Celtics 96, Cavs 89
–When the Cavs lost Game 1 here it was a missed opportunity because they didn’t play as well as they could have and still nearly won. Tonight, I felt like they played pretty well and still were not able to win. They were not flawless by any stretch, they fell into some old habits, but you sort of get the impression that they just may not be able to beat the Celtics on the road. They got the game they needed from LeBron James tonight, the type of performance I thought would put them over the top. But it still wasn’t enough and it wasn’t close to enough. And it makes you wonder what would be enough.
–It would be a mistake to count the Cavs out of this series. They have an excellent chance to play well at home on Friday and force a Game 7. In those spots anything can happen, but the Cavs may have to play perfect to win here and I just wonder if they genuinely have it in them. The Celtics have a lot of firepower and their roles players play well at home and it makes it daunting. I still question whether the Celtics have enough poise to win the title, but when they are at home they are just flat better than the Cavs.
–LeBron was not transcendent tonight, but he was great. In the scope of this series, scoring 35 points on the road is akin to scoring like 45 or maybe more in a regular season game. He struggled for a bit in the third quarter and that is why it wasn’t one of his all-time greats. But that is my point, it seems like it will take an all-time great. He did only have five assists, which showed a Cavs weakness tonight. They had 11 assists and 16 turnovers, but that is what happens here. It is a flaw in their mentality and their offense, they just don’t handle pressure well a lot of the time. Three games is enough data to realize that.
–Two key moments in the game, Rajon Rondo hitting the two 3-pointers in the second quarter to start a 14-3 run and the three Cavs’ turnovers to start the third quarter. On Rondo, you are going to have to live with that. With the turnovers, that cannot happen if you are going to win this series. But it has happened consistently here.
–Otherwise, I actually feel like the Cavs did pretty well. The turnovers killed them, but their defense was strong for a lot of the game. I felt like their rotations were solid and so was their effort but Boston just got red hot and made great passes that beat it. At one point the Celtics made 19-of-28 shots. Kevin Garnett is making jumpers, he’s great when he’s making jumpers. Paul Pierce broke out, he’s an all-star, you had to figure it would happen.
–Doc Rivers did a nice job with Rondo by putting the ball more in his hands so it was hard for the Cavs to cheat off him. Then Rondo was aggressive in driving. I thought this was going to be a major problem at the beginning of this series because when Rondo got in the lane in the regular season it killed the Cavs’ defense. Tonight he was comfortable and aggressive and Delonte West and Daniel Gibson could handle it. That is a weakness of theirs at times. Rondo also threw in some crazy floaters and that’s going to happen for guys like him at home. West worked hard to challenge him at the other end and played well. Rondo was just better tonight.
–I’ve heard from some people who think free throw shooting was a factor. I say not really. The Cavs shot just a little below their average and LeBron and West were a combined 21-of-26. So Andy Varejao missed some, he does that, that’s why he was fouled. Didn’t decide the game. The Celtics shooting 62 percent in the second or third quarters did.
–After the game, LeBron made a little proclamation: “A LeBron James team is never desperate.” I sort of differ on that one, but his point is fair. There’s no doubt that he has personal confidence going and if the Cavs play they way they did at home in Games 3 and 4 on Friday then there is a lot more interesting basketball left. But the Cavs now have no room for error and this team makes a lot of mistakes even in the best of times.
Recap:
Pregame
Starting lineups
Cavs: Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Celtics: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins
Officials
Ron Garrettson, Tony Brothers, Dan Crawford
–This could be a memorable game. I feel like this is a must win game for the Celtics for so many reasons. I don’t think they win in Cleveland if they’ve lost three straight. I think there’s pressure from both sides. And watching LeBron this morning and before the game I get the sense that he’s confident and locked in. It’s not an exact science, but when he’s like this he often has big games.
–The Cavs role players need to make shots tonight. Nobody has to score 25, but West, Wally or Daniel Gibson need to make some shots to take the pressure off. Also, LeBron doesn’t need to score 40 for the Cavs to win. If he scores 30, in this series, it would be highly impactful.
–I wouldn’t be surprised if Doc Rivers makes some changes to his rotation tonight, maybe giving Tony Allen or even Eddie House some playing time. I don’t know how much longer he can trust Sam Cassell.
–The game plan for the Cavs is the same it has been all series up here. They need to keep it close going into the fourth. Absorb the runs and deal with the fans, who are very, very loud here. When the Celtics get up 10-15 points they are almost impossible to come back on at home.
Halftime — Cavs 46, Celtics 43
–The Cavs played a strong first half for the most part. Obviously LeBron is finding a comfort on offense. He’s attacking from different angels and making multiple moves to get to the basket plus his jumper is working the best it has in the series. Defensively the rotations have been good and for the most part the Celtics have been taking the shots the Cavs want them too.
–Paul Pierce is also getting going and in general the Celtics are moving the ball better. They are just not getting many open looks. But I do think Pierce is forcing things a little bit, which may come back to to hurt him later in the game.
–I don’t think the Cavs are playing great offense. They are shooting at a high percentage, but they have just six assists on 16 baskets. They are doing a good job attacking and they’ve gotten 14 free throw attempts. A little too much dribbling, which may come back to bite them. Also, they have turned the ball over 12 times is a big reason they are not up more.
–Expect this game to be skin tight heading down the stretch, we’ll see if LeBron can be the differencemaker.
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what plays josh?????? what plays????? variations of the pick and roll are the only plays they run on a regular basis.
secondly, if the coach can’t get the players to run the “plays” then that coach needs to go. get a coach that will be a coach and not a “partner” to lebron. no more excuses for potato brown! he needs to hit the road.
Gibson is fragile. He’s basically a slightly better version than Larry Hughes.
Josh (sabo?), I wasn’t espousing the benching of LeBron for long periods of time, just that his shot selection has significantly hindered the Cavalier chances at this series. The role players and Mike Brown’s defense are the only reasons this series wasn’t a 4-0 sweep.
Nobody complained about Mike Brown’s offense in games 3 and 4… Seems that the only time people complain is when they lose.
Damona in a Pink Fedora riding in with force majora. He
can shoot but can he scorea.?
Gibson should be locked in the weight room this summer.
weights are for suckers!
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/worlds-tallest-dog-p1.php
Wow is this a Cav’s fan convention?
If Boobie were as tall as that dog the Cavs would be set with 7-foot jump shooters, alan.
alright all you dsruptive twits in blog land, i am about to speak to read up. THE CAVS WILL WIN THIS SERIES, yes i said it and i am done with it…..althought we do suck as a team i still got a feeling that they will win on emotions tonight and on sunday Lebron will have on of those games they will be talking about on espn all week.
“It’s a shame to see someone with such a high Basketball IQ stubbornly jacking up outside contested jumpers”
But they haven’t been contested, Douglar. He just can’t hit the ocean from a row boat. They are giving him anything outside of 18 feet. You have a very good point in criticizing some of his shot selection, though. Too many 3 pointers.
I’m torn about the 3 pt. shots. They aggravate me but if LeBron could hit a couple in a row and things would open up all over.
Thoughts on the Cavs loss to the Celtics:
- The Cavs got too lackadaisical in the middle of the 2nd Quarter (Joe Tait calls it “admiring their handiwork”), Boston was able to make some big shots to swing the momentum, and by the time the Cavs recovered, the lead was gone, the crowd was into it, and the Celtics were in command.
- Once that happened, the game played out the way you would expect. With the crowd behind them, guys like Rondo and Glen Davis are able to make tough shots they usually miss. I don’t think the Cavs’ defense was that poor in the 4th Quarter, they were just getting burned by tough shots late in the shot clock and bad bounces for offensive rebounds.
- Rondo’s two 3-pointers were pivotal in the game. This came from a guy who made 5 3-pointers *all season*. That’s not bad defense, that’s a good decision that turned out poorly.
- Really wish Wally would have made his open 3 that would have cut the Celtics lead to 3 with under a minute left. Things would have been really interesting after that.
- I like how Delonte West gives the Cavs a lot of energy and hustle. But I hate how Rondo was blowing by him consistently last night. He just doesn’t have the quickness to guard opposing point guards.
- The missed free throws hurt, but they weren’t the difference. They made a bad thing worse when the Cavs were having trouble scoring, but a handful of missed free throws weren’t the reason they got outscored 43-20 in that pivotal stretch to end the 2nd Quarter through the end of the 3rd Quarter.
- I don’t want to hear another word about changing the rotation. The Cavs beat the Celtics twice at home using the same rotation that was employed in Game 5. There’s no reason to think that the Celtics have figured it all out, and there’s no reason to change to something new just because the Cavs lost Game 5. So no more calls for more Devin Brown, no more calls for Joe Smith to play at small forward, no more talking about playing zone defense. If the Cavs play their game, they can beat the Celtics at home. There isn’t any magic that’s going to help them beat the Celtics.
- With Gibson out, I expect Mike Brown to use Damon Jones in his place. And maybe he’ll do just fine. But the fact of the matter is that he has the exact same skill set as Gibson, only he’s not as good. Finding minutes for him when Gibson was healthy didn’t make any sense. Now that Gibson is out, I expect Brown to give his minutes to Damon in hopes that the falloff isn’t too great.
- Finally, while I think the Cavs can win this series, if they lose it won’t be a horrific failure. The Celtics are a good team. They are more talented than the Cavaliers, and they are deeper than the Cavaliers. If the Cavs win, it will be a huge upset. Let’s give the Celtics some credit, and admit that the Cavs have done a very solid job just keeping up with them so far. A loss in this series won’t mean that LeBron James sucks, or that Mike Brown is a terrible coach, or anything else that extreme.
Go Cavs. I’ll be as loud as anybody at the Q tonight. Let’s make this series a classic.
Mike C.
Mike C., with respect to your second to last paragraph, I guessing that’s the same tact the Terry Plutos of Northeast Ohio will take, too. But that would be complete baloney. I’m assuming the series will go seven games. So if the Cavaliers lose the series in seven, will you also argue the Cavaliers are on the level of the Hawks?
The Cavaliers still having a fighter’s chance of winning the series simply because of James. He’s that freakin’ good, and teams focus so much on him and he causes everybody else to be wide-open. Which is the exact same thing we’ve been saying for years. But this shouldn’t be the case, he should have consistent dependable help by now. Guys like Scottie Pippen and James Worthy didn’t show up to play one game out of every five, did they? Even bench guys on the downsides of their careers, like Bob McAdoo, showed up to play every game. But at least Damon Jones will get the opportunity to do something with James besides that retarded ridiculous patty-cake jiggle and dance.
I wonder if James can successful sue Ferry in court. LeBron seems to hold his own in that vitamin water commercial.
Mike Brown is awesome, I’ve been preaching this for three years now! Sure he didn’t do anything in the second half that was working in the first like putting LeBron in the post. Sure he kept running the same pick n roll 8 straight possesions and the Celtic D kept jumping it. Sure he kept setting picks for LeBron when he doesn’t need one because he can blow by anyone without one. Sure his assistant coaches don’t do a damn thing. But you know what, they can play defense, so he’s an awesome coach?
Hey, I know I’m only a B-minus actor and a C-minus coach, but have you seen my new pants in the playoffs?
20% baggier, yo!
I give that type of improvement an A-plus anytime.
Larry D. You said it yourself. IF he’s hitting them, then by all mean shsoot away young man. However, he hasn’t.
My prediction for tonight…
Cavs 87
Celtics 79
Leborn will score 25 and have a triple double. Rack it.
Biff – Now is NOT the time to go into a shell. Now, more than ever, your insight is needed to navigate a convoluted world. We, in CavsNation are confused and frightened!
Mark Price- You seem most bitter. Why be bitter if a long playoff run was a long-shot to begin with? I know you live in Boston, and it must be painful to hear the talking heads every morning on the radio, but all hope was lost when we won the Wizards series, and Mike Brown likely secured himself at least another year…
-World
terje…
Do you realize how out of touch you sound? Do you realize that most teams in the NBA who have a star run the “feed the star” offense and get out of the way? Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich… doesnt matter, they all do it. If you can find a coach with telekinetic powers who can hypnotize an entire team for whole games, by all means, let’s hire him. Facts are, he doesnt exist.
I know you suffer from selective memory, but the 90’s Bulls didnt run a complex offense that inspired the genius required to split an atom… the “Triangle Offense” was simple. Enter the ball to a big guy, have the big guy pass or hand the ball off to the guy wearing #23, and get out of the way while he destroys anyone who dares to guard him. Go watch those 90’s teams, I dare you. It wasnt much different than anything teams run nowadays, Cavs included.
Jordan did one of three things while running the Bulls’ “complex system”: attack the rim with a vengeance, pass the ball when the double came to a spotted-up 3 point shooter, or pull up and drain an 18-footer over the top of the defense. That should sound familiar, and it was unstoppable, remember? But NOT UNTIL JORDAN DEVELOPED THAT JUMPER. When LeBron does that, the offense is going to look great, and people will laude Mike Brown as a guru. That’s the NBA, my friend. Every coach is a complete doofus until his superstar figures it out and dominates every game. Then, he’s Phil Jackson.
There isnt a better coach out there, so why fight it? Mike Brown is a fit for this team, and to fire him would be outright insane when you look at his record. The bottom line is, the Cavs need better players, and that pressure falls squarely on the shoulders of Danny Ferry.
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