Does anyone else see the irony of a team called the Indians having the whitest outfield in baseball?
The newest edition? Trot Nixon.
(I've always hated Nixon for some reason; part of me feels like he's the Red Sox version of Scott Brosius (but better). Is Nixon terrible? No, but he's not really anything that great. If he had been playing in Baltimore or Kansas City the past 8 years, no one would think twice of him. I'm not prepared to root for Trot freaking Nixon just yet. I don't think I'll ever be)
But back to that pasty outfield...
Just look at that list of names: Trot Nixon, Grady Sizemore, Luke Jackson, David Dellucci, Jiri Welsch, Jason Michaels and Casey Blake.
When looking at that list a lot of phrases come to mind; like 'clubhouse guys', 'hustle' and 'gritty'. I'd also like to add 'platoon players', 'crappy' and 'slow'. Somehow 'dynamic signings' and 'let's go buy a lot of tickets' never really entered my mind.
The Indians are pretty close to fielding an all white lineup, it's really not that far off from happening: Ryan Garko 1B, Blake 3B, Joe Inglett SS, Travis Hafner DH, Kelly Shoppach C, Dellucci, Sizemore and Nixon OF. The Indians really blew their chance to complete the white out by trading for Josh Barfield.
Honestly Shapiro, what were you thinking? You could've signed either Adam Kennedy or Mark Lorretta this offseason. Better yet, you could've signed 'em both and had them platoon!
In all seriousness, these signings aren't really terrible. Nixon plays everyday and Dellucci is decent. Wait, no. Dellucci sucks.
But these signings do signal one thing: the Tribe will be a major player in at least one end of season award.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Bill Livingston realizes that Fred McLeod is a stooge
About time someone else mentioned it:
Dan Gilbert, the Cavaliers owner, didn't start the trend to poppycock in televised sports, he just accelerated it when he hired Fred McLeod, the biggest "homer" since the steroid era in baseball.Wow... that is a terrible pun. And people wonder why I bash the Plain Dealer (wait, no they don't)
When Williams termed "silly" Sasha Pavlovic's foul of a Seattle player shooting a twisting, fadeaway jumper, McLeod said, "He's only 23." Williams, who probably heard Dean Smith say: "Don't foul a jump shooter" at freshman orientation at North Carolina, said, "He's got to know better."I'm glad someone is calling them on that inane 'fathead' line. That has to end. It doesn't really even make sense, it's just McLeod throwing Gilbert's company name out there during a play call.
The one comment taken here as being creative was when McLeod called a James slam a "Fathead dunk." I liked it because "Fathead" posters are bigger than life. They also are a Gilbert enterprise. The broadcaster had hit a grand slam in shilling.
There is no one else like McLeod in Cleveland play-by-play. The message is: Don't go by what you see. Go by what the Cavs tell you. It's an insult.
Denver 110, Cleveland 99
That was awful. For about the first 3 1/2 quarters, I wasn't really sure why I was even watching this game. The Cavs didn't exactly seem to care, and if they didn't, hell, why should I?
No effort. The shooting was terrible. Again. 37% in the first half, 42% for the game. The defense was equally bad; Denver shot 50% from the floor. I know coach Brown loves the defense and all, but can we all recognize that the terrible offense leads to bad defense? When the Cavs brick their jumpers, they can't get set on D. Guys are then out of position, especially when the other team plays up tempo. If the Cavs were more efficient on offense, that could help out the D a tad.
Not that it mattered that much. 50% is 50%; long rebounds off of missed shots can only be blamed so much. The Cavs had no intensity at all during the first 40ish minutes of the ball game. Everytime the Cavs did make a run to cut it to 13 or so, they would immediately give up an easy basket on the other, be it a wide open 10 footer, a dunk or a second chance basket. Where's the focus?
What the hell is Mike Brown doing? The Cavs started the second quarter with a line-up of Eric Snow, Damon Jones, Daniel Gibson, Donyell Marshall and Anderson Varejao. Surprisingly, it didn't fare that well. I for one am shocked that a line featuring 3 point guards, a jump shooting power forward and raw big man didn't produce.
The old offense has made it's triumphant return! The offense where Brown loads the floor with shooters (Jones, Marshall and Gibson) while James and Varejao run the high screen and roll. Either James takes it to the rim, hits Varejao down low or dishes off to a jump shooter after drawing in the defense. The Cavs just ran the high screen play after play after play in the fourth quarter. And ya know what? It worked. The Cavs got within 5 before finally folding.
James played 44 minutes. Of course he did. And why not? They only have a game in Oakland the following night, with a game at home versus Orlando on Monday. And sure it's his 3rd game in 4 nights and 6th out of 7 games on this West coast swing...
It seemed like only yesterday... To start off January, the Cavs swept a 4 game in 5 night stretch for the first time since the Great Depression. I was pumped, you were pumped; the Cavs had turned the corner. And when they won 2 out of their first 3 on the trip out West, it looked like the Cavs' season was finally on track. Well, don't look now, but the Cavs are a (lackadaisical, uninspiring) loss away from being swept on a 4-in-5 span.
I'm not liking this roller coaster stuff. The Cavs look fantastic and the fans are pleased. Then they look utterly clueless and the fans are pissed. Then the Cavs look great and all is well. Then they look inept and terrible and the fans are suicidal. My feelings about this team change from game to game. When they win, they look like contenders, they share the ball and LeBron looks like a MVP. When they lose, they look helpless and I want to fire and trade anyone and everyone. And I know why; the Cavs never win ugly. Think about it, when is the last time this team gutted out a win? When have they stole a game? Won a game they didn't deserve to? Won ugly? They don't. Even games where they play poorly and come back to win (like the Boston and San Antonio games), they don't grind a game out. They'll play awful and then they'll catch fire and LeBron will do some crazy shit and they'll make a run to get back into it. They don't win ugly. It's all or nothing.
But they sure do lose ugly. When the Cavaliers lose, they go all out. They don't put forth effort, they miss free throws, they'll shoot 15+ threes, they'll miss a ton of free throws, we'll get to see a line-up with 3 point guards and two big men with limited offensive skills, Hughes bricks some jumpers and for some reason James will go long stretches without taking a shot. That pretty much sums up the last couple games, right?
Break more clipboards!! This was one of those games where I wouldn't have minded Brown getting himself thrown out. Just yell at the refs (there were a few calls he could've bitched about) and get thrown out. Wake the team up. Plus, you wouldn't have had to see the Cavs giving up easy buckets.
Only an 11 point loss. Weird huh? Does that say more about the Cavs or the Nuggets? Maybe George Karl really was legitmattly keeping his starters in during the Knicks game (JR Smith took some terrible shots). The Cavs came to life in the fourth period and somehow made this game interesting. The announcers we're thrilled, they had had enough discussions of Rick Barry, Allen Iverson's highschool football career and Steve Blake's pets. James came alive late in the game and actually recorded his first triple double of the season (30-10-10).
It'd have been nice if he plays with that kind of passion all game long. And if he played that way for every game, the Cavs would be running away with the East. I hate to put it all on James, especially when his starting backcourt can't shoot the basketball. but the Cavs go as he goes. And when he got angry against Denver, the Cavs made a run. When he gave Snow jump shots on consecutive possessions... well... not exactly inspiring.
Best news of the game? James didn't get injured (season ending style). LeBron's right ankle got rolled on during a loose ball (Larry Hughes style) and when I first saw it, I would've sworn he'd blown out his knee. It looked bad. Larry Hughes subbed in for LeBron (got fouled hard, missed 2 FTs) and then James was right back out there. If James would've suffered a season ending injury during a fourth quarter blow out, I would've fired Mike Brown right then and there (assuming my name was Dan Gilbert)
Marcus Camby? Nene? Really? Camby had 26 points (12-19 shooting) and 17 boards; that's pretty impressive. Nene hit some big free throws and had a huge dunk down the stretch that effectively ended the Cavs run.
Second best news of the game? Eric Snow only played 23 minutes, after getting less than 20 in the Portland game. This meant that Dan Gibson was on the floor for extended minutes- I like this. When the Cavs are down big, there is no reason for Snow to be out there; if they need to score in bunches, Snow doesn't exactly help that. Close games where Snow can guard a big 2 guard? I'm ok with this. In any case, at least one of the starters is getting some rest.
and finally...
Situation: 2nd night of a back-to-back. On the road. 4th game in 5 nights. 7th and final game of a West coast trip. James played 44 minutes the night before and sprained his ankle. Plus, the Warriors run just a bit. Who's excited? Who likes their chances? If the Cavs do pull off a win, it'll put their road trip record at 3-4, which isn't too awful, but certainly disappointing, considering how they started off the new year.
No effort. The shooting was terrible. Again. 37% in the first half, 42% for the game. The defense was equally bad; Denver shot 50% from the floor. I know coach Brown loves the defense and all, but can we all recognize that the terrible offense leads to bad defense? When the Cavs brick their jumpers, they can't get set on D. Guys are then out of position, especially when the other team plays up tempo. If the Cavs were more efficient on offense, that could help out the D a tad.
Not that it mattered that much. 50% is 50%; long rebounds off of missed shots can only be blamed so much. The Cavs had no intensity at all during the first 40ish minutes of the ball game. Everytime the Cavs did make a run to cut it to 13 or so, they would immediately give up an easy basket on the other, be it a wide open 10 footer, a dunk or a second chance basket. Where's the focus?
What the hell is Mike Brown doing? The Cavs started the second quarter with a line-up of Eric Snow, Damon Jones, Daniel Gibson, Donyell Marshall and Anderson Varejao. Surprisingly, it didn't fare that well. I for one am shocked that a line featuring 3 point guards, a jump shooting power forward and raw big man didn't produce.
The old offense has made it's triumphant return! The offense where Brown loads the floor with shooters (Jones, Marshall and Gibson) while James and Varejao run the high screen and roll. Either James takes it to the rim, hits Varejao down low or dishes off to a jump shooter after drawing in the defense. The Cavs just ran the high screen play after play after play in the fourth quarter. And ya know what? It worked. The Cavs got within 5 before finally folding.
James played 44 minutes. Of course he did. And why not? They only have a game in Oakland the following night, with a game at home versus Orlando on Monday. And sure it's his 3rd game in 4 nights and 6th out of 7 games on this West coast swing...
It seemed like only yesterday... To start off January, the Cavs swept a 4 game in 5 night stretch for the first time since the Great Depression. I was pumped, you were pumped; the Cavs had turned the corner. And when they won 2 out of their first 3 on the trip out West, it looked like the Cavs' season was finally on track. Well, don't look now, but the Cavs are a (lackadaisical, uninspiring) loss away from being swept on a 4-in-5 span.
I'm not liking this roller coaster stuff. The Cavs look fantastic and the fans are pleased. Then they look utterly clueless and the fans are pissed. Then the Cavs look great and all is well. Then they look inept and terrible and the fans are suicidal. My feelings about this team change from game to game. When they win, they look like contenders, they share the ball and LeBron looks like a MVP. When they lose, they look helpless and I want to fire and trade anyone and everyone. And I know why; the Cavs never win ugly. Think about it, when is the last time this team gutted out a win? When have they stole a game? Won a game they didn't deserve to? Won ugly? They don't. Even games where they play poorly and come back to win (like the Boston and San Antonio games), they don't grind a game out. They'll play awful and then they'll catch fire and LeBron will do some crazy shit and they'll make a run to get back into it. They don't win ugly. It's all or nothing.
But they sure do lose ugly. When the Cavaliers lose, they go all out. They don't put forth effort, they miss free throws, they'll shoot 15+ threes, they'll miss a ton of free throws, we'll get to see a line-up with 3 point guards and two big men with limited offensive skills, Hughes bricks some jumpers and for some reason James will go long stretches without taking a shot. That pretty much sums up the last couple games, right?
Break more clipboards!! This was one of those games where I wouldn't have minded Brown getting himself thrown out. Just yell at the refs (there were a few calls he could've bitched about) and get thrown out. Wake the team up. Plus, you wouldn't have had to see the Cavs giving up easy buckets.
Only an 11 point loss. Weird huh? Does that say more about the Cavs or the Nuggets? Maybe George Karl really was legitmattly keeping his starters in during the Knicks game (JR Smith took some terrible shots). The Cavs came to life in the fourth period and somehow made this game interesting. The announcers we're thrilled, they had had enough discussions of Rick Barry, Allen Iverson's highschool football career and Steve Blake's pets. James came alive late in the game and actually recorded his first triple double of the season (30-10-10).
It'd have been nice if he plays with that kind of passion all game long. And if he played that way for every game, the Cavs would be running away with the East. I hate to put it all on James, especially when his starting backcourt can't shoot the basketball. but the Cavs go as he goes. And when he got angry against Denver, the Cavs made a run. When he gave Snow jump shots on consecutive possessions... well... not exactly inspiring.
Best news of the game? James didn't get injured (season ending style). LeBron's right ankle got rolled on during a loose ball (Larry Hughes style) and when I first saw it, I would've sworn he'd blown out his knee. It looked bad. Larry Hughes subbed in for LeBron (got fouled hard, missed 2 FTs) and then James was right back out there. If James would've suffered a season ending injury during a fourth quarter blow out, I would've fired Mike Brown right then and there (assuming my name was Dan Gilbert)
Marcus Camby? Nene? Really? Camby had 26 points (12-19 shooting) and 17 boards; that's pretty impressive. Nene hit some big free throws and had a huge dunk down the stretch that effectively ended the Cavs run.
Second best news of the game? Eric Snow only played 23 minutes, after getting less than 20 in the Portland game. This meant that Dan Gibson was on the floor for extended minutes- I like this. When the Cavs are down big, there is no reason for Snow to be out there; if they need to score in bunches, Snow doesn't exactly help that. Close games where Snow can guard a big 2 guard? I'm ok with this. In any case, at least one of the starters is getting some rest.
and finally...
Situation: 2nd night of a back-to-back. On the road. 4th game in 5 nights. 7th and final game of a West coast trip. James played 44 minutes the night before and sprained his ankle. Plus, the Warriors run just a bit. Who's excited? Who likes their chances? If the Cavs do pull off a win, it'll put their road trip record at 3-4, which isn't too awful, but certainly disappointing, considering how they started off the new year.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Um... not good
Windhorst:
After the game Wednesday Mike Brown was as fired up as I've seen him in a year and a half. Closest I can remember was in Dallas last season after the Cavs blew big leads to the Heat and Mavs on the same road trip. But that was understandable, those teams were the best in the league. Not the same with the Blazers. Anyway, Mike was going on about how the team ought to be embarrassed and ashamed and all that, it was good stuff. I went into the locker room a few minutes later and many Cavs were just laughing and carrying on. Guess they didn't feel the same way. So, they're not worrying about it, why should you, right?
Portland 94, Cleveland 76
That was ugly. I know that they were disappointed from blowing the Seattle game. Ya, it hurt. But they needed to get over it and focus on the Blazers. Coming into the game, Portland is 16-24 and lost 8 of their last 10. They were certainly beatable. This game should've at least been close; there's no reason we should've seen David Wesley.
Thanks guys. I just defended you guys and this is how you repay me? Gracias.
Nice start. The Cavs didn't score their first field goal until 3:50 remaining in the first period. Think about that, it took them over 8 minutes to make a basket. They scored 9(!!!) points in the quarter. Single digits for the first period. That is beyond awful. But hey, Mike Brown loves defense and the Cavs were only down 18-9 after the first period.
This was the best play all night (look who got a new toy):
Of course, LeBron missed the freebie.
Hooray for Boobie! Daniel Gibson came in with 3 minutes left in the first and didn't go back to the bench until the start of the third. He scored 10 points in the second quarter (more than the entire team in the first) and he scored the first Cavalier point that wasn't a jumper or free throws (an offensive rebound). It is not a good thing when your back up (3rd string?) rookie point guard scores your first bucket in the paint.
Starting back court = not good. Snow registered 0 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls while logging just 15 minutes. Fantastic. Larry Hughes shot a blistering 25% from the field (3-12) and committed 4 turnovers. To be fair, Larry did take it to the hole rather often and he got 14 free throws (made 11). The starting backcourt had 0 assists. Wow that's bad.
Hughes did help out the second quarter run. The Cavs scored 28 points in the second quarter to close the deficit to 4 points at halftime (37-41). Hughes and Gibson led the way with 10 points apiece in the period. (Note: Snow was on the bench the entire quarter).
That quarter is what makes this team so baffling. Obviously, the Cavs didn't have their "A game" against Portland. These things happen and good teams are expected to win games where they aren't at their best (even on the road). The Cavs started out cold but pulled the game close. They showed they can fight through some rough stretches. They follow up a 9 point first quarter with a 28 point second. And they follow up that second with a 14 point 3rd. What do you even make of that?
The Cavs were close at the half because of free throws... and they had already missed 9. This is insane. The Cavs were only down four points at half time while A) non-Gibson Cavaliers were shooting 24% B) they shot 15-24 from the foul line and C) only getting 1 assist (which came when Gibson made a 3. Of course it was off a jumper). These guys frustrate the hell out of me. They can play so bad and yet still be in it. And they were bad.
The Cavs cut it to 2 in the 3rd period. Off an 'and1' by Zydrunas off a post feed by LeBron. The Cavs subsequently went on a jump shooting binge and the Blazers somehow went on a 10-0 run. Let's watch shall we?
I can't imagine how frustrated Z was during that time. He makes a nice move down low and the Cavs don't look his way for another 3 minutes. The jumpers they take aren't exactly good looks either (with the exception of Gooden's); they're taken early in the shot clock and the bigs aren't even in good rebounding position.
That last play was the straw that the broke the camels back. Z gets his pocket picked by Dickau which leads to a fast break (which the Cavs defend halfway decently) and the Cavs the Blazers 3 chances to score. Their power forward takes his time getting back and Eric Snow gave Gibson the rest of the point guard minutes by leaving Dickau wide open. Just like that, 10-0 run. The Cavs were done.
The problem is offense. The Cavs had quarters of 9 and 14 points. You can maybe get away with having one quarter like that, but you can't expect to win when you combine your point totals from two separate quarters and you only get 25. The Cavaliers had a pathetic 7 assists on the night (and Gibson had a couple of those in garbage time). They shot 35% from the floor, 16% from behind the arc and 62% from the line; those are terrible numbers.
And it's not like they're facing lock down defensive teams. The Cavaliers shot 35% against Portland and 41% versus Seattle; those are the teams ranked 26th (Portland at 47.35%) and 29th (Seattle at 47.88%) in opponent field goal percentage. Make 'em work.
Though it doesn't really matter if you can't make your free throws. LeBron was 6-13. 28-45 as a team. They missed 17 free throws while Portland shot just 21.
I still do not get the rotation. The Cavs are in the middle of a mid-January West coast road trip, they played the previous night in Seattle and they gave up some crucial offensive rebounds. You'd figure Mike Brown would use his extra big men against the Blazers and get some fresh legs out there. Nope. Scot Pollard didn't enter the game until there was 5:20 left in the fourth quarter and the Cavs were down 19. Makes sense to me. Gibson logged 33 minutes versus the Blazers, a night after getting a DNP-CD against Seattle. Boobie played the entire 2nd and 4th periods. Whats the deal? I can understand playing him big minutes versus the Blazers (Snow wasn't getting it done) but why the fluctuation? Gibson's minutes since the New Year read as follows: 5, 3, 9, 4, 6, 16 (blowout loss to PHX), 2, 0 and 33 (blowout loss to Portland). Gibby averaged 19 minutes for the month of December. Mike Brown, playing Gibson less is a terrible new years resolution.
This is why I bitch a lot about LeBron's minutes. For instance, he played 44 minutes the previous night versus Seattle, which is way too many considering A) you have a game the next night and B) you're in the middle of a 7 game road trip. When you play a guy 40+ minutes every night, are you really surprised when you get quotes like this:
Of course, it'd be easier to rest LeBron (and Hughes) if Brown had developed his bench. Would it really hurt to give Shannon Brown 5-10 minutes a night here and there? He's really the only 2 guard on the roster besides Hughes. With the Cavs offense as bad as it is, Ira Newble is never going to get playing time, Pavlovic looks lost out there and David Wesley looks really, really, really old. Brown may stink for all I know, but giving him regular minutes every game could cut down the wear and tear on LeBron and Larry (who has played 36 and 35 minutes respectively since he came back from his quad injury). Having rookies like Brown and Gibson come off the could really help the Cavs in games like this; the starters weren't cutting it, the Cavs looked sluggish and having some rookies bring some youthful energy off the bench.
and finally...
This road trip started off so promising... 2-1 has turned into 2-3 with games left at Denver and Golden State. That'll be fun. The Cavs blew their chance versus Seattle and followed it up with a dreadful performance against the Blazers. If they split the two remaining games to finish the trip at 3-4... well, I'd be disappointed. Two weeks ago I would've been fine with 3-4, but after starting 2-1? Not so much.
Thanks guys. I just defended you guys and this is how you repay me? Gracias.
Nice start. The Cavs didn't score their first field goal until 3:50 remaining in the first period. Think about that, it took them over 8 minutes to make a basket. They scored 9(!!!) points in the quarter. Single digits for the first period. That is beyond awful. But hey, Mike Brown loves defense and the Cavs were only down 18-9 after the first period.
This was the best play all night (look who got a new toy):
Of course, LeBron missed the freebie.
Hooray for Boobie! Daniel Gibson came in with 3 minutes left in the first and didn't go back to the bench until the start of the third. He scored 10 points in the second quarter (more than the entire team in the first) and he scored the first Cavalier point that wasn't a jumper or free throws (an offensive rebound). It is not a good thing when your back up (3rd string?) rookie point guard scores your first bucket in the paint.
Starting back court = not good. Snow registered 0 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls while logging just 15 minutes. Fantastic. Larry Hughes shot a blistering 25% from the field (3-12) and committed 4 turnovers. To be fair, Larry did take it to the hole rather often and he got 14 free throws (made 11). The starting backcourt had 0 assists. Wow that's bad.
Hughes did help out the second quarter run. The Cavs scored 28 points in the second quarter to close the deficit to 4 points at halftime (37-41). Hughes and Gibson led the way with 10 points apiece in the period. (Note: Snow was on the bench the entire quarter).
That quarter is what makes this team so baffling. Obviously, the Cavs didn't have their "A game" against Portland. These things happen and good teams are expected to win games where they aren't at their best (even on the road). The Cavs started out cold but pulled the game close. They showed they can fight through some rough stretches. They follow up a 9 point first quarter with a 28 point second. And they follow up that second with a 14 point 3rd. What do you even make of that?
The Cavs were close at the half because of free throws... and they had already missed 9. This is insane. The Cavs were only down four points at half time while A) non-Gibson Cavaliers were shooting 24% B) they shot 15-24 from the foul line and C) only getting 1 assist (which came when Gibson made a 3. Of course it was off a jumper). These guys frustrate the hell out of me. They can play so bad and yet still be in it. And they were bad.
The Cavs cut it to 2 in the 3rd period. Off an 'and1' by Zydrunas off a post feed by LeBron. The Cavs subsequently went on a jump shooting binge and the Blazers somehow went on a 10-0 run. Let's watch shall we?
I can't imagine how frustrated Z was during that time. He makes a nice move down low and the Cavs don't look his way for another 3 minutes. The jumpers they take aren't exactly good looks either (with the exception of Gooden's); they're taken early in the shot clock and the bigs aren't even in good rebounding position.
That last play was the straw that the broke the camels back. Z gets his pocket picked by Dickau which leads to a fast break (which the Cavs defend halfway decently) and the Cavs the Blazers 3 chances to score. Their power forward takes his time getting back and Eric Snow gave Gibson the rest of the point guard minutes by leaving Dickau wide open. Just like that, 10-0 run. The Cavs were done.
The problem is offense. The Cavs had quarters of 9 and 14 points. You can maybe get away with having one quarter like that, but you can't expect to win when you combine your point totals from two separate quarters and you only get 25. The Cavaliers had a pathetic 7 assists on the night (and Gibson had a couple of those in garbage time). They shot 35% from the floor, 16% from behind the arc and 62% from the line; those are terrible numbers.
And it's not like they're facing lock down defensive teams. The Cavaliers shot 35% against Portland and 41% versus Seattle; those are the teams ranked 26th (Portland at 47.35%) and 29th (Seattle at 47.88%) in opponent field goal percentage. Make 'em work.
Though it doesn't really matter if you can't make your free throws. LeBron was 6-13. 28-45 as a team. They missed 17 free throws while Portland shot just 21.
I still do not get the rotation. The Cavs are in the middle of a mid-January West coast road trip, they played the previous night in Seattle and they gave up some crucial offensive rebounds. You'd figure Mike Brown would use his extra big men against the Blazers and get some fresh legs out there. Nope. Scot Pollard didn't enter the game until there was 5:20 left in the fourth quarter and the Cavs were down 19. Makes sense to me. Gibson logged 33 minutes versus the Blazers, a night after getting a DNP-CD against Seattle. Boobie played the entire 2nd and 4th periods. Whats the deal? I can understand playing him big minutes versus the Blazers (Snow wasn't getting it done) but why the fluctuation? Gibson's minutes since the New Year read as follows: 5, 3, 9, 4, 6, 16 (blowout loss to PHX), 2, 0 and 33 (blowout loss to Portland). Gibby averaged 19 minutes for the month of December. Mike Brown, playing Gibson less is a terrible new years resolution.
This is why I bitch a lot about LeBron's minutes. For instance, he played 44 minutes the previous night versus Seattle, which is way too many considering A) you have a game the next night and B) you're in the middle of a 7 game road trip. When you play a guy 40+ minutes every night, are you really surprised when you get quotes like this:
"My legs weren't under my jump shot," James said. "For some reason, I just couldn't get under it. I started to attack late in the game but it was too late."and
"They looked like they were a little tired," Randolph said of the Cavs.Really, they looked "tired" and "for some reason" James couldn't get his jumper going? You don't say.... LeBron didn't leave the 4th quarter until there was just 3:33 left in the game (they were down 20 the entire quarter). Fantastic.
Of course, it'd be easier to rest LeBron (and Hughes) if Brown had developed his bench. Would it really hurt to give Shannon Brown 5-10 minutes a night here and there? He's really the only 2 guard on the roster besides Hughes. With the Cavs offense as bad as it is, Ira Newble is never going to get playing time, Pavlovic looks lost out there and David Wesley looks really, really, really old. Brown may stink for all I know, but giving him regular minutes every game could cut down the wear and tear on LeBron and Larry (who has played 36 and 35 minutes respectively since he came back from his quad injury). Having rookies like Brown and Gibson come off the could really help the Cavs in games like this; the starters weren't cutting it, the Cavs looked sluggish and having some rookies bring some youthful energy off the bench.
and finally...
This road trip started off so promising... 2-1 has turned into 2-3 with games left at Denver and Golden State. That'll be fun. The Cavs blew their chance versus Seattle and followed it up with a dreadful performance against the Blazers. If they split the two remaining games to finish the trip at 3-4... well, I'd be disappointed. Two weeks ago I would've been fine with 3-4, but after starting 2-1? Not so much.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Bulletin Board Material
Mike Brown, post this shit:
Why?
In the first game of last playoff's Detroit series, the Cavaliers lost 113-86.
27 points.
In the playoffs.
Against a team that was in the finals the past two seasons. If there's anytime to write off a team, that was it. We all know what happened, the Cavs rebounded from an 0-2 deficit, won the next three games to take a 3-2 series lead and subsequently blew game 5 at home. Sure they still lost, but it wasn't exactly lopsided.
So the Cavs lose 109-90 in Phoenix.
19 points (I aware that it was actually more lopsided. I was there).
Mid January.
So far this season, the Cavs have beaten the Spurs twice and lost to the Suns once. They haven't played the Heat or the Mavs yet and they have another game versus Phoenix (at home no less). How can you possibly write off a team that had one bad game? (and yes, I know it was awful. Beyond awful. The Cleaner awful).
Look, I'm not saying the Cavs are on the same level as the Suns; no Cavs fan is a big enough homer to argue that. You simply can't at this point. But writing off a team simply for one bad performance? 1 bad road loss out of 82 games? Obviously the Cavs are still a work in progress and I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses for the Suns game (they got slaughtered, Buckeye style), but they are a work in progress (hell, they've just now noticed that when you get your talented 7'3" center the ball on a regular basis, he produces. Weird!). You can't pass judgment on a team based off of one game. You just can't.
Come on Sports Guy, you're better than that.
However....
The most popular sports writer (at least the most popular NBA writer) in America just threw the Cavs under the bus. Hopefully that'll get under the skin of a few people at the Q.
Shut him up LeBron.
Look, I love Simmons and he has a point here... kinda. He's right, the Suns killed the Cavs; simply demolished them. Beat them in every which way. That's fine, I get it. But you simply can't make a sweeping statement like that. You can't judge a team by simply one game (no matter how bad it was).1. The Suns dismantled Cleveland effortlessly, like they were plucking wings off a butterfly or something. I don't even think they shifted past third gear the entire game. That was truly scary -- not for me but for everyone else in the league.
2. The Cavs were demolished to the degree that they can't be taken seriously for the rest of the season. This game was more one-sided than the Awvee Storey-Martynas Andriuskevicius fight.
Why?
In the first game of last playoff's Detroit series, the Cavaliers lost 113-86.
27 points.
In the playoffs.
Against a team that was in the finals the past two seasons. If there's anytime to write off a team, that was it. We all know what happened, the Cavs rebounded from an 0-2 deficit, won the next three games to take a 3-2 series lead and subsequently blew game 5 at home. Sure they still lost, but it wasn't exactly lopsided.
So the Cavs lose 109-90 in Phoenix.
19 points (I aware that it was actually more lopsided. I was there).
Mid January.
So far this season, the Cavs have beaten the Spurs twice and lost to the Suns once. They haven't played the Heat or the Mavs yet and they have another game versus Phoenix (at home no less). How can you possibly write off a team that had one bad game? (and yes, I know it was awful. Beyond awful. The Cleaner awful).
Look, I'm not saying the Cavs are on the same level as the Suns; no Cavs fan is a big enough homer to argue that. You simply can't at this point. But writing off a team simply for one bad performance? 1 bad road loss out of 82 games? Obviously the Cavs are still a work in progress and I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses for the Suns game (they got slaughtered, Buckeye style), but they are a work in progress (hell, they've just now noticed that when you get your talented 7'3" center the ball on a regular basis, he produces. Weird!). You can't pass judgment on a team based off of one game. You just can't.
Come on Sports Guy, you're better than that.
However....
The most popular sports writer (at least the most popular NBA writer) in America just threw the Cavs under the bus. Hopefully that'll get under the skin of a few people at the Q.
Shut him up LeBron.
Cavs game notes?
Some how I started to get an email filled from the Cavaliers with game stats and post game quotes. I don't remember signing up (but I'm on all kinds of email lists from the Cavaliers, so I may have signed up for it and not even knows) but I did enjoy getting them (though I never really used them in the blog or the recaps) and for whatever reason I've stopped receiving them. I'm part of the 'Cavaliers insider' so.... I dunno.
Needless to say, the whole thing confuses me. So... if whoever controls the post game emails doohickey is reading this, I'd like to stay on (put back on?) the list.
Needless to say, the whole thing confuses me. So... if whoever controls the post game emails doohickey is reading this, I'd like to stay on (put back on?) the list.
Seattle 101, Cleveland 96
This one hurt. The Cavs were in control for most of this game and they had Seattle going through the motions. Ray Allen was having an off night (6-21 from the floor and I'm not sure I can really credit the Cavalier defense. He missed some open looks) and the Sonics just looked listless. The crowd came alive in the fourth quarter when the Cavs let the Sonics get second chance possession by allowing Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox grab some offensive rebounds.
They let Seattle hang around. Once the crowd got into it and the Sonics could smell a win, the Cavs were basically done. They just couldn't match Seattle's energy once Wilcox and Collison fired them up.
Silver lining? Am I reaching here? At least Cavs stopped them the first time. The Cavs played some solid D for most of the night. At least a few of the offensive rebounds were off of long jumpers that the Cavs forced the Sonics to take. I don't want to make excuses, but sometimes you can box out all you want and ball bounces over you or takes a weird hop (can you tell I play center/power forward in my church league?). That being said, if you had put a body on Collison, maybe he doesn't get those long boards.
Old habits die hard. Early in the game the Cavs drove and threw the ball into the post. The offense was running smoothly and the Cavs held a nice advantage. The second half rolls around and the Cavs start lofting jumpers. The Cavs shot 18 threes and made just 3. That's a blistering 16.7%.
Case in point: Z. Z had 16 points in the first half and finished the game with 24. The Cavs could've definitely gotten him some more touches in the second half. I know the Sonics went zone here and there, but it's really no excuse; feed the bigs. (Gooden should've gotten some more post touches as well. It seemed like he knew he could take Collison every time)
James is playing much more focussed and in control. LeBron finished with 30 points, 8 assists and 7 boards, but those 8 assists are misleading. His passes led to at least 6 free throws for other Cavaliers, and he'd find guys open and they'd get fouled (but no basket). The next possession after he took a wild-ish jumper, LeBron drove straight to the hoop and got a foul. These are the little things I love to see; recognizing that he isn't making the defense work enough and changing it up, taking it to the rim and drawing some fouls.
But it wasn't all perfect. James didn't have a field goal in the final period. That is not good. He too often settled for jumpers (though he wasn't the only one). I could've used a time out by Brown and see him address the jump shooting (to be fair, Seattle often came out of TOs playing zone, so that probably screwed some things up, but still. Get it inside).
What's with the stone hands? LeBron's assist total could've been even higher if Anderson Varejao could've held onto the ball. Andy miffed a couple of LeBron's passes which could've led to some easy scores. Z and Gooden (and Hughes) misplayed a pass here and there as well, but Varejao lost more than his share (he's usually very sure handed, so I dunno...).
The rest of Andy's night wasn't that great. In 18 minutes Varejao only had 3 boards to go along with his 7 points. Sure he drew a charge, but he also committed some dumb, cheap fouls. He also was just 3-6 from the line.
The rest of the Cavs fared much better from the charity stripe. As a team, the Cavs shot 80% from the line, which is roughly 10 percentage points higher than their season average. LeBron was a healthy 13-15 (though he did miss one down the stretch). Z, Gooden, Marshall and Hughes were all perfect from the line (4-4, 2-2, 3-3 and 3-3 respectively). In case you were wondering, Eric Snow was 1-2.
Hughes was back. That is always good to see. I was kinda surprised that Brown A) had him guard Ray Allen all game (I mean, isn't that Eric Snow's job?) and B) played Hughes 41 minutes coming off of an injury. Hughes finished with a 7-5-5 line and I thought he could've gotten to the line at least 3 more times. He took the ball to the hoop strong (mostly in the first half, like the rest of the team) and got some contact with no whistles. The refs weren't particularly good, but still, Hughes should get a little more love from the refs in my opinion.
Where's the bench? With Hughes coming off a quad injury, I'd figure we'd see some extended minutes from either Boobie Gibson or Sasha Pavlovic. Well... if Hughes plays 41 minutes and LeBron logs 44 (44?? Come on man, sit the guy), it doesn't leave many minutes for back up swing men. Pavlovic continued his erratic play; he played pretty solid defense and grabbed some boards in traffic but he committed a dumb foul (bailing out Damien Wilkins on a turn around jumper) and he made a bone headed turnover. As for Gibson? He never got off the bench.
Speaking of dumb turnovers... The Cavs had a play where they threw the ball away on the inbounds. But I didn't see it. Why? FSN Ohio was showing a replay. We missed the turnover and the subsequent Seattle bucket. Nice. Good job guys.
and finally...
2-2 on the road trip... These guys coulda/shoulda been 3-1 heading into their game with the Trail Blazers. But hey, they only won two road games all of December and they were both versus the Hawks, so can I really complain about non-Atlanta road wins? Well... they let this one slip away; it wasn't a gimme, but it was definitely winnable. They responded well after their shellacking by the Suns, I'm interested to see how they respond coming off this close loss.
They let Seattle hang around. Once the crowd got into it and the Sonics could smell a win, the Cavs were basically done. They just couldn't match Seattle's energy once Wilcox and Collison fired them up.
Silver lining? Am I reaching here? At least Cavs stopped them the first time. The Cavs played some solid D for most of the night. At least a few of the offensive rebounds were off of long jumpers that the Cavs forced the Sonics to take. I don't want to make excuses, but sometimes you can box out all you want and ball bounces over you or takes a weird hop (can you tell I play center/power forward in my church league?). That being said, if you had put a body on Collison, maybe he doesn't get those long boards.
Old habits die hard. Early in the game the Cavs drove and threw the ball into the post. The offense was running smoothly and the Cavs held a nice advantage. The second half rolls around and the Cavs start lofting jumpers. The Cavs shot 18 threes and made just 3. That's a blistering 16.7%.
Case in point: Z. Z had 16 points in the first half and finished the game with 24. The Cavs could've definitely gotten him some more touches in the second half. I know the Sonics went zone here and there, but it's really no excuse; feed the bigs. (Gooden should've gotten some more post touches as well. It seemed like he knew he could take Collison every time)
James is playing much more focussed and in control. LeBron finished with 30 points, 8 assists and 7 boards, but those 8 assists are misleading. His passes led to at least 6 free throws for other Cavaliers, and he'd find guys open and they'd get fouled (but no basket). The next possession after he took a wild-ish jumper, LeBron drove straight to the hoop and got a foul. These are the little things I love to see; recognizing that he isn't making the defense work enough and changing it up, taking it to the rim and drawing some fouls.
But it wasn't all perfect. James didn't have a field goal in the final period. That is not good. He too often settled for jumpers (though he wasn't the only one). I could've used a time out by Brown and see him address the jump shooting (to be fair, Seattle often came out of TOs playing zone, so that probably screwed some things up, but still. Get it inside).
What's with the stone hands? LeBron's assist total could've been even higher if Anderson Varejao could've held onto the ball. Andy miffed a couple of LeBron's passes which could've led to some easy scores. Z and Gooden (and Hughes) misplayed a pass here and there as well, but Varejao lost more than his share (he's usually very sure handed, so I dunno...).
The rest of Andy's night wasn't that great. In 18 minutes Varejao only had 3 boards to go along with his 7 points. Sure he drew a charge, but he also committed some dumb, cheap fouls. He also was just 3-6 from the line.
The rest of the Cavs fared much better from the charity stripe. As a team, the Cavs shot 80% from the line, which is roughly 10 percentage points higher than their season average. LeBron was a healthy 13-15 (though he did miss one down the stretch). Z, Gooden, Marshall and Hughes were all perfect from the line (4-4, 2-2, 3-3 and 3-3 respectively). In case you were wondering, Eric Snow was 1-2.
Hughes was back. That is always good to see. I was kinda surprised that Brown A) had him guard Ray Allen all game (I mean, isn't that Eric Snow's job?) and B) played Hughes 41 minutes coming off of an injury. Hughes finished with a 7-5-5 line and I thought he could've gotten to the line at least 3 more times. He took the ball to the hoop strong (mostly in the first half, like the rest of the team) and got some contact with no whistles. The refs weren't particularly good, but still, Hughes should get a little more love from the refs in my opinion.
Where's the bench? With Hughes coming off a quad injury, I'd figure we'd see some extended minutes from either Boobie Gibson or Sasha Pavlovic. Well... if Hughes plays 41 minutes and LeBron logs 44 (44?? Come on man, sit the guy), it doesn't leave many minutes for back up swing men. Pavlovic continued his erratic play; he played pretty solid defense and grabbed some boards in traffic but he committed a dumb foul (bailing out Damien Wilkins on a turn around jumper) and he made a bone headed turnover. As for Gibson? He never got off the bench.
Speaking of dumb turnovers... The Cavs had a play where they threw the ball away on the inbounds. But I didn't see it. Why? FSN Ohio was showing a replay. We missed the turnover and the subsequent Seattle bucket. Nice. Good job guys.
and finally...
2-2 on the road trip... These guys coulda/shoulda been 3-1 heading into their game with the Trail Blazers. But hey, they only won two road games all of December and they were both versus the Hawks, so can I really complain about non-Atlanta road wins? Well... they let this one slip away; it wasn't a gimme, but it was definitely winnable. They responded well after their shellacking by the Suns, I'm interested to see how they respond coming off this close loss.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
House Cleaning
I actually did get some work done around the place today, but this post is pertaining to the blog. I decided to take a cue from Atrios and clean up the blogroll/links section (I know, I didn't wait til the 3rd)
I added and deleted some blogs, but I can't really remember which [My Casual Thoughts, Wait til Next Year and The DiaTribe]...
Now in alphabetical order!
I added and deleted some blogs, but I can't really remember which [My Casual Thoughts, Wait til Next Year and The DiaTribe]...
Now in alphabetical order!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Random Thoughts from the Weekend (and Arizona)
1. I have nothing more to say about the Buckeyes.
2. Besides that Chris Carter loves playing corn hole.
3. Tail gating was a lot of fun for the game, plus, the first 16 seconds of the game were awesome.
4. Though we were filmed for some local Arizona news channel. A camera guy came by and filmed us watching the game in the parking lot. So that's neat.
5. The legends are true, they do exist. There are commercials for these places all over Ohio, but the actual restaurants are nowhere to be found.
6. We also hit up the Pink Taco. Did we really even have a choice?
7. This website got a lot of use while we were out in AZ (as my buddy didn't have a TV). It is awesome.
8. If it added 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' to it's roster, it would be the best website ever. That show is sweet.
9. The greatest basketball scene on TV, ever:
10. More 'It's Always Sunny...' clips here and here and here
11. Speaking of TV shows, I don't watch "24". When I was in bed [due to the shoulder surgery] I watched an entire season, because it's gotten such great reviews. About halfway through I didn't care for it, but I figured that since I had the time on my hands, why not go through the whole season to see if gets better or that I missed something. Nope. My main problem is the lack of resolution. They'll spend 3 episodes trying to find some scientist guy who is crucial to The Mission. They find him and then he somehow dies (and he dies by some inane accident or misunderstanding) and now they need to go after some disk he left behind that explains his theories. They then go get the disk and some random act happens and they lose/break it. Then they gotta go find some one to fix the disk. And on and on and on. It never ends.
11. Jack Bauer is a Real American and uses any mean necessary, even torture. I could give a shit less, it's a TV show. Not everyone sees it the same way.
12. Huh? It's absurd yet real?
14. Give me "The Shield" or "The Wire" over "24" any time.
15. I just finished the third season of "The Wire" last night. Fantastic show. Just phenomenal.
16. More TV: Colbert and O'Reilly will be on each other's show this Thursday.
17. Even more TV: something might happen on Oprah this week involving Barack Obama.
18. Last bit of TV: Next few SNL hosts are announced. Still no Colbert. I need this. You need this. America needs this.
19. Browns going West Coast?
20. Good call on not going with Mike Sherman. The Cardinals just went the 'NFL veteran coach who is okay but kinda overrated', plus I'm a fan of anything that weakens the Steelers.
21. Don't expect a 1-year turnaround for the Browns.
22. So Paul Hoynes is doing a year long project called 'Best I Ever Saw' about the best Indian he saw at each position. Kinda neat.
23. Kinda stupid: Eddie Murray is the best first baseman.
24. It's not like the Indians were short in the category. I mean, Jim Thome could've worked fine.
25. Unless he's saving Thome for third base... but I'd use Travis Fryman or even Matt Williams.
26. Are the Cavs going after Corey Maggette?
27. Not really sure where'd he fit, though he'd be a nice piece to have when Larry Hughes goes down. Get Hughes some free weights or something. The man is a stick.
28. Call up Penny, it couldn't hurt. It's not like they're giving Pavlovic or Gibson minutes anyways.
29. Windhorst says the Cavs might go after Earl Boykins in the offseason, but they didn't really have a chance to trade for him:
31. The Cavs aren't going to get Steve Blake.
33. Dallas has a free throw coach who was taught by the guy who taught Mark Price (Denny Price, Mark's dad).
34. I'm down with anything that makes the regular season mean a bit more (and make guys show up).
35. I know everyone calls the Times liberal and all that. But really? This is liberal?
36. I dislike Joe Lieberman. A lot. He's very silly.
37. Does Lieberman agreeing with Bush really make it 'bi-partisan'? He lost the Democratic primary and ran under the Connecticut for Lieberman party. So if we want to get some Democrats behind the 'surge' we should really be looking for a 'tri-partisan' agreement.
38. Chuck Hagel slaps down Lieberman. Just switch parties guys (er... Joe become a Repub, Chuck become a Dem, don't become a Connecticut for Lieberman).
39. Nice article about McCain and Hagel in Newsweek.
40. So for the past two weeks I've been playing two albums over and over. I can't find my self to put in another CD or load another album into the iPod. First album: Boys and Girls in America by The Hold Steady. It's Bruce Springsteen + Billy Joel + Bob Dylan. It's sounds Midwestern and American; like their best bar band ever. AllMusic:
2. Besides that Chris Carter loves playing corn hole.
3. Tail gating was a lot of fun for the game, plus, the first 16 seconds of the game were awesome.
4. Though we were filmed for some local Arizona news channel. A camera guy came by and filmed us watching the game in the parking lot. So that's neat.
5. The legends are true, they do exist. There are commercials for these places all over Ohio, but the actual restaurants are nowhere to be found.
6. We also hit up the Pink Taco. Did we really even have a choice?
7. This website got a lot of use while we were out in AZ (as my buddy didn't have a TV). It is awesome.
8. If it added 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' to it's roster, it would be the best website ever. That show is sweet.
9. The greatest basketball scene on TV, ever:
10. More 'It's Always Sunny...' clips here and here and here
11. Speaking of TV shows, I don't watch "24". When I was in bed [due to the shoulder surgery] I watched an entire season, because it's gotten such great reviews. About halfway through I didn't care for it, but I figured that since I had the time on my hands, why not go through the whole season to see if gets better or that I missed something. Nope. My main problem is the lack of resolution. They'll spend 3 episodes trying to find some scientist guy who is crucial to The Mission. They find him and then he somehow dies (and he dies by some inane accident or misunderstanding) and now they need to go after some disk he left behind that explains his theories. They then go get the disk and some random act happens and they lose/break it. Then they gotta go find some one to fix the disk. And on and on and on. It never ends.
11. Jack Bauer is a Real American and uses any mean necessary, even torture. I could give a shit less, it's a TV show. Not everyone sees it the same way.
12. Huh? It's absurd yet real?
But, more likely, it's thanks to the series' knack for somehow raising the apocalyptic stakes of each crisis Bauer confronts. And to the growing assurance with which "24" somehow straddles the extremes of hyper-real and preposterous: "24" is patently absurd on so many levels, yet it's as white-knuckles gripping as anything on TV. If we look too close, it's laughable. But it cuts too near the truth to not keep watching.13. Um, nukes? Ah, what?
14. Give me "The Shield" or "The Wire" over "24" any time.
15. I just finished the third season of "The Wire" last night. Fantastic show. Just phenomenal.
16. More TV: Colbert and O'Reilly will be on each other's show this Thursday.
17. Even more TV: something might happen on Oprah this week involving Barack Obama.
18. Last bit of TV: Next few SNL hosts are announced. Still no Colbert. I need this. You need this. America needs this.
19. Browns going West Coast?
20. Good call on not going with Mike Sherman. The Cardinals just went the 'NFL veteran coach who is okay but kinda overrated', plus I'm a fan of anything that weakens the Steelers.
21. Don't expect a 1-year turnaround for the Browns.
22. So Paul Hoynes is doing a year long project called 'Best I Ever Saw' about the best Indian he saw at each position. Kinda neat.
23. Kinda stupid: Eddie Murray is the best first baseman.
24. It's not like the Indians were short in the category. I mean, Jim Thome could've worked fine.
25. Unless he's saving Thome for third base... but I'd use Travis Fryman or even Matt Williams.
26. Are the Cavs going after Corey Maggette?
27. Not really sure where'd he fit, though he'd be a nice piece to have when Larry Hughes goes down. Get Hughes some free weights or something. The man is a stick.
28. Call up Penny, it couldn't hurt. It's not like they're giving Pavlovic or Gibson minutes anyways.
29. Windhorst says the Cavs might go after Earl Boykins in the offseason, but they didn't really have a chance to trade for him:
It is believed the Nuggets did show some interest in piecing together a larger package in recent days that would've allowed the Cavs to get Boykins, but the Cavs weren't interested because the Nuggets wanted Drew Gooden to be part of the the deal.30. I read somewhere the Boykins wants another shot to play in Cleveland. I'm not sure where I read it so I have no link. All I know is that in the offseason where Jim Paxson signed both Ira Newble and Kevin Ollie to 5 year $15 million deals, Earl Boykins got the same contract from the Nuggets. Hmm... Ollie or Boykins...
31. The Cavs aren't going to get Steve Blake.
There have been some reports the Cavs showed interest in using a trade exception to acquire point guard Steve Blake, now that he's been moved to the Denver Nuggets in the Boykins deal. These are false; no deal is being discussed at the moment. Blake visited the Cavs two years ago when he was a free agent, but left town without an offer.32. Windhorst misses hearing Joe Tait on the radio. As do I. Here's a pic I shot o and Tait before the Sunsf coach Brown debacle.
33. Dallas has a free throw coach who was taught by the guy who taught Mark Price (Denny Price, Mark's dad).
34. I'm down with anything that makes the regular season mean a bit more (and make guys show up).
35. I know everyone calls the Times liberal and all that. But really? This is liberal?
36. I dislike Joe Lieberman. A lot. He's very silly.
37. Does Lieberman agreeing with Bush really make it 'bi-partisan'? He lost the Democratic primary and ran under the Connecticut for Lieberman party. So if we want to get some Democrats behind the 'surge' we should really be looking for a 'tri-partisan' agreement.
38. Chuck Hagel slaps down Lieberman. Just switch parties guys (er... Joe become a Repub, Chuck become a Dem, don't become a Connecticut for Lieberman).
39. Nice article about McCain and Hagel in Newsweek.
40. So for the past two weeks I've been playing two albums over and over. I can't find my self to put in another CD or load another album into the iPod. First album: Boys and Girls in America by The Hold Steady. It's Bruce Springsteen + Billy Joel + Bob Dylan. It's sounds Midwestern and American; like their best bar band ever. AllMusic:
This is the set up for the slickest, catchiest, and most focused collection of songs by Finn and his rocking Brooklyn quintet. The guy's not just a storyteller, he's a rock historian, a fan boy gone wild, telling stories of everything he says, He's not speaking for anybody but himself, and as a result his appeal is wideThe other album? The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. I read some good reviews but I was skeptical, I used to work in Barnes and Noble and we'd get a ton of those little goth kids coming in asking for MCR. I was this guy:
... but anybody who didn't follow the fashions of emo and punk closely might have ignored the group's tragic, romantic neo-goth image and merely assumed that MCR was another good poppy punk one-hit wonder, not far removed from, say, Fall Out Boy.I am glad I picked it up. I'm loving the hell out of this album; part of feels like if I had heard this in high school I'd be worshiping the ground these guys walk on, if that makes sense. As it is, this is a classic concept album or rock opera. If nothing else it's the heir-apparent to Green Day's American Idiot.
What's up with Larry Hughes?
Like many Cavs fans, I'm wondering what the deal is with Larry Hughes. Is he out long? Was resting him against the Clippers just precautionary? Is he going to miss more games?
I'm not sure anyone else knows either.
Brian Windhorst (ABJ) Cavs' Hughes Could be Out Hurt:
I'm not sure anyone else knows either.
Brian Windhorst (ABJ) Cavs' Hughes Could be Out Hurt:
``Larry Hughes'' and ``precaution'' are being used again in sentences by the Cavaliers, which calls for another word commonly used in this space: ``reality.''Branson Wright (PD) Rest Easy, Hughes Expected Back:In reality, this is probably just the way it is going to be for the Cavs in Hughes' tenure. He's a quality player, one who has no doubt lifted the Cavs' play when he's been on the court during the past season and a half, but his body is simply fragile. He's going to break bones and tweak joints at a high rate, the results of a 6-foot-5, 180-pound guy playing in such a physically demanding game. His resume is chock full of these injuries.
Therefore, the Cavs simply have to be prepared for him to miss games at any time.
Now it is tendinitis in his left leg, just above his kneecap. Doctors who examined him in California believe Hughes agitated some tissue by putting undue strain on that leg since he sprained his right ankle in November. Hughes has been putting most of his weight on his left side when he lands. Several times when he's landed hard on his right ankle in recent games, he's come up briefly limping and wincing. He's still battling the ankle and might be for weeks to come.
Hughes said his left leg has been bothering him for about two weeks now. He's been getting treatment from the training staff, but it hadn't improved. He said it started ``to bite'' Thursday night in Phoenix and has gotten to the point where he has to rest. He will have had four days off when the Cavs play in Seattle on Tuesday, but it didn't sound like he was too optimistic about playing in that game.
The latest injury to Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes is not cause for major concern. Neither Hughes nor the team expects him out long."This is just precautionary," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "We'll make sure he gets some rest and continue to rehab."
Hughes did not play Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers due to left thigh tendinitis. This developed as Hughes favored his left leg coming back from a right-ankle sprain. Hughes missed 10 games due to the ankle sprain. This time he's listed as day-to-day.
"I'm hoping it's just a couple of days, and I hope [the pain] calms down," said Hughes, following the Cavs' victory over the Clippers. "I've been feeling this for two weeks. In previous games, it comes and goes, but it stayed against the Suns. I've been there [with this type of injury] before so I know what it takes to get rid of it."
Hughes plans to heal by resting, icing and stretching his quad. A healthy Hughes is vital on this all-important road trip. The Cavs already have won two of their first three games, and the four remaining (Seattle, Portland, Denver and Golden State) are winnable.
So there ya go. The tone of the articles are completely different. The Beacon article makes it seem like Hughes is going to be out for at least a little while and the Cavs should be preparing for life without Larry. The Plain Dealer acts like this is no biggie and Hughes will be back in no time; don't worry, with the four days off, Hughes will be fine.
My take? No one really knows. Hughes could be out awhile or just a game. The one thing I am sure of? Cavs fans are going to bitch about Danny Ferry not signing Michael Redd or Joe Johnson (never mind the fact that Redd recently got hurt dunking the ball).Sunday, January 14, 2007
I'd do it
It seems that Penny Hardaway is healthy.
Hardaway is waiting for a team to decide it could use a veteran backup who can play three perimeter positions and who is healthy -- finally -- after microfracture surgery and the removal of a large bone spur.The Plain Dealer mentioned Penny's rehab:
He'll play for the veteran minimum.
He'll come off the bench. He'll do anything, if only he can play.
"I have two or three more years in me at a level where I can help," he says. "I don't want to be a star, playing 42 minutes a game. I want to be a role player. A happy role player."
Hardaway hasn't been happy for a long time -- six years, to be exact. That's how long he has struggled with injuries. Orlando finally cut him loose last February, just a couple days after trading for him in what was a blatant salary-cap dump. Didn't matter much anyway, because Hardaway wasn't going to help the Magic. He was still in too much pain and unable to handle any full-time work. He couldn't even jump.
Hardaway went back to Houston and had yet another MRI of his knee. This time, doctors saw something different. After years of hearing that the pain was due solely to the microfracture surgery he had in 2000, he finally learned the real reason he couldn't run or jump. "There was a huge bone spur on my knee," he says. "I said, 'Go in and take it out.' If I didn't come back, oh well."
Houston-based orthopedic surgeon Walter Lowe, chief physician for the NFL's Houston Texans, performed the procedure, which brought almost instant relief to Hardaway. After years of running in pain and looking more suited to an over-40 men's league than the big time, Hardaway was free. No more agony every time he loaded up to jump. No more gimpy gait.
You think the Cavs couldn't use Penny coming off the bench, playing some back up PG and some defense? At the very least, bring the guy in for a work out. Hell, if he's close to as healthy as he says he is, he could start here. Bring Snow off the bench as a defensive stopper.Former All-Star Penny Hardaway is working out in Houston in hopes of returning to the NBA. Hardaway, slowed by injuries, is now healthy.
Cavs guard Eric Snow hopes Hardaway, 35, gets another chance.
"Someone should take a look at him," Snow said. "The only issue Penny had was those injuries.
"You'd never question his talent or knowledge of the game. I'm quite sure he can come in and help a team a great deal."
Cleveland 104, Los Angeles Clippers 92
Larry Hughes was out. Of course he was. Hughes injured his quad somehow (in practice? during the Suns game?) and Sasha Pavlovic started.
Ya, Pavlovic, not Gibson. I figured with how Boobie played the last time he started, he'd be the starter the next time Hughes went down. Guess not. Sasha started and did surprisingly not terrible. Sure he missed a few threes, but he grabbed some rebounds in traffic and didn't commit his usual quota of 2 charges. Pavs finished with 7 points.
When Gibson did play, he didn't exactly light it up. Gibson only played 2 minutes (all in the first half) and got beat a couple times at the defensive end. That may have been the reason Brown didn't use him for the rest of the night.
This was probably the best the offense looked all year. At the very least it was their most consistent offensive effort of the season. The Cavaliers regularly looked inside to Z and Drew Gooden (even LeBron got a steady diet of post touches) and it paid off. There were no scoring droughts or dead times and Z delivered 20 points on 9-13 shooting while Gooden added 11. The Cavs shot 50% from the floor and only hoisted 10 long bombs. They attacked the rim and put pressure on the Clipper defense (the Cavs launched 28 threes versus Phoenix, letting the defense off easy).
In that same vein, in my opinion, this was the best offensive game LeBron played all year. Sure, his numbers aren't overly spectacular (28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists) but LeBron took the ball to the rim on a regular basis all game long. Not just the first half or not just the second half; he went to the hoop all game. There were no forced shots or terrible threes, LeBron made the defense work (he also made them pay at the line, making 8-8 free throws).
The rest of the team didn't shoot too well from the charity stripe. While LeBron's perfect night was great to see, Z was only 2-6 and Varejao was 1-3. As a team the Cavs shot 23-33, which is right about par for the course.
The battle of goofy looking white big men. Chris Kaman scored 20 points and had 9 rebounds, though he did most of his damage in the first half. Z had 20 and 8 (and 4 assists) and had some big buckets down the stretch (a couple tip ins, an 18 foot jumper and a 'and-1' off a sweet LeBron pass). Z also got Kaman in foul trouble (though Snow forced that fourth foul), which may have fueled the Cavs big run in the third period; the Clipper offense became very Cavalier-like- lots of jumpers and no movement.
The rest of the bigs played, well, big. Gooden had 11 points and 6 boards while Varejao had 7 and 12 respectively. I've never been a big Gooden guy, but he has played GREAT recently; if he can play close to this level somewhat consistently (there's that word again, consistent) the Cavs will be in very good shape. Donyell Marshall got 7 unproductive minutes; he's probably not too happy about it, but you know what? I am. I'm sick of how the offense looks when Marhall parks his huge ass outside the 3 point line. He's not particularly rebounding that well either.
This is the Damon Jones the Cavs thought they were getting last year. Jones hit three more treys against the Clips (and got fouled on one and made all three free throws). He's been good enough that I'm find myself looking past his terrible, terrible defense.
Blizzard in Los Angeles. Eric Snow had a huge game, scoring 18 points on 7-14 shooting. That was the ugliest 18 points on 50% shooting I've ever seen. Snow took the ball to the rim often and made the Clippers at least guard him. The Cavs still had some possessions where the shot clock was winding down and some one decided to give Eric the ball and Snow was either forced to A) create his own shot or B) throw up a jumper. This should never happen. Ever. I'm more comfortable with anybody on this team forcing a shot ahead of Snow; LeBron, Z, Gooden, Jones, Gibson, Varejao, Ira Newb- wait no, check that.
The Cavaliers closed out periods nicely. The Cavs were down 4-6 points most of the second quarter and then finished the quarter strong to cut lead to 1 at halftime (they even had a chance to take the lead). For most of the third quarter, the game was pretty close (tied-3 points) but the Cavs made a late charge to push the lead to 10 points at the quarter break. You can tell this team is get more and more confident as the game (and season) goes on.
and finally...
2-1 on the West coast trip. And sure, that one loss was ugly, but it still only counts as one in the L column. Wasn't it great to see the Cavs bounce right back after getting beat down in the desert? They put that loss behind them behind them and took care of business versus the Clippers. The Cavs got a back-to-back coming up Tuesday versus Seattle and Portland and those games look mighty winnable right now. This West coast trip may turn out to be just what this team needed.
Ya, Pavlovic, not Gibson. I figured with how Boobie played the last time he started, he'd be the starter the next time Hughes went down. Guess not. Sasha started and did surprisingly not terrible. Sure he missed a few threes, but he grabbed some rebounds in traffic and didn't commit his usual quota of 2 charges. Pavs finished with 7 points.
When Gibson did play, he didn't exactly light it up. Gibson only played 2 minutes (all in the first half) and got beat a couple times at the defensive end. That may have been the reason Brown didn't use him for the rest of the night.
This was probably the best the offense looked all year. At the very least it was their most consistent offensive effort of the season. The Cavaliers regularly looked inside to Z and Drew Gooden (even LeBron got a steady diet of post touches) and it paid off. There were no scoring droughts or dead times and Z delivered 20 points on 9-13 shooting while Gooden added 11. The Cavs shot 50% from the floor and only hoisted 10 long bombs. They attacked the rim and put pressure on the Clipper defense (the Cavs launched 28 threes versus Phoenix, letting the defense off easy).
In that same vein, in my opinion, this was the best offensive game LeBron played all year. Sure, his numbers aren't overly spectacular (28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists) but LeBron took the ball to the rim on a regular basis all game long. Not just the first half or not just the second half; he went to the hoop all game. There were no forced shots or terrible threes, LeBron made the defense work (he also made them pay at the line, making 8-8 free throws).
The rest of the team didn't shoot too well from the charity stripe. While LeBron's perfect night was great to see, Z was only 2-6 and Varejao was 1-3. As a team the Cavs shot 23-33, which is right about par for the course.
The battle of goofy looking white big men. Chris Kaman scored 20 points and had 9 rebounds, though he did most of his damage in the first half. Z had 20 and 8 (and 4 assists) and had some big buckets down the stretch (a couple tip ins, an 18 foot jumper and a 'and-1' off a sweet LeBron pass). Z also got Kaman in foul trouble (though Snow forced that fourth foul), which may have fueled the Cavs big run in the third period; the Clipper offense became very Cavalier-like- lots of jumpers and no movement.
The rest of the bigs played, well, big. Gooden had 11 points and 6 boards while Varejao had 7 and 12 respectively. I've never been a big Gooden guy, but he has played GREAT recently; if he can play close to this level somewhat consistently (there's that word again, consistent) the Cavs will be in very good shape. Donyell Marshall got 7 unproductive minutes; he's probably not too happy about it, but you know what? I am. I'm sick of how the offense looks when Marhall parks his huge ass outside the 3 point line. He's not particularly rebounding that well either.
This is the Damon Jones the Cavs thought they were getting last year. Jones hit three more treys against the Clips (and got fouled on one and made all three free throws). He's been good enough that I'm find myself looking past his terrible, terrible defense.
Blizzard in Los Angeles. Eric Snow had a huge game, scoring 18 points on 7-14 shooting. That was the ugliest 18 points on 50% shooting I've ever seen. Snow took the ball to the rim often and made the Clippers at least guard him. The Cavs still had some possessions where the shot clock was winding down and some one decided to give Eric the ball and Snow was either forced to A) create his own shot or B) throw up a jumper. This should never happen. Ever. I'm more comfortable with anybody on this team forcing a shot ahead of Snow; LeBron, Z, Gooden, Jones, Gibson, Varejao, Ira Newb- wait no, check that.
The Cavaliers closed out periods nicely. The Cavs were down 4-6 points most of the second quarter and then finished the quarter strong to cut lead to 1 at halftime (they even had a chance to take the lead). For most of the third quarter, the game was pretty close (tied-3 points) but the Cavs made a late charge to push the lead to 10 points at the quarter break. You can tell this team is get more and more confident as the game (and season) goes on.
and finally...
2-1 on the West coast trip. And sure, that one loss was ugly, but it still only counts as one in the L column. Wasn't it great to see the Cavs bounce right back after getting beat down in the desert? They put that loss behind them behind them and took care of business versus the Clippers. The Cavs got a back-to-back coming up Tuesday versus Seattle and Portland and those games look mighty winnable right now. This West coast trip may turn out to be just what this team needed.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Phoenix 109, Cleveland 90
I'm back. If you missed me and were wondering where I had wandered off to, the answer is Arizona. I got to witness two debacles in the dessert (well, the OSU game from the parking lot). I missed the Cavs 4-in-5 goodness as well as their first win on the West coast trip. Onto the game...
It wasn't really that close. From the second quarter on, the Cavs were down somewhere between 20 and 30 points. The Cavalier scrubs outscored the Suns scrubs 31-18 in the final meaningless period. (To be fair, LeBron did go off to start the fourth, which really just gave coach Brown an excuse to give him more minutes. Instead of, you know, resting your star player during a 30 point shellacking on the second game of a seven game road trip).
Dear Marc Stein, I disagree. Sincerely, Ben Cox. In Stein's write up of the Cavs-Suns game, he implied that LeBron was a one man show and that the Suns' defense forced the Cavs into terrible shots and miscues. LeBron did finish with a 34-6-6 line, but 14 of those points came at the start of the 4th quarter when the Cavs were down 91-59. Don't get me wrong, those 14 points were delightful and impressive (he scored them within a 4:30 span) but was essentially garbage time. So ya, his teammates didn't do much, but it wasn't like LeBron was valiantly keeping the game close. As for the Suns defense forcing the Cavs into long jumpers... come on Marc, Toronto and New York "force" the Cavaliers into long jumpers. The reason why? The Cavs offense stinks.
That being said, the Suns forced (suckered?) the Cavs into playing their style. Here's what the Cavs needed to do: score inside (make the Suns work and slow the game down), avoid turnovers and play solid(ish) defense. They did none of these. They took 28 treys. Think about that for a second. Long jumpers lead to long rebounds which lead to fastbreaks which lead to the Suns kicking your ass. Good call hoisting 28 (making 9).
What's Larry Hughes got to do to get a call? The guy got mugged a couple times going inside. Not that it would've made much of a difference (it'd be like Ohio State bitching that Florida got some plays off after the play clock expired. Sure, an infraction, but not game changing). That being said, both LeBron and Hughes shot two free throws apiece- not good.
What's Boobie Gibson gotta do to get into the ballgame? Gibson's first appearance in the second half was at the 2:19 mark left in the third, with the score a glorious 83-52. The score at halftime was 67-41, obviously whatever the Cavs were doing wasn't exactly working. Maybe I'm an asshole, but after starting the half down 26 and not making a dent, I'd sub in Gibson, Duane Jones, Shannon Brown (I know he wasn't dressed, but I'd have him in uniform over Ira Newble. Especially against an offensive team like the Suns) and Pavlovic and just have them run around with LeBron. At the very least they'll be happy to be out there and give some effort. Seeing Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones hoist three's wasn't exactly inspiring.
Speaking of Newble... I'm a lucky guy, I've been to two Cavs games this year and both times I've gotten the privledge of watching garbage time. Nothing is more fun than watching Newble and Anderson Varejao hoist threes with no remorse. Delightful.
Moral victories people! The Cavs held the Suns under 100 points... through three quarters. Personally, my favorite moment of the game came during the garbage time when the Suns sent in 12th man/goofy white guy Pat Burke. The crowd was pumped and they wanted some Burke magic before heading home. As the Suns force fed him the ball to get that elusive bucket, Varejao D'd (deed? dee'd?) hardcore and forced Burke into some bad shots. Suck it Phoenix!
Suns fans are a weird bunch. This was my first Cavs away game (side note: my buddy and I were interviewed for Cavalier Access (Fastbreak?) before the game during the pre-game shoot around as 'Cavs fans supporting the team on the road'. I plugged Real Cavs Fans btw) and maybe I was just pissed that the Cavs pulled a collective Troy Smith, but the Suns fans bugged the crap out of me. This is going to sound weird, but they care/cheer too much. I know, I sound like an asshole, but hear me out. They go nuts at weird times. I understand the going nuts for the 3-ball or a sweet pass play from Nash. Makes sense, exciting plays=loud cheers. But they went nuts for a little Boris Diaw jump hook that put the Suns up to six points or something in the first. Like, this isn't a particularly big or important play. It wasn't exciting or game changing. It was a little jump hook. What's the big deal. And it's not just that; the Suns would miss a free throw while up 3o points in the fourth quarter and the place groans like their down 5 and are trying to make a come back. Same thing happened when a ref gave the Cavs the ball after it went out of the Suns. Sure it was a close call and if the game was even remotely close, I could see them getting upset about it. But they're up 30 and freaking out that the ball went off of Jumaine Jones instead of being called off of Pavlovic. Garbage time is no time to be arguing calls, garbage time is for watching rookies, guys past their primes (*waves to Jalen Rose and David Wesley*) and the goofy white guys. The game isn't competitive; a loose ball here or there isn't going to do anything- calm down.
I'm sure I'm coming off as a cynical douche. And you're probably right. The Suns play exciting basketball and their fans are into it and I'm sitting here ripping them. I guess they came off to me more as Suns fans than basketball fans. Maybe I'm just too jaded by Cleveland sports, who knows, but as a basketball fan, I found the oddly timed cheers and jeers a little disjointing. But hey, maybe if I got to watch a team that scores the basketball on a regular basis, I'd cheer every point and possession like it was life and death too (what me? Jaded? Nah).
Back to the game. Steve Nash had 14 assists at halftime and 21 for the game. The Cavs had 12 assists total. 12. Well done boys! Motion offense! Veteran point guards!
and finally...
As much as the Cavs got their butts kicked, I wouldn't be too panicked. The Cavs and most of the NBA play at a little less frantic pace than the Suns. Meaning, when the Cavs play in Phoenix once a year, it's hard for them to adjust to the speed for just one game. If (somehow) the Cavs and Suns would meet in the finals, I think you'd see Cavs play much better over the course of 7 games. Now, I'm not saying the Cavs should concede the game in Phoenix every year, but this game obviously wasn't going their way, there's no way I should be looking at box score that shows LeBron played 39 minutes in a 19-but-wasn't-really-that-close point loss. The defense looked overmatched and sluggish and the offense looked inept (which isn't exactly news); I would expect a much better showing versus the Clippers.
It wasn't really that close. From the second quarter on, the Cavs were down somewhere between 20 and 30 points. The Cavalier scrubs outscored the Suns scrubs 31-18 in the final meaningless period. (To be fair, LeBron did go off to start the fourth, which really just gave coach Brown an excuse to give him more minutes. Instead of, you know, resting your star player during a 30 point shellacking on the second game of a seven game road trip).
Dear Marc Stein, I disagree. Sincerely, Ben Cox. In Stein's write up of the Cavs-Suns game, he implied that LeBron was a one man show and that the Suns' defense forced the Cavs into terrible shots and miscues. LeBron did finish with a 34-6-6 line, but 14 of those points came at the start of the 4th quarter when the Cavs were down 91-59. Don't get me wrong, those 14 points were delightful and impressive (he scored them within a 4:30 span) but was essentially garbage time. So ya, his teammates didn't do much, but it wasn't like LeBron was valiantly keeping the game close. As for the Suns defense forcing the Cavs into long jumpers... come on Marc, Toronto and New York "force" the Cavaliers into long jumpers. The reason why? The Cavs offense stinks.
That being said, the Suns forced (suckered?) the Cavs into playing their style. Here's what the Cavs needed to do: score inside (make the Suns work and slow the game down), avoid turnovers and play solid(ish) defense. They did none of these. They took 28 treys. Think about that for a second. Long jumpers lead to long rebounds which lead to fastbreaks which lead to the Suns kicking your ass. Good call hoisting 28 (making 9).
What's Larry Hughes got to do to get a call? The guy got mugged a couple times going inside. Not that it would've made much of a difference (it'd be like Ohio State bitching that Florida got some plays off after the play clock expired. Sure, an infraction, but not game changing). That being said, both LeBron and Hughes shot two free throws apiece- not good.
What's Boobie Gibson gotta do to get into the ballgame? Gibson's first appearance in the second half was at the 2:19 mark left in the third, with the score a glorious 83-52. The score at halftime was 67-41, obviously whatever the Cavs were doing wasn't exactly working. Maybe I'm an asshole, but after starting the half down 26 and not making a dent, I'd sub in Gibson, Duane Jones, Shannon Brown (I know he wasn't dressed, but I'd have him in uniform over Ira Newble. Especially against an offensive team like the Suns) and Pavlovic and just have them run around with LeBron. At the very least they'll be happy to be out there and give some effort. Seeing Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones hoist three's wasn't exactly inspiring.
Speaking of Newble... I'm a lucky guy, I've been to two Cavs games this year and both times I've gotten the privledge of watching garbage time. Nothing is more fun than watching Newble and Anderson Varejao hoist threes with no remorse. Delightful.
Moral victories people! The Cavs held the Suns under 100 points... through three quarters. Personally, my favorite moment of the game came during the garbage time when the Suns sent in 12th man/goofy white guy Pat Burke. The crowd was pumped and they wanted some Burke magic before heading home. As the Suns force fed him the ball to get that elusive bucket, Varejao D'd (deed? dee'd?) hardcore and forced Burke into some bad shots. Suck it Phoenix!
Suns fans are a weird bunch. This was my first Cavs away game (side note: my buddy and I were interviewed for Cavalier Access (Fastbreak?) before the game during the pre-game shoot around as 'Cavs fans supporting the team on the road'. I plugged Real Cavs Fans btw) and maybe I was just pissed that the Cavs pulled a collective Troy Smith, but the Suns fans bugged the crap out of me. This is going to sound weird, but they care/cheer too much. I know, I sound like an asshole, but hear me out. They go nuts at weird times. I understand the going nuts for the 3-ball or a sweet pass play from Nash. Makes sense, exciting plays=loud cheers. But they went nuts for a little Boris Diaw jump hook that put the Suns up to six points or something in the first. Like, this isn't a particularly big or important play. It wasn't exciting or game changing. It was a little jump hook. What's the big deal. And it's not just that; the Suns would miss a free throw while up 3o points in the fourth quarter and the place groans like their down 5 and are trying to make a come back. Same thing happened when a ref gave the Cavs the ball after it went out of the Suns. Sure it was a close call and if the game was even remotely close, I could see them getting upset about it. But they're up 30 and freaking out that the ball went off of Jumaine Jones instead of being called off of Pavlovic. Garbage time is no time to be arguing calls, garbage time is for watching rookies, guys past their primes (*waves to Jalen Rose and David Wesley*) and the goofy white guys. The game isn't competitive; a loose ball here or there isn't going to do anything- calm down.
I'm sure I'm coming off as a cynical douche. And you're probably right. The Suns play exciting basketball and their fans are into it and I'm sitting here ripping them. I guess they came off to me more as Suns fans than basketball fans. Maybe I'm just too jaded by Cleveland sports, who knows, but as a basketball fan, I found the oddly timed cheers and jeers a little disjointing. But hey, maybe if I got to watch a team that scores the basketball on a regular basis, I'd cheer every point and possession like it was life and death too (what me? Jaded? Nah).
Back to the game. Steve Nash had 14 assists at halftime and 21 for the game. The Cavs had 12 assists total. 12. Well done boys! Motion offense! Veteran point guards!
and finally...
As much as the Cavs got their butts kicked, I wouldn't be too panicked. The Cavs and most of the NBA play at a little less frantic pace than the Suns. Meaning, when the Cavs play in Phoenix once a year, it's hard for them to adjust to the speed for just one game. If (somehow) the Cavs and Suns would meet in the finals, I think you'd see Cavs play much better over the course of 7 games. Now, I'm not saying the Cavs should concede the game in Phoenix every year, but this game obviously wasn't going their way, there's no way I should be looking at box score that shows LeBron played 39 minutes in a 19-but-wasn't-really-that-close point loss. The defense looked overmatched and sluggish and the offense looked inept (which isn't exactly news); I would expect a much better showing versus the Clippers.
Tomorrow
Be back in Ohio tomorrow. I have some cool stories from the Suns game... that didn't involve the actual game.
Thanks to Warburton for the guest post.
(nice job Ohio teams. I'm gonna send OSU my receipts from my trip. I feel they owe me.)
Thanks to Warburton for the guest post.
(nice job Ohio teams. I'm gonna send OSU my receipts from my trip. I feel they owe me.)
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Florida 41, Ohio State 14
What can you say, Ohio State deserved to lose that game.
All week long I've talked trashed about Penn State beating Tennesee and Wisconsin beating Arkansas. I've ripped on Florida's win over a 1-AA team. But ya know what? It doesn't matter.
Florida beat Ohio State in every way imaginable. Sure, losing Ted Ginn Jr. hurt. But that's a tiny excuse. Ginn doesn't tackle. Ginn doesn't block. As much as having Teddy out there would help the offense (just that deep threat being there), it doesn't really matter.
The game was won in the trenches. End of story. Chris Leak had all day to throw the ball, Troy Smith didn't. Smith was hounded all night long and never seemed to get comfortable in the pocket. Again, would having Ginn had helped? I'm sure here and there, but make no mistake, all the credit should go to the Florida defensive line. They got to Smith all game long and they provided the play of the game; forcing a fumble from Smith late in the second half, which led to a TD that put Florida up 20. If Ohio State had scored on that drive (or even stood pat), they would've had a shot at the game. But that touchdown seemed to put the game away.
However, it didn't help that OSU didn't score in the third quarter. Their defense came out and actually made a few stops for the first time all night, but the offense couldn't take advantage. Whatever slim hopes Ohio State had of winning the game were dashed when they couldn't score in the third period.
Trust me, I'd love to bitch about how OSU was screwed and how things just didn't go their way. I'd love to blame Ginn's injury or the 51 days off. But I can't. I never thought the game was going to be an OSU blow out. I figured the Buckeyes would win, but it would be a close/good game game. I definitely didn't expect this. But I can't blame those things. I can't point to injuries or to the number of days off.
Florida won the national championship. They beat OSU all over the field. Offense. Defense. Special teams (except for the first play of the game).
OSU fans can't bitch, can't complain and can't whine. Florida fans can chant their "just-like -bas-ket-ball" and all that crap. They deserve it. They won.
Hats off to Florida, they are the reigning champions in both football and basketball; which should really be a bigger deal than people are making it out to be. That is quite a feat.
Am I going to be sick of all the SEC talk? All the overrated talk? Sure. But ya know what? Ohio State got their asses handed to 'em. They should get the verbal beat down.
I do feel for the Buckeye team; they had a dream season ruined tonight. Their fans showed up to Arizona in droves. It had all the makings for a perfect season. But I can't feel that bad; they didn't block, they didn't tackle and they didn't throw the ball. They didn't play good football. Florida did. And that's why they won.
All week long I've talked trashed about Penn State beating Tennesee and Wisconsin beating Arkansas. I've ripped on Florida's win over a 1-AA team. But ya know what? It doesn't matter.
Florida beat Ohio State in every way imaginable. Sure, losing Ted Ginn Jr. hurt. But that's a tiny excuse. Ginn doesn't tackle. Ginn doesn't block. As much as having Teddy out there would help the offense (just that deep threat being there), it doesn't really matter.
The game was won in the trenches. End of story. Chris Leak had all day to throw the ball, Troy Smith didn't. Smith was hounded all night long and never seemed to get comfortable in the pocket. Again, would having Ginn had helped? I'm sure here and there, but make no mistake, all the credit should go to the Florida defensive line. They got to Smith all game long and they provided the play of the game; forcing a fumble from Smith late in the second half, which led to a TD that put Florida up 20. If Ohio State had scored on that drive (or even stood pat), they would've had a shot at the game. But that touchdown seemed to put the game away.
However, it didn't help that OSU didn't score in the third quarter. Their defense came out and actually made a few stops for the first time all night, but the offense couldn't take advantage. Whatever slim hopes Ohio State had of winning the game were dashed when they couldn't score in the third period.
Trust me, I'd love to bitch about how OSU was screwed and how things just didn't go their way. I'd love to blame Ginn's injury or the 51 days off. But I can't. I never thought the game was going to be an OSU blow out. I figured the Buckeyes would win, but it would be a close/good game game. I definitely didn't expect this. But I can't blame those things. I can't point to injuries or to the number of days off.
Florida won the national championship. They beat OSU all over the field. Offense. Defense. Special teams (except for the first play of the game).
OSU fans can't bitch, can't complain and can't whine. Florida fans can chant their "just-like -bas-ket-ball" and all that crap. They deserve it. They won.
Hats off to Florida, they are the reigning champions in both football and basketball; which should really be a bigger deal than people are making it out to be. That is quite a feat.
Am I going to be sick of all the SEC talk? All the overrated talk? Sure. But ya know what? Ohio State got their asses handed to 'em. They should get the verbal beat down.
I do feel for the Buckeye team; they had a dream season ruined tonight. Their fans showed up to Arizona in droves. It had all the makings for a perfect season. But I can't feel that bad; they didn't block, they didn't tackle and they didn't throw the ball. They didn't play good football. Florida did. And that's why they won.
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