First of all, to anyone one who watched that entire game: well done. That game was both awful and awesome. The first quarter was particularly painful to watch. The second wasn't much better.
17%? 17%!? Remember how I said the Cavs won't shoot the ball every game like they did vs Chicago? Well, they seemed dead set to prove me right. The Cavs shot 17% for the first quarter, that's beyond awful. And 6 minutes into the second quarter they actually brought the average down to 16%. Down from 17%? I'm not even mad, that's amazing.
I can't stress enough how awful the first 3 quarters were. First of all, ugly to watch. But combined with Fred McLeod homerisms and Austins Carr's inane comments, it was borderline torturous. The Celtics were ahead from anywhere from 18-25 and Austin kept calling them pesky and said "they keep hanging around". Pesky? Hanging around? They're beating Cleveland by 25 points! Pesky? Pesky!?!
Did they not take the Celtics seriously? For the first 3 quarters, the Cavs were listless. It was looking like they'd be 3-3 with wins versus 3 playoff teams and losses versus 3 bottom feeders. At first they were actually getting and taking good shots, they just weren't falling. After they missed a few, the team just starting rushing and over thinking each shot (instead of just shooting).
Drew Gooden pulled a Drew Gooden. My major criticism of Gooden over the years is that he disappears every now and then. Before tonight, he had 5 straight good/great games and I wondered if he finally 'got it'. Well, Drew had a stinker of a game tonight and wasn't a factor at all. It could just a one game aberration, I sure hope so. Hell, I'll take 5/6 games of good production (of course, Brown only gave him 15 minutes, but it just wasn't Drew's night).
Sasha Pavlovic had a monster game. I can't stress this enough. Monster. Game. Sasha was one of the few bright spots in the first half and I thought Brown left him on the bench too long to start the second. He had 14 points over all and hit two huge 3's in the fourth quarter. Like Gooden, Sasha's problem in the past has been his consistency. If he can keep his production up anywhere near this level, the Cavs will be very well off.
The offense. The Cavs didn't go inside or really attack the rim until the fourth quarter. Again they settled for too many jumpers and didn't use the post enough for my taste. Late in the 3rd it looked like the Cavs finally realized that none of the Celtic big men are that good and just started to attack.
The defense. Again, like the rest of the game, for the first 3 quarters, it was awful. Sebastian Telfair just killed them. The Cavs will always have trouble with quick guards, but Telfair doesn't exactly have a quality jumper. He got to the rim at will tonight. One thing I don't understand is the Cavs defensive rotations. The Celtics would run a high screen and the Cavs would switch (instead of fighting through the picks). That left Telfair (or Delonte West) with the ball and going one on one versus Z, Gooden or Varejao. Not surprisingly, their guards got to the rim. Late in the game, the Cavs were fighting through picks (and getting stops), why they didn't do this the entire game, I'll never know.
LeBron dominated, especially late. He seemed to get fed up of all those jump shots and he just started driving to the hoop, just dragging the Celtics along with him. He had a couple 'and-ones'and he was draining his free throws (19-23). At the end, he was guarding Paul Peirce and actually playing some pretty good D.
Was it just me, or did Varejao grab every rebound down the stretch. Andy ended with 10 boards, but it seemed like every time the Celtics missed down the stretch, Varejao ended up with the ball. For the Cavs as a team, this was the first game they didn't out rebound their opponent (both teams ended with 42 boards).
It might be time to start Damon Jones. That's a scary thought, but he played some non-awful defense down the stretch. If he can do that with any sort of regularity, he should get more minutes (he also hit a clutch 3 as well).
and finally,
Let's see if the Cavs can play a complete game on Monday. The Cavs will be facing another team that, on paper, they should handle with ease in the Knicks. Of course, if LeBron plays well, I'm sure someone will say he loves MSG so much that he can't wait to sign there in 4 years.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Marshall and Jones Hurt?
I guess Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall are banged up:
Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones both missed practice Friday. Jones has an upper respiratory infection. He is listed as probable for the game tonight against the Celtics. Marshall's condition has a little more mystery. He began complaining of a sore left wrist Friday but was not sure how he had injured it. An MRI exam at the Cleveland Clinic showed no damage. His status for the game tonight is uncertain.Marshall has been shooting the 3 ball really well this season (.476) and losing him would hurt much more than Jones. If Jones was out, I'd (of course) like to see some Daniel Gibson presence, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Zydrunas
Zydrunas is still learning that new offense, which may not be best suited for him:
Last night versus Chicago, the Cavs actually got Z some jumpers and used him in the post. Z passed the ball out of post pretty well and I though he played his best game all season. I really do think that the Cavs are better off with Z than without him.
Not to say all went last night. The two most hated Cavaliers combined for a turnover that never should've happened. Snow had the ball and Z was running up court and beat his man to the paint. Snow saw Z cutting and lobbed the ball out in front of him. Needless to say, he lobbed the ball too far ahead and it went out of bounds.
Now, maybe some Cavs fans saw that and got pissed at Z. If he weren't so slow, he could've gotten that ball and had an easy layup. Maybe so, but ya know what? He is that slow. Know your personal as Steve Kerr said, don't make lob passes to a running Zydrunas and expect good things. Z sucks at somethings and is good at others. The Cavs offense needs to emphasize those good things.
Anyways, I'm very interested to see how the Cavs come out tomorrow night versus the Celtics.
"The big guys start up at the free-throw line," Ilgauskas said of the Cavs' current offense. "And then you set a screen and then you go down and set more screens. It's constant movement."I've stated before that I think the Cavs are misusing Z this season. Everyone knows Z's faults; he's slow, he's nonathletic, he's slow and he's not fast. But the man can score and he's the only other Cav out there who can command a double team.But when you're moving around with 10 (seven in the left; three in the right) screws holding your feet together (the result of five surgeries), quickly setting pick after pick isn't a fluid operation. Consequently, Ilgauskas is on pace to average a career-low 25 minutes a game this season.
"Last year, once the play was called, everybody knew who was going to shoot it or who was the first option on a play," Ilgauskas said. "But now there are a lot of reads, a lot of cuts, a lot of screens. So it's been an adjustment. You have to be patient and try to get better and try to find your looks when you can."
But are the Cavs focusing too much on what Z can't do instead of what he can? Centers with Ilgauskas' combination of skills aren't abundant in today's NBA. Most rebound, some block shots, but rare is the player who can do those things as well as score inside and out.
"There are a lot of guys who are tall but never really worked at it and put it all together," an Eastern Conference official said. "Z gets pretty much everything he can out of his physical skills. He's not the quickest guy in the world, but he does things the right way. And I love the fact that whenever a shot goes up, he is right there in front of the rim tipping that ball up into the basket."
Having endured six consecutive seasons of playoff-free basketball until last spring, Ilgauskas, 31, said he isn't concerned about a role change. "Obviously if we didn't have LeBron, we wouldn't be in the position where we are now, so I'd rather be a complementary player to LeBron or Larry than shoot 30 times and lose 60 games," he said. "I don't have a big ego. At this point in my career, I would like to win something and win something in this city."
Last night versus Chicago, the Cavs actually got Z some jumpers and used him in the post. Z passed the ball out of post pretty well and I though he played his best game all season. I really do think that the Cavs are better off with Z than without him.
Not to say all went last night. The two most hated Cavaliers combined for a turnover that never should've happened. Snow had the ball and Z was running up court and beat his man to the paint. Snow saw Z cutting and lobbed the ball out in front of him. Needless to say, he lobbed the ball too far ahead and it went out of bounds.
Now, maybe some Cavs fans saw that and got pissed at Z. If he weren't so slow, he could've gotten that ball and had an easy layup. Maybe so, but ya know what? He is that slow. Know your personal as Steve Kerr said, don't make lob passes to a running Zydrunas and expect good things. Z sucks at somethings and is good at others. The Cavs offense needs to emphasize those good things.
Anyways, I'm very interested to see how the Cavs come out tomorrow night versus the Celtics.
Cleveland 113, Chicago 94
Some random thoughts from tonight's game:
Is there a better basketball analyst than Steve Kerr? I love that guy. When asked about the 'LeBron walking off the court' incident he sarcastically said he should be kicked out of the league and heavily fined. He also said that this kind of stuff happens all the time and people should get over it.
And seriously, let's calm down about the whole incident. TNT was showing the last seconds of the Hawks game like it was the freaking Zapruder Film. It wasn't a big deal. Should he have done it? No. But come on people, was there nothing else to talk about this week? (quite frankly, I'm shocked no one has gotten a 'LeBron walking out of Cleveland' column out of this. Or at least a 'LeBron is unhappy with the Cavs/fans booing' so he's leaving once his new contract is done'. Where's the Daily Quickie when you need it?)
ESPN.com's headline: LeBron on court long enough to lead Cavs' rout of Bulls. HAR! Honestly, that's a cheap (bad) joke and just plain lazy (says the man who gives the score for his title).
This is what was so maddening about those two losses. The Cavs beat Washington, beat the Spurs in San Antonio and now have killed the Bulls at home. Those are 3 good wins versus quality playoff teams. The Cavs should be 5-0 right now and would be if they'd A) given a shit the last two games B) made their free throws.
The Bulls did not impress me. Of course, when you lose by 18, who are you going to impress? I've thought the whole offseason that people put way to much stock in the Ben Wallace signing, neglecting to notice that the Bulls didn't do anything to help out their weaknesses (like, you know, scoring the basketball). The Cavs got almost whatever they wanted on offense and shut the Bulls down on defense.
The offense gets a pass. For tonight anyway. The Cavs attacked all night long; they stayed aggressive. Of course, it doesn't hurt that all you're jumpers were going in.
But don't get too high on the Cavs after this. Yes, the Cavs played up to their opponent. Again. But Cleveland also played it's best game of the season offensively; they basically played the perfect game. Everything was falling for them. The Cavs shot .570 from the floor, .571 from three point range and surprisingly didn't shoot .570 from the foul line (15-18). Those are phenomenal numbers.
But let's break those numbers down by player. Gooden was 10-13, Pavlovic was 6-9, Varejao was 6-7, Jones was 3-4 and Marshall was 5-7. That's ridiculous. I can't imagine the Cavs having another shooting night like that again. And it's not like those shots were layups either. Gooden made a lot of jumpers, Pavlovic, Marshall and Jones were a combined 6-8 from behind the arc and even Andy made a couple jumpers. Don't get me wrong, this was an impressive win for the Cavs, but make no mistake, almost everything went right.
LeBron had a great game. He finished with 19 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and blocks. And look, he shot 7-8 from the charity stripe. All is right in the world again.
Drew Gooden will make the All-Star team (especially if they keep winning big games on national television). There, I've said it. If you would've told me this last season, I would've laughed in your face.
Sasha Pavlovic? WTF? I'm as surprised as anyone. Sasha didn't impress me at all during the preseason (he looked like he was forcing his shots) or early on so far. It looked like the game moved a bit too fast for him and he would force the action. He still was a bit out of control (he had 2 charges) but he played really well. Of course, he was playing not because of what he did, but what David Wesley didn't do (mainly, put the ball in the hole). But give him credit, he got an extended chance and he took it.
The Z report. The good: they used Z on high screens as used the pick-and-pop. He got some open jumpers off of those and off of penetration towards the hoop (cause Ben Wallace cheats towards the rim). The Bulls gave Z the 15 foot jumper all night and he took it. The bad: He missed his first few shots and had a couple of turnovers. In his the defense, the Cavs run some pick-and-rolls with him where the play calls for Ilgauskas to roll towards the hoop with the passer getting him the ball on the run. I can tell you right now that these will always end with either a pass getting away or Z committing a charging foul. Know your personal; Zydrunas has got some nice old man post moves and a sweet jumper. He doesn't move well and the passes have to be waist high or above or there's no way he's getting it. The Cavs don't pass well enough and Z isn't coordinated enough to roll, catch the pass and make a move in one motion. It's not gonna work. So make everyones life a lot easier and don't call those plays for him. Get him the jumper or get him on the block. Don't get him receiving the ball while moving. Nobody needs this.
Kirk Hinrich is Mark Price reborn. I'm convinced. Also is anyone else kinda creeped out how the Cavs and Bulls are mirror images of each other from the late 80s? The teams roles are switched. The Cavs have the next Jordan while the Bulls have team full of quality young guys? Okay, maybe that's not exactly creepy; but this is the kind of crap I think about. All we need now is for Tim Duncan to call the Bulls the "team of the teens".
The Bulls will win more games and this should be a fun series to watch over the next couple of years. As I've said before, the Bulls will win when the jumpers are falling and struggle when they aren't. Only Hinrich and Nocioni really did any damage for Chicago. The defense didn't seem up to snuff tonight (though Benny Wallace had a monster block on Gooden), but their D will have more good nights than bad. Again, it didn't help them out at all that the Cavalier bench players couldn't miss.
and finally,
The most impressive thing about the Cavs season so far? Rebounding. The Cavs out rebounded the Bulls 47-30. Muy impressivo. They out rebounded their opponents in every game so far this season and hold a rebounding edge of 239-176 this season. They are just killing their opponents on the boards. Gooden is playing out if his mind this season, Z rebounds pretty well plus Varejao and Marshall are two of best rebounding reserves around.
Is there a better basketball analyst than Steve Kerr? I love that guy. When asked about the 'LeBron walking off the court' incident he sarcastically said he should be kicked out of the league and heavily fined. He also said that this kind of stuff happens all the time and people should get over it.
And seriously, let's calm down about the whole incident. TNT was showing the last seconds of the Hawks game like it was the freaking Zapruder Film. It wasn't a big deal. Should he have done it? No. But come on people, was there nothing else to talk about this week? (quite frankly, I'm shocked no one has gotten a 'LeBron walking out of Cleveland' column out of this. Or at least a 'LeBron is unhappy with the Cavs/fans booing' so he's leaving once his new contract is done'. Where's the Daily Quickie when you need it?)
ESPN.com's headline: LeBron on court long enough to lead Cavs' rout of Bulls. HAR! Honestly, that's a cheap (bad) joke and just plain lazy (says the man who gives the score for his title).
This is what was so maddening about those two losses. The Cavs beat Washington, beat the Spurs in San Antonio and now have killed the Bulls at home. Those are 3 good wins versus quality playoff teams. The Cavs should be 5-0 right now and would be if they'd A) given a shit the last two games B) made their free throws.
The Bulls did not impress me. Of course, when you lose by 18, who are you going to impress? I've thought the whole offseason that people put way to much stock in the Ben Wallace signing, neglecting to notice that the Bulls didn't do anything to help out their weaknesses (like, you know, scoring the basketball). The Cavs got almost whatever they wanted on offense and shut the Bulls down on defense.
The offense gets a pass. For tonight anyway. The Cavs attacked all night long; they stayed aggressive. Of course, it doesn't hurt that all you're jumpers were going in.
But don't get too high on the Cavs after this. Yes, the Cavs played up to their opponent. Again. But Cleveland also played it's best game of the season offensively; they basically played the perfect game. Everything was falling for them. The Cavs shot .570 from the floor, .571 from three point range and surprisingly didn't shoot .570 from the foul line (15-18). Those are phenomenal numbers.
But let's break those numbers down by player. Gooden was 10-13, Pavlovic was 6-9, Varejao was 6-7, Jones was 3-4 and Marshall was 5-7. That's ridiculous. I can't imagine the Cavs having another shooting night like that again. And it's not like those shots were layups either. Gooden made a lot of jumpers, Pavlovic, Marshall and Jones were a combined 6-8 from behind the arc and even Andy made a couple jumpers. Don't get me wrong, this was an impressive win for the Cavs, but make no mistake, almost everything went right.
LeBron had a great game. He finished with 19 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and blocks. And look, he shot 7-8 from the charity stripe. All is right in the world again.
Drew Gooden will make the All-Star team (especially if they keep winning big games on national television). There, I've said it. If you would've told me this last season, I would've laughed in your face.
Sasha Pavlovic? WTF? I'm as surprised as anyone. Sasha didn't impress me at all during the preseason (he looked like he was forcing his shots) or early on so far. It looked like the game moved a bit too fast for him and he would force the action. He still was a bit out of control (he had 2 charges) but he played really well. Of course, he was playing not because of what he did, but what David Wesley didn't do (mainly, put the ball in the hole). But give him credit, he got an extended chance and he took it.
The Z report. The good: they used Z on high screens as used the pick-and-pop. He got some open jumpers off of those and off of penetration towards the hoop (cause Ben Wallace cheats towards the rim). The Bulls gave Z the 15 foot jumper all night and he took it. The bad: He missed his first few shots and had a couple of turnovers. In his the defense, the Cavs run some pick-and-rolls with him where the play calls for Ilgauskas to roll towards the hoop with the passer getting him the ball on the run. I can tell you right now that these will always end with either a pass getting away or Z committing a charging foul. Know your personal; Zydrunas has got some nice old man post moves and a sweet jumper. He doesn't move well and the passes have to be waist high or above or there's no way he's getting it. The Cavs don't pass well enough and Z isn't coordinated enough to roll, catch the pass and make a move in one motion. It's not gonna work. So make everyones life a lot easier and don't call those plays for him. Get him the jumper or get him on the block. Don't get him receiving the ball while moving. Nobody needs this.
Kirk Hinrich is Mark Price reborn. I'm convinced. Also is anyone else kinda creeped out how the Cavs and Bulls are mirror images of each other from the late 80s? The teams roles are switched. The Cavs have the next Jordan while the Bulls have team full of quality young guys? Okay, maybe that's not exactly creepy; but this is the kind of crap I think about. All we need now is for Tim Duncan to call the Bulls the "team of the teens".
The Bulls will win more games and this should be a fun series to watch over the next couple of years. As I've said before, the Bulls will win when the jumpers are falling and struggle when they aren't. Only Hinrich and Nocioni really did any damage for Chicago. The defense didn't seem up to snuff tonight (though Benny Wallace had a monster block on Gooden), but their D will have more good nights than bad. Again, it didn't help them out at all that the Cavalier bench players couldn't miss.
and finally,
The most impressive thing about the Cavs season so far? Rebounding. The Cavs out rebounded the Bulls 47-30. Muy impressivo. They out rebounded their opponents in every game so far this season and hold a rebounding edge of 239-176 this season. They are just killing their opponents on the boards. Gooden is playing out if his mind this season, Z rebounds pretty well plus Varejao and Marshall are two of best rebounding reserves around.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Atlanta 104, Cleveland 95 OT
God dammit. I'm not sure how many times I uttered that phrase tonight, but it was more than, 10 I can tell you that. The Cavs looked like they didn't care tonight. Again. It was frustrating to watch.
The new offense needs work. And by work I mean coach Brown saying, "hey guys, let's run the offense." The Cavs, again, shot too many jumpers. LeBron opened the game going to the post, but when the game was on the line, it was the high screens and jumpers. Here's a thought: use the plays that got you the lead. You know, those plays close to the basket.
The Z report. The good: twice he unleashed his devastating hook shot. Maybe devastating isn't the right word, but they went in. He also dove on the floor for a couple loose balls (say what you will about Z, but at least he gives a shit. This guy could've quit, like many big men do, after he got the big contract. But he still tries and sacrifices his body. Of course, that doesn't make up for the slowness). The bad: he needs to dunk the ball. Not lay it in; dunk it. There was a play in the 1st half where he got blocked from behind and then tried to tip it in something like 5 times. Needless to say it didn't work. I haven't seen the Cavs run any 'pick-and-pop' with Z this season, which is kinda odd, considering that 15 footer is like a layup for him. He hasn't looked that great this season, Windhorst says he's hasn't picked up the offense as much as some of the others have (though, by the results of the last two games, I'm not sure who has picked it up).
Championship caliber? Man, after those first two wins I began to believe that the Cavs could really win the East. I mean, they looked good. But back-to-back losses to Charlotte and Atlanta? That's no good. The Charlotte game would've been forgivable if they came out and took care of business tonight, but they didn't. This team could (some would say should) be 4-0 right now.
Where's the defense? At one point the Cavs were up 80-70. Then they were down 86-84. Well done. Joe Johnson torched the Cavs tonight (he's always hurt Cleveland, he lit up LeBron during LBJ's rookie year while on the Suns). And for some reason, Zaza Pachulia looked like an All-Star tonight (of course, by my count he got away with one 24 second violation and 3 travels).
Fox Sports Net sucks. Austin Carr: "Guys always play better after they get some stitches. It fires 'em up." Really? Stitches make you a better basketball player? You sure that's not complete bullshit? And the Fred McLeod homer-ism has to stop. Late in the game he said, during the play, that Gooden got held on a rebound. Check the replay? No one touched him. Just call the game man, don't blow smoke up our ass. He seems to think that a Cavalier got fouled or an opposing player got away with an forearm or a travel. Stop it. It's annoying.
More FSN. What the hell is with this camera work? Long stretches of games (entire possessions sometimes) were shot with some baseline cam. It's kinda neat to see that view for a few seconds, but I can't see the entire floor. I also missed some of the game due to replays. This has to end.
Stat of the game. The Hawks were 9-12 from 3 point range. The Cavs? 6-20. Ouch.
Point guards = awful. Want to know how bad it was? At one point I was wishing Tyronn Lue played for Cleveland. The Cavs point guards are almost worthless. It says a lot about Damon Jones and David Wesley that Eric Snow, a man who can't make a wide open 12 footer, starts in front of them. I thought Snow actually played well, he controlled the ball well and didn't make mistakes (or take awful shots). I can't say the same for either Jones or Wesley.
Which is why I was glad to see Shannon Brown. Brown showed flashes of goodness, but also made some rookie mistakes. He missed the only two shots he took, but he stole the ball and took it up court (using a sweet behind the back dribble), but committed a charge. He only played 5 minutes; I really don't know if he's ready (or Gibson for that matter) but the play of Jones and Wesley may be forcing coach Brown's hand.
This free throw thing is getting out of hand. The Cavs are the worst free throw shooting team in the league. At this point they are giving away games because of it. I'm not really sure what Brown can do at this point; by now it's just mental. These guys don't have poor forms (there's no Ben Wallace's out there), but this needs to improve (LeBron will really have to step it up, he was 5-11 tonight, and a big part of his game is taking it to the rim and drawing fouls, he needs to capitalize on the freebies.)
I'd never thought I'd say this but, "More Drew Gooden please!" Coach Brown is still rotating the big men like last year's squad. They way Gooden has played this season (he's shooting almost 50% from the field and 70% from the stripe as well as averaging 12 rebounds a game), he needs more playing time. In the past he'd have lapses out on the court (and he still does, just not as frequent) but this year he seems much more focused; like the thought of Varejao taking his job scares him. Gooden has been the most consistent Cavalier all season and if he keeps this up, he'll deserve more playing time.
and finally,
Big game on Thursday. Despite the past two games, I'm still relatively confident that the Cavs will play well versus Chicago in two days. At this point the Cavs seem to be playing down (or up) to their oppenents. The Bulls have a good team, so I expect the Cavs will come out energized. However, if they want to win the Central, they'll need to bury the Charlottes and Atlantas of the league; instead of playing down to these guys, they need to smash 'em.
The new offense needs work. And by work I mean coach Brown saying, "hey guys, let's run the offense." The Cavs, again, shot too many jumpers. LeBron opened the game going to the post, but when the game was on the line, it was the high screens and jumpers. Here's a thought: use the plays that got you the lead. You know, those plays close to the basket.
The Z report. The good: twice he unleashed his devastating hook shot. Maybe devastating isn't the right word, but they went in. He also dove on the floor for a couple loose balls (say what you will about Z, but at least he gives a shit. This guy could've quit, like many big men do, after he got the big contract. But he still tries and sacrifices his body. Of course, that doesn't make up for the slowness). The bad: he needs to dunk the ball. Not lay it in; dunk it. There was a play in the 1st half where he got blocked from behind and then tried to tip it in something like 5 times. Needless to say it didn't work. I haven't seen the Cavs run any 'pick-and-pop' with Z this season, which is kinda odd, considering that 15 footer is like a layup for him. He hasn't looked that great this season, Windhorst says he's hasn't picked up the offense as much as some of the others have (though, by the results of the last two games, I'm not sure who has picked it up).
Championship caliber? Man, after those first two wins I began to believe that the Cavs could really win the East. I mean, they looked good. But back-to-back losses to Charlotte and Atlanta? That's no good. The Charlotte game would've been forgivable if they came out and took care of business tonight, but they didn't. This team could (some would say should) be 4-0 right now.
Where's the defense? At one point the Cavs were up 80-70. Then they were down 86-84. Well done. Joe Johnson torched the Cavs tonight (he's always hurt Cleveland, he lit up LeBron during LBJ's rookie year while on the Suns). And for some reason, Zaza Pachulia looked like an All-Star tonight (of course, by my count he got away with one 24 second violation and 3 travels).
Fox Sports Net sucks. Austin Carr: "Guys always play better after they get some stitches. It fires 'em up." Really? Stitches make you a better basketball player? You sure that's not complete bullshit? And the Fred McLeod homer-ism has to stop. Late in the game he said, during the play, that Gooden got held on a rebound. Check the replay? No one touched him. Just call the game man, don't blow smoke up our ass. He seems to think that a Cavalier got fouled or an opposing player got away with an forearm or a travel. Stop it. It's annoying.
More FSN. What the hell is with this camera work? Long stretches of games (entire possessions sometimes) were shot with some baseline cam. It's kinda neat to see that view for a few seconds, but I can't see the entire floor. I also missed some of the game due to replays. This has to end.
Stat of the game. The Hawks were 9-12 from 3 point range. The Cavs? 6-20. Ouch.
Point guards = awful. Want to know how bad it was? At one point I was wishing Tyronn Lue played for Cleveland. The Cavs point guards are almost worthless. It says a lot about Damon Jones and David Wesley that Eric Snow, a man who can't make a wide open 12 footer, starts in front of them. I thought Snow actually played well, he controlled the ball well and didn't make mistakes (or take awful shots). I can't say the same for either Jones or Wesley.
Which is why I was glad to see Shannon Brown. Brown showed flashes of goodness, but also made some rookie mistakes. He missed the only two shots he took, but he stole the ball and took it up court (using a sweet behind the back dribble), but committed a charge. He only played 5 minutes; I really don't know if he's ready (or Gibson for that matter) but the play of Jones and Wesley may be forcing coach Brown's hand.
This free throw thing is getting out of hand. The Cavs are the worst free throw shooting team in the league. At this point they are giving away games because of it. I'm not really sure what Brown can do at this point; by now it's just mental. These guys don't have poor forms (there's no Ben Wallace's out there), but this needs to improve (LeBron will really have to step it up, he was 5-11 tonight, and a big part of his game is taking it to the rim and drawing fouls, he needs to capitalize on the freebies.)
I'd never thought I'd say this but, "More Drew Gooden please!" Coach Brown is still rotating the big men like last year's squad. They way Gooden has played this season (he's shooting almost 50% from the field and 70% from the stripe as well as averaging 12 rebounds a game), he needs more playing time. In the past he'd have lapses out on the court (and he still does, just not as frequent) but this year he seems much more focused; like the thought of Varejao taking his job scares him. Gooden has been the most consistent Cavalier all season and if he keeps this up, he'll deserve more playing time.
and finally,
Big game on Thursday. Despite the past two games, I'm still relatively confident that the Cavs will play well versus Chicago in two days. At this point the Cavs seem to be playing down (or up) to their oppenents. The Bulls have a good team, so I expect the Cavs will come out energized. However, if they want to win the Central, they'll need to bury the Charlottes and Atlantas of the league; instead of playing down to these guys, they need to smash 'em.
Frye's Fault
Actually, I don't really believe that. But Bill Livingston seems to. The Hornless Rhino finds fault with the Browns management for not giving Frye a veteran back up (I concur). But I must say I disagree with this part:
The more you know.
You'd have thought that the overwhelming success of the Browns' efforts to destroy Tim Couch would've taught this organization how not to handle young QBs, but apparently that's a lesson that each new regime has to learn on its own.I say that the Browns have learned. With Couch, they had a pocket passer and didn't give him an offensive line. Big mistake, a pocket passer could really benefit from an O-line. The drafting of Frye showed that they learned from their past mistakes. See, Frye is more of a scrambler. Scramblers don't need lines. Cause they scramble.
The more you know.
Monday, November 06, 2006
More Hudson Hawks Stuff
Turns out that the whole scenario is a bit more complicated than Hudson = racist.
A great column explaining the reporting.
A great column explaining the reporting.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Random Thoughts from the Weekend
1. Can people stop saying saying that OSU "survived" an upset bid? They were in control all game and even though Illinois scored near the end, the outcome was never really in doubt.
2. Could both OSU and Michigan been look ahead towards the 18th? Possibly, and personally, I'm glad OSU had a tight(ish) game, they haven't had a challenge almost all season, so it was good that they got to play with a little pressure.
3. However, that offense sucked it up the second half. I distinctly remember seeing a graphic that said OSU only gained 25 yards after halftime. That's pretty awful. Sure, Tressel Tressel-balled it up, but they looked out of sorts in the second half.
4. I'm not gonna lie, I laughed my ass off when West Virginia lost to Louisville. I guess playing UConn and East Carolina didn't prepare them for a good team. Woody Paige had the nerve to say WV had tough schedule. Ha!
5. Those two voters finally changed their mind.
6. Butch Davis is on the top of the list for the North Carolina job. It'd be weird seeing two former coaches of Florida schools, Spurrier and Davis, coaching in the Carolinas.
7. Len Pasquarelli says don't bet on Steve Marriucci coaching at Michigan State. I won't lie, it would be kinda cool to see Mooch at the same school as Izzo (cause their besties).
8. I want Louisville to lose. Not because I don't want to face 'em in the title game (OSU would kill 'em) or because I want a OSU-Michigan rematch (I do) but I want as many 1-loss teams as possible. The more 1-loss teams with a legitimate beef (ND, Florida, Texas) there are, the more screwed the BCS is. I want this.
9. I'm sorry, it kills me that ABC runs Desperate Housewives commercials during college football games. I'm sure there's some overlap with the audiences but I'm not sure college football fans will be the ones watching drama in the suburbs.
10. I love that Race for the Heisman commercial.
11. Will Ferrell + the ABA? I'll be there.
12. Six Phil Dawson field goals!!!
13. I had heard that Charlie Frye hurt the thumb on his throwing hand during Friday's practice, though the CBS guys never mentioned it. But Bud Shaw did.
14. You couldn't really ask to much more from the defense. They stopped the Chargers offense for as long as any reasonable Browns fan could hope for. If the offense could sustain a drive, maybe they wouldn't have crapped out at the end.
15. As for those offensive drives... how many were sustained by Chargers penalties? 4? 5? Does anyone have a number on this?
16. re: Frye's turnovers. I don't think you can blame the INT on him, it wasn't behind Edwards, it was a little bit high, but nothing really out of the ordinary. The fumbles? Those were on Frye. Sure he was being pressured, but Frye was trying to do too much.
17. The line was awful, I don't know how many times guys got to Frye without being touched. Hell, he even got sacked on a play that was blown dead (a fucking brutal cheap shot in the back). Lord knows what the game would've been like if Shawn Merriman had been healthy.
18. This was the first time all season where I thought the pressure really got to Frye. He never looked comfortable out there and he was staring down his receivers all day. It might be time to bring Dilfer back i- wait, that's right they traded Dilfer for Ken Dorsey. And they got Dilfer for a 4th round pick. And that 4th rounder for Gerrard Warren. And they took Gerrard Warren over LaDainian Tomlinson. I'm gonna be sick.
19. I understand not taking many risks, but when you get a 1st and goal, could you please make an attempt at the endzone? When you run Droughns twice and pass on third and long, you're not making it any easier for Frye out there. Plus, you're getting me pissed off.
20. The first David Wesley-Bobby Phills article of the season.
21. That class of 2003 could be pretty good.
22. The Cavs have Atlanta on Tuesday, hopefully they'll put forth a better effort than they did the other night in Charlotte. Windhorst also remarked on their lack of effort.
23. My game recaps are going to be cross posted at Real Cavs Fans. Feel free to catch me on their message boards, I'll be the one defending Zydrunas and Snow from all the haters (you want Jeff McInnis? Do you? Eddie Curry? Huh? Mark Blount? STFU).
24. SNL has been pretty awful this season, with the exception being the Hugh Laurie episode. It was surprisingly solid all around with only one really bad cringe worthy sketch, Maya Rudolph's National Anthem bit. Yes, it's just as bad as it sounds. On the plus side, Beck performed and it was sweet:
25. My house has been getting a lot of the robo calls this election cycle. It's picked up in recent days and I can't say I picked up all of 'em. If they all seem to be sponsored by Dems, but also hammer the Dems, well, they probably aren't from the Dems.
26. Classy.
27. If I hear that fucking John Mellencamp song one more time...
28. Cardinals apologize for winning the World Series.
29. This is neat. As is this.
30. If you read this blog with any scrutiny, you've probably figured out my personal politcs by all the little hints I've dropped (/sarcasm). If you agree with me, that's awesome, go vote tomorrow. And if you disagree, I don't give a shit, go vote tomorrow.
2. Could both OSU and Michigan been look ahead towards the 18th? Possibly, and personally, I'm glad OSU had a tight(ish) game, they haven't had a challenge almost all season, so it was good that they got to play with a little pressure.
3. However, that offense sucked it up the second half. I distinctly remember seeing a graphic that said OSU only gained 25 yards after halftime. That's pretty awful. Sure, Tressel Tressel-balled it up, but they looked out of sorts in the second half.
4. I'm not gonna lie, I laughed my ass off when West Virginia lost to Louisville. I guess playing UConn and East Carolina didn't prepare them for a good team. Woody Paige had the nerve to say WV had tough schedule. Ha!
5. Those two voters finally changed their mind.
6. Butch Davis is on the top of the list for the North Carolina job. It'd be weird seeing two former coaches of Florida schools, Spurrier and Davis, coaching in the Carolinas.
7. Len Pasquarelli says don't bet on Steve Marriucci coaching at Michigan State. I won't lie, it would be kinda cool to see Mooch at the same school as Izzo (cause their besties).
8. I want Louisville to lose. Not because I don't want to face 'em in the title game (OSU would kill 'em) or because I want a OSU-Michigan rematch (I do) but I want as many 1-loss teams as possible. The more 1-loss teams with a legitimate beef (ND, Florida, Texas) there are, the more screwed the BCS is. I want this.
9. I'm sorry, it kills me that ABC runs Desperate Housewives commercials during college football games. I'm sure there's some overlap with the audiences but I'm not sure college football fans will be the ones watching drama in the suburbs.
10. I love that Race for the Heisman commercial.
11. Will Ferrell + the ABA? I'll be there.
12. Six Phil Dawson field goals!!!
13. I had heard that Charlie Frye hurt the thumb on his throwing hand during Friday's practice, though the CBS guys never mentioned it. But Bud Shaw did.
14. You couldn't really ask to much more from the defense. They stopped the Chargers offense for as long as any reasonable Browns fan could hope for. If the offense could sustain a drive, maybe they wouldn't have crapped out at the end.
15. As for those offensive drives... how many were sustained by Chargers penalties? 4? 5? Does anyone have a number on this?
16. re: Frye's turnovers. I don't think you can blame the INT on him, it wasn't behind Edwards, it was a little bit high, but nothing really out of the ordinary. The fumbles? Those were on Frye. Sure he was being pressured, but Frye was trying to do too much.
17. The line was awful, I don't know how many times guys got to Frye without being touched. Hell, he even got sacked on a play that was blown dead (a fucking brutal cheap shot in the back). Lord knows what the game would've been like if Shawn Merriman had been healthy.
18. This was the first time all season where I thought the pressure really got to Frye. He never looked comfortable out there and he was staring down his receivers all day. It might be time to bring Dilfer back i- wait, that's right they traded Dilfer for Ken Dorsey. And they got Dilfer for a 4th round pick. And that 4th rounder for Gerrard Warren. And they took Gerrard Warren over LaDainian Tomlinson. I'm gonna be sick.
19. I understand not taking many risks, but when you get a 1st and goal, could you please make an attempt at the endzone? When you run Droughns twice and pass on third and long, you're not making it any easier for Frye out there. Plus, you're getting me pissed off.
20. The first David Wesley-Bobby Phills article of the season.
21. That class of 2003 could be pretty good.
22. The Cavs have Atlanta on Tuesday, hopefully they'll put forth a better effort than they did the other night in Charlotte. Windhorst also remarked on their lack of effort.
23. My game recaps are going to be cross posted at Real Cavs Fans. Feel free to catch me on their message boards, I'll be the one defending Zydrunas and Snow from all the haters (you want Jeff McInnis? Do you? Eddie Curry? Huh? Mark Blount? STFU).
24. SNL has been pretty awful this season, with the exception being the Hugh Laurie episode. It was surprisingly solid all around with only one really bad cringe worthy sketch, Maya Rudolph's National Anthem bit. Yes, it's just as bad as it sounds. On the plus side, Beck performed and it was sweet:
25. My house has been getting a lot of the robo calls this election cycle. It's picked up in recent days and I can't say I picked up all of 'em. If they all seem to be sponsored by Dems, but also hammer the Dems, well, they probably aren't from the Dems.
26. Classy.
27. If I hear that fucking John Mellencamp song one more time...
28. Cardinals apologize for winning the World Series.
29. This is neat. As is this.
30. If you read this blog with any scrutiny, you've probably figured out my personal politcs by all the little hints I've dropped (/sarcasm). If you agree with me, that's awesome, go vote tomorrow. And if you disagree, I don't give a shit, go vote tomorrow.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Charlotte 92, Cleveland 88
some random thoughts from tonight's loss
I know they had to lose sometime. But man, to the Bobcats? The Cavaliers own them, they were 7-0 before tonight. I was kind of surprised they were in Charlotte the night after visiting San Antonio, but I don't want to make excuses.
First Half = Good. The Cavs led at halftime 50-46. They got all of the Bobcat's big men into foul trouble. Z played well and the Cavs got everything they wanted inside.
Second Half = Notsomuch. I'm not sure if the Cavs expected to just walk out there and beat the Bobcats, but it didn't look like they brought the same intensity in the second half. I figured they would keep feeding the big men and just try to foul out Charlotte's bigs. Guess not.
More jumpshots? Really? The second half they just chucked the ball up. Hughes, Jones, Marshall, James, Gooden, Wesley... the entire team just started jacking up shots. I really don't think it was because of Charlotte's defense either.
The offense broke down. The movement we saw versus Washington and San Antonio was non-existent tonight. And when they did run the offense, they took their sweet time setting it up. They looked slow and lethargic in the second half. A few times they set up Z in the post and had the other four players all on the same side of the floor; I'm not really sure why they were all bunched up, but it happened at least 2 times (I figured you'd want a guy on the other side of the floor for an easy outlet if a double team comes. But whatever).
LeBron? Non-factor. I can't believe I'm writing this, but James didn't really have an impact on the game. He was only 3-13 from the floor and finished with 16 points. At points he had Adam freaking Morrison guarding him and he just passed out of it. The post game was almost non-existent and he settled for jumpshots just like the rest of the team.
The defense didn't make the trip from San Antonio. Raymond Felton killed the Cavs last season and well, he scored 23 points tonight. Felton is a type of guard who can really hurt the Cavaliers- you know, a quick one.
I can't wait for the Bobcats to come to Cleveland. Late in the game Sean May blocked a shot on one of LeBron's rare drives to the hoop. After the block, he stared down James. I'm just anticipating James dunking on May all night.
Drew Gooden, monster. Thank God for Drew tonight he almost single handedly kept the Cavaliers in the game. He was 7-14 with 21 points and 16 rebounds. If Gooden gets involved in the game early on, he seems to stay focused all game long. Tonight he got the ball early and often and was a big factor throughout (he did take one awful jumpshot late in the game. But so did the rest of the team).
I could've used some more fouls. To me, it seemed that Hughes and James (and Z) got knocked around in the paint without enough whistles. Of course, the Cavs lost, so of course I thought they could've used some more whistles. But James and Brevin Knight had a hard collision late in the game with no call. James was down for awhile; I know it was a loose ball and kind of chaotic out there, but that's why there are loose ball fouls.
Fox Sports Net pissed me off. This is the first game I watched on FSN Ohio this year, and I can't say I was impressed. First of all, the camera work was just awful. We missed parts of plays because of 'hero shots' and graphics. Plus, Fred McLeod and Scott Williams are awful. I'm not a fan of either of the Cavs' color commentators (Williams and Austin Carr) but Fred McLeod is equally bad. First of, let me say that I am kinda surprised at all love Michael Reghi has been getting; I thought he was a decent play-by-play man, but I wasn't enamored with the guy. But McLeod sucks. My biggest beef? He's a homer. He's always saying little shit like "I thought May traveled there, but I guess the refs didn't" and "it looked like it went off of Charlotte, but they say it's Bobcat's ball". I know Gilbert is allowed to bring in his own men (he is the owner after all), but firing Reghi for this hack was a mistake.
and finally
Don't sweat this loss. Sure, the Cavs could've played better, but they weren't going to go 82-0. Ya, it sucks that they blew this game after that great win versus the Spurs, but they got to learn that opposing teams will be gunning for 'em this season. They've seemed to have learned how to close out close games, but hey still haven't seemed to mastered playing with a sizeable lead. They need to keep the pressure on for the entire 48 minutes and put the lesser opponents away.
I know they had to lose sometime. But man, to the Bobcats? The Cavaliers own them, they were 7-0 before tonight. I was kind of surprised they were in Charlotte the night after visiting San Antonio, but I don't want to make excuses.
First Half = Good. The Cavs led at halftime 50-46. They got all of the Bobcat's big men into foul trouble. Z played well and the Cavs got everything they wanted inside.
Second Half = Notsomuch. I'm not sure if the Cavs expected to just walk out there and beat the Bobcats, but it didn't look like they brought the same intensity in the second half. I figured they would keep feeding the big men and just try to foul out Charlotte's bigs. Guess not.
More jumpshots? Really? The second half they just chucked the ball up. Hughes, Jones, Marshall, James, Gooden, Wesley... the entire team just started jacking up shots. I really don't think it was because of Charlotte's defense either.
The offense broke down. The movement we saw versus Washington and San Antonio was non-existent tonight. And when they did run the offense, they took their sweet time setting it up. They looked slow and lethargic in the second half. A few times they set up Z in the post and had the other four players all on the same side of the floor; I'm not really sure why they were all bunched up, but it happened at least 2 times (I figured you'd want a guy on the other side of the floor for an easy outlet if a double team comes. But whatever).
LeBron? Non-factor. I can't believe I'm writing this, but James didn't really have an impact on the game. He was only 3-13 from the floor and finished with 16 points. At points he had Adam freaking Morrison guarding him and he just passed out of it. The post game was almost non-existent and he settled for jumpshots just like the rest of the team.
The defense didn't make the trip from San Antonio. Raymond Felton killed the Cavs last season and well, he scored 23 points tonight. Felton is a type of guard who can really hurt the Cavaliers- you know, a quick one.
I can't wait for the Bobcats to come to Cleveland. Late in the game Sean May blocked a shot on one of LeBron's rare drives to the hoop. After the block, he stared down James. I'm just anticipating James dunking on May all night.
Drew Gooden, monster. Thank God for Drew tonight he almost single handedly kept the Cavaliers in the game. He was 7-14 with 21 points and 16 rebounds. If Gooden gets involved in the game early on, he seems to stay focused all game long. Tonight he got the ball early and often and was a big factor throughout (he did take one awful jumpshot late in the game. But so did the rest of the team).
I could've used some more fouls. To me, it seemed that Hughes and James (and Z) got knocked around in the paint without enough whistles. Of course, the Cavs lost, so of course I thought they could've used some more whistles. But James and Brevin Knight had a hard collision late in the game with no call. James was down for awhile; I know it was a loose ball and kind of chaotic out there, but that's why there are loose ball fouls.
Fox Sports Net pissed me off. This is the first game I watched on FSN Ohio this year, and I can't say I was impressed. First of all, the camera work was just awful. We missed parts of plays because of 'hero shots' and graphics. Plus, Fred McLeod and Scott Williams are awful. I'm not a fan of either of the Cavs' color commentators (Williams and Austin Carr) but Fred McLeod is equally bad. First of, let me say that I am kinda surprised at all love Michael Reghi has been getting; I thought he was a decent play-by-play man, but I wasn't enamored with the guy. But McLeod sucks. My biggest beef? He's a homer. He's always saying little shit like "I thought May traveled there, but I guess the refs didn't" and "it looked like it went off of Charlotte, but they say it's Bobcat's ball". I know Gilbert is allowed to bring in his own men (he is the owner after all), but firing Reghi for this hack was a mistake.
and finally
Don't sweat this loss. Sure, the Cavs could've played better, but they weren't going to go 82-0. Ya, it sucks that they blew this game after that great win versus the Spurs, but they got to learn that opposing teams will be gunning for 'em this season. They've seemed to have learned how to close out close games, but hey still haven't seemed to mastered playing with a sizeable lead. They need to keep the pressure on for the entire 48 minutes and put the lesser opponents away.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Cleveland 88, San Antonio 81
Some random thoughts from Cleveland's second win of the season.
This team is for real. Sure, that win over the Wizards was nice and all, but this was a big win. As you heard all night long, this was Cleveland's first win in San Antonio since the Reagan administration. Beating the Spurs in San Antonio is huge; last season the Cavs got killed on the road early on (remember those Indiana and San Antonio losses? Calling them ugly is being kind) Coming out with a win like this shows you how much they've grown.
Not only that, it was impressive. The Cavs led for virtually the entire game. They outscored the Spurs in every quarter except the 3rd (where SA had a one point advantage), they out rebounded the Spurs by 9 and they played great defense the entire night.
James may have made the dunk of the season. I know it's only two games old, but we'll be seeing his first quarter dunk over Tim Duncan for the rest of the season. Damn!
That dunk was just the beginning. LeBron got to the rim seemingly at will tonight. He had four or five plays where he made the basket and got fouled. And those weren't easy shots either; switching hands mid-air, spinning the ball off the glass left handed... freaking amazing.
This was an entire team game tonight. James led the Cavs with 35, but Hughes had 18 and Z and Gooden chipped in with 10 and 9, respectively. The bench's numbers don't look that great, but Marshall had a couple big threes, Varejao set some great picks and grabbed some big boards and Wesley got the Cavs a big three point play. It's even more impressive, considering that they got 2 points combined from their point guard position. Well done Snow and Jones.
I thought Z played well. He had some good looking shots and some bad, but overall I thought he had a good game. He seemed to be the only guy who slowed Duncan; if you noticed, every time Z sat, the Spurs immediately went to Duncan. Didn't matter if it was Gooden, Varjao or the 2 minutes of Scot Pollard; the second Z sat, Duncan went to work. Admittedly, this game was more at Z's pace. The Spurs really don't have an active, athletic big man to give him fits. Duncan (while 100 times better), plays more at Zydrunas's (slow) pace.
The Cavs beat the zone. From what I could tell, the Spurs only played zone for two possessions (a defense that has given the Cavs fits in the past). The first time, Hughes fired up a crappy looking three. But the next time down the court, the Cavs recognized it and got Z a 8 foot jumper in the middle of the key. Didn't see any zone after that.
Pavlovic is not long for this team. Sasha wasn't out there long, he took only one shot and had it blocked. Personally, it looked worse than it sounds. He had his shot blocked on a fast break by Ginobli, and not only did he botch a pass from LeBron, that shot shouldn't have been blocked in the first place (instead of taking a left handed layup, he went up with his, putting the ball right into the defender). He got yanked soon thereafter. Now, maybe you think he isn't getting his fair shot. I can see that, but the Cavs aren't exactly in an experimenting mode this season.
Shannon Brown dressed. Of course, he didn't play. But he was in street clothes for the game versus Washington, so it's a step up (he's reached Ira Newble status).
Mother F***ing free throws!!! My sweet lord (krishna krishna), can anyone hit free throws?! LeBron was 6-11, Marshall missed the only two he took (late in the game no less) and even Z missed three. This makes two wins in a row where the Cavs could've waltzed to victory if they took care of business at the line. If the Cavs have one weakness right now, it's at the charity stripe.
The offense stayed intact for the most part. There were sometimes late in the game where the offense broke down (or was non-existent) and the Cavs reverted to LeBron-on-five. He got some buckets out of it. But there was also an Eric Snow-Drew Gooden pick and roll late in the game with the shot clock running down. No one needs this. Ever.
But the offense was much better than Wednesday. The turnovers were way down (especially the first half) and the Cavs, for the most part, took good shots. The longer the season goes on, the better and better this offense is going to get. Tonight, both Z and LeBron got the ball in the post a decent amount of times (Hubie Brown said Z only got 3 post catches the entire Wizards game, say what you will of Z, but he needs more than that if he's going to be effective) and Hughes handled the ball quite a lot.
That defense. Wow. Seriously, I was impressed. If the Cavs can keep this up, they'll win a ton of games this season (55+). They held San Antonio to 36 points for the first half and 42% shooting for the game. You can see their confidence growing as the game goes along. The Spurs made some late surges (Duncan abused the entire squad. It was impressive) but San Antonio never got within 4 points. The Cavs never wavered, they kept challenging shots and, if need be, sending people to the line.
More Duncan. Late in the game Duncan just went to work on Cleveland. He put Z on the bench with foul trouble and then forced Mike Brown to bring Ilgauskas back in by just manhandling Gooden and Varejao. Of course, he promptly fouled out Z. It was a clinic. If you're a basketball dork like me, you enjoyed the back-to-the-basket goodness. But I think Brown will live with it, because he was only double teaming on selective plays. He'd rather let Duncan abuse the front line (and make his free throws) than give their guards open threes. The strategery worked tonight.
and finally,
Impressive. That's the one word that I kept hearing in my head after this game. The Cavs looked impressive. They went into San Antonio and led the game the entire way. They never got rattled and always seemed in control. If they want to be title contenders, they have to win games like this; on the road versus an elite team. And they did. The game never seemed in doubt. Sure, there was rough patches, but you couldn't ask for a more perfectly executed game in all aspects. More games like this, please.
This team is for real. Sure, that win over the Wizards was nice and all, but this was a big win. As you heard all night long, this was Cleveland's first win in San Antonio since the Reagan administration. Beating the Spurs in San Antonio is huge; last season the Cavs got killed on the road early on (remember those Indiana and San Antonio losses? Calling them ugly is being kind) Coming out with a win like this shows you how much they've grown.
Not only that, it was impressive. The Cavs led for virtually the entire game. They outscored the Spurs in every quarter except the 3rd (where SA had a one point advantage), they out rebounded the Spurs by 9 and they played great defense the entire night.
James may have made the dunk of the season. I know it's only two games old, but we'll be seeing his first quarter dunk over Tim Duncan for the rest of the season. Damn!
That dunk was just the beginning. LeBron got to the rim seemingly at will tonight. He had four or five plays where he made the basket and got fouled. And those weren't easy shots either; switching hands mid-air, spinning the ball off the glass left handed... freaking amazing.
This was an entire team game tonight. James led the Cavs with 35, but Hughes had 18 and Z and Gooden chipped in with 10 and 9, respectively. The bench's numbers don't look that great, but Marshall had a couple big threes, Varejao set some great picks and grabbed some big boards and Wesley got the Cavs a big three point play. It's even more impressive, considering that they got 2 points combined from their point guard position. Well done Snow and Jones.
I thought Z played well. He had some good looking shots and some bad, but overall I thought he had a good game. He seemed to be the only guy who slowed Duncan; if you noticed, every time Z sat, the Spurs immediately went to Duncan. Didn't matter if it was Gooden, Varjao or the 2 minutes of Scot Pollard; the second Z sat, Duncan went to work. Admittedly, this game was more at Z's pace. The Spurs really don't have an active, athletic big man to give him fits. Duncan (while 100 times better), plays more at Zydrunas's (slow) pace.
The Cavs beat the zone. From what I could tell, the Spurs only played zone for two possessions (a defense that has given the Cavs fits in the past). The first time, Hughes fired up a crappy looking three. But the next time down the court, the Cavs recognized it and got Z a 8 foot jumper in the middle of the key. Didn't see any zone after that.
Pavlovic is not long for this team. Sasha wasn't out there long, he took only one shot and had it blocked. Personally, it looked worse than it sounds. He had his shot blocked on a fast break by Ginobli, and not only did he botch a pass from LeBron, that shot shouldn't have been blocked in the first place (instead of taking a left handed layup, he went up with his, putting the ball right into the defender). He got yanked soon thereafter. Now, maybe you think he isn't getting his fair shot. I can see that, but the Cavs aren't exactly in an experimenting mode this season.
Shannon Brown dressed. Of course, he didn't play. But he was in street clothes for the game versus Washington, so it's a step up (he's reached Ira Newble status).
Mother F***ing free throws!!! My sweet lord (krishna krishna), can anyone hit free throws?! LeBron was 6-11, Marshall missed the only two he took (late in the game no less) and even Z missed three. This makes two wins in a row where the Cavs could've waltzed to victory if they took care of business at the line. If the Cavs have one weakness right now, it's at the charity stripe.
The offense stayed intact for the most part. There were sometimes late in the game where the offense broke down (or was non-existent) and the Cavs reverted to LeBron-on-five. He got some buckets out of it. But there was also an Eric Snow-Drew Gooden pick and roll late in the game with the shot clock running down. No one needs this. Ever.
But the offense was much better than Wednesday. The turnovers were way down (especially the first half) and the Cavs, for the most part, took good shots. The longer the season goes on, the better and better this offense is going to get. Tonight, both Z and LeBron got the ball in the post a decent amount of times (Hubie Brown said Z only got 3 post catches the entire Wizards game, say what you will of Z, but he needs more than that if he's going to be effective) and Hughes handled the ball quite a lot.
That defense. Wow. Seriously, I was impressed. If the Cavs can keep this up, they'll win a ton of games this season (55+). They held San Antonio to 36 points for the first half and 42% shooting for the game. You can see their confidence growing as the game goes along. The Spurs made some late surges (Duncan abused the entire squad. It was impressive) but San Antonio never got within 4 points. The Cavs never wavered, they kept challenging shots and, if need be, sending people to the line.
More Duncan. Late in the game Duncan just went to work on Cleveland. He put Z on the bench with foul trouble and then forced Mike Brown to bring Ilgauskas back in by just manhandling Gooden and Varejao. Of course, he promptly fouled out Z. It was a clinic. If you're a basketball dork like me, you enjoyed the back-to-the-basket goodness. But I think Brown will live with it, because he was only double teaming on selective plays. He'd rather let Duncan abuse the front line (and make his free throws) than give their guards open threes. The strategery worked tonight.
and finally,
Impressive. That's the one word that I kept hearing in my head after this game. The Cavs looked impressive. They went into San Antonio and led the game the entire way. They never got rattled and always seemed in control. If they want to be title contenders, they have to win games like this; on the road versus an elite team. And they did. The game never seemed in doubt. Sure, there was rough patches, but you couldn't ask for a more perfectly executed game in all aspects. More games like this, please.
I think I read the Plain Dealer just to get pissed off
First of all, Roger Brown is going out with a bang. At this point he's just egging us on:
There's more:
Roger Brown isn't all that pissed me off, for some dumb reason I read the letters to the editor everyday. I am a moron.
See, a mistake. Kind of humorous. But no one really believes Bush is actively working up new ways to harm our country. But John Kerry botches a joke and CNN goes to fucking Defcon 9.
Two things strike me about this whole mess. 1) I'm glad the Plain Dealer chose to run those two letters and none by someone who, you know, is actually informed. 2) It's great that Bush and the Republicans have a plan for ending John Kerry's political career, it's just too bad they don't seem to have a plan for anything else.
Former Browns head coach Butch Davis still gets a bad rap here, but here's fact: The Browns' four best players - linebacker Andra Davis, tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and defensive backs Sean Jones and Leigh Bodden - are all acquired by Davis.Take that Browns fans, Butch Davis got this team it's only good players. I'm also inferring that Phil Savage sucks! Never mind the fact that Butch Davis used to start Ross Verba (on a regular basis!!) and thought Kelly Holcomb could be a starting QB. Never mind that he wasted draft picks. He got four, count 'em, four guys right. Eat it.
There's more:
Sorry, but the newest Nike TV ad featuring James - in which he plays multiple roles a la Eddie Murphy in "The Nutty Professor" - is among the worst commercials we've seen all year.And fuck you too Cavs. For no reason at all, I'm going to rip on those Nike commercials from LeBron James, the only superstar in modern Cleveland sports. I know many of you like these, and a lot of people think they're pretty good and amusing. But no, they suck! And you suck for liking them! You're all stupid. I'm Roger Brown! LALALALA
Roger Brown isn't all that pissed me off, for some dumb reason I read the letters to the editor everyday. I am a moron.
and this one:Military intelligence is more than evident
Before John Kerry shares any more of his unique in sights regarding military personnel, he should consider the following facts:
Of the 18- to 24-year-old enlistees in the armed services, 99.2 percent have a high school diploma or equivalent GED.
For 18- to 24-year-old civilians, the corresponding figure is 79.4 percent.
The mean reading level of an 18- to 24-year-old enlistee is 11th grade.
The mean reading level for 18- to 24-year-old civilians is 10th grade.
More than 95 percent of all active military officers graduated from college; more than 38 percent have an advanced degree (i.e., master's or doctorate).
Enlistees age 18 to 24 have significantly higher cognitive aptitude than the 18- to 24-year-old civilian population, as measured by scores on the military's enlistment test.
When like comparisons are made between 18- to 44-year-old enlistees and their civilian counterparts, the results are strikingly similar.
These brave, intelligent young men and women had plenty of other options, but they chose the military. The world is a safer place because they did.
Mark H. Otterson, Avon Lake
I'm going to go insane. I really am. Either these people are ignorant or they are willfully lying. The guy said something dumb, but it wasn't supposed to come out that way. I mean, if we applied this to every time Bush misspoke:Showing his true colors
John Kerry's condescending statements belittling dedi cated soldiers, those serving and those who have served, in Iraq (and Afghanistan) is appalling. Again Kerry demonstrates his incompetence as a Democratic leader and his defensiveness when called to account for his remarks. Kerry's statements and his response to criticism reflect his obsession with his hate for the GOP and George Bush and his desire to get even.What is the real agenda of Kerry and many in the Democratic leadership? Responsible voters need to think about the consequences of having a Democratic leadership in Congress that includes an obsession with a return to power and control. What is their plan and strategic direction?
The real answer is that the electorate should wait and see. What is their plan for taxes and government control? The real answer is more of each, but that cannot be announced. What will be the impact on the economy and its long-term viability? There is no answer from the Democrats because the economy is robust and unemployment is low.
Kerry's elitist view and that of many in the Democratic leadership make it apparent that they have not learned any lessons from the past.
Joseph R. Bransky, Huron
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."OMG!!! Why is President Bush thinking of new ways to harming America!!! He should apologize to all Americans. The Republicans should have to go on the record to say if they agree with President Bush's goals of harming America!! This should be the top story on CNN.com for 3 days.
See, a mistake. Kind of humorous. But no one really believes Bush is actively working up new ways to harm our country. But John Kerry botches a joke and CNN goes to fucking Defcon 9.
Two things strike me about this whole mess. 1) I'm glad the Plain Dealer chose to run those two letters and none by someone who, you know, is actually informed. 2) It's great that Bush and the Republicans have a plan for ending John Kerry's political career, it's just too bad they don't seem to have a plan for anything else.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
The Bulls
So last night the Bulls shot 7-13 from three point range and killed the Heat. Tonight they shot 6-20 and lost to Orlando. What does this tell us? When the shots fall Chicago will look unbeatable, when they aren't falling, they'll be very beatable.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Cavs 97 Wizards 94
Some random thoughts from the Cavs' home opener.
The Cavs first basket of the season? An Eric Snow jump shot. Suck it. Told you he's not the anti-Christ (he was 2-2 overall). (And honestly, I felt more comfortable with the Snow/Jones or the Snow/Wesely combo than I did that Jones/Wesley scenario we saw tonight).
Offensive movement? Wha? For at least one game, the Cavs offseason offensive overhaul stayed intact for the entire game. Even during crunch time the ball moved around. This is a good sign, I'll be interested to see if it breaks down when the games get tight.
Larry Hughes went off. Hughes led all scorers with 27 and he also chipped in 9 rebounds and 5 assists. If the Cavs can get anything close to that throughout the season, they'll be sitting pretty. Of course, don't expect Hughes to be shooting 11-15 (3-4 from three) every night. Some of his jumpers looked very nice. However, there were a few that looked really flat, but went in anyways.
Hughes did walk to the locker room at one point in the second half. Alright, who else out there felt sick? I know I did. It turns out he just had some leg cramps, so it wasn't a big deal. But God damn if I didn't have a heart attack when I saw him walking off the court.
Looks like they're serious about this post-up stuff. Early on, LeBron got a couple possessions in the post and he used them for a fade away and a pass to Z. They went back to the post late in the game as well, netting a lay up and a Damon Jones three.
Hubie Brown annoyed me tonight. And I usually like him too. It started with him saying how the writers in the paper were 'almost unanimous' in picking the Cavs to win the division, conference and title. I'm not sure which paper he's talking about, but in today's Plain Dealer4-5 of their writers picked Miami to win the East. Only Bill Livingston picked the Cavs. And Branson Wright had the Cavs 7th(!) in his power rankings, behind Detroit and Chicago (two teams from the Central. So I'm not sure which local paper unanimously picked the Cavs to win it all, but it wasn't the ones I've seen. Later on, I disagreed with Brown on Drew Gooden's offensive goaltending call and also Brown's description of Eric Snow as 'quick'.
Maybe Gilbert Arenas should've gotten some more sleep. ESPN reported that Arenas got only one hour of sleep as he was up all night dribbling a basketball because he was so pumped for this game. Well, he missed something like his first 7 shots and only ended with 7 points. To be fair, he dished out 11 assists and hit a big three down the stretch.
Zydrunas had a slow night. Big Z was in foul trouble the entire night and never really got into the flow of the game. For what it's worth, he made some nice passes (especially that back-door to Hughes) and dove on the ground for ball. He also airballed his initial hook shot attempt; in all seriousness, I hope that doesn't discourage him, if he can develop that shot over the course of the season, it could be a nice move for the playoffs.
Gooden looked like he gave a shit. Drew was active on the boards and was running around on offense. I really think this non-stand-around offense will really help him keep his head in the game. He was setting picks and moving around all Varejao-like. If Gooden can be half as active as Varejao, he'll be a border line all-star. Now let's see if he can string a few of these games together.
Does anyone out there have any confidence in Sasha Pavlovic? Anyone? Hello? Bueller? No? Ya, me neither. I think I speak for all of us when I say I'd rather have Shannon Brown out there. But hell, if Sasha looks that bad, I'd rather have Ira Newble out there. There, I said it. And I feel ill.
The Cavs were way too sloppy tonight. Especially in the first half, but the entire game as well. David Wesley threw two or three cross court floaters that you knew were going to be picked off before he did. Just awful. He wasn't the only one making bad passes, but his were the worst.
Speaking of awful, how 'bout those free throws? Maybe it's the new ball. Maybe it's getting back to shooting free throws during game situations. I dunno. But what I do know is that if the Cavs want to justify ending huddles with 1-2-3-Championship! they gotta shoot better than 15-30 from the line. LeBron (2-6), Hughes (2-5), Gooden (0-2) and Varejao (5-9) all shot poorly. Marshall was 3-4 and Z was 2-2.
and finally
Oh yeah, almost forgot about that LeBron character. LeBron ended the game with a line that looked like this: 26-10-5. I really liked the fact that in the second quarter, Lebron took a seat for and the Cavs added 6 points to their lead. WTF? LeBron played 41 minutes total, not real good, but it wasn't the entire game either.
The Cavs first basket of the season? An Eric Snow jump shot. Suck it. Told you he's not the anti-Christ (he was 2-2 overall). (And honestly, I felt more comfortable with the Snow/Jones or the Snow/Wesely combo than I did that Jones/Wesley scenario we saw tonight).
Offensive movement? Wha? For at least one game, the Cavs offseason offensive overhaul stayed intact for the entire game. Even during crunch time the ball moved around. This is a good sign, I'll be interested to see if it breaks down when the games get tight.
Larry Hughes went off. Hughes led all scorers with 27 and he also chipped in 9 rebounds and 5 assists. If the Cavs can get anything close to that throughout the season, they'll be sitting pretty. Of course, don't expect Hughes to be shooting 11-15 (3-4 from three) every night. Some of his jumpers looked very nice. However, there were a few that looked really flat, but went in anyways.
Hughes did walk to the locker room at one point in the second half. Alright, who else out there felt sick? I know I did. It turns out he just had some leg cramps, so it wasn't a big deal. But God damn if I didn't have a heart attack when I saw him walking off the court.
Looks like they're serious about this post-up stuff. Early on, LeBron got a couple possessions in the post and he used them for a fade away and a pass to Z. They went back to the post late in the game as well, netting a lay up and a Damon Jones three.
Hubie Brown annoyed me tonight. And I usually like him too. It started with him saying how the writers in the paper were 'almost unanimous' in picking the Cavs to win the division, conference and title. I'm not sure which paper he's talking about, but in today's Plain Dealer4-5 of their writers picked Miami to win the East. Only Bill Livingston picked the Cavs. And Branson Wright had the Cavs 7th(!) in his power rankings, behind Detroit and Chicago (two teams from the Central. So I'm not sure which local paper unanimously picked the Cavs to win it all, but it wasn't the ones I've seen. Later on, I disagreed with Brown on Drew Gooden's offensive goaltending call and also Brown's description of Eric Snow as 'quick'.
Maybe Gilbert Arenas should've gotten some more sleep. ESPN reported that Arenas got only one hour of sleep as he was up all night dribbling a basketball because he was so pumped for this game. Well, he missed something like his first 7 shots and only ended with 7 points. To be fair, he dished out 11 assists and hit a big three down the stretch.
Zydrunas had a slow night. Big Z was in foul trouble the entire night and never really got into the flow of the game. For what it's worth, he made some nice passes (especially that back-door to Hughes) and dove on the ground for ball. He also airballed his initial hook shot attempt; in all seriousness, I hope that doesn't discourage him, if he can develop that shot over the course of the season, it could be a nice move for the playoffs.
Gooden looked like he gave a shit. Drew was active on the boards and was running around on offense. I really think this non-stand-around offense will really help him keep his head in the game. He was setting picks and moving around all Varejao-like. If Gooden can be half as active as Varejao, he'll be a border line all-star. Now let's see if he can string a few of these games together.
Does anyone out there have any confidence in Sasha Pavlovic? Anyone? Hello? Bueller? No? Ya, me neither. I think I speak for all of us when I say I'd rather have Shannon Brown out there. But hell, if Sasha looks that bad, I'd rather have Ira Newble out there. There, I said it. And I feel ill.
The Cavs were way too sloppy tonight. Especially in the first half, but the entire game as well. David Wesley threw two or three cross court floaters that you knew were going to be picked off before he did. Just awful. He wasn't the only one making bad passes, but his were the worst.
Speaking of awful, how 'bout those free throws? Maybe it's the new ball. Maybe it's getting back to shooting free throws during game situations. I dunno. But what I do know is that if the Cavs want to justify ending huddles with 1-2-3-Championship! they gotta shoot better than 15-30 from the line. LeBron (2-6), Hughes (2-5), Gooden (0-2) and Varejao (5-9) all shot poorly. Marshall was 3-4 and Z was 2-2.
and finally
Oh yeah, almost forgot about that LeBron character. LeBron ended the game with a line that looked like this: 26-10-5. I really liked the fact that in the second quarter, Lebron took a seat for and the Cavs added 6 points to their lead. WTF? LeBron played 41 minutes total, not real good, but it wasn't the entire game either.
Random Thoughts NBA Predictions (1 day late)
The East
8. Indiana
7. Orlando
6. Washington
5. Detroit
4. Miami
3. New Jersey
2. Chicago
1. Cleveland
The West
8. Minnesota
7. LA Lakers
6. Denver
5. Houston
4. Phoenix
3. LA Clippers
2. Dallas
1. San Antonio
East. Yes, you read that right, I have the Cavs getting the top seed in the East. That's scary. Also, you may think I have the Bulls too high (as I've panned the Wallace signing all summer), but it is more of a result of the East being weak, than Chicago being all that good (and honestly? That's really the same reason I have the Cavs no. 1).
So why do I have last seasons top 2 East team rated so low? In a nutshell? Effort and Injuries.
Detroit hasn't had any of their major guys go down the last couple years while everybody else has gotten bit by the injury bug (Hughes went down for the Cavs, Duncan was hobbled for the Spurs, two season ago Wade got hurt in the ECF, the Suns lost Amare last season, etc). Injuries happen, but apparently not to the Pistons. I figure with the loss of Wallace plus some kind of injury the Piston's won't be a 60 win team this season.
And Miami, well, Bill Simmons explains it a lot better than I can:
Do I think they'll be a force in the playoffs? Of course; they still have Shaq and Wade gets 28 free throws a game. That's hard to beat. But to win the East in the regular season... well they only had 52 wins last season, the Cavs were only 2 games behind them last season. The Cavs should overtake them this time around.
West. I think a lot of people are under estimating the Spurs this season. They're boring, it seems like they've been around forever. Jay Mariotti (or maybe Bill Plaschke, I hate both of them) called them "too old" on Around the Horn the other day. I don't buy it.
The Spurs almost beat Dallas last season and Duncan was at 75%. If Duncan is healthy this season, I see no reason why they won't be there again. And the Suns aren't a lock to beat San Antonio with a healthy Amare Stoudamire.
As for the playoffs, I hate to pick the championship team right now, we really don't know what these teams are going to look like come May (I mean, the Cavs are a completely different team if they trade for a point guard). But right now I'd say Cleveland advances over Miami in the Eastern finals and goes on to lose to San Antonio, who beat out Dallas in the West
8. Indiana
7. Orlando
6. Washington
5. Detroit
4. Miami
3. New Jersey
2. Chicago
1. Cleveland
The West
8. Minnesota
7. LA Lakers
6. Denver
5. Houston
4. Phoenix
3. LA Clippers
2. Dallas
1. San Antonio
East. Yes, you read that right, I have the Cavs getting the top seed in the East. That's scary. Also, you may think I have the Bulls too high (as I've panned the Wallace signing all summer), but it is more of a result of the East being weak, than Chicago being all that good (and honestly? That's really the same reason I have the Cavs no. 1).
So why do I have last seasons top 2 East team rated so low? In a nutshell? Effort and Injuries.
Detroit hasn't had any of their major guys go down the last couple years while everybody else has gotten bit by the injury bug (Hughes went down for the Cavs, Duncan was hobbled for the Spurs, two season ago Wade got hurt in the ECF, the Suns lost Amare last season, etc). Injuries happen, but apparently not to the Pistons. I figure with the loss of Wallace plus some kind of injury the Piston's won't be a 60 win team this season.
And Miami, well, Bill Simmons explains it a lot better than I can:
Note to anyone picking Miami to run away with the East: You need to consider the following things:A. For this team to win 50-plus games, Wade needs to play between 42-45 minutes a night ... and he's coming off a 100-game NBA season, a World Championships stint and about 730 hard fouls over the past 12 months. You really think Riley will be cracking the whip here?
B. This team is older than Al Davis. Alonzo and GP are on their last legs. 'Toine has bad knees. Shaq has accomplished everything he ever wanted and probably spent the last few months auditioning rap artists and reading movie scripts. They have no young players other than Udonis Haslem, no young legs to carry them on back-to-backs, and if that's not bad enough, everyone will be gunning for them as the defending champs. Also, they had multiple players swallow their pride and accept less shots/minutes for the greater good -- and even then, they never truly came together as a team until Games 5 and 6 of the Finals. Now they all have their rings. You really think 'Toine and White Chocolate will be passing up wide-open 3-pointers again so they can keep getting Shaq and Wade involved? Come on.
C. During a preseason game against Houston last week, one of the ESPN announcers casually remarked that Riley said his goal for the upcoming season was to finish as one of the top-four seeds. This way, they won't have to potentially play four Game 7s on the road. I'm not saying that this isn't smart -- actually, it's the perfect way to approach things, and there's a history of older teams playing it successfully this way (like the '68, '69 and '76 Celtics, for example). But if you think Miami will be steamrolling through the league for the next six months, you're kidding yourself. I see them finishing between 44 and 50 wins. That won't be enough.
Do I think they'll be a force in the playoffs? Of course; they still have Shaq and Wade gets 28 free throws a game. That's hard to beat. But to win the East in the regular season... well they only had 52 wins last season, the Cavs were only 2 games behind them last season. The Cavs should overtake them this time around.
West. I think a lot of people are under estimating the Spurs this season. They're boring, it seems like they've been around forever. Jay Mariotti (or maybe Bill Plaschke, I hate both of them) called them "too old" on Around the Horn the other day. I don't buy it.
The Spurs almost beat Dallas last season and Duncan was at 75%. If Duncan is healthy this season, I see no reason why they won't be there again. And the Suns aren't a lock to beat San Antonio with a healthy Amare Stoudamire.
As for the playoffs, I hate to pick the championship team right now, we really don't know what these teams are going to look like come May (I mean, the Cavs are a completely different team if they trade for a point guard). But right now I'd say Cleveland advances over Miami in the Eastern finals and goes on to lose to San Antonio, who beat out Dallas in the West
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
LeBron on the Daily Show
Monday, October 30, 2006
Random Thoughts from the Weekend (extended edition)
1. I know it's just Minnesota, but 44-0 is still 44-0.
2. In addition, it looks pretty sweet when ESPN shows that "Top 10 scoreboard" and that 44-0 is sitting on top Michigan's 17-3 win, USC's 31-33 loss, and Texas, Auburn, Tennessee and Florida's close game.
3. It wasn't like OSU was running up the score either. The backup were in most, if not all, of the 4th quarter. And their last TD, if I'm not mistaken, was a drive full of Chris Wells runs (and punched in by a Zwick QB sneak).
4. USC's loss makes way for West Virginia to get into the title game. Everyone knows that WV can run the ball (and they run it extremely well) and that Ohio State has had some trouble with stopping that run. That's all well and good, but if you give Jim Tressel that much time to stop a one dimensional team, don't bet against the Buckeyes.
5. Anyone out there have an update on Buckeye receiver Ray Small? He took a huge shot during the game and looked like he was shaking. It was ugly. I never heard any more updates on him throughout the game.
6. Smith only had 183 yards and 1 TD, but he was 14-21. The one thing I love about Ohio State is that they don't really pad their stats. I mean, Smith could've gone out there and thrown 45 times, racking up big yards and TD totals. Sure, 44-0 is a pretty big beating, but like I said, a lot of that was the running game kicking ass.
7. The Heisman is Smith's to lose. I think it's in the bag unless he has a terrible game versus Michigan. Like 3 INT and a blowout loss. But, for some reason, I don't see that happening.
8. There's a lot of talk right now of a Michigan-Ohio State championship game rematch. For obvious reasons, I'd be all about this. However, for it happen, there cannot be any undefeated teams left. So that means West Virginia and Louisville will have to lose (and they play this week, so one will). Ohio State would have to win in a close one. An overtime or two could really put it over the top. That'd be the only way Michigan wouldn't drop out of the top 2. But even then... it's probably just a pipe dream.
9. Yes, West Virginia still has those 2 first place votes. I should really just let it go. But I can't.
10. So I was at the Browns game yesterday. My first Browns game ever in fact. I've been to the stadium before (Hudson Marching Band style) but I had not taken in a game (I've been Columbus for awhile, lay off). I feel privileged to have seen a Browns home win (I also saw one of the Cavs 17 wins in the season before LeBron, awesome).
11. What struck me was how different a Browns game atmosphere is from a Cavs or Indians game. If you go to a Cavs game (and I've seen a ton) it's very business like and, while there are a few people wearing jerseys, they aren't exactly everywhere. You'll also see other MLB or NBA jerseys at Tribe and Cavs game (especially pre-LeBron). But not so at the Browns games; EVERYONE was wearing Browns jerseys (one reason is that football jerseys are easier to put over coats and hoodies, but still). And not just the stars like Winslow and Edwards (and Frye) but 'second tier' Browns like Reuben Droughns and Joe Jurevicius. You'll rarely see stuff like that at a Cavs or Indians game (an Eric Snow jersey? sign me up).
12. I made a lot of jersey cracks throughout the day like , "A William Green jersey? There's a good investment". But this is coming from a guy who bought Maurice Clarett jersey. That was 50 dollars well spent.
13. Although, my favorite jerseys were some custom jobs. A number 2 Browns jersey with the last name of "Steamers". Well done.
14. Once the Browns got up 17-3 I turned to my buddy and asked "so, how are they going to blow this?" We came up with the Jets getting some kind a special teams play, and a turnover during a stretch when the Browns offense is going too conservative (either a Droughns fumble or a Frye pick off of a 3rd and 9).
15. Well, the Jets got a kick off return for a TD and the Browns offense went conservative. But no costly TOs. I have no idea how close that last play was, but thank the lord the Browns got the call. If they lost that game, I don't even want to know what the fans would've done.
16. I thought Frye looked decent; he got a lot of time in the first half and made some nice plays. He did have one INT, but I didn't think it was too bad. It was a long one; it wasn't as good a good punt, but it was as good as an average punt. Turns out it helped, cause the Jets went 3 and out and missed a field goal.
17. Speaking of that missed field goal, I'm sorry, but I can't root against Mike Nugent. Not happening.
18. Terry Pluto:
21. How is Oakland on a 2 game win streak?
22. I'm up 115 to 67 going into tonight's Monday night game. I also have Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney and Corey Dillon going tonight, hopefully I'll pull this one out.
23. Set the Tivo, LeBron's gonna be on the Daily Show tonight. Also, the Daily Show is filming on Ohio States campus all week long (for their Midwest Midterm Midtacular). The Daily Show. Ohio State. LeBron James. It's like a perfect storm of Ben's favorite things.
24. This is awesome:
32. The new Scissor Sisters' album, Tah-Dah is pretty good. If I were to tell you that it was a lost Elton John album from the 70s, you'd be hard pressed to know if I was lying. Some of the songs get too 'dance-y' (the whole album is pretty overproduced, but the songs are catchy enough for me to get over it), but overall, it's a pretty solid album.
33. Fire Joe Morgan has been going insane on this David Eckstein business.
34. Rush Limbaugh is a douchebag.
35. I'm in two fantasy basketball leagues this season, and I missed one of the league's draft. Guess which one I missed.
Team 1:
Give up? I'll give you a hint, you think I drafted Damon Jones AND Mike Dunleavy?
36. I don't know about you, but I'm excited for No Laugh Track Thursdays.
37. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.
38. MMQB
39. SI.com's first power rankings... behind the Nets(?) but ahead of the Bulls.
40. I wouldn't mind him landing in Cleveland.
2. In addition, it looks pretty sweet when ESPN shows that "Top 10 scoreboard" and that 44-0 is sitting on top Michigan's 17-3 win, USC's 31-33 loss, and Texas, Auburn, Tennessee and Florida's close game.
3. It wasn't like OSU was running up the score either. The backup were in most, if not all, of the 4th quarter. And their last TD, if I'm not mistaken, was a drive full of Chris Wells runs (and punched in by a Zwick QB sneak).
4. USC's loss makes way for West Virginia to get into the title game. Everyone knows that WV can run the ball (and they run it extremely well) and that Ohio State has had some trouble with stopping that run. That's all well and good, but if you give Jim Tressel that much time to stop a one dimensional team, don't bet against the Buckeyes.
5. Anyone out there have an update on Buckeye receiver Ray Small? He took a huge shot during the game and looked like he was shaking. It was ugly. I never heard any more updates on him throughout the game.
6. Smith only had 183 yards and 1 TD, but he was 14-21. The one thing I love about Ohio State is that they don't really pad their stats. I mean, Smith could've gone out there and thrown 45 times, racking up big yards and TD totals. Sure, 44-0 is a pretty big beating, but like I said, a lot of that was the running game kicking ass.
7. The Heisman is Smith's to lose. I think it's in the bag unless he has a terrible game versus Michigan. Like 3 INT and a blowout loss. But, for some reason, I don't see that happening.
8. There's a lot of talk right now of a Michigan-Ohio State championship game rematch. For obvious reasons, I'd be all about this. However, for it happen, there cannot be any undefeated teams left. So that means West Virginia and Louisville will have to lose (and they play this week, so one will). Ohio State would have to win in a close one. An overtime or two could really put it over the top. That'd be the only way Michigan wouldn't drop out of the top 2. But even then... it's probably just a pipe dream.
9. Yes, West Virginia still has those 2 first place votes. I should really just let it go. But I can't.
10. So I was at the Browns game yesterday. My first Browns game ever in fact. I've been to the stadium before (Hudson Marching Band style) but I had not taken in a game (I've been Columbus for awhile, lay off). I feel privileged to have seen a Browns home win (I also saw one of the Cavs 17 wins in the season before LeBron, awesome).
11. What struck me was how different a Browns game atmosphere is from a Cavs or Indians game. If you go to a Cavs game (and I've seen a ton) it's very business like and, while there are a few people wearing jerseys, they aren't exactly everywhere. You'll also see other MLB or NBA jerseys at Tribe and Cavs game (especially pre-LeBron). But not so at the Browns games; EVERYONE was wearing Browns jerseys (one reason is that football jerseys are easier to put over coats and hoodies, but still). And not just the stars like Winslow and Edwards (and Frye) but 'second tier' Browns like Reuben Droughns and Joe Jurevicius. You'll rarely see stuff like that at a Cavs or Indians game (an Eric Snow jersey? sign me up).
12. I made a lot of jersey cracks throughout the day like , "A William Green jersey? There's a good investment". But this is coming from a guy who bought Maurice Clarett jersey. That was 50 dollars well spent.
13. Although, my favorite jerseys were some custom jobs. A number 2 Browns jersey with the last name of "Steamers". Well done.
14. Once the Browns got up 17-3 I turned to my buddy and asked "so, how are they going to blow this?" We came up with the Jets getting some kind a special teams play, and a turnover during a stretch when the Browns offense is going too conservative (either a Droughns fumble or a Frye pick off of a 3rd and 9).
15. Well, the Jets got a kick off return for a TD and the Browns offense went conservative. But no costly TOs. I have no idea how close that last play was, but thank the lord the Browns got the call. If they lost that game, I don't even want to know what the fans would've done.
16. I thought Frye looked decent; he got a lot of time in the first half and made some nice plays. He did have one INT, but I didn't think it was too bad. It was a long one; it wasn't as good a good punt, but it was as good as an average punt. Turns out it helped, cause the Jets went 3 and out and missed a field goal.
17. Speaking of that missed field goal, I'm sorry, but I can't root against Mike Nugent. Not happening.
18. Terry Pluto:
The Browns did more than beat the New York Jets 20-13, they looked like a team with a clue on offense.Not every play worked, but at least the team knew what plays it planned to run -- and where guys should stand.
It's amazing you have to mention something so basic about a pro team, but these are the Browns. You've seen 12 men in the huddle, guys lining up offside and receivers running left, passes going right.
We won't even talk about the blocking assignments missed, the timeouts wasted because no one was sure what was happening on the field.
But Sunday was different, starting with the fact that the Browns actually won their first home game.
More Pluto here.
19. Honestly, a Browns home win is like freaking Christmas. They both come once a year (Hey-o!)
21. How is Oakland on a 2 game win streak?
22. I'm up 115 to 67 going into tonight's Monday night game. I also have Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney and Corey Dillon going tonight, hopefully I'll pull this one out.
23. Set the Tivo, LeBron's gonna be on the Daily Show tonight. Also, the Daily Show is filming on Ohio States campus all week long (for their Midwest Midterm Midtacular). The Daily Show. Ohio State. LeBron James. It's like a perfect storm of Ben's favorite things.
24. This is awesome:
NBA players routinely pay big money for watches, but not the one Drew Gooden is now sporting. Gooden is on a big 1980s kick, a current fad in his hometown of Oakland. The Cavs forward recently plunked down $300 on eBay to get a vintage Casio calculator watch.He's growing a square patch of hair in the back of his otherwise shaved head, which he calls a ``ducktail,'' another '80s look. His left eyebrow also has two lines shaved into it, another forgotten trend from the time of the Reagan Administration.
Gooden, however, was a little upset he had to get into a bidding war for the watch. Apparently he's run into another trend, as fans of NBC's The Office are in the market because one is sported by favorite nerdy character Dwight Schrute.
``It was me and another guy and we were bidding back and forth and it kept going up and up,'' Gooden said. ``I was lucky I got it.''
No word yet on his bid for retro leg warmers.
25. With Drew Gooden's ducktail, Varejao's Sideshow Bob hair cut and the addition of Scot Pollard, the Cavs big men look entertaining to say the least.
26. Eric Snow is aware that you hate him.
27. Windhorst says the Cavs are the 6th best team in the league. It's hard to gripe with that (he has both Detroit and Miami ahead of them in the East), but I do think he (along with everyone else) is rating Phoenix way too high.
28.
Q: So how many games will the Cavs win this season?
A: I'll go with 53.
Q: Only 53?
A: Since when did ``only'' and ``53 wins'' ever appear in the same sentence about the Cavs? That's a lot of victories. The East is better, especially in the Central Division, where Detroit will win at least 55 games, where Chicago has improved dramatically and where Milwaukee is solid.
Q: But they won 50 a year ago; shouldn't they win at least 55?
A: The idea is to have the team winning enough games for home court in as many playoff rounds as possible. Even more important, to be playing as well as possible in the playoffs. That means not playing James more minutes than anyone else in the league to win a few extra games. It means working on an offense that is more than pick-and-rolls -- or throwing the ball to James and letting him do something. It means growing on defense, and learning how to win close, physical games under pressure. It means making sure the key guys on the bench play enough to stay sharp. So 50, 53 or 55, there's no big difference if the Cavs can accomplish most of these goals.
I'm with Pluto on this. I think the Cavs should win somewhere between 50-55 games. I don't really see them challenging the franchise record of 57 unless the offense really comes together. Read the rest of Pluto.
29. Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.Wednesday 8:00pm.
30. Red Auerbach passed away. The NBA lost a great one, there's nothing I can really say that people haven't already stated. But the guy was awesome. Read Simmons's interview with Red from a few years ago.
32. The new Scissor Sisters' album, Tah-Dah is pretty good. If I were to tell you that it was a lost Elton John album from the 70s, you'd be hard pressed to know if I was lying. Some of the songs get too 'dance-y' (the whole album is pretty overproduced, but the songs are catchy enough for me to get over it), but overall, it's a pretty solid album.
33. Fire Joe Morgan has been going insane on this David Eckstein business.
34. Rush Limbaugh is a douchebag.
35. I'm in two fantasy basketball leagues this season, and I missed one of the league's draft. Guess which one I missed.
Team 1:
Raymond Felton
Michael Redd
Tony Parker
Donyell Marshall
Chris Bosh
Dwight Howard
Yao Ming
Darko Milic
Rajon Rondo
Kyle Korver
Steve Francis
Joel Przybilla
Bonzi Wells
Team 2:Michael Redd
Tony Parker
Donyell Marshall
Chris Bosh
Dwight Howard
Yao Ming
Darko Milic
Rajon Rondo
Kyle Korver
Steve Francis
Joel Przybilla
Bonzi Wells
Mike Bibby
Vince Carter
Sam Cassell
Andres Nocinoi
Elton Brand
Carlos Boozer
Kenny Thomas
Brevin Knight
Damon Stoudamire
Mike Dunleavy
Chris Duhon
Damon Jones
Luther Head
Vince Carter
Sam Cassell
Andres Nocinoi
Elton Brand
Carlos Boozer
Kenny Thomas
Brevin Knight
Damon Stoudamire
Mike Dunleavy
Chris Duhon
Damon Jones
Luther Head
Give up? I'll give you a hint, you think I drafted Damon Jones AND Mike Dunleavy?
36. I don't know about you, but I'm excited for No Laugh Track Thursdays.
37. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.
38. MMQB
39. SI.com's first power rankings... behind the Nets(?) but ahead of the Bulls.
40. I wouldn't mind him landing in Cleveland.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Hudson made Deadspin
Good job guys.
The best part of this whole story is having the Hudson soccer moms call up talk show (and appear on the local news) and say that they had no idea this could be taken as racist. Well done.
Ignorant.
The best part of this whole story is having the Hudson soccer moms call up talk show (and appear on the local news) and say that they had no idea this could be taken as racist. Well done.
Ignorant.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Maurice Carthon Reactions
Doesn't this make you feel good?
With Dilfer gone, the Browns have no back up plan in case Frye can't cut or gets hurt. The Browns have failed Charlie Frye.
But surprisingly, not everyone is sad to see Carthon go:
"Carthon did a lot of criticizing guys," Coleman said. "Not to bash him, but I think J.D. is just a more laid-back guy and he knows football. When he explains things, you feel he knows what he's talking about. It gives you more confidence to go out and do what's asked of you."Wow. Just wow. I'm just glad the Browns kept Carthon around as long as they did.
I'm also glad that the Browns traded Trent Dilfer because he clashed with Maurice fucking Carthon.Former Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer told the Orange and Brown Report that Maurice Carthon's departure "doesn't hurt my feelings one bit."
He said it was obvious last year that he clashed with the offensive coordinator.
"Yeah, I made no bones about it," he said. "I didn't think he [Carthon] was very good from the second I got there. I think there [are] people that are good at what they do, and people that aren't.
So he saw this coming? "I'm shocked it didn't happen sooner."
I don't care who you are, that's just good coaching.One story from last year -- told by a player prior to this week -- seems to sum up what now appears to have been a dysfunctional situation.
It had then-quarterback Trent Dilfer telling Carthon that a play he called in practice had the wrong protection. Carthon responded by telling Dilfer to run the play the way he called it, protection or not.
That angered Davidson, who turned around and slammed his clipboard to the ground.
With Dilfer gone, the Browns have no back up plan in case Frye can't cut or gets hurt. The Browns have failed Charlie Frye.
But surprisingly, not everyone is sad to see Carthon go:
A) no way, the rookie player Carthon kept putting in the game liked him. You're kidding. B) the plays Carthon ran (the ones that featured rookie fullback Lawrence Vickers), Vickers liked. I for one am shocked. C) Vickers and Carton connected. Really, the rookie fullback and the former fullback? Awesome.Rookie fullback Lawrence Vickers was one of several players who complimented Carthon. Carthon, a former fullback, bonded with Vickers and showcased him, using him on two controversial third-down toss sweeps in the opener and then the infamous halfback option pass against Carolina.
"I'm going to miss Carthon," said Vickers. "He was kind of a mentor to me. We talked about a lot of things, football-wise and life.
"I just have to keep our friendship and relationship going."
He supported the three controversial plays Carthon used him on. "We just didn't execute the plays," said Vickers.
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