I didn't think much of the way the Cavs played Tuesday night. They struggled in an ugly game, but made enough plays to beat Detroit.
Mike Brown, though, loved the game.
"It was a good, ugly, physical grind-it-out type of game," Brown said.
Which clearly is not the kind of game that Dayana Mendoza would play at Guantanomo. (Did you know she also wrote this of Gitmo? "I didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful." The Miss Universe organization, such as it is, felt compelled to release a statement about the blog entry, and they also took the blog down. Wonder what Dayana will think of next week when she visits Abu Ghraib and San Quentin. Alas , we digress.)
Brown also said: "For us to come out with the win is a good win, especially playing that way."
And he said: "Just a fun, grind-it-out defensive game. That was fun."
OK, then.
Clearly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But when the Cavs win a game with defense, this coach is happy. And defense won this game for the Cavs — mainly thanks to LeBron James, who came up with key turnovers in the fourth quarter that led to key baskets, by James of course.
Detroit was left wondering. Allen Iverson moaned about his minutes. Rasheed Wallace earned a one-game suspension with his 16th technical. And the Pistons saw the Cavs pull away in the fourth quarter.
Detroit right now has the seventh playoff spot. If they finish eighth, they'll play the Cavs. And the way the game ended cannot have the Pistons feeling confident they can beat the Cavs. Because if the Cavs play like they can, they're simply a better team.
Three fun facts:
— The Cavs now are 16-1 in March.
— The Cavs won the season series with Detroit for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
— Since the All-Star break, the Cavs are 21-2.
