Cavs beat Wizards
Posted April 19th, 2008 by Pat McManamon
Random thoughts from the first game of this series … won by the Cavs.
Ben Wallace had his afro back. I walked by the locker room prior to the game and heard an animated scream from inside: "Ben Wallace is back." Wallace did not have a dramatic impact on the game, but he played well. Probably his best game in a week or two. He also was the first person to come to the side of LeBron James in James' late-first half altercation with Brendan Haywood.
Couple comments on that little brouhaha — James: "He was standing above me in a very disrespectful manner." Haywood: "I think it was an unfortunate incident. I felt I set a good screen on LeBron and they called a charge on it. I was trying to talk to (referee) Bob (Delaney) about the play and I guess I was over top of him and he got a little razzle-dazzled. That's how things go."
The Cavs got a big break in the fourth quarter when Anawn Jamison missed some open shots. Jamison missed three open and very makeable shots with the Cavs down 84-82.
What the heck is Anderson Varejao doing? His driving, spinning, twirling attempts at offense have got to stop.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a huge game. He was the team's offense in the first half, and he was the glue throughout the game. Z gets much credit for this win. Ilguaskas and Delonte West (great defense in the second half) gave James the help he needed. West was the subject of my column in Sunday's Beacon Journal.
DeShawn Stevenson heard it from the fans for his comment calling James "overrated." He then shot 1-for-9 while James pretty much lit him up, especially in the second half. Said James: "93-86 are the only words I need to say."
James may be fined by the NBA for his flagrant elbow of Andray Blatche after Blatche had knocked James down twice. Joe Smith called them "playoff fouls." James clearly was going to let the Wizards know he would not take things lightly. It was an important message to send — and if it didn't come from James someone else on the Cavs should have taken matters in their hands and sent a Washington player flying as he drove to the basket.
James called his alley-oop slam on the break in the first half "an emotional, electrifying play, not only for the team but for the fans." He continued: "I told Boobie to just throw the ball anywhere and I'll go get it. So he really took that literally." Amazing slam … at fullspeed.
Some closing comments —
Stevenson: "I'm going to do what I have to do to get under (James') skin and make it hard for him."
Wizards coach Eddie Jordan: "We have enough faith and belief in our system to say … we held them to 39 percent. We did a good job of rebounding. They won some skimishes but now we have to make some adjustments, not a lot because if we score on four or fve of those (last six) possessions, and get good looks, it's a different ballgame."
Mike Brown: "When (James) drives, it's a tough situation for him because he's such a big, strong man. When smaller guys drive, if they get bumped and they holler (officials) are making the call. When LeBron drives, he's getting hit, hit, hit and it's got to be a blow for the whistle to be called. Yes, he had 14 free throws, but if you go back and watch the tape, he's getting clobbered."
The Cavs have now won seven playoff games in a row over Washington.
