—Hate losing Joe Smith. Guys like him don’t come along often. Consummate pro. But … as they say … whoever they are … you got to give something to get something. Besides, I'm an old fuddy-duddy who takes a liking to guys like Smith. It's why GMs are hired to make decisions and the decisions are not left to sentimental old fart sportswriters.
—Nice to hear that Mo Williams has worked with Daniel Gibson in the offseason and acted as a bit of a mentor. Friendship does make the heart grow fonder.
—Think this helps Wally Szczerbiak?
—Poor Joe Smith. Guy does everything anyone can ask. Works hard. Fills his role. Contributes. Did a tremendous job in the playoffs. Now he goes to Oklahoma City. Sheesh, Toto, this just does not seem right.
—Clearly the Cavs are not afraid to spend money. Williams brings $43 million in future contracts with him.
—I wish he’d be described as a pass-first point guard, but at the same time the Cavs may have solved two problems in one trade. They got a guy who can handle the ball, penetrate AND score. Not bad.
—Hope the Cavs do not lose Delonte West. He’s a good player. And he’s an American original.
—That’s three pretty good guards to play in different tandems – West, Gibson and Williams.
—The Szczerbiak-Sasha Pavlovic influence seems to be waning a bit, does it not?
—The Cavs are being quiet, but they must like first-round draft pick J.J. Hickson. A lot.
—They also must have high hopes for Anderson Varejao. He has to be better this season than he was at the end of last.
—Anyone besides me remember Ben Wallace playing so well in the fourth quarter of Game 7 in Boston? Guy stood up to Kevin Garnett. Actually got jaw to jaw with one of the great talkers in the NBA. How refreshing was it to see that from a player from Cleveland? As Toby Keith might say, Ben is not as good as he once was, but he’s as good once as he ever was.
—Final verdict on the trade: The Cavs gave up a guard who was not going to contribute and a good guy on the frontline but a guy who also is 33 with shaky knees. They got a 25-year-old point guard who can score. It’s a plus.
—Yes, strong stands like that one are what this blog is all about.

I’m going to offer some comments here on Game 7, yet another disappointment for Cleveland fans in Boston. (I’m really getting tired of hearing those people celebrate; to teach them a lesson I’m not spending any of my hard-earned tourist money there for the foreseeable future. That’ll teach them, eh?) In thinking about the game, there really isn’t anyone to “blame” per se. The Cavs just lost. Some might say Boston is a better team; I’m not convinced. But they won, so they get to gloat. Me, I think once the Cavs got it to one they were looking right at the chance to win. But LeBron James missed a three, Delonte West missed a three and P.J. Brown got between James and the basket on a drive. And Brown made a 20-foot jumper. Sheesh. How do these things happen to Cleveland teams? Boston did enough late to win, which made the difference. Yes, a better start helps. But the Cavs still had things close late, and had a chance to win. They just didn’t get it finished.

A lot was made of the LeBron James-Paul Pierce duel, and it was special and James was outstanding. But I don’t think this was one of James’ greatest-ever games. That might sound nuts given he had 45 points, but he spent a lot of time dribbling and/or running high pick-and-rolls while the rest of the team stood and waited for him. I don’t know why sometimes there is opposition to moving the ball and running a motion offense. The NBA seems to think it won’t work. I don’t know why. But one of the things that has to be explained about this team – at least internally — is what stops the offense. Is it James who decides he’s going to win or lose on his own, or is it that the plays called are those isolations? I feel like it might be more of the former. James knows he’s the best player on the court, and at times he just waves folks away and points out the spot to set the pick. You can see the rest of the team just stop what they’re doing and go to their assigned places. I maintain James is the best player in the NBA right now, that no other player in the league could have gotten his team as far as James did. So I guess the question is would they be better if the offense moved the ball more, or would they have been worse because James would have played a lesser role? I think we know how LeBron feels. All this being said, short of making one last three I don’t know how much more anyone could have asked from James in this game, this postseason and this season. The guy is an amazing player and mature beyond his years.

In general, Mike Brown had a good game. I did raise my eyebrows at two moves he made. One was a one-minute stretch in the second quarter when both LeBron and Z went to the bench. In that time, Boston scored five unanswered points. Which turned out to be the margin of victory. The Cavs had Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace on the floor at that time, and it was a lost lineup. That minute hurt, but I have to figure LeBron asked for a quick minute of rest. Doesn’t make sense otherwise. The other was playing Pavlovic so much. But then you realize that Wally Szczerbiak gave the Cavs next to nothing. Brown wasn’t going to play Devin Brown, for whatever reason, so the minutes went to Pavlovic, who looked rusty and lost on offense but did contribute on defense. I think that’s why he played almost 35 minutes. I think. I mean … it sure wasn't his offense.

Paul Pierce had not done much prior to Game 7, and the Boston writers were astute in pointing out that Pierce’s series would have been the story had Ray Allen not played so miserably. Pierce showed something in the last game, though, making some very tough shots over James, who actually played pretty good defense on him. It was Pierce’s night.

At one point in the third quarter, James took a three right in front of the Celtics bench. Eddie House stood up next to James and made a motion as if he was going to block the shot. House was not in the game at the time, and he was not the only one to stand. Two or three other Boston players did as well. A Boston writer next to me remarked that House shouldn’t be allowed to do that. James obviously didn’t think so either. He turned and had some words for the bench. The Celtics of my youth back in the mid 1880s stood for good, clean, hard basketball. Not for silly things like pretending you’re going to block a shot when you’re not in the game. This action was rather un-Celtic, I’d have to say.

LeBron James got away with some calls in Game 7 – especially when he grabbed Pierce’s jersey. At least he was in the game at the time and not reaching from the bench.

Wally Szczerbiak had a quote to the effect that Boston did not let him or the Cavs do what they wanted. This flashed me back to the first year Steve Spurrier was coach at Florida. A quarterback threw a corner route, and it appeared to be overthrown. But Spurrier said the receiver claimed he was held coming out of his break. Spurrier told him if he wanted to get the ball he wouldn’t have let the guy hold him. Seems like if Szczerbiak wanted to get in the offense, he wouldn’t have let himself be thrown off. The play when Eddie House caught up to him and outran him down the floor and set up a Szczerbiak foul kind of epitomized Wally’s game.

James walked off the court head high, but clearly upset. He did not take part in the traditional postgame handshake at midcourt, and when he was in the locker room he looked as down as many had ever seen him – especially those who have been around him a lot. I don’t know if he was just mad, if he was thinking “what more can I do” or if he was thinking the Cavs should have won. He was just upset, and you can’t really blame him.

A couple weeks back ESPN Magazine wrote this of the Cavs trades: “The fresh blood was welcomed, but trying to work so many guys into a nine-man rotation so late in the season would have been tough enough without all the injuries that disrupted chemistry.”That’s true. And given the difficulty of overhauling the roster in midseason, perhaps we should look at it that the Cavs did quite a job stretching the Celtics to the limit given everything they fought through. And given the Cavs were that close to winning. Disappointing, but it sure indicates how good James is, what playing defense means and that the disappointment of losing should not overshadow the things that were accomplished.

More on the Cavs and the offseason as the week goes on ….

I got the feeling the Celtics were plenty miffed about the way the game was officiated. Doc Rivers made a fleeting reference to it in his news conference, and Paul Pierce made another reference to it. Then the Associated Press story on the game had this paragraph: “'Tell the refs to do the interview. They were just as important,' an angry Rivers shouted at a team official as he walked back from the postgame news conference." … Kind of a little giveaway that he was not happy.

This is a time where the Cavs’ “no excuses” policy comes in handy. If the Celtics dwell on the refs prior to Game 7 it’s not a good thing. For them to spend so much time hinting or making reference to bad calls … well they’re looking for an excuse. As if to say it is not possible for them to lose to this team from Cleveland, there must be a reason. There’s plenty of bad calls to go around. Talking about refs makes for good copy and good blogiosity (is there such a word?), but it doesn’t help a team reach the East Finals.

The past two games, the Celtics have taken 36 free throws, the Cavs 66. That is a huge disparity. In Game 6 alone, LeBron James took two more free throws (15) than the entire Celtics team. With James, it seems that nothing is right. He takes the ball to the basket and reacts to getting hit in the face – “Nobody likes to get hit in the face,” one former player said – and he’s acting. He takes the ball to the basket and fouls are called and the team that fouls cries. The two games were in two venues with two different officiating crews. There is a reason for the disparity, and it’s not bad calls (though I do think the offensive foul on Paul Pierce in the final minute was a gift to the Cavs). The reason is the Cavs are getting to the hoop, especially James, who has taken 28 free throws the last two games. He’s made 24 of them. As for the Celtics being upset, it would seem that the No. 1 seed in the East, a team that won 66 games, would be above blaming the officiating. That they would just go out and win the game.

Go figure Wally Szczerbiak missing nine of his first 10 shots, then making a vitally important three-pointer late in the Cavs win. One thing about Szczerbiak – he’s going to keep shooting. … The Damon Jones experiment, which I advocated … didn’t go well. Jones missed two shots and watched Eddie House go right around him in his three minutes. I’m thinking we might not see him again unless a big shot is needed at crunch time. … Oh, there were times LeBron went into his dribble-dribble, hold-the-ball act. That can’t happen in Boston. The Cavs have to do better. Szczerbiak’s shot was a good one only because it went in.

This might have been the definition of an ugly game. The Cavs shot 32.9 percent, the Celtics 39.7 percent. In eight quarters of play (four for each team), the only time either team topped 20 points was the Cavs in the second quarter. Boston never scored more than 20 points in a quarter (18, 15, 17 and 19). But the Cavs are a defensive team and defensive teams don’t mind ugly games because they are forcing the other team to shoot poorly. At least that’s the theory.

The offensive foul on Pierce – bad call. Period.

The Cavs are not shooting well this series – 41.8 percent. But the Celtics are struggling too. Boston is shooting 42.1 percent. Really, they’ve only shot well in one quarter – the third in Game 5 when they went 12-for-16. Take away that quarter and the Celtics are worse than the Cavs at 40.6 percent.

Can the Cavs win Game 7 in Boston. Well we could list 28 reasons why they can’t, from the ghosts in the Garden to Larry Bird to Bill Russell to home-court (there is a reason it means something) to waking up at home to more familiarity with the lights to the hot dogs that are served. But there is one reason why the Cavs can win. That one reason is LeBron James. If I’m a Cavs fan, I’m not unhappy taking my chances with that.

Hate to make LeBron angry, but Wally Szczerbiak did say the Cavs are now “desperate.” I’m sure he didn’t mean it.

I thought the Cavs really let the Celtics back in the game late in the first half and in the third quarter, but the more I think about it the more I think the Celtics went and took the game and the Cavs didn’t stand up to them until it was too late. Cleveland led 43-29, then saw Rajon “Bingo Smith” Rondo hit consecutive threes. This is not supposed to happen. Rondo made five threes the entire regular season, so you figure if the Cavs are going to let anyone shoot a three it would be Rondo. He did, and he made them, and that was a problem because it gave the Celtics momentum. Then Paul Pierce took a last-second shot in the first half that bounced up and down on the rim a few times before dropping. Momentum, Boston. Of course the Cavs helped by starting the second half in a daze. And at that point Boston attacked. As James said, “They turned up the pressure.” The Cavs did not answer … and by the time they did it was too late. So this loss was not just a case of the Cavs not doing things well, it was also a case of Boston taking the game.

I think the Celtics had a little discussion at halftime and it went this way: “Man we stunk for a while. … We were losing bad to these guys. … Hey, if we lose we’re down 3-2 … Really? … Yep … Heck with that.” They started the second half like they were storming the Bastille.

Could the Cavs have won? Sure they could have won. But when you’re on the road against the top seed in the East you can’t do silly things like turn the ball over on three consecutive possessions and miss free throws and take a few minutes off. Pretty quick recipe for disaster there, and that’s what happened.

It was kind of amazing how LeBron James got to the rim in the first half. For whatever reason, Boston wasn’t cutting him off like it had in previous games. So he took advantage with some fantastic finishes – and 23 first-half points. The Celtics sure changed that in the second half. Every time James went to the rim he was cut off by a ravaging horde of Mongol warriors … err … Celtics. Evidently, they got their “rotations” correct. Had to be it. “Rotations.” Those things are important in basketball anymore. Rotations. R-o-t-a-t-i-o-n-s. Rotations.

Kevin Garnett had a pretty large game with 26 points and 16 rebounds. As did Rajon Rondo (20 points, 13 assists). A few folks – notably Kenny Smith on TNT – said after Game 4 that the Celtics were frontrunners, that they could win when ahead but did not have the ability or wherewithal to come back when behind. The Celtics did not disprove that statement because they pretty much were ahead in the second half. And in fact, they came kind of close to giving the game away.

Got on the Boston T after the game – that’s the subway system, the same one where fans were singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” after the ALCS in October and I had to listen to that celebration then and it’s still in my mind, or what there is of a mind – and sitting in the same car was former Celtics standout Cedric Maxwell. He’s now the Celtics radio analyst. For some reason it seemed comforting to be on the same subway as Cedric Maxwell after the game. A few kids referred to him as Mr. Maxwell, which would have made Bob Knight proud I’m sure.

Happened to be sitting in the press room when the Celtics cheerleaders walked out of their dressing room down the hall in their short shorts and tiny tops. Some might call this fortuitous, but that’s a topic for another blog. At one point, they all stood in a circle and the cheerleader coach or organizer or den mother or whatever she’s called told them: “Have a good game girls.” They did not put hands together, though, and chant one-two-three-win. Walked by the same coach at halftime doing an interview (interview?) and she was saying how her squad likes to dial it up for the playoffs just like the team. She didn’t use dial it up, but the point was the same. So glad to know the cheerleading squad was prepared.

Delonte West struggled guarding Rajon Rondo, but did have 21 points, four steals and four assists. Daniel Gibson left with a shoulder contusion. Be tough if he’s at all limited in Game 6.

Some postgame quotes:

Z: “I think (they were) more aggressive, forced the turnovers. Really got into our bodies, took us out of our offensive sets. We just couldn’t run anything. A couple times the shot clock went down and we threw up a couple prayers. Really, they were the aggressors.”

Garnett: “The beginning of the third, man, we started with a lot of defensive energy and that’s pretty much it, man. I thought we weren’t as aggressive as we should have been in the fourth, in the late fourth, but for the most part we had high energy to begin the half.”

Ray Allen: “Close out games are always the hardest. The team is going to fight, the building is going to be behind them. You just have to go in there doing the small things and the overall big thing of being aggressive with that defensive energy.”

Doc Rivers: “I just thought we were not playing very well. LeBron was playing great and I knew that at some point we would play well. Like I said, we will need to win a game when LeBron plays great. I don’t think he has been playing poorly to begin with.”

LeBron James: “Can’t get outscored by 12 on the road and turn the ball over like we did in the third quarter. As a team we didn’t turn the ball over a lot, but when we did they made us pay for it.”
Mike Brown: “We didn’t do the things necessary defensively and again we let their aggression bother us.”

That's all well and good, but things are not looking good at all right now. They usually don't after a blowout. But the Cavs have not shown they are able to cope with Boston's defense. Their offense that was so fluid in Game 6 against Washington has disappeared. I think it starts with James' offensive struggles. It's not fair to put it all on him, but as he goes so go the Cavs. There is no other standout player to turn to if he struggles. And in Game 2 the Cavs didn't even turn to the guy who played a standout game. Zyrdunas Ilguaskas made his first six shots in the first quarter. He took six shots the rest of the game. That's not smart basketball, and it stands out because when Z was getting the ball early the Cavs were moving the ball. When they stopped moving the ball, he stopped getting it. The Cavs played well the first quarter, but let it all go away the second. They can't afford that kind of quarter against Boston. The Celtics are too good.

Lot of theories why James has had such a miserable offensive two games, why he's shooting 8-for-42, which is less than 20 percent. It seems to me that the Celtics throw some long-armed big guys at James, and that Kevin Garnett or whoever "spies" behind the defender. James might get by James Posey or Paul Pierce, but when he does Garnett or Kendrick Perkins or Leon Powe is waiting. James said it's because the Celtics have "athletic bigs," which is better than having athletic supporters obviously. Those athletic bigs do not let James beat the "second line of defense," he said. He's got a point, as he usually does. When he goes for some of these layups, a big guy is there, and James has really struggled getting the ball to the hoop, much less in the basket. I said it in Friday's Beacon Journal, and I say it here: If the Cavs do not find a way to get James going, the series is over.

What else are the Celtics doing? Let's let the players talk. Ray Allen: "We forced him into zones where we wanted him to score, where we thought it was best for our defense." Kendrick Perkins: "Just making sure he can't turn the corner. We want him taking contested twos." Zydrunas Ilgauskas: "When he gets past somebody they have bigs there and they're making it tough for him to shoot."

Z did a good job explaining the Cavs offense, which has scored 72 and 73 points, which is pretty brutal. "We're in the wrong spots," he said. Which is not good. "We are just in the wrong spots sometimes," he said. "We have bad shots sometimes. We have not been a very good offensive team." No argument here.

Boston took 38 free throws. Does that not seem like a huge number?

The Celtics being the Celtics, they pass out a sheet prior to game-time describing what has happened on this date in Celtics history. The first item the day of Game 2 read: "An Arizona newspaper reports that Dennis Johnson and Johnny High used cocaine when playing with the Phoenix Suns. Johnson denies the report at a press conference. Boston loses to Milwaukee 126-121 in OT, as a fan taunts McHale into a fight." Safe to say of the many things one expected to read from the long and storied history of the Boston Celtcis, that particular item was not one of them.

Just saw on ESPN that James' two-game shooting performance is the worst by a guy with at least 30 shots in two playoff games since 1948. Where do they come up with this stuff?

James has missed all 10 of this threes. Can this really continue?

At one point in his press conference, James said (and the wording comes right from the quotes sheets handed out post-interviews): "We tried to get (me the ball) in some DHL shakes … I don’t know if you know what that is." Of course every reporter in the room nodded knowingly as if he or she had actually designed the DHL shake.

Wally Szczerbiak said James is frustrated. "He's gotta be frustrated," Wally World said. "He's such a good player and he has so much on his shoulders that sometimes it's really tough on him." James said he's not frustrated. "I'm more frustrated with the turnovers I’ve had more than anything," he said. Those turnovers number 17. Hard to believe this will continue all series. But I repeat: If it does, series over and time to go fishing with Charles Barkely.

By the way, will the 10 folks who did not vote for LeBron James as first-team All-NBA declare themselves?

Put it another way: Jordan's statements are clearly no more inflammatory than James saying "No" when asked if the Wizards could get back in the series after Cleveland had won Game 4.

On the replay it sure looked like LeBron James was fouled on his attempted game-winner in Game 5. But on second review it appears Darius Songaila was pushed into James by Zydrunas Ilguaskas. This is done in the NBA; it's what happened late in the season in Philadelphia when the referees put time back on the clock. Z pushed Samuel Dalembert into Devin Brown, and that's a loose ball foul. Wednesday night, the officials rightly ruled no call.

Washington's two leaders, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, stood up for proper play and lack of trash talk after Game 5. Said Butler: "Don't judge this team by comments. LeBron made a statement: 'these guys are talkers' but unless you hear something from the captains, which would be myself and Antawn, don't label that as the team. I'm the voice of this team and Antawn is the spiritual and emotional leader so unless you hear it from one of us, keep it moving." Said Jamison:"All the talk, all the silliness had gotten so much attention, it was time to just play ball. We were down 3-1, on the brink of elimination, I just told them that all this talking was not making them look bad, it was making us look bad. We're a veteran team and it was time for us to start acting like it." Jamison admitted he was annoyed with DeShawn Stevenson and Gilbert Arenas. "We've got a lot of personalities on our team. Sometimes you can tame them, sometimes you can't. But this was out of hand. I told them: 'You can't get your point across through the media. You have to get your point across on the court.' That's what they were doing. They've been just staying quiet and playing. For Caron and myself, it was just difficult. Don't get me wrong, I love D-Steve and I love Gil, and I'll strap it up with them anytime. You have to have your teammates' backs, but what was going on was just nonsense. It had nothing to do with getting respect, because you can only do that by playing well and demonstrating professionalism. You make your noise that way."

Butler and Jamison are pros, and extremely good players. What they said does not a surprise. And the fact that they've returned the series to basketball is a good thing.

Songaila said when his arm hit James in the first half of Game 5 that it was "an accident." He said: "We got tangled up, my arm got caught inside of his and when he tried to free himself it was just an accident. He lifted my arm and it hit him right in the face. It was caused by him. It wasn't intentional or anything like that. If anything, it was just an accident." Eddie Jordan added: "And LeBron's a terrific actor; we've seen some of his commercials."

Wally Szczerbiak is shooting 36 percent (14-for-39). Ugh. This might mean the Cavs go to Sasha Pavlovic, who may be healthy. Said Mike Brown: "It's hard for me to say if Sasha is going to be ready for a playoff ready atmosphere like this, with the way the speed of the game is. Having said that, yeah, I might throw him in there. But right now it’s not at the top of my list."

As for shooting, Anderson Varejao is 7-for-24 (29 percent). This is brutal, especially given most of Varejoa's shots come from close range and that Varejao has started to act like he's Julius Erving. Someone needs to put a choke collar on him and yank it every time he starts one of these ridiculous drives or spinning moves.

Some more quotes from practice:

Z on the Cavs late offense: "We should have driven to the basket, made them foul us. … We made it easy on them. Especially with Haywood being out of the game."

Brown on the late offense: "We got to get LeBron moving, and we have to get him on the backside of some action. We didn’t do that. Having said that, going back and watching the tape, we got to the rim, we got in the paint. Joe had a wide open two footer, Gib had a wide open shot off the drive and kick. In the last few possessions we had some good shots. But in the same breath I agree, we do have to get him off the back side and that starts with me."

Daniel Gibson on the not going to Z late: "We definitely could have gone to Z in a couple different situations. But at the same time, when you have No. 23 out there on the floor … "

Mike Brown: "A playoff series is a season in itself." Amen to that one, especially after this series.