know what to make of LeBron’s night, other than to say, those things just happen. He didn’t look like he wasn’t concentrating, he looked like things just weren’t going his way. He made plenty of good basketball decisions that just didn’t pan out, he had an offensive foul called on him that the officials couldn’t even agree on, and the ball just seemed like it didn’t want to stay in his hand (that seemed to be the case all night, can we find out if they were using new basketballs tonight?). How often does LeBron make that layup at the end of the game? 9 out of 10? Sometimes you have a bad day at the office, and LeBron had one on Tuesday night. The only criticism I would make is that he didn’t want to post up.
- I knew we were in trouble when I saw Garnett alone with Joe Smith. But that’s the chance you take. He made a very tough layup, while LeBron missed his, and that’s your ballgame. Garnett was excellent last night, and you have to tip your cap to him.
- Not sure where the Sasha-bashing is coming from. He made Pierce’s life miserable, and he scored 6 points in a minute. I’m not saying he’s the second coming, but he was effective. Give him a break. It was also a great night for Z, and a good night for Ben Wallace.
- LeBron’s layup miss was huge, but the biggest miss of the game was Delonte West’s missed wide-open 3 with the Cavs up 6. That shot would have killed the Celtics, who were able to go on an 8-1 run to end the 3rd Quarter with the lead.
Go Cavs. Just a little clean up and we’re heading back 1-1.
Mike C.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I gotta agree with Douglar here. How can we really blame Mike Brown for this loss? The team defense that he put together and Z are the ONLY reasons this game was close. James was absolutely atrocius offensively. No other way to say it. But the real problem is the “help” that gets wide open look after wide open look that can’t make shots. Wally, Boobie and Delonte go 9 for 30. 9 for 30? On mostly open looks. James having a game like this will be in another 5 years. Those three blind mice having a game like this will happen in two more games. They get open shots. Open shots. The only guy the Celtics, or any other team, is worried about, and thus the reason he is the only guy that gets double and triple teams, is Lebron. These three “shooters” are the main beneficiaries and they still miss wide open look after wide open look. We go as they go.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Oh, and I thought the defense was great as I said before, but why did we not double team Garnett at the end? James is doubled and tripled while he’s tossing up the resin, but at crunch time, after he has killed us all game long, we single team Garnett and he makes a huge shot? If we had just one other capable player that coudl create his own shot. Just one.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:09 am
yea!!! the defense is great! unfortunately there are two aspects to basketball not just one. i saw a lot of bring the ball down the court, pass to the wing, dribble dribble dribble, pass to the wing again, repeat offense last night. brutally bad. the tnt guys were dead on. staying close in games is great….but with the talent the cavs have on the team they shouldn’t be satisfied with merely hanging in there. they have players who can score but the offense resembles a losing team in the ymca gym. yes, they had open shots last night. not because of any great offensive scheme however. it is because the celtics played like garbage too. as a few people already said….why the hell can’t lebron ever get the ball in the post? because mike brown has the imagination of a turd! that is why! is there a coach in the nba who is slower to make adjustments than mike brown? this is the anti-triangle offense designed to put as much pressure on lebron as possible.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I don’t understand, why should Garnett even need to be double-teamed? I was under the impression a guy like Garnett was the very reason Ferry acquired former four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallets, so Wallets could guard the other teams’ best big guy during the playoffs. Well, it’s now the playoffs.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Biff- The denizens of this blog are counting on you for insight.
How can you remain silent in the aftermath of the squandered opportunity from last night? You need to write a post-mortem, and help us work through our grief!
World
May 7th, 2008 at 11:32 am
By the way, what’s the deal with Bill Duke’s myriad of flamboyant granny spectacles? What color were those last night, flaming tangerine with a subtle hint of burnt orange? Who does this guy think he is, Elton John? Just coach the damn game, Coach, it’s a coach’s box, not a fashion show runway. The only thing sillier than Brown trying to color coordinate his glasses with his outfits is Digger Phelps trying to match his highlighters with his ties.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
it just boggles the mind that an entire 48 min game is played and lebron never once recieved the ball in the post or on back cuts . how does a 6′9″ 260 lbs man go the whole game without at least one post play ? why is he constantly starting his offense above the top of the key where he’s constantly being trapped ? was anything learn from the parts of mike brown or lebron james during the spurs series ? why only depend on lebron busting through the middle from the top for a score ? lebron seriously has to work on post moves and footwork this off season and brown has to find away to make him a threat from anywhere on the floor
May 7th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
It was an ugly, frustrating loss, but…one game does not a series make.
Lebron James and Mike Brown have proven to be very good at making adjustments after a game like last night’s.
And the Cavs have played some of the best basketball after falling behind in a playoff series. In fact, I’d argue that they seem to be at their best when playing from behind.
I still really like Cleveland’s chance to win this series.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
The game seemed much more intense than the Wizards series, on a possession-by-possession basis. Baskets will be hard to come by from now on, but the guards didn’t look overwhelmed and will do better as they adjust.
Wallace impressed me for much of the night, Z is still playing hard and LeBron will play great next game. I like the Cavs chances and think they’ll win in seven.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
That was hard to watch, unbelievable. For both teams. Not even Richard Gere, er, I mean Alan T was happy watching that - I hope ya didn’t take your own advice and bet against the Cavs. I’m glad you don’t draft our guys either, cuz we’d probably resemble a gay dance ensemble more than a basketball team. People would be like ‘The Cavs are thooooo hot!’
Lebron almost had a quadruple double, what else can you say? I expect a better show manana.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Nick, I’m sure you know the answers to your questions, and it all comes down to one buffoon in a suit.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Thank god I didn’t take Alan t’s bet…
LeBron had the worst playoff game of his career (though he came to having a quadruple double with turnovers assists rebounds and points). Pierce and Allen had junk games. I would just throw this game out the window. We didn’t really learn anything except that when LeBron, Ray, and Paul all suck, the game turns really ugly and either team has a good chance to win. Not much of an earth-shattering revelation there. Props to KG for being the only consistent “star” on the floor.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:15 am
mr. alan, people do not think you are funny anymore. so you could stop it with your deadpan jokes and concentrate on talking about the sport.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:19 am
oh yeah by the way the cavs will win this series and play the lakers in the finals. whats up with kg being voted number 2 in the mvp, that really sucked, he has two superstars around him. Lebron or paul should of been number 2, kobe got it and deserved it. i watched kobe make his bunnies last night against the jazz, and i said to mylelf, that if lebron makes his bunnies we would be much better off.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Let me preface my comment with this: KG is a great player. Now that that’s out of the way. It is easy for KG to be a “consistent” star when he was single teamed all night long. Unfair comparison to James in that regard. James was double and triple teamed constantly. Though James was awful offensively. Allen just didn’t shoot. He had a few good looks, too. Pierce never plays that well against the Cavs, but a lot of that that night goes to James, who singled Pierce all night long. Great defense by Lebron (he had to give something). But, maybe Pierce made James work so hard defensively that his offense suffered of epic proportions? Could be.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Kobe has some pretty good palyers around him, too. Lebron can only dream of having that kind of help. Maybe one day.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:29 am
World:
I watched the game and have some thoughts but have been too busy to post. All I will say is this: I didn’t think game 1 was really Mike Brown’s fault. The only thing I would really question is not having a double-team ordered in the chance that Smith would have to guard Garnett on that last crucial possession. Other than that….I mean what can you say? Lebron has to play better. If Lebron has a C+ game, they win going away.
I just don’t think the rest of the series will go like this. At some point, the Cavs have to lose by 15 in the garden. I just hope it’s not game 2. Tonight is really a must win.
I will have more complete thoughts after game 2.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
What seemed to go completely overlooked by the national pundits was the impact of Lebron picking up his fourth foul early in the second half of Game 1. Before that happened Lebron was making up for a poor shooting night by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. After he picked up his fourth foul though James was relgated to shooting jump shots for much of third and fourth quarters. That was a *huge* advantage for Boston and the real difference in the game in my opinion.
Defense and rebounding are a given for the Cavs under Mike Brown, so these are my keys to victory tonight:
-Lebron stays out of foul trouble. (Yes, it’s that simple)
-The trio of West, Gibson and Szczerbiak must combine to shoot in the 45-50% range. The were 30% (9 of 30) in Game 1
May 8th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
[...] EmptyTheBench.com - Sports News, Fantasy Sports, NBA Games, NFL Players wrote an interesting post today on Game ugly, LeBron uglier as Celtics take 1Here’s a quick excerptGame ugly, LeBron uglier as Celtics take 1 May 6th, 2008 Celtics 76, Cavs 72 –The Cavs shot 31 percent, LeBron James probably had the worst playoff game of his career, and they were playing on the floor of the No. 1 seed. The Cavs having a chance to tie the game with 20 seconds left is pretty remarkable. Then, the other side of the things is Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were as bad as LeBron on offense and the Celtics got away with 23 turnovers in a game they easily could’ve lost. So what do yo [...]
May 13th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
[...] Windhorst, Akron Beacon Journal: "A big moment in the game was when Mike Brown put Joe Smith in for Ben Wallace on offense with 50 seconds left. That made sense at the time, but it backfired when the Celtics didn’t called timeout after Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ tip in that tied the game. The Celtics went right to Kevin Garnett, who made a great move for the go ahead layup. Wallace played pretty good tonight, he made Garnett get most of his points shooting jumpers and that is something they’ll live with. Maybe he couldn’t have stopped that move, either. But you’d rather have Wallace in there than Smith at that point. Z could’ve come over to double, which was what they were doing with him, as soon as he saw him make his move but he didn’t." [...]