Post-mortem: Magic 116, Cavs 114
Here’s what I don’t get. The Cavaliers held the Magic’s Dwight Howard reasonably in check with 17 points in regulation and then he explodes for 10 points in overtime. There’s the difference if you asked me.
The Cavaliers had the chance to pick their poison and those chose to keep eyes fixed on the Magic’s three-point shooters. In the process, they had to leave Howard with only one guy on him and the center ate whomever that player happened to be.
The Cavaliers had their chances in this one down to the final seconds, but overall there are reasons why this one went out the window.
Offensively, the Magic shot 50 percent from overall in the game and 44.7 percent from the three-point line. They’ve shot over 40 percent in 3-of-4 games in the series. In the process they’ve held the Cavs to under 40 percent from the arc in all four games.
For some inexplicable reason after the first half they reverted to form in this game relying on LeBron James to do everything on offense. That first half? Balance. The second? Not so much.
Mo Williams once again shot under 35 percent and the Cavs got hammered on bench points 26-14.
What’s left? Reality. The Cavs have a less than 4 percent chance to pull this out if you look back to prior NBA seven-game series where one team led 3-1. Right now, the season of One Goal is on the verge of collapsing, forcing the Cavs to look to question parts of the team they once viewed as strengths.
First half: Cavs 58, Magic 50
Mike Brown has opened up his bench just a little bit by giving Daniel Gibson some significant minutes.
There’s plenty to like in this half so far. First the Magic are getting leads and the Cavaliers are beating them back and in doing so, grab much needed momentum.
In a stretch of the second quarter they held the Magic scoreless for a five minute stretch. In another portion of the game, they outscored the Magic 9-2 to take a lead.
There’s a distinct difference in the way the offense is unfolding as the Cavaliers look to have some semblance of rhythm going. While LeBron James is still the team’s leading scorer with 17, this time aroucn he is getting significant help from Willaims – who is still struggling from the floor but has 12 points – Delonte West with nine points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas with six each. Furthermore, the Cavs are beating them on the fastbreak 15-9 and in the paint, 24-20.
Gibson has provided a big lift hitting two three point shots in the half. What are the Cavs doing right? Defensively they’re still pestering Howard without committing dumb fouls. Most notably, they held Rashard Lewis, who has been the Magic’s leading scorer, to just four points in the half.
First quarter: Cavs 25, Magic 21
Some nice defense and a cold hand helped the Cavs jump to a modest lead in the quarter as the Magic shoots just 40 percent for the quarter, including a stretch where they miss nine consecutive shots. Unfortunately, the Cavs could better capitalize on the situation as they missed their own share in the period’s final minutes.
Game: Cavs vs. Magic – Eastern Conference Finals Game 2
Broadcast: TV: TNT. Radio: WAKR (1590 AM); WTAM (1100 AM), WHBC (1480 AM).
Starters: Cavs: LeBron James (F); Anderson Varejao (F); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G). Magic: Hedo Turkoglu (F); Rashard Lewis (F); Dwight Howard (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G)
Injured-inactive: Cavs: J.J. Hickson, Lorenzen Wright. Magic: Jameer Nelson.
Pre-game observations:
Some say the Cavs made progress defensively the other night. I won’t disagree with that. I still see a team that’s overmatched right now and hasn’t shown itself to be otherwise. For anyone who has read what I’ve written in the paper about Delonte West, you know I admire his play – offensively and defensively, but having him have to contend with Turkoglu, a guy he gives seven inches to may be bit much.
The Cavs need to put it together offensively tonight and that doesn’t mean the LeBron James Show. That means Mo Williams West have to hit from the outside and Ilgauskas has to maintain some semblance of consistency.
Defensively they have to slow the Magic down. The key to their offense, other than their ability to execute the pick-and-roll and their inside-outside game is to not allow Cavs to get back on defense and set up.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
putting ben wallace on rashard lewis at the end of the 4th was inexcusable. it’s time for mike brown to go the way of doug collins and rick carlisle so someone else can get this team a ring.
How do you double team Courtney Lee on the last inbound pass and let Lewis get the ball again (even though he missed one)?
Technically, Ilgauskas IS “maintaining some semblance of consistency.” Tell me what he isn’t doing now that is any different from any other game he has played over the course of the past 10 years, George. Don’t pretend he’s something he’s not, we’ve been force-fed enough of that by your apologist brethren for what seems like forever. He’s the exact same guy on the court he’s always been. You live with him, you die with him, he is who he is.
Besides, who really thinks James won’t win this series for Cleveland? They’ll be heavily favored tomorrow, I’m guessing by 8 or so, and they’ll again be favored when it goes back to Orlando. It doesn’t matter how much the individual talent on the roster actually sucks.
Alan,
I will bet $500 that they lose this series in Game 5. I will bet $1,500 that they lose this series in Game 6.
My boy cannot win playing one on five. No one else on this team has shown up, therefore the writing is on the wall.
Since 2003, they’ve won all their regular season and playoff games playing one on five, and this James is 10 times as good as the 2003 James. So unless somebody shoots him before the final buzzer, they’ll likely win, and Vegas knows it. I’d rather they lose the series because it would make for infinitely more compelling a story on so many levels, but I just can’t see it happening. He’s too much of a beast to lose, it’s like watching Moses Malone carrying the Rockets on his back in the playoffs in 1981. Too dominant, so what if the majority of his teammates are stiffs, doesn’t matter. I’ll be stunned if they lose another game.
i have to agree with alan here. orlando has played this series at a level they havent played all season – in a positive way. cleveland has played at a level they havent played all season – in a negative way. the X factor to even this thing up has been lebron. despite how amazing orlando has played and how poorly cleveland has played, the cavs could realistically have won games 1 and 4 just as easily as they lost. of course, they could have just as easily lost game 2. even game 3 was fairly close until the very end when it got to free throws. this series is 3-1 in favor of orlando but could just as easily be 3-1 in favor of cleveland. its maddening!
however, if orlando finally comes back down to earth even a little and if mo, et al. start making shots they have hit all year even a little, i dont see the cavs losing. the defensive issues are one thing that i dont know we can fix completely but they have done a decent job for the most part on that end. the defensive issues arent why they have been losing these games – its the offensive issues and the strange fact that guys are missing wide open shots they have made all year long. the defensive issues dont explain mo and delonte and everyone else missing wide open 3’s. if mo and delonte each hit one of those wide open threes in games 1 and 4 that they missed but have been making all year, cavs win both games.
Mike,
I’ve been saying the same thing. If Mo, Z, or Delonte shoots 40% in any of the games, they would have swept this series (Z was 5/9 last game, the lone exception).
They are folding under the pressure; now, with the season literally on the line, and the pressure at the highest level possible, how can you logically expect them to perform?
Z has performed poorly in all playoff series since 2006, so his struggles are par for the course, as alan noted above.
There’s not a big enough sample size on Mo or Delonte, but they too have struggled enough that you can’t expect it to turn around. Don’t get me started on Andy and the bench (Joe Smith, Gibson).
I want to believe, but I don’t see it happening.
You mean figuratively on the line. That always drives me even more nuts than I already am, when people refer to something that’s figurative as literal. If the season was literally on the line, it might appear something like this: http://xr.com/iwl