I have a few questions....
Why do we call it a 'motion offense' when everyone just stands around? Honestly, the Cavaliers just stand there. Plus, they take their sweet sweet time setting up a play. I don't get it. There's no movement. No one cuts. No one is setting screen off the ball. They're just standing there.
Why are both Eric Snow and Anderson Varejao in the game when the Cavs are down 11 with 5 minutes to go? Hey, we need to score quickly, you know who we should have in there? Two guys who can't shoot. That is a fantastic idea.
How come Larry Hughes gets to shoot whenever he wants? 5-17 is really amazing. And he just keeps chucking 'em up. I guess it's good that he has that confidence in himself, but he was only 2-6 from the foul line. 33%! 0-3 from down town. And I've learned something over the past few games: when Hughes misses, he misses ugly. His shots don't just rim out, there are backboards and shot clocks involved. Ugh.
Why didn't LeBron shoot more? Was it just Detroit's defense? And I know LeBron had 20 shots (the most of anyone in the game), but the way the Cavs were playing, I wouldn't have cared if he shot the ball every time down the floor, regardless of where he was on the court. A forced LeBron James 20 footer is better than a forced Anderson Varejao 20 footer. Also, could you run him off some screens? Post him up? Mix it up a bit.
What happened to Z? Ilgauskas had a pretty solid game, 7-13, 16 points and 6 boards. Not great, not terrible. But in the second half? 3 shots. Now, hate on Z if you want, but he was doing pretty well, only getting 3 shots in the second half (and all of 'em coming in the 3rd quarter) is just awful.
Did you hear Jason Maxiell is similar to Charles Barkley? They are both undersized power forwards. (That being said, I'll take Steve Kerr and Marv Albert over FSN Ohio anytime)
The offense is terrible. OK, not a question. I could care less at this point; the offense is awful. The offense is bad. The offense is offensive (har!). Second quarter: 17 points. 3rd quarter: 14 points. 4th quarter: 16 points. Ouch.
Have the Cavs had a decent third period all year? I'm beginning to dread the second half of games, as the Cavs never seem to come out strong after halftime. Tonight was especially brutal, as they only scored 14 points while the Pistons poured in a whopping 15. I'm glad I tivo'd the game. I'm going to go re-watch those 12 minutes of basketball glory.
Did Damon Jones revert back to last year's version or is he just in a slump? Maybe his head got too big and he thought that he could do no wrong, I really don't know. What I do know is that he took some terrible jumpers against the Pistons.
Where's the urgency? The Cavs are down double digits around the 5 minute mark and they're walking the ball up and taking their time setting up the offense. I'm not saying they should start sprinting all over the court (though, at this point what could it hurt), but how picking the pace up a bit?
Is it time to panic? Make a trade? I still say no, not quite yey. I know. It's ugly. It's terrible to watch. And it doesn't seem to be improving. But I would still wait and see how they handle their trip out West. See if they can get some kind of bunker mentality and grow up a bit. Or see if they implode.
and finally,
Does anyone think that this team will be over .500 in one month? 11 of their next 15 are on the road. The four that are at home? Orlando, Milwaukee, San Antonio and New Jersey. That'll be fun.
2 comments:
It looks like Mike Brown and his lack of offensive game planning is finally going to embarrass him in the next month.
He had a chance to hire an offensive assistant this summer. He didn't do it, figuring that LeBron made the offense kind of paint-by-numbers simple.
Now, he's going to get burned. The not knowing what plays to call, the not knowing what adjustments to make, the not knowing what lineup to have out there, it's all going to catch up to him.
This is the learning process we have to endure having an inexperienced coach.
This is also on Ferry. Steve Kerr, as usual, was spot-on with his assessment that the Cavs need a starting point guard. There is no way around it. There is no other way to get the other four guys on the floor involved than to have someone out there who can facilitate a five-man offense (and defense, for that matter.)
Right now, the Cavs specialize in the two-man game. Defenses collapse on LeBron and dare everyone else to beat them. It's killing them. And they are going to sink like a rock in the standings until Brown and Ferry figure something else out.
It is awful. Snow is bad, yes. But the rest of the offense stunk as well. Maybe it's all because of Snow, maybe his presence hampers them just that much. But even so, they still do dumb stuff on offense. They take their time. They stand around. Awful.
Also, Larry Hughes, did he tweak his ankle again? Fantastic.
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