What a difference a week makes. After the debacle against Detroit last Sunday, all seemed lost for the Cavs. But just a week later the Cavs have beaten both Shaq and Kobe pretty handily.
A guy could get used to this. Good defense? Solid bench play? Beating a good team? Winning a game on ABC? Fantastic. The question is, will they keep it up?
It seems more likely if Brown keeps playing Sasha and Gibson. The young guys have given this team a shot in the arm. Pavlovic is simply playing outstanding basketball and Gibson's confidence grows by the game. A week ago I would've thought that a trade was a must, but now? Not so much.
More Sasha. He really won the game for the Cavaliers today. He took the ball to the rim, he hit his 3s (3-4) and his free throws (4-5) and he actually played defense. Sasha's final tally was 21 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist, steal and block. He was big when it counted, as 13 of his points came in the fourth period. If he plays half this well from here on out, the Cavs will be well off.
The rest of the bench stepped up. With Pavlovic leading the way, the Cavaliers' bench outscored the Lakers' bench 46-15. Anderson Varejao gave the Cavs 12 points (11 in the fourth quarter), Snow played tough defense on Kobe (while dishing out 6 assists) and Marshall hit a couple 3s.
The Cavs needed their bench, cause LeBron had an off night. James was just 5-12 for 18 points (8-12 from the line) but did give them 8 rebounds and 5 assists. James played halfway decent defense as well. As much as I'd like him to snap out of this funk, I have to admit, it was nice to see the Cavs beat a good team with James having an off night.
Z bounced back with a good game. Ilgauskas had a bad game against Miami on Friday (4 points, 1-8 shooting but did have 10 boards) but he bounced back with a 17 point, 7 board, 3 block and 2 assist effort (I really wish someone besides Eric Snow would cut to the hoop when Z is in the post. Just once). Z was also the only one worth a damn in the third period, when he scored 5 of the Cavaliers' 12 points. He also scored 4 points early in the fourth quarter that gave the Cavs a 72-69 advantage.
That's right, 12. What is it about the third period that messes with the Cavs' heads so much. The Cavs started the period with a 52-41 lead and ended it down 67-64. The problem, as always, was their penchant for jumpers. The Cavs stopped going inside and simply settled for jump shots; it was awful to watch. LeBron didn't score and Kobe had 11. To recap: Kobe 11, Cavs 12.
The fourth quarter was a tad better. Pavlovic had 13 and Varejao had 11 of his 12 in the final period. For the second game in a row the Cavs unloaded in the fourth period; against Miami they scored 34 in the final quarter and today they scored 35 (again, after scoring 12 the previous quarter). Again, James didn't have the best quarter (still too many jumpers) but Pavlovic and Varejao carried the load.
Kobe is good. That is all. 14 straight points to start the fourth quarter. His mid-range game is miles ahead of James (or anyone for that matter). For awhile there he was pretty much unstoppable; he even suckered the Cavs into a couple fouls on jumpshots (by kicking his leg out). Honestly, I thought he was going to carry the Lakers to the win, especially after the way the Cavs looked in the third period. However...
Mike Brown actually changed his defense. Down the stretch the Cavs doubled Kobe and made him give up the basketball. The Cavs sent James, Sasha and Hughes at Bryant and it paid off. Kobe didn't score in the last 3 and a half minutes.
It'd be nice if Hughes showed up. Larry did have a big steal down the stretch, but before that he was pretty much non-existent. Larry was 2-8, shot no free throws and had just 2 rebounds.
and finally...
Rematch on Thursday. The Cavs have a quick 2 game West coast swing this week, where they get a back-to-back with Utah and the Lakers. It's not exactly an easy 2 nights, but they've played well this past week, so a split is a must but a sweep is by no means out of the question.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Some video from the Cavs-Heat game
Here are some videos from the Cavs win over the Heat:
Passing? To start a fast break?
Boobie Gibson and1:
Sweet LeBron dunk:
Tell me if that is Dwyane Wade that you still believe that there's no whistle:
Couple nice plays by Sasha:
A kick ass sequence by Varejao:
Passing? To start a fast break?
Boobie Gibson and1:
Sweet LeBron dunk:
Tell me if that is Dwyane Wade that you still believe that there's no whistle:
Couple nice plays by Sasha:
A kick ass sequence by Varejao:
Friday, February 09, 2007
Cleveland 103, Miami 79
That's what I'm talking about! The Cavs actually played an entire ball game (that's right four quarters) against the Heat. They shared the ball and LeBron played like the LeBron of yesteryear (except for those pesky free throws). It was fun to watch and the Cavs basically beat Miami in every aspect of the game.
Home cooking is delicious. The Cavs played the Heat much better in Cleveland than in Miami (which isn't exactly a shock) and the fourth quarter really told the tale. Last week, the Heat outscored the Cavs 34-23 in the final period. Tonight? Cleveland won the fourth 34-22. And Wade still led everyone in free throw attempts, but instead of 24, he took just 9.
Hustle. The Cavaliers simply outworked Miami tonight. Gooden had 13 boards, Z had 10, LeBron had 7 and Varejao, Marshall and Pavlovic all finished with 5. Not too bad. Gooden and Z didn't play well offensively, but they both hit the boards really well (Z was an awful 1-8 from the floor. He looks like he has no confidence versus good teams, but against second tier teams like the Clippers he' a real force. I'm not sure if they need to drown him in compliments or what, but it'd be nice if the guy could show up versus Detroit and Miami). The defense was pretty good as well; they actually forced some players not named Wade to shoot the ball (it'd have been nice to have seen that last week at some point). They also decided to single cover O'Neal, which I liked (to be fair, Z did do a decent job on Shaq most of the night, especially in the second half. What? Shaq was tired because he's returning from injury? Um...)
LeBron looked like LeBron. I don't know if it's his toe feeling better, playing on ESPN or playing against Dwyane Wade and co. but LBJ was focussed and active all night long. I still thought he could've punished the Heat more by abusing Kapono (really? the guy the Cavs let go because he can't play defense is guarding LeBron? And they aren't running isos for him all game long? Jason Kapono?). He settled for jumpers a little too often for my tastes. But that's a small quibble on this night; James finished with 29 points, 7 boards and 6 assists.
Larry Hughes scored 16 points and shot 7-12 and I'm still a bit perturbed. The man doesn't just take too many jumpers, he takes too many bad jumpers. Fast break jumpers, 18 seconds left on the shot clock jumpers; if you find yourself screaming "no!" at a jump shot, Hughes is probably taking it. To be fair, he made his fair share tonight, but if he did that on a regular basis we wouldn't have a problem with him. Also, he had 1 rebound and 2 assists (also 4 turnovers)- not good. He did foul Wade when he was attempting a jumper... so there's that...
The bench stepped up. Sasha Pavlovic gave the Cavs 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. That's fantastic. Keep giving us games like that and we'll have ourselves a shooting guard controversy (whether Pavs should start over Hughes now or wait until next season). But Sasha wasn't the only bench player worth a damn: Eric Snow gave the Cavs 7(!) assists, Marshall hit two 3s (one that counted), Varejao had 8 points and 5 boards and Scot Pollard had 3 fouls in 3 minutes. Awesome.
Coach Mike kicked some ass. I really liked all of Brown's decisions tonight (well, LeBron did play 41 minutes). He yelled at the refs (he does have emotions), he actually had a defensive strategy and he took Snow out of the game at just about the time I got sick of seeing him out there. He actually got a tech when arguing about LeBron taking some hits (I've been waiting all year for this).
Could LeBron get some calls? Is it weird to ask that? I don't care- LeBron got hit in the face on a few drives tonight and received no whistle. You can't tell me that the refs would've 'let 'em play' if Varejao slapped Wade across the head.
and finally...
The roller coaster continues. How come when the Cavs lose to the Heat it feels like there's no hope for them, but when they beat the Heat it feels like another solid win (ie: not that special)?
The Cavs are a much better team at home (the confidence difference is astounding) and it's becomes more and more apparent that they'll need home court if they want to do any damage in the playoffs. If they continue their strong home play on Sunday, they'll have beaten both Wade and Kobe on national television on the same weekend. That'd be nice.
Home cooking is delicious. The Cavs played the Heat much better in Cleveland than in Miami (which isn't exactly a shock) and the fourth quarter really told the tale. Last week, the Heat outscored the Cavs 34-23 in the final period. Tonight? Cleveland won the fourth 34-22. And Wade still led everyone in free throw attempts, but instead of 24, he took just 9.
Hustle. The Cavaliers simply outworked Miami tonight. Gooden had 13 boards, Z had 10, LeBron had 7 and Varejao, Marshall and Pavlovic all finished with 5. Not too bad. Gooden and Z didn't play well offensively, but they both hit the boards really well (Z was an awful 1-8 from the floor. He looks like he has no confidence versus good teams, but against second tier teams like the Clippers he' a real force. I'm not sure if they need to drown him in compliments or what, but it'd be nice if the guy could show up versus Detroit and Miami). The defense was pretty good as well; they actually forced some players not named Wade to shoot the ball (it'd have been nice to have seen that last week at some point). They also decided to single cover O'Neal, which I liked (to be fair, Z did do a decent job on Shaq most of the night, especially in the second half. What? Shaq was tired because he's returning from injury? Um...)
LeBron looked like LeBron. I don't know if it's his toe feeling better, playing on ESPN or playing against Dwyane Wade and co. but LBJ was focussed and active all night long. I still thought he could've punished the Heat more by abusing Kapono (really? the guy the Cavs let go because he can't play defense is guarding LeBron? And they aren't running isos for him all game long? Jason Kapono?). He settled for jumpers a little too often for my tastes. But that's a small quibble on this night; James finished with 29 points, 7 boards and 6 assists.
Larry Hughes scored 16 points and shot 7-12 and I'm still a bit perturbed. The man doesn't just take too many jumpers, he takes too many bad jumpers. Fast break jumpers, 18 seconds left on the shot clock jumpers; if you find yourself screaming "no!" at a jump shot, Hughes is probably taking it. To be fair, he made his fair share tonight, but if he did that on a regular basis we wouldn't have a problem with him. Also, he had 1 rebound and 2 assists (also 4 turnovers)- not good. He did foul Wade when he was attempting a jumper... so there's that...
The bench stepped up. Sasha Pavlovic gave the Cavs 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. That's fantastic. Keep giving us games like that and we'll have ourselves a shooting guard controversy (whether Pavs should start over Hughes now or wait until next season). But Sasha wasn't the only bench player worth a damn: Eric Snow gave the Cavs 7(!) assists, Marshall hit two 3s (one that counted), Varejao had 8 points and 5 boards and Scot Pollard had 3 fouls in 3 minutes. Awesome.
Coach Mike kicked some ass. I really liked all of Brown's decisions tonight (well, LeBron did play 41 minutes). He yelled at the refs (he does have emotions), he actually had a defensive strategy and he took Snow out of the game at just about the time I got sick of seeing him out there. He actually got a tech when arguing about LeBron taking some hits (I've been waiting all year for this).
Could LeBron get some calls? Is it weird to ask that? I don't care- LeBron got hit in the face on a few drives tonight and received no whistle. You can't tell me that the refs would've 'let 'em play' if Varejao slapped Wade across the head.
and finally...
The roller coaster continues. How come when the Cavs lose to the Heat it feels like there's no hope for them, but when they beat the Heat it feels like another solid win (ie: not that special)?
The Cavs are a much better team at home (the confidence difference is astounding) and it's becomes more and more apparent that they'll need home court if they want to do any damage in the playoffs. If they continue their strong home play on Sunday, they'll have beaten both Wade and Kobe on national television on the same weekend. That'd be nice.
Cavs not living up to expectations
Marty Burns:
3) I was pretty down on Sasha Pavlovic. Sasha is playing well right now (really well) so it looks kinda stupid that I was down on him. But there's always that chance that Pavs will commit 3 charges and 5 turnovers tonight and he won't get off of Brown's bench for the next month.
4) That article was more like a column, which I haven't done a lot of recently (which is probably why I'm never on Swerbs- besides the crappy writing and postss litterde whit typoes)
5) I've been consistent with my calls for more post action (and my lack of enthusiasm for Donyell's post game)
6) Was it really that hard to see that this Cavs team was full of problems? I'm the biggest Cavs fan I know and I had to talk myself into entertaining the mere thought of the Cavs leading the East.
7) The weird/sad thing is that the Cavs still very well could win the East. It's just that bad.
Sometimes expectations can be a curse.
Take the Cavs.
Before the season many pundits (including myself) picked Cleveland to win the Eastern Conference. After all, the Cavs were coming off a 50-win season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs, where they took the heavily favored Pistons to seven games.
Plus, they had LeBron James.
But a funny thing has happened to the Cavs on their way to the Finals: They haven't played all that well.
After a strong start to the season, LeBron and Co. (27-21) had lost eight of their last 12 games through Tuesday to fall to fourth in the East. Nothing to panic about. But nothing to get Cleveland fans dreaming of a championship parade along Lake Erie either.
Stupid lofty expectations, here's what I said before the season started:
My first thought was to brush this off, I mean seriously, how could the Cavs be the best in the East without a point guard? But then I thought about it, if it isn't Cleveland, who among the rest of the East's big four is it?
Miami? I thought they were overrated last year, and true, they did win the title last season. But how motivated are these guys? Their point guard situation isn't a whole lot better than Cleveland's right now and they are pretty old. At times during the playoffs last season, Shaq looked done (really really done) and I doubt he'll be able to muster even last years performance. True, they still have Wade and his 900 free throws a game, but everyone else is a year older (and I don't know if Zo and Payton are as hungry now that they have the ring).
Detroit? Sure they lost Benny Wallace, but they still have Hamilton, Rasheed, Billups and Prince. But the Cavs took them to 7 (well, 6 1/2) games last season and I don't think Nazr Mohammed and Flip Murray really make up for Big Ben. Also, Detroit has been remarkably injury free the past few years while playing a ton of games. I think that one of their big four will miss some time this season. Finally, with Ben Wallace gone, the Pistons have to rely more on
Rasheed Wallace. Good luck with that.
Chicago? They're a trendy pick right now, but as I've written before, I don't buy it. I don't care to rehash all the reasons I wouldn't pick them, but I will say this (I'm not sure who first made this argument, but I'm stealing it): if Detroit lost in the playoffs last season with a lineup of Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, what makes anyone think that adding Wallace to a lineup of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Adres Nocioni and PJ Brown. As much as I like the Bulls lineup (and they're all pretty good), none of them are any better than their Piston counterparts.
The Cavs are returning almost all the players on a 50 win squad, that should count for something. Plus, as Hollinger points out, their 3 key '05 free agents (Hughes, Marshall and Jones) all digressed last season, if just one of them returns to form they'll be alright. It looks like Marshall is in better shape and is looking to return to a complete player (not just one who jacks treys all game, but post moves). And Jones? Well, he says he's in his best shape since he left Miami (Umm... that means he's in the best shape in year. Awesome).
So have I drank the Kool-Aid? Are the Cavs the best team in the East? Um... maybe. Part of me says yes, but the part of me that's a Cleveland fan is laughing and saying "hell no". That Cleveland fan part reminds me that the Cavs still don't have a point guard (but they do have a new floor!) and that they're bringing back everyone from an offense that looked terrible last year. It's great that Marshall wants to use his post moves more, it really is, but I'm still waiting for the Cavs to use Z's post game for more than just the opening minutes of the halves. I'm pretty sure Cavs fans wouldn't mind if LeBron would post up every once in awhile either. Also, Larry Hughes is a slasher not a jump shooter, use his strengths (can ya tell I love this offense?).
I do believe however, that if Hughes, Wesley and Shannon Brown get the minutes that went to Pavlovic, Graham and Newble (after Hughes went down), the offense should improve just by lack of Newble alone. I think we can all agree that the less time Newble is on the floor, the better things are for the city of Cleveland.
If the offense goes right and the Cavs stay healthy... yes, I've talked myself into it. I think the Cavs could win the East. There, I said it. Going out on a limb and daring to dream, right? But do I believe they will win it? Come on, don't ask me that, as a Cleveland fan you know I'm not allowed to have that much optimism.
Couple things stick out to me:
1) that post had pictures. For a brief time I tried to color up my posts with some photos. That quickly stopped due to laziness. Plus, I'm sure there are copyright issues involved as well (but that really hasn't stopped me. I'm an idiot).
2) I was way too optimistic about David Wesley, Larry Hughes and Shannon Brown. With Wesley, I figured if nothing else he could at least shoot (turns out that's his one fatal flaw). As for Brown, he's been hurt and never played anyways. Hughes stinks.3) I was pretty down on Sasha Pavlovic. Sasha is playing well right now (really well) so it looks kinda stupid that I was down on him. But there's always that chance that Pavs will commit 3 charges and 5 turnovers tonight and he won't get off of Brown's bench for the next month.
4) That article was more like a column, which I haven't done a lot of recently (which is probably why I'm never on Swerbs- besides the crappy writing and postss litterde whit typoes)
5) I've been consistent with my calls for more post action (and my lack of enthusiasm for Donyell's post game)
6) Was it really that hard to see that this Cavs team was full of problems? I'm the biggest Cavs fan I know and I had to talk myself into entertaining the mere thought of the Cavs leading the East.
7) The weird/sad thing is that the Cavs still very well could win the East. It's just that bad.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Cleveland 94, Los Angeles Clippers 77
Solid. That's the one word that sums this game up. Solid. The Cavs gave a solid effort on the defensive end and they did most everything right on the offensive.
And they ran. The Cavaliers actively looked to push the ball up the court and it led to some easy buckets and let them set up the offense just a little bit earlier. This is how I'd like to see them run- they don't have to be the Suns, but push the ball after misses and turnovers. For instance, LeBron got an easy hoop off of a full court drive. We're they going crazy? No, but they ran within their means.
They didn't rely on LeBron. The Cavs had five players in double figures: Z and Pavlovic had 16, Hughes had 15, Gooden had 13 and LeBron finished with 11. I'm not going to lie, it's nice to see the Cavs get a good win without relying on LeBron. The ball moved around the court and the Cavs attacked the basket. They only shot 41% from the floor and just 25% from three; not great numbers but it's nice to see a solid win without them having to be hot.
Pigs flew. LeBron played 'just' 36 minutes. This is down from his usual 41. I harp on this a lot and I really do think this is important. 36 minutes isn't exactly low (that's what Dirk Nowitzki averages) but it is nice to see him a decent amount under 40.
More LeBron. 11 points, 7 boards and 3 assists, not exactly spectacular numbers, but not bad either. He was just 4-13 from the field, but a few of those misses came off of drive that could've/would've/should've gotten James to the foul line (where he was only 2-2).
The young kids. Gibson played pretty well, he didn't shoot much (his two 3s were the Cavs first 6 points) and he finished with zero assists. Simply having him out there changes the way teams guard the Cavaliers, but I'm not gonna lie, it'd be nice to see him set up some of his teammates every once in awhile. Sasha Pavlovic continued his strong play, scoring 16 points and grabbing 5 boards. Hell, we even had a Shannon Brown sighting (which means I can start clamoring for him to play again. I think we're all looking forward to that).
The big men played well. Z had a classic 16-16 game and even had 4 assists. Not too shabby. The bulk of Drew Gooden's 13 points came in the second half and he also had 5 rebounds, all in just 20 minutes of court time. The Cavs ran the offense through Z early on (he got the assists on Gibson's two 3s) and, combined with the effort to push the ball, it really paid off.
Hughes scored 15 and still managed to bug me. 15 points (5-12 shooting), 4 assists and 3 boards. Not exactly a bad game or even bad effort. Hughes seemed engaged and active most of the time but his shot selection still left much to be desired. The man takes too many jumpshots; they went in against the Clippers, but that doesn't exactly make it right.
A lot of those jumpers came in the third period. Both Hughes and James came out firing after halftime. Why does this happen? They play great, team oriented first half and then they come out the second half hoisting jumpers. The Cavs had 28 points in the paint in the first half and just 4 in the third quarter. Makes sense to me.
and finally...
Nice way to bounce back from the Detroit game. The Cavs have had a few days off and we've seen a lot of stories about the offense (or lack thereof) and there's been some grumbling from the players. It was good to see the Cavs get a big, comfortable win after their time off and that the offense ran smoothly. Sure it's just the Clippers, but let's hope that the Cavs can build off this and play well against the Heat on Friday
And they ran. The Cavaliers actively looked to push the ball up the court and it led to some easy buckets and let them set up the offense just a little bit earlier. This is how I'd like to see them run- they don't have to be the Suns, but push the ball after misses and turnovers. For instance, LeBron got an easy hoop off of a full court drive. We're they going crazy? No, but they ran within their means.
They didn't rely on LeBron. The Cavs had five players in double figures: Z and Pavlovic had 16, Hughes had 15, Gooden had 13 and LeBron finished with 11. I'm not going to lie, it's nice to see the Cavs get a good win without relying on LeBron. The ball moved around the court and the Cavs attacked the basket. They only shot 41% from the floor and just 25% from three; not great numbers but it's nice to see a solid win without them having to be hot.
Pigs flew. LeBron played 'just' 36 minutes. This is down from his usual 41. I harp on this a lot and I really do think this is important. 36 minutes isn't exactly low (that's what Dirk Nowitzki averages) but it is nice to see him a decent amount under 40.
More LeBron. 11 points, 7 boards and 3 assists, not exactly spectacular numbers, but not bad either. He was just 4-13 from the field, but a few of those misses came off of drive that could've/would've/should've gotten James to the foul line (where he was only 2-2).
The young kids. Gibson played pretty well, he didn't shoot much (his two 3s were the Cavs first 6 points) and he finished with zero assists. Simply having him out there changes the way teams guard the Cavaliers, but I'm not gonna lie, it'd be nice to see him set up some of his teammates every once in awhile. Sasha Pavlovic continued his strong play, scoring 16 points and grabbing 5 boards. Hell, we even had a Shannon Brown sighting (which means I can start clamoring for him to play again. I think we're all looking forward to that).
The big men played well. Z had a classic 16-16 game and even had 4 assists. Not too shabby. The bulk of Drew Gooden's 13 points came in the second half and he also had 5 rebounds, all in just 20 minutes of court time. The Cavs ran the offense through Z early on (he got the assists on Gibson's two 3s) and, combined with the effort to push the ball, it really paid off.
Hughes scored 15 and still managed to bug me. 15 points (5-12 shooting), 4 assists and 3 boards. Not exactly a bad game or even bad effort. Hughes seemed engaged and active most of the time but his shot selection still left much to be desired. The man takes too many jumpshots; they went in against the Clippers, but that doesn't exactly make it right.
A lot of those jumpers came in the third period. Both Hughes and James came out firing after halftime. Why does this happen? They play great, team oriented first half and then they come out the second half hoisting jumpers. The Cavs had 28 points in the paint in the first half and just 4 in the third quarter. Makes sense to me.
and finally...
Nice way to bounce back from the Detroit game. The Cavs have had a few days off and we've seen a lot of stories about the offense (or lack thereof) and there's been some grumbling from the players. It was good to see the Cavs get a big, comfortable win after their time off and that the offense ran smoothly. Sure it's just the Clippers, but let's hope that the Cavs can build off this and play well against the Heat on Friday
Running
Bill Livingston wants the Cavs to run more and use their athletes:
Also, having the guards rebound the ball could help:
I posted a video after the Warriors win that showed Zydrunas throwing a quick outlet pass to Pavlovic after a Golden State miss (third video). Pavlovic didn't score (he was fouled) and it wasn't exactly a flashy play, but that's the kind of thing the Cavs need to drill into their players. Push the ball by passing ahead, grab the rebound and get out running; don't wait for James or Hughes to come back to the ball, throw it up to them. They aren't used to thinking this way and Brown needs to force them (and himself) to push the ball when they can.
The Cavs obviously need to change up their offense; they need more easy baskets for James, be it by fast breaks, running more post plays or simply having James move without the ball. The question is, who knows if Brown can make these changes on the fly?
In Brown's defense, his roster is a box of mismatched parts. Part of the team is plodders (Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jones, Eric Snow, David Wesley) and part flyers (James, Larry Hughes, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, Drew Gooden).
A defense-oriented coach in football usually runs a button-down offense to reduce turnovers and keep his defenders from having to play on a short field. Tom Landry was the great exception.
Brown was hired to create a Pistons-like defensive mind-set. Turnovers in basketball happen when you run, although so do easy baskets. But turnovers put Brown's beloved defense at risk.
Alas, Brown hasn't locked down the other team as much as he has put his own biggest asset, James, in chains. He has to let him run.
The Cavs rebound well, a requirement to run.
And it is no hindrance to have Z on the floor in the fast break. The center makes outlet passes, then saunters downcourt if a quick basket doesn't result. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sometimes didn't even move to halfcourt. Neither did Wes Unseld.
I've said this before (and I'm sure I'll say it again) but centers don't finish fast breaks, they start them. Livingston is correct in saying that Z shouldn't be whats holding the Cavaliers fast break back.
Also, having the guards rebound the ball could help:
Numbers like 14.4 points and 3.1 assists seem passable until you realize that Hughes is playing close to 36 minutes a night, and his ability to clean the glass seems to have diminished. Hughes averaged 6.3 rebounds in 38 minutes two years ago, but that mark is down to 3.5 this season. Guards who rebound can't help but start fast breaks, but Hughes' recent decline heads that idea off at the pass.And I hate that cliché.
Having Hughes (and James) crash the boards would do wonders for the Cavs running attack. I know the players want to run, and playing Gibson and Pavlovic will help, but there still will be problems. Gibson is nice and all, but they need a real point guard (from Windhorst's blog):
1. You can't run an up-tempo offense without a good offensive point guard. At least not well. The Cavs don't have one right now. Maybe it'll work for a night or a week, but I not for long periods of time or, um, hello, the playoffs. End of discussion. It may be fun to talk about Sasha Pavlovic at the 3, Andy Varejao at the 5, and LeBron James at the 4. Hey, there's probably valid points and great ideas in there. But the most important piece is missing right now. This is not a slap of Daniel Gibson, I think he's got a great future. Key word there, though, is future.
Windhorst has some more great points:
2. Over the last 29 games, the Cavs have scored 19 fastbreak points or more just twice. The two games LeBron didn't play. I'll bet he doesn't know that.
3. I understand why Larry Hughes is not thrilled with his role and he'd love to have more freedom both offensively and defensively. But I'd have a little more sympathy if he didn't just chuck away from the outside and not pass or rebound much anymore. He's playing mad and it isn't helping. I mean, I know he wants to run, but when he does run he pulls up from 18 feet on a 3-on-2 break. I was defending Hughes earlier this season when fans were getting on him when he was playing through an injury. Well, he tells me he's fine now, so I say where's the real Larry Hughes?
A lot of the Cavaliers' problems are philosophical. Do they have the perfect roster? No. Are the pieces a good fit for LeBron? No, not everyone. But they do need to change the way they think.
Jack McCallum has talked about Mike D'Antoni's philosophy with the Suns and how he had to train them to think to run every time. They were used to pushing the ball off of long misses and turnovers, but not after short rebounds or makes. He had to drill into his guys to push no matter what.
I posted a video after the Warriors win that showed Zydrunas throwing a quick outlet pass to Pavlovic after a Golden State miss (third video). Pavlovic didn't score (he was fouled) and it wasn't exactly a flashy play, but that's the kind of thing the Cavs need to drill into their players. Push the ball by passing ahead, grab the rebound and get out running; don't wait for James or Hughes to come back to the ball, throw it up to them. They aren't used to thinking this way and Brown needs to force them (and himself) to push the ball when they can.
The Cavs obviously need to change up their offense; they need more easy baskets for James, be it by fast breaks, running more post plays or simply having James move without the ball. The question is, who knows if Brown can make these changes on the fly?
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Cavs Free Throws
Mistake by the Lake breaks down the Cavs free throw problems:
If the Cavaliers were simply average at free throws, they could expect to have won an extra three games this year—a surprisingly big improvement. That's over five wins over the course of 82 games. An average free throwing Cavaliers squad would be the best team in the Eastern Conference (of course, they're already pretty close). And let's not forget the case of the Cavaliers being the best free throwers in the NBA. If that were true, they'd have the best record in the East by an even bigger margin and third-best in the NBA behind Phoenix and Dallas.They also have a run down of the key shooters:
One thing we can say for Drew's free throw shooting is that it has been inconsistent. This year, he's actually shooting it pretty well from the foul line--certainly better than last year.Really? Drew Gooden? Inconsistent? I don't believe it.
James wants more alley-oops
James:
I'm not sure if the Cavs becoming a 'running team' is the answer (I know everyone loves the Suns, but go look up their record this season against San Antonio, Dallas and Utah). Do they need to run more? Yes. But what they really need is easier baskets. Of course, this involves LeBron going to the post (I always find a way to bring it back around to post play, don't I?) and actually moving without the ball. James can be just as guilty of the 'statue offense' as the rest of them (but he doesn't have an excuse, the other guys are watching a superstar, he's watching an Larry Hughes).
A big part of this whole thing is LeBron's minutes. When he plays 42 minutes a game, there's no way he's going to be running around picks and fighting down low; he's saving himself, he may not say it, but you can tell he's rationing his energy. If the Cavs want LeBron running and jumping, moving without the ball and crashing the boards (I'd like to see him get 8 boards a game, he's 6-8 and strong like bull) then they should be cutting his minutes (under 40 a game is imperative
but you'd like him to be somewhere between 35-38). With Sasha Pavlovic emerging, it should be a little bit easier to find James some rest.
"It's fun to get up and down and throw lobs," James said. "I've caught two lobs [so far] this year, and that's a career low. We need to get into our offense quicker instead of waiting until the shot clock is coming down. We've had zero fast-break points in multiple games, and that's kind of unbelievable with the type of athletes we have."I can't really disagree with that. The players, like everyone else, don't exactly love this 'offense':
``You can hold a team to 42 percent shooting, but if they make enough offensive plays and we don't, you're going to lose ballgames.
``We don't get easy buckets. I don't get easy buckets like I used to in the past. Easy buckets can always help, it doesn't hurt. At times it's fun to get up and down and throw lobs, I've probably caught two lobs this year, that's a career low.''
Brown has attempted to make changes to help his offense. Four games ago, he inserted rookie Daniel Gibson into the starting lineup and has given chunks of Damon Jones and Eric Snow's minutes to Sasha Pavlovic. While no one is looking for radical change, at this point in the season, some don't think it's enough.
``I still don't think it is time to panic, we need to keep an even keel,'' said Larry Hughes, whose scoring average is also down this season. ``I definitely think we should run more, it suits our team. Somewhat, we're trying. I think that we're a much better running team than we've showed.''
The offense the Cavs run now, which often starts out of a 1-4 set, takes time to develop. It can take a while for plays to be run and 41 percent of the time the Cavs don't take a shot until the final eight seconds of the 24-second shot clock. James feels like it often takes too long to develop plays and that it allows the defense to set up to defend him better.
``I think we do a lot of dribbling, when the time is running down, we can't attack, you have to settle for a jump shot,'' James said. ``For the most part, we want to play a half-court basketball game. I'm not saying it's a negative, because we are at times a good half-court team.''
Alright, here's the thing, sure the offense stinks, but I can't imagine Brown drawing up plays that call for LeBron (or Snow or Hughes) to just stand there and dribble for 10 seconds while no one moves. That's on the players. When LeBron was out the ball moved from side to side and the Cavs ran the offense. Too often James holds the ball and stagnates the offense. I don't know if you can really blame the offense on that.
However, getting James some easy buckets isn't a bad thing. I'm not sure what I make of him knowing his alley-oop stats, but he's right when he says he needs more lobs. It seems every time I turn on Denver highlights I see a 'Melo backdoor alley-oop. The Cavs never run a play like that for James, they rarely run anything that involves James moving without the ball.I'm not sure if the Cavs becoming a 'running team' is the answer (I know everyone loves the Suns, but go look up their record this season against San Antonio, Dallas and Utah). Do they need to run more? Yes. But what they really need is easier baskets. Of course, this involves LeBron going to the post (I always find a way to bring it back around to post play, don't I?) and actually moving without the ball. James can be just as guilty of the 'statue offense' as the rest of them (but he doesn't have an excuse, the other guys are watching a superstar, he's watching an Larry Hughes).
A big part of this whole thing is LeBron's minutes. When he plays 42 minutes a game, there's no way he's going to be running around picks and fighting down low; he's saving himself, he may not say it, but you can tell he's rationing his energy. If the Cavs want LeBron running and jumping, moving without the ball and crashing the boards (I'd like to see him get 8 boards a game, he's 6-8 and strong like bull) then they should be cutting his minutes (under 40 a game is imperative
but you'd like him to be somewhere between 35-38). With Sasha Pavlovic emerging, it should be a little bit easier to find James some rest.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Random Thoughts from the Weekend
1. Hey everybody, I'm back. I went to Columbus for the weekend for the Super Bowl and other debaucheries.
2. Sorry for not posting for a few days (especially after the games), I hate it when sites I read stop updating for (seemingly) no reason. In the future I'll let you guys know before hand.
3. In my defense, I'm not used to leaving the blog and having people notice (or at least voice their displeasure). It's kinda neat.
4. re: Super Bowl: I thought the Bears were going to win, I didn't see Colts defense playing as well as they did. I figured the Bears D could hold their own with the Colts offense. Guess I'm a moron.
5. Am I the only one that was kinda bored during the game? The Super Bowl is always like New Years Eve. Every New Years Eve I get super hyped cause I'm "gonna party" and I get all psyched out and excited for that night. More often than not I have a relatively harmless evening and I'm bummed out cause it wasn't super-ultra-mega-awesome. Same thing with the Super Bowl, with all the hype that goes on, the game can never live up to expectations. I'm pretty sure I need 25 lead changes, a last second field goal, a tragic halftime explosion and a commercial featuring all 4 Beatles alive and hawking the new Sgt Pepper iPod to feel fulfilled after watching the Super Bowl.
6. However, it couldn't hurt if the Browns played in one every now and then.
7. I wasn't old or aware enough to really feel the pain of the Elway losses. Come on Browns, I need some crushing playoff losses to go along with my baseball and basketball tragedies. All I really have with the Browns is second hand disappointments (the 80s) and disappoint drafts. I need more heartbreak! Come on Savage!
8. This was probably the best commercial. The guy is a douche, but props to making fun of yourself. Dave and Oprah was also good.
9. re:Halftime show: I got no problem with Prince, but it didn't really feel relevant, did it? I mean, I like the guy and he's supremely talented but it was a night of cover songs and suggestive shadows. In their, I'm not sure who the NFL could have that I'd be like, "yes! fucking awesome, well done everyone involved". If the NFL had any young popular(ish) group play halftime, it would just feel forced and it would look like the NFL was trying to be hip.
10. I know, the Pussycat Dolls!
11. What the hell is the thinking here? That maybe some 13 year old girl will be flipping through, see the Pussycat Dolls and stick around to watch Rasheed Wallace launch threes? ABC sucks.
12. They really do.
13. I don't think that word means what you think it means. More here.
14. Carl Monday is switching over to Channel 19 news so he can stop producing rubbish and start more meaningful investigations. Ya, because Channel 19 is full of class.
15. Has anyone heard of Michael Ware? I saw him on CNN this weekend (here's part 1). Really sobering, not exactly a pick-me-up but unbelievably fascinating.
16. Brian Windhorst lived blogged the Detroit-Cleveland game. The poor bastard....
17. His final thoughts:
18. Windhorst doesn't think Gibson is the answer, at least this year. His problem? Gibson doesn't get enough assists:
19. Speaking of Hughes... from the previous article:
22. Damon Jones is going to be in the 3-point contest. I'm already excited:
24. Stupid:
25. Livingston (link above) says that the Cavs need a point guard (no shit) and Jamal Mashburn thinks that LeBron should play point forward (no). I'm with Barkley on this, LeBron should be trying to get easy baskets, he's a finisher. He's so big and strong, it doesn't make sense for him to be distributing and getting the ball outside the 3 point line. For the love of God, put him in the post, put him in the pick and roll (setting the pick, the horror!) and let him move without the ball. The offense stalls when he gets the ball (not really surprising) and they need to find ways to get him the ball in better spots, not bringing the ball up.
26. I'd like to see LeBron sit some as well.
27. Ohio State beat Michigan State, in East Lansing. Pretty neat.
28. This about sums up how I feel about the whole Boston-terror-Aquateen bullshit.
29. and if #28 didn't do it, this might do.
30. Last week I posted a bunch of videos by The Fratellis. As I listened to more of their music, the more they reminded me of The Coral. The Coral can be a little weirder (or at least not as straight forward rock) but they are awesome. Enjoy:
'Dreaming of You' off of The Coral
'Bill McCai' off of Magic and Medicine
'In the Morning' off of Invisible Invasion
2. Sorry for not posting for a few days (especially after the games), I hate it when sites I read stop updating for (seemingly) no reason. In the future I'll let you guys know before hand.
3. In my defense, I'm not used to leaving the blog and having people notice (or at least voice their displeasure). It's kinda neat.
4. re: Super Bowl: I thought the Bears were going to win, I didn't see Colts defense playing as well as they did. I figured the Bears D could hold their own with the Colts offense. Guess I'm a moron.
5. Am I the only one that was kinda bored during the game? The Super Bowl is always like New Years Eve. Every New Years Eve I get super hyped cause I'm "gonna party" and I get all psyched out and excited for that night. More often than not I have a relatively harmless evening and I'm bummed out cause it wasn't super-ultra-mega-awesome. Same thing with the Super Bowl, with all the hype that goes on, the game can never live up to expectations. I'm pretty sure I need 25 lead changes, a last second field goal, a tragic halftime explosion and a commercial featuring all 4 Beatles alive and hawking the new Sgt Pepper iPod to feel fulfilled after watching the Super Bowl.
6. However, it couldn't hurt if the Browns played in one every now and then.
7. I wasn't old or aware enough to really feel the pain of the Elway losses. Come on Browns, I need some crushing playoff losses to go along with my baseball and basketball tragedies. All I really have with the Browns is second hand disappointments (the 80s) and disappoint drafts. I need more heartbreak! Come on Savage!
8. This was probably the best commercial. The guy is a douche, but props to making fun of yourself. Dave and Oprah was also good.
9. re:Halftime show: I got no problem with Prince, but it didn't really feel relevant, did it? I mean, I like the guy and he's supremely talented but it was a night of cover songs and suggestive shadows. In their, I'm not sure who the NFL could have that I'd be like, "yes! fucking awesome, well done everyone involved". If the NFL had any young popular(ish) group play halftime, it would just feel forced and it would look like the NFL was trying to be hip.
10. I know, the Pussycat Dolls!
11. What the hell is the thinking here? That maybe some 13 year old girl will be flipping through, see the Pussycat Dolls and stick around to watch Rasheed Wallace launch threes? ABC sucks.
12. They really do.
13. I don't think that word means what you think it means. More here.
14. Carl Monday is switching over to Channel 19 news so he can stop producing rubbish and start more meaningful investigations. Ya, because Channel 19 is full of class.
15. Has anyone heard of Michael Ware? I saw him on CNN this weekend (here's part 1). Really sobering, not exactly a pick-me-up but unbelievably fascinating.
16. Brian Windhorst lived blogged the Detroit-Cleveland game. The poor bastard....
17. His final thoughts:
That's five straight losses on national television and all have been pretty undressing in one way or another. It's no wonder the Cavs don't get much respect, they haven't earned very much. This is another game where the Cavs' flaws were displayed. Today they were simply outclassed, from the superstar on down. They have a lot of work to do and a long way to go. We knew this before, we still know it.Can't really disagree with that.
18. Windhorst doesn't think Gibson is the answer, at least this year. His problem? Gibson doesn't get enough assists:
I think thats a little unfair (I mean, it is good that his teammates give him the ball back, it does show trust) but I see his point. It would also help if the Cavs let Gibson play point alone, not sharing duties with Hughes and LeBron.Yet his wiring is to look to shoot first, and it shows. In the Cavs' win in Philadelphia on Jan. 26, a game in which Gibson ran the point down the stretch in the comeback, he said after the game that a pivotal moment for him emotionally was when he passed the ball to Larry Hughes, and Hughes passed it back to him.
He said it showed his teammates trusted him. Actually, what it showed is he doesn't like to pass because he's afraid he'll never get the ball back
19. Speaking of Hughes... from the previous article:
It will probably not happen before this month's trading deadline, but at some point in the foreseeable future, the Cavs probably are going to have to make a major trade because they are not maximizing the potential in their pieces. The way things look, the guy who is most likely to go is Hughes.Hughes is not happy with his role on the team, and that has become more apparent as this season has dragged on. He hasn't done so publicly, but privately he's been grumbling about the way he's used, and he is upset because it isn't the situation he thought he was signing up for when he left the Washington Wizards.
He'd like to have more freedom offensively and defensively, as he did in Washington.
But the organization can't be thrilled, either. Of course, the injuries are an issue. But in the offseason, the Cavs revamped their offense with an eye toward making Hughes more effective.
It hasn't worked that way. He's averaging his fewest points in four seasons and shooting just 40 percent. He has turned primarily into a jump shooter.
That was understandable when he was coming back from leg injuries, but he has declared himself healthy, and many of the shots look ill-advised. The rest of his stats are down as well.
The Cavs usually play their best when Hughes is playing his best. He has value and importance. But based on his 74 games with the Cavs, including the playoffs, it hasn't been the marriage all had planned.
I would not be shocked to see Hughes dealt in the offseason. Maybe paving the way for
20. Sasha Pavlovic?:
Many fans clamor for more playing time for Sasha Pavlovic, who is in one of his hot streaks, and they wonder why Brown doesn't use him more. The Cavs' coach provided the answer Saturday in retelling a conversation he had with Pavlovic earlier this season. Brown told Pavlovic that he didn't ``respect his game'' and, therefore, didn't play him much. James' recent toe injury provided a chance that Pavlovic is using well, especially on the defensive end. But Brown's feelings mean Pavlovic will still be on a short leash.Um, can Brown really be going around telling players that he doesn't respect their game? They don't respect his offensive game plan (zing!).21. Could Brown's job be on the line? Yes?
22. Damon Jones is going to be in the 3-point contest. I'm already excited:
People lay on the court, dressed as portions of hamburgers, while two fans raced each other to fetch fake toppings and condiments during a third-quarter timeout at The Q Sunday. A friend, looking on in puzzlement, asked, "When did the Cavaliers become Single-A baseball?"He's right. You go to a game at The Q and you are bombarded with stuff. A live band, a break dance team (on the concourse), face painting, sign making, a flaming score board and that bastard Moondog. I've said this before and I'll say it again, have you ever heard anyone talk about the Bulls cheerleaders during the Jordan era? I know you need other things at the arena to keep kids interested and casual fans coming- I get this. But part of me feels like that they're putting the cart before the horse here. Put a good, exciting team on the court and fans are going to come.
24. Stupid:
With 1:44 left, Cleveland gets the ball, trailing 83-73. The Quicken Loans public address echoes with "Deee-troit turnover," mocking a famous Pistons slogan.That is dumb as hell. First of all, your team is down 10 with less than two minutes, it's not exactly a good time to mock the other team. This is the same team that beat you off the court in last seasons playoffs. Also, the Pistons killed the Cavs earlier in the season. The Cavalier organization is in no position to be mocking the Pistons. It was embarrassing to see.
25. Livingston (link above) says that the Cavs need a point guard (no shit) and Jamal Mashburn thinks that LeBron should play point forward (no). I'm with Barkley on this, LeBron should be trying to get easy baskets, he's a finisher. He's so big and strong, it doesn't make sense for him to be distributing and getting the ball outside the 3 point line. For the love of God, put him in the post, put him in the pick and roll (setting the pick, the horror!) and let him move without the ball. The offense stalls when he gets the ball (not really surprising) and they need to find ways to get him the ball in better spots, not bringing the ball up.
26. I'd like to see LeBron sit some as well.
27. Ohio State beat Michigan State, in East Lansing. Pretty neat.
28. This about sums up how I feel about the whole Boston-terror-Aquateen bullshit.
29. and if #28 didn't do it, this might do.
30. Last week I posted a bunch of videos by The Fratellis. As I listened to more of their music, the more they reminded me of The Coral. The Coral can be a little weirder (or at least not as straight forward rock) but they are awesome. Enjoy:
'Dreaming of You' off of The Coral
'Bill McCai' off of Magic and Medicine
'In the Morning' off of Invisible Invasion
Detroit 90, Cleveland 78
Thank the lord for the Super Bowl. No one will be talking about this. It's almost as if this game never happened. What? Cavs lost to the Pistons? I think you're mistaken- hey look over there, two black head coaches!
So the Cavs lost to both the Pistons and the Heat? Fantastic. If the Miami game was a brutal wake up call on the differences between LeBron and DWade then the Detroit game showed the differences between a team like the Pistons and the Cavaliers. Good stretch of games...
LeBron played alright. Not great, but not awful. Average. Early on you could tell LeBron was focussed because he took to the ball to the rim and posted up. The Cavs always do stuff like that early on; get to the rim, get Z involved, post up LeBron, etc. But once the second half comes around, they either forget (again, what does Brown say during breaks and timeouts?) or, as the Pistons did, the other team adjusts and the Cavs have no answer.
Free throws? Can free throws be a problem if you don't take them? The Cavs were 6-9. Six outta nine. LeBron alone should get 9 free throws (he was just 2-3) let alone the team. But hey, at least they (and LeBron) shot better than 50%.... right? Little victories?
And the bench. Out of those 9 free throws a whopping 0 (zero!) came from the bench. The only guy on the bench that showed up was Sasha Pavlovic with 12 points and surprisingly solid defense. I know that Sasha is in the middle of one of his good swings right now, but I almost prefer him over Hughes at this point. Speaking of...
Hughes wasn't awful! Are we at the point where we're pointing out good games as opposed to bad ones? Instead of lamenting a bad game like, "man, Hughes was off tonight, only 4 points" Cavs fans are saying, "hey, Hughes wasn't that bad tonight he was 7-13 for 14 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists." Of course, he shot 0 free throws. Zero free throws. From your shooting guard. Fantastic.
Gibson was a non-factor. 2 points and 0 assists. He had a rough time going against Hamilton and Billups (not that Snow or Jones did much either). It was pretty obvious that Gibson was a rookie out there. Of course that's no excuse for the rest of the Cavs (nine free throws!? Come on!).
78 points isn't good, no matter who the point guard is. Sure, at this point I prefer Gibson over Snow, but I'm not sure it's a good thing that he's starting this year. The Cavs really shouldn't be needing to start a second round rookie. I will say I like the offense better when Gibson is out there. Also, around the time I get sick of Snow being out there, Brown pulls him. I like this. I find myself hating Snow less due to his reduced minutes.
Credit where credit is due. I'm not a big Bill Livingston fan but I like this quip:
Dear Dan Gilbert: focus on getting a point guard and hiring Mark Price to teach free throws THEN worry about mocking the Pistons announcer. Also, Fred McLeod sucks.
What's with the lack of Varejao? Anderson was one of the key players in Cavs second round series against Detroit, so I'm wondering why he only got 13 minutes (only 17 vs Miami and 20 vs Charlotte). Are the Cavs showcasing Gooden? Or just giving Marshall more PT? Either way, I'd have liked to see Varejao out there a bit more.
Detroit is good. That's really the lesson to take away from this game. The Pistons are a better team. Their scoring is balanced, they share the ball and, I don't know if you're heard or not, but they communicate on defense. I still hate them.
and finally...
Tough schedule coming up. Sure, they're at home, but the Cavs are facing the Clippers on Wednesday, Miami again on Friday and next Sunday they're playing Kobe and the Lakers on ABC. Friday's game is also on national television, so it'd be nice to beat Kobe and Shaq... I don't want to say that these are 'must wins' but they've lost to the Suns (twice), the Heat and the Pistons on national TV recently. It'd be nice to beat a good team in front of a national audience.
So the Cavs lost to both the Pistons and the Heat? Fantastic. If the Miami game was a brutal wake up call on the differences between LeBron and DWade then the Detroit game showed the differences between a team like the Pistons and the Cavaliers. Good stretch of games...
LeBron played alright. Not great, but not awful. Average. Early on you could tell LeBron was focussed because he took to the ball to the rim and posted up. The Cavs always do stuff like that early on; get to the rim, get Z involved, post up LeBron, etc. But once the second half comes around, they either forget (again, what does Brown say during breaks and timeouts?) or, as the Pistons did, the other team adjusts and the Cavs have no answer.
Free throws? Can free throws be a problem if you don't take them? The Cavs were 6-9. Six outta nine. LeBron alone should get 9 free throws (he was just 2-3) let alone the team. But hey, at least they (and LeBron) shot better than 50%.... right? Little victories?
And the bench. Out of those 9 free throws a whopping 0 (zero!) came from the bench. The only guy on the bench that showed up was Sasha Pavlovic with 12 points and surprisingly solid defense. I know that Sasha is in the middle of one of his good swings right now, but I almost prefer him over Hughes at this point. Speaking of...
Hughes wasn't awful! Are we at the point where we're pointing out good games as opposed to bad ones? Instead of lamenting a bad game like, "man, Hughes was off tonight, only 4 points" Cavs fans are saying, "hey, Hughes wasn't that bad tonight he was 7-13 for 14 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists." Of course, he shot 0 free throws. Zero free throws. From your shooting guard. Fantastic.
Gibson was a non-factor. 2 points and 0 assists. He had a rough time going against Hamilton and Billups (not that Snow or Jones did much either). It was pretty obvious that Gibson was a rookie out there. Of course that's no excuse for the rest of the Cavs (nine free throws!? Come on!).
78 points isn't good, no matter who the point guard is. Sure, at this point I prefer Gibson over Snow, but I'm not sure it's a good thing that he's starting this year. The Cavs really shouldn't be needing to start a second round rookie. I will say I like the offense better when Gibson is out there. Also, around the time I get sick of Snow being out there, Brown pulls him. I like this. I find myself hating Snow less due to his reduced minutes.
Credit where credit is due. I'm not a big Bill Livingston fan but I like this quip:
People lay on the court, dressed as portions of hamburgers, while two fans raced each other to fetch fake toppings and condiments during a third-quarter timeout at The Q Sunday. A friend, looking on in puzzlement, asked, "When did the Cavaliers become Single-A baseball?"Heh. I will say that the "Deee-troit turn-ov-er" line that the Cavs announcer dropped was completely lame. First of all, the Pistons were winning pretty handily at the time. If you wanna drop something like that, make sure your team is winning. Second, I hate that god damned "Deee-troit Bask-et-ball!!" crap and, while I know that you're mocking it, it's still annoying. It sounds like a tired attempt to be hip. It failed.
Dear Dan Gilbert: focus on getting a point guard and hiring Mark Price to teach free throws THEN worry about mocking the Pistons announcer. Also, Fred McLeod sucks.
What's with the lack of Varejao? Anderson was one of the key players in Cavs second round series against Detroit, so I'm wondering why he only got 13 minutes (only 17 vs Miami and 20 vs Charlotte). Are the Cavs showcasing Gooden? Or just giving Marshall more PT? Either way, I'd have liked to see Varejao out there a bit more.
Detroit is good. That's really the lesson to take away from this game. The Pistons are a better team. Their scoring is balanced, they share the ball and, I don't know if you're heard or not, but they communicate on defense. I still hate them.
and finally...
Tough schedule coming up. Sure, they're at home, but the Cavs are facing the Clippers on Wednesday, Miami again on Friday and next Sunday they're playing Kobe and the Lakers on ABC. Friday's game is also on national television, so it'd be nice to beat Kobe and Shaq... I don't want to say that these are 'must wins' but they've lost to the Suns (twice), the Heat and the Pistons on national TV recently. It'd be nice to beat a good team in front of a national audience.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Miami 92, Cleveland 89
I'm going to be sick. So the Cavs led for most of the game and even had an 11 point advantage early in the fourth quarter (71-60 with about 10 minute to go). And they lose 92-89. Fantastic. And the sickening part?,Eeveryone knew this was coming. Kenny Smith called it at halftime, I know I felt it during the entire second half. I was just waiting for the Cavs to collapse. And they did.
This team is not mentally tough. The Cavs have a lot of decent players; Z is talented, Hughes is skilled, Gooden has an underrated offensive game and Sasha Pavlovic can play when his head is on straight. But when things go South, no one on this team has the mental fortitude to weather the storm. Z looked out of sorts all night, Gooden committed a bad foul on Wade late in the game, Hughes took terrible shots- oh yeah, LeBron James deferred to his teammates and missed free throws. I hate watching any team break down but I cannot stand watching my team do it (get the picture? The final 10 minutes were brutal).
James vs Wade. Early on in the game, both players were having off nights. James was feeling his way through his toe injury and Wade was turning the ball over at a remarkable pace (he finished with 12 TOs); but the way they finished out the game couldn't have been more different. Wade put his team on his shoulders, drove to the hoop and collected free throws. James took bad jumpers, drove every now and then and missed his freebies. James was just 3-8 from the line while D.Wade was an astounding 23-24.
What is this? The NBA Finals? Ya, I know Wade attacked the hoop all game, but he shot as many free throws as the Cavalier team. Of course, he made 23 of them while the Cavs only made 15.
Time to hire Mark Price. LeBron James officially has a free throw problem. Sure he's never been the greatest free throw shooter in the world but this year is just bad. He's hovering just below 70% for the season and he's shooting just 50% over his last six games. We're all going to have our ideas and solutions, here's my take: his motion isn't fluid enough and he doesn't bend his knees.
The kids are alright. Gibson continues to impress, leading the Cavs in scoring with 19 points on 4-6 three point shooting and 5-6 from the line. He played decent defense, ran the offense and only had 2 turnovers. He also hit a big three late in the fourth quarter- this kid has got huge balls. Snow ain't going to be starting anytime soon. Meanwhile, Sasha Pavlovic (10 points off 4-7 shooting) is forcing Mike Brown to give him more minutes. Right now Sasha seems to have a lot of confidence, which is usually pretty good but pretty soon I'm guessing we'll see him due something stupid. When his confidence grows he tends to try to do too much; he'll give the ball away trying to dribble behind his back or between his legs when he doesn't have to. Historically, that's when Brown takes him out and we don't see him for a week or two (and we start the Pavlovic cycle all over again). Hopefully he doesn't make any dumb turnovers, but if he does, let's hope Brown keeps him in and let's him learn from his mistake.
Either way, Pavs is playing with more confidence than Larry Hughes. Didn't Larry say he wants to run more? That the Cavs weren't a defensive team? They've be more effective if Hughes ran a break without shooting a jumper or causing a charge. Hughes shot 4-11 from the field, didn't get to the line and got abused by Dwyane Wade all night long. Not a great showing. Though, I will say this: Hughes cannot get a call when he takes it to the rim. Maybe he doesn't finish strong enough, maybe refs think he gets pushed too easily and they don't to call weak stuff- I dunno. But there was a couple times I thought Hughes could've gotten a couple free throws for his efforts.
Put James on the low block. James was being guarded by Jason Kapono. Take him to the rim, take him down low, I don't care. Just don't settle for long jumpers or fade aways. It's Jason Kapono for crying out loud! Abuse him!
How bout that defense... Nothing screams 'defensive genius' like your team giving up an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter. It also would've been nice if the Cavs could've executed their offense down the stretch.
and finally...
Charlotte at home tomorrow night. Hopefully the Cavs will abuse the Bobcats like they abused the Warriors. Get the taste of this loss out of their mouthes. For the love of all things holy, don't come out flat and dismiss them. And LeBron, unless I'm mistaken, you still owe Sean May for his stare down from earlier in the season. I would love nothing more than to see James posterize him.
This team is not mentally tough. The Cavs have a lot of decent players; Z is talented, Hughes is skilled, Gooden has an underrated offensive game and Sasha Pavlovic can play when his head is on straight. But when things go South, no one on this team has the mental fortitude to weather the storm. Z looked out of sorts all night, Gooden committed a bad foul on Wade late in the game, Hughes took terrible shots- oh yeah, LeBron James deferred to his teammates and missed free throws. I hate watching any team break down but I cannot stand watching my team do it (get the picture? The final 10 minutes were brutal).
James vs Wade. Early on in the game, both players were having off nights. James was feeling his way through his toe injury and Wade was turning the ball over at a remarkable pace (he finished with 12 TOs); but the way they finished out the game couldn't have been more different. Wade put his team on his shoulders, drove to the hoop and collected free throws. James took bad jumpers, drove every now and then and missed his freebies. James was just 3-8 from the line while D.Wade was an astounding 23-24.
What is this? The NBA Finals? Ya, I know Wade attacked the hoop all game, but he shot as many free throws as the Cavalier team. Of course, he made 23 of them while the Cavs only made 15.
Time to hire Mark Price. LeBron James officially has a free throw problem. Sure he's never been the greatest free throw shooter in the world but this year is just bad. He's hovering just below 70% for the season and he's shooting just 50% over his last six games. We're all going to have our ideas and solutions, here's my take: his motion isn't fluid enough and he doesn't bend his knees.
The kids are alright. Gibson continues to impress, leading the Cavs in scoring with 19 points on 4-6 three point shooting and 5-6 from the line. He played decent defense, ran the offense and only had 2 turnovers. He also hit a big three late in the fourth quarter- this kid has got huge balls. Snow ain't going to be starting anytime soon. Meanwhile, Sasha Pavlovic (10 points off 4-7 shooting) is forcing Mike Brown to give him more minutes. Right now Sasha seems to have a lot of confidence, which is usually pretty good but pretty soon I'm guessing we'll see him due something stupid. When his confidence grows he tends to try to do too much; he'll give the ball away trying to dribble behind his back or between his legs when he doesn't have to. Historically, that's when Brown takes him out and we don't see him for a week or two (and we start the Pavlovic cycle all over again). Hopefully he doesn't make any dumb turnovers, but if he does, let's hope Brown keeps him in and let's him learn from his mistake.
Either way, Pavs is playing with more confidence than Larry Hughes. Didn't Larry say he wants to run more? That the Cavs weren't a defensive team? They've be more effective if Hughes ran a break without shooting a jumper or causing a charge. Hughes shot 4-11 from the field, didn't get to the line and got abused by Dwyane Wade all night long. Not a great showing. Though, I will say this: Hughes cannot get a call when he takes it to the rim. Maybe he doesn't finish strong enough, maybe refs think he gets pushed too easily and they don't to call weak stuff- I dunno. But there was a couple times I thought Hughes could've gotten a couple free throws for his efforts.
Put James on the low block. James was being guarded by Jason Kapono. Take him to the rim, take him down low, I don't care. Just don't settle for long jumpers or fade aways. It's Jason Kapono for crying out loud! Abuse him!
How bout that defense... Nothing screams 'defensive genius' like your team giving up an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter. It also would've been nice if the Cavs could've executed their offense down the stretch.
and finally...
Charlotte at home tomorrow night. Hopefully the Cavs will abuse the Bobcats like they abused the Warriors. Get the taste of this loss out of their mouthes. For the love of all things holy, don't come out flat and dismiss them. And LeBron, unless I'm mistaken, you still owe Sean May for his stare down from earlier in the season. I would love nothing more than to see James posterize him.
I'm OK with this
A Troy Smith second round selection would not be a bad thing. If the Browns do draft Smith in the second round, I really hope that they would have selected Joe Thomas in round 1. A Thomas- Smith combo isn't a bad first day.
Now, if they can't get Thomas and "settle" for Adrian Peterson and create a Peterson-Smith combo, well... my feelings will be mixed. On one hand you'll have two sexy picks and you'd create an offense around the following players: Troy Smith, Adrian Peterson, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow Jr and Joe Jurevicius/Josh Cribbs. I can't really complain about that- that's a pretty stacked lineup.
The flip side here is that, once again, the Browns would have neglected the line(s) in favor for skill position players. They need young talent on that line. Plus, it doesn't really matter who's in the backfield if the line doesn't block (lets not forget the fact that a few times last year Frye was tackled while handing the ball off. That's terrible).
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Clips from the Cavs-Warriors game
Here's two videos of Z's pass to Gooden:
This video has a terrible/terribly good shot by Varejao plus the outlet pass pass by Z that I talked about in my recap (sorry about the video quality, I'll get better at this).
The pass by Z is one of the points I try to make about the Cavs being able to run with Z in the pivot. Don't just grab a rebound and wait for Snow or Hughes to come to the ball, grab a rebound and pass it up quickly (replace Sasha with James in that play and the Cavs have dunk).
This video has a terrible/terribly good shot by Varejao plus the outlet pass pass by Z that I talked about in my recap (sorry about the video quality, I'll get better at this).
The pass by Z is one of the points I try to make about the Cavs being able to run with Z in the pivot. Don't just grab a rebound and wait for Snow or Hughes to come to the ball, grab a rebound and pass it up quickly (replace Sasha with James in that play and the Cavs have dunk).
Please God, not this
I'm sure this guy probably has no idea what he's talking about, but I really don't like seeing these 'reports' about the Browns.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the only non-offensive lineman acceptable in the first round is Adrian Peterson. That's it. With the combination of Oakland and Detroit drafting ahead of the Browns, plus the glut of talent like JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, Peterson, Joe Thomas and Calvin Johnson, the odds are good that the Browns will be able to land either Thomas or Peterson, especially if they're drafting third.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the only non-offensive lineman acceptable in the first round is Adrian Peterson. That's it. With the combination of Oakland and Detroit drafting ahead of the Browns, plus the glut of talent like JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, Peterson, Joe Thomas and Calvin Johnson, the odds are good that the Browns will be able to land either Thomas or Peterson, especially if they're drafting third.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Cleveland 124, Golden State 97
WTF, 124 points? None by LeBron? Honestly, this is mind boggling.
Gibson started. This was the big news of the evening. Coach Brown sat Eric Snow and started the rookie and the looked notably different. They looked fast, they pushed the ball and the offense flowed a bit smoother. Gibson finished with 12 points (all off of 3s) with 3 rebounds and two assists. Snow came off the bench and played decently as well; he seemed much more aggressive bringing the ball up (he only really walked it up once or twice) and he seemed fresher while he was out there. Needless to say, I'm a fan of the move.
Maybe Brown does have an offense. The Cavs shared the ball. The Cavs moved without the ball. They got the ball inside. They didn't force jumpers. They didn't stand around. They pushed the ball after misses. Long outlet passes. Give and go's.
How much credit does Golden State get for all this? As well as the Cavs played, part of me wonders if this was due to their recent change in philosophy (with Gibson starting) or being able to play the Warriors at home. They stink on the road and they aren't a good defensive team to begin with. This is what last weeks Philly loss should've been; a blow out win at home that rights the ship.
I can honestly say that this was their most fun win of the season. The ball movement, the running, the defense, the garbage time; this was fun. The bench was smiling, LeBron was laughing and you could just tell guys were enjoying themselves. And I know that they were playing the Warriors, but they've played down to teams like that all season long. But because LeBron was out, they were focused and on a mission. It was good to see.
The Cavs do have more than one player. The Cavs had eight guys score in double figures (plus Varejao had 9). Nine guys notched an assist (they had 26 as a team). The Cavs out rebounded Golden State 48-36 and they also had 12 steals.
Sasha. Pavlovic. So he starts versus Philly, logs a DNP-CD versus Phoenix and starts against the Warriors. Makes sense to me... Pavlovic got his team leading 24 points in variety of ways: he was 7-11 for the game, 2-3 from beyond the arc and he was 8-10 from the foul line; that's pretty efficient.
They ran. The Cavs ran up and down the floor all night, so you'd figure Z was a non-factor right? The big fella got 14 points on 5-5 shooting, grabbed 10 boards and even got 4 assists. He seemed much more willing to pass out of the post when he saw that Gibson was the guy taking the open jumpers rather than Eric Snow. He had two passes that stuck out toe me: the first was an over the shoulder pass from the post to a cutting Drew Gooden- Z fed him perfectly and Drew got himself a wide open dunk. The second pass wasn't overly remarkable, but it stood out to me: in the third period Z grabbed a Golden State miss and threw a long outlet pass to a streaking Pavlovic for a fast break. I wish that the Cavs did this more often- grab the rebound and run. Don't walk it up, don't run dribble breaks (lookin' at you Snow and Hughes)- pass it up.
Larry Hughes... 3-9 shooting, 11 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. He looked like he was pressing early on (can't exactly blame him after the stinker of a game he dropped on Sunday)
but he seemed to find his rhythm after awhile. The news is that he was 5-5 from the foul line.... so that's looking up... His shot selection still leaves a lot to be desired. I'll just leave it at that.
Is the offense better without LeBron? Yes and no. Yes in the fact that guys now have to step up and they can't rely on LeBron. LeBron dominates the ball quite a bit; with him out of the lineup they had to move the ball around. But some of this offense goodness lies at the feet of the Warriors; I highly doubt the offense would've looked this good had they been playing Detroit. A lot of the Cavs points came off of good ball rotations and fast breaks- in the flow of the offense. Now you'd like the Cavs to have this kind of ball movement (and off the ball movement) with LeBron out there, so he doesn't have to bail the Cavs out. It won't hurt that they'll be playing offense 5-5 with Gibson rather than 4-5 with Snow (leave the point to go double LBJ or Z you'll actually have to pay for it. Neat!).
and finally...
This just one game. Versus a bad team that plays no defense. However, it'd be nice if Brown got some confidence in non-James players and it led to him resting LeBron more often. The goal should be to get LBJ's minutes down under 40. If Brown can trust his bench players like Pavlovic (hell, even Wesley- IF his shot returns) then sitting LeBron for somewhat lengthy stretches shouldn't be too hard to handle. Maybe resting LeBron and his toe for a little bit isn't such a bad thing.
Gibson started. This was the big news of the evening. Coach Brown sat Eric Snow and started the rookie and the looked notably different. They looked fast, they pushed the ball and the offense flowed a bit smoother. Gibson finished with 12 points (all off of 3s) with 3 rebounds and two assists. Snow came off the bench and played decently as well; he seemed much more aggressive bringing the ball up (he only really walked it up once or twice) and he seemed fresher while he was out there. Needless to say, I'm a fan of the move.
Maybe Brown does have an offense. The Cavs shared the ball. The Cavs moved without the ball. They got the ball inside. They didn't force jumpers. They didn't stand around. They pushed the ball after misses. Long outlet passes. Give and go's.
How much credit does Golden State get for all this? As well as the Cavs played, part of me wonders if this was due to their recent change in philosophy (with Gibson starting) or being able to play the Warriors at home. They stink on the road and they aren't a good defensive team to begin with. This is what last weeks Philly loss should've been; a blow out win at home that rights the ship.
I can honestly say that this was their most fun win of the season. The ball movement, the running, the defense, the garbage time; this was fun. The bench was smiling, LeBron was laughing and you could just tell guys were enjoying themselves. And I know that they were playing the Warriors, but they've played down to teams like that all season long. But because LeBron was out, they were focused and on a mission. It was good to see.
The Cavs do have more than one player. The Cavs had eight guys score in double figures (plus Varejao had 9). Nine guys notched an assist (they had 26 as a team). The Cavs out rebounded Golden State 48-36 and they also had 12 steals.
Sasha. Pavlovic. So he starts versus Philly, logs a DNP-CD versus Phoenix and starts against the Warriors. Makes sense to me... Pavlovic got his team leading 24 points in variety of ways: he was 7-11 for the game, 2-3 from beyond the arc and he was 8-10 from the foul line; that's pretty efficient.
They ran. The Cavs ran up and down the floor all night, so you'd figure Z was a non-factor right? The big fella got 14 points on 5-5 shooting, grabbed 10 boards and even got 4 assists. He seemed much more willing to pass out of the post when he saw that Gibson was the guy taking the open jumpers rather than Eric Snow. He had two passes that stuck out toe me: the first was an over the shoulder pass from the post to a cutting Drew Gooden- Z fed him perfectly and Drew got himself a wide open dunk. The second pass wasn't overly remarkable, but it stood out to me: in the third period Z grabbed a Golden State miss and threw a long outlet pass to a streaking Pavlovic for a fast break. I wish that the Cavs did this more often- grab the rebound and run. Don't walk it up, don't run dribble breaks (lookin' at you Snow and Hughes)- pass it up.
Larry Hughes... 3-9 shooting, 11 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. He looked like he was pressing early on (can't exactly blame him after the stinker of a game he dropped on Sunday)
but he seemed to find his rhythm after awhile. The news is that he was 5-5 from the foul line.... so that's looking up... His shot selection still leaves a lot to be desired. I'll just leave it at that.
Is the offense better without LeBron? Yes and no. Yes in the fact that guys now have to step up and they can't rely on LeBron. LeBron dominates the ball quite a bit; with him out of the lineup they had to move the ball around. But some of this offense goodness lies at the feet of the Warriors; I highly doubt the offense would've looked this good had they been playing Detroit. A lot of the Cavs points came off of good ball rotations and fast breaks- in the flow of the offense. Now you'd like the Cavs to have this kind of ball movement (and off the ball movement) with LeBron out there, so he doesn't have to bail the Cavs out. It won't hurt that they'll be playing offense 5-5 with Gibson rather than 4-5 with Snow (leave the point to go double LBJ or Z you'll actually have to pay for it. Neat!).
and finally...
This just one game. Versus a bad team that plays no defense. However, it'd be nice if Brown got some confidence in non-James players and it led to him resting LeBron more often. The goal should be to get LBJ's minutes down under 40. If Brown can trust his bench players like Pavlovic (hell, even Wesley- IF his shot returns) then sitting LeBron for somewhat lengthy stretches shouldn't be too hard to handle. Maybe resting LeBron and his toe for a little bit isn't such a bad thing.
Terry Pluto: Don't Fire Brown
(Pluto is probably my favorite sports writer and probably the guy I try to emulate the most in my writings on the blog (not exactly in style, but in substance- not freaking out and overreacting).)
Right now fans are pissed at Mike Brown. Go read the message boards at RealCavsFans.com or some of the posts at YaySports!, Cavs fans are fed up. They want the guy gone.
And it's not just the fans; Bill Livingston wrote a column comparing Mike Brown to current Browns lame duck Romeo Crennel:
Plus, local radio host Kenny Roda has taken to calling Mike Brown "Cavalier head coach-at-the-moment Mike Brown" and has been ragging on coach Mike for awhile now.
Enter Pluto:
We're all aware that this team has struggles and the coach has and will take responsibility for that, but firing guy now does no one any favors. Sure, it'll placate the message boards and Kenny Roda may calm down for a week. But unless the Cavs have a guy already waiting, a Rick Adelman or a Larry Brown, firing Brown for a Brendan Malone is pointless.
To often us Cleveland fans (and sports fans in general) are too quick to freak out; we can see problems but have no long term answers. Sure we can point out that Eric Snow sucks and Larry Hughes is disappointing, but do we really have any solutions? We can scream "Danny Ferry needs to make a trade" but we don't seem to realize that he doesn't have a lot of movable parts.
So ya, firing Brown may seem like a good idea, but really, is it? Do we really want Kenny Natt finishing out the season? I don't think so.
Right now fans are pissed at Mike Brown. Go read the message boards at RealCavsFans.com or some of the posts at YaySports!, Cavs fans are fed up. They want the guy gone.
And it's not just the fans; Bill Livingston wrote a column comparing Mike Brown to current Browns lame duck Romeo Crennel:
(Couple things: 1) Bill Livingston is not as clever as he thinks is 2) Bill Livingston hates Braylon Edwards.)No telling what's been ignored the most around town, but the contenders seem to be the coach of the Browns, that of the Cavaliers and the no-smoking ban in restaurants.
The Cavs, without the Browns' injury excuse, have been a very disappointing team in the NBA. Lack of effort has been their calling card, inconsistency their competitive characteristic, and tomorrow their empty promise.
After wasting a good start on their West Coast trip, in which they lost to three straight struggling teams (Seattle, Portland and Denver) and barely exerted themselves vs. the latter two, you wanted to look around for Braylon Edwards, blowing off some coach or teammate. Seldom has a team been called out by its coach for such indifference, as the Cavs were in Portland, and then played -- in the very next game! -- as if the coach were speaking Esperanto.
Both Mike Brown and Romeo Crennel are likable guys, but their players perform at times as if there's no penalty for passivity. In fact, Brown, saying the Cavs are still at the "learning stage" and Crennel, talking about "mentoring" players, both come off as teachers targeted for spitballs by their pupils.
The last time so many men in so many stages of undress stood around as long as the Cavs do on offense might have been male models in Calvin Klein photo shoots.
Brown has played James, after a long summer at the World Championships in Japan, more minutes as of Friday's official statistics, than anyone except Allen Iverson. No wonder the fourth quarter sometimes finds LeBron playing like (simile deleted).
Brown seeks a "partnership" with James, much as between coach Gregg Popovich and Spurs star Tim Duncan. Yet when James was asked by what date the Cavs needed to step up their play, he said, "Middle of February, early March."
That's Valentine's Day at the earliest. And no kisses for the fans.
Plus, local radio host Kenny Roda has taken to calling Mike Brown "Cavalier head coach-at-the-moment Mike Brown" and has been ragging on coach Mike for awhile now.
Enter Pluto:
They are one of several underachieving Eastern Conference teams. The Washington Wizards lead the East at 26-17; the Cavs are No. 5 at 25-19. They are two wins from the top, five losses from being out of the playoff picture.
It has been frustrating, but it's also ridiculous to insist that the season can be kicked into a higher gear by firing Brown.
No interim fix
Somehow, some way, fans have to learn this lesson: Interim coaches do not work.
When Cavs owner Dan Gilbert fired Paul Silas with 18 games left two seasons ago, turning the team over to Brendan Malone, it didn't work. I poured through more than 20 years of NBA records, searching for interim coaches who became a success.
I found two: Lawrence Frank with the New Jersey Nets and Rudy Tomjanovich with the Houston Rockets.
That's it.
George Karl (Denver Nuggets) and Scott Skiles (Chicago Bulls) had positive impacts when they took over teams at midseason, but they were given long-term contracts, so the players knew they were in charge. They also had extensive head-coaching experience.
Teams have a hard time finding coaches to take over a team in the offseason. Most of the big names available are aging and glad to be broadcasting: Doug Collins, Hubie Brown, Matt Goukas and, yes, Silas.
I have issues with Brown. It was apparent the team was offensively challenged last season with two basic plays: a high pick-and-roll and a side pick-and-roll. Most of the time, it was throw the ball to LeBron James and watch him do something.
Brown talks about wanting to get out on the fast break, but he either hasn't coached it well or he doesn't have the players to run it. I lean toward the coaching argument, because seldom do you see the Cavs actually throw the ball 40 feet up the court on the break. It's dribble, dribble, dribble.
This year, his offense has more movement but little focus. It seems Brown still can't consistently find ways to get the ball inside to center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. James is not pleased with the offense, either.
Those are no minor concerns.
and:
You see that there? That's called logic. That's why I love Pluto's writing. You want to fire Brown? Alright, who are you hiring? You know that interim coaches don't work right? He recognizes things aren't where they should be, but taking some bold move to ax the coach is the wrong move.Just like how the Cavs came back from 17 points behind at halftime to win Friday at the Philadelphia 76ers without James. Doesn't that say something good about Brown?
He is savvy enough to let the players take credit for the victories, while accepting criticism for the shortcomings with little complaint. The Cavs also are a team with no real player rebellions, major legal problems or signs of a clubhouse out of control. That is the NBA, and several franchises seem to stagger from crisis to crisis with players openly disrespecting the coach.
The point is: Like a young player with some promise, Brown is a young coach with potential. Don't debate the idea of who should have been hired in the summer of 2005. Living in the rear-view mirror of history and playing the what-if game is a favorite among fans and media types, but it is utterly irrelevant.
No time for change
Brown is the coach and should remain the coach for the rest of the season. If he can't see that the team plays with more zip when rookie Daniel Gibson is at the point -- or that Eric Snow's game is slipping -- then he should be held accountable for that at the end of the season.
We're all aware that this team has struggles and the coach has and will take responsibility for that, but firing guy now does no one any favors. Sure, it'll placate the message boards and Kenny Roda may calm down for a week. But unless the Cavs have a guy already waiting, a Rick Adelman or a Larry Brown, firing Brown for a Brendan Malone is pointless.
To often us Cleveland fans (and sports fans in general) are too quick to freak out; we can see problems but have no long term answers. Sure we can point out that Eric Snow sucks and Larry Hughes is disappointing, but do we really have any solutions? We can scream "Danny Ferry needs to make a trade" but we don't seem to realize that he doesn't have a lot of movable parts.
So ya, firing Brown may seem like a good idea, but really, is it? Do we really want Kenny Natt finishing out the season? I don't think so.
Gibson to Start
We've been clamoring for it, we've been screaming for and now it's finally happening:
My thoughts? I like this, but I wonder how it's going to play out, especially if LeBron is missing the next few games. Part of me feels like this could be a 'too much, too soon' scenario. Gibson has deserved more minutes for awhile now, but three games ago he never got off the bench and now he's starting? All I've been clamoring for is simply a steady diet of court time every game. I wonder if this doesn't work out, will Brown just go back to playing him 4 minutes a game. Or will this finally lead to Boobie getting decent minutes every night.
Either way, this season just got that much more interesting.
Quite frankly, I'm shocked by all of this. I never expected Gibson to start at point guard this season barring an injury to Snow. I could see him getting more minutes or playing in crunch time... but starting? Brown loves his veterans. Windhorst says that this probably isn't a decision Brown took lightly:A team source said Brown plans to start rookie Daniel Gibson at point guard tonight when the Cavs host the Golden State Warriors. Snow has started 139 consecutive games for the Cavs, including playoffs, dating to the end of the 2004-05 season. The team is 83-57 with him as a starter.
Brown has appeared to be drawing closer to this decision the past two games, giving Gibson more minutes than Snow in both as he has searched for more offense out of the position. Snow has played 13 minutes in each of the games, the fewest minutes he has seen in any game this season. Brown has been giving more minutes to veteran David Wesley the past week, as well.
Watching the last two games, you could see it coming. Gibson's minutes have been rising, Snow's dropping. In the last two games, Snow has played just 13 minutes each. Those are his fewest of the year. After the game, Brown indicated he wanted to give Gibson an extended look.Maybe Brown has been mulling this decision for awhile, but I don't buy it. I would bet that public opinion or (more likely) Dan Gilbert's opinion may have affected Brown's thought process a tad. Gibson's minutes haven't exactly been 'rising'- they've spiked:
[snip]
That said, knowing Mike the way I do, he didn't come to this decision on a whim. He's probably been thinking about it for a long time before making the decision. We'll see how it works out. Who knows, maybe he'll change his mind, but he's told Eric he's not going to start.
Date - Team - Min - Reb - Ast - PT3 minutes, 4 minutes, finally a DNP-CD and suddenly 20+ minutes. Hmmm... Somehow I don't really believe that coach Mike came to this decision all by himself. The Cavaliers and their offense were struggling before the Philly game; the last half of the West coast swing was brutal. Gibson has needed more playing time (if not starting) for the last few weeks. Brown is just now putting him in after the terrible loss to Philly. My guess would be that Brown felt pressure from the fans and (more likely) Dan Gilbert to play the rookie more.
1/20 - @GSW - 3 - 1 - 0 - 0
1/22 - ORL - 4 - 1 - 0 - 0
1/24 - PHI - 0 - 0 -0 - 0
1/26 - @PHI - 22 - 2 - 5 - 11
1/28 - PHX - 19 - 3 - 5 - 6
My thoughts? I like this, but I wonder how it's going to play out, especially if LeBron is missing the next few games. Part of me feels like this could be a 'too much, too soon' scenario. Gibson has deserved more minutes for awhile now, but three games ago he never got off the bench and now he's starting? All I've been clamoring for is simply a steady diet of court time every game. I wonder if this doesn't work out, will Brown just go back to playing him 4 minutes a game. Or will this finally lead to Boobie getting decent minutes every night.
Either way, this season just got that much more interesting.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Random Thoughts from the Weekend
1. So I was at both Cavs-Suns games... ouch.
2. After the game James was roasted. This would be much cooler if the Cavs were playing well and LeBron was playing well (or making over 70% of the free throws). That being said, I do hope there's video somewhere; especially of Ralphie May telling Damon Jones to "get on the bench where you're used to sitting".
3. James aggravated his toe injury during the fourth quarter of the aforementioned Suns loss. He'll probably sit out the Golden State and Charlotte games but be back for Miami.
4. I guess the Suns really wanted Drew Gooden:
7. In all seriousness, he'd probably thrive with the Suns; he'd hit the open jumpers, run around and not have to worry too much about defense (not that he does here...). He'd be a cog there, whereas here the Cavs actually have to rely on him.
8. Not good:
10. It's not a good sign that the players are openly bitching about the offense. I do agree that Brown focussed a bit too much on defense (or ignores the offensive problems), but you can't have Brown talk about the Cavs getting back to defensive basics and then have your starting 2-guard say that you aren't a defensive team.
11. From the newly created 'I Detest Larry Hughes' blog:
13. He also neglects to mention that Phoenix got a pretty decent prospect in Boris Diaw in the deal as well. I still say if the Cavs signed Joe Johnson that the Suns would've matched. (Plus, again, Johnson wanted to be 'the man'. The Cavs have LeBron. There's a problem there).
14. My constant link whoring paid off. Take that, self pride! (BTW, I love the pic and Hudson sucks ass)
15. Two games in a row of Gibson playing more than Snow. This something I could get used to.
16. So the Knicks are the NBA's most valuable franchise. Sounds weird, but it's probably true. Of course, they'd be more valuable if they were any good.
17. The fact that the Knicks are so valuable right now is one of the reasons why I can't imagine David Stern pushing LeBron to leave Cleveland for NYC. The Knicks are valuable without LeBron, they don't need him to make money. The Cavs? Notsomuch. LeBron is their entire franchise, he's the only reason they're ranked 10th on that list. If he leaves (especially if he leaves within 5 years), the team will basically be done. If he goes to the Knicks, he turns a profitable franchise into a more profitable one, but in turn the Cleveland franchise would be decimated. Am I articulating this well? I don't feel I am.
18. Stephon Marbury wants to become an announcer. A preview?
20. Joe Lieberman sucks.
21. So does Sean Hannity.
22. Do this (it's quick and easy).
23. HBO has optioned George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. This is fantastic news (In my personal HBO run, I've just started Deadwood and waiting to start season 4 of The Wire).
24. Ryan Garko needs to earn his first base job. (I'm OK with this, in theory. He shouldn't just be handed the job Brandon Phillips-style, but I have a sick feeling that the Tribe won't give him a long look at first until they're out of contention mid-season).
25. I meant to link to this last week, but I forgot. It is fantastic:
27. Because Ben brought it up II: the church league... well, we've lost both our games by 20+ (30+?) points. In our defense, we've never played together, while other teams have been with each other for sometime now. As for myself, I've really been a non-factor. Sure, I've made my moves in the post but I don't get the ball a whole lot, plus my jumper is off. I'm unbelievably out of shape; I haven't realized how much the shoulder surgery has taken out of me. I guess if you can't run for a about year (10+ months or so), you don't get up and down the court very quickly (and I was never fast to begin with). However, I have been playing ball and getting in shape at their Sunrise pick up games at 6AM. Yup, ball at 6AM. Alright, no one really cares about this, moving on...
28. YouTube Time: I saw this short animated film on my plane ride out to AZ. It's called 'Badgered':
29. More YouTube, I saw this new ipod commercial and went to go find out what song that was:
30. The band? The Fratellis. The song? Flathead. I'm a fan of both. I can't recommend their album (Costello Music) enough. Here's some of their videos to get you started:
Chelsea Dagger
Whistle for the Choir
Creeping up the Backstairs
Henrietta
2. After the game James was roasted. This would be much cooler if the Cavs were playing well and LeBron was playing well (or making over 70% of the free throws). That being said, I do hope there's video somewhere; especially of Ralphie May telling Damon Jones to "get on the bench where you're used to sitting".
3. James aggravated his toe injury during the fourth quarter of the aforementioned Suns loss. He'll probably sit out the Golden State and Charlotte games but be back for Miami.
4. I guess the Suns really wanted Drew Gooden:
If the Suns would've had their way, Drew Gooden would've been in Phoenix this season. Liking his rebounding and overall offensive efficiency, the Suns made a serious bid for Gooden when he was a free agent last summer. The Suns were just unable to offer the Cavs a package that could make a sign-and-trade work.At one point, Gooden said they made a mock-up electronic poster with him in a Suns jersey under the banner ``The missing piece to a championship.''
``They were in it to the end,'' said Gooden, who ended up signing a three-year deal worth $20 million with the Cavs.
5. "The missing piece to a championship"?? Really? Drew Gooden? Missing Piece? I'm surprised we didn't hear any about this over the offseason.
7. In all seriousness, he'd probably thrive with the Suns; he'd hit the open jumpers, run around and not have to worry too much about defense (not that he does here...). He'd be a cog there, whereas here the Cavs actually have to rely on him.
8. Not good:
9. It's pretty great that Hughes is bitching about the offense and says that they aren't a defensive team after the game he played against the Suns: 3-13, terrible defense and 0 rebounds; a complete non-factor."We need to run more," he [Larry Hughes] said. "Our identity is not as a defensive team. It is to get out and push the ball down the court. That's obviously how we've been more successful. The wins and losses show it when we're in the attack mode.
"Trying to call us a defensive team when we need to put the ball in the basket is not what we need."
10. It's not a good sign that the players are openly bitching about the offense. I do agree that Brown focussed a bit too much on defense (or ignores the offensive problems), but you can't have Brown talk about the Cavs getting back to defensive basics and then have your starting 2-guard say that you aren't a defensive team.
11. From the newly created 'I Detest Larry Hughes' blog:
When you go 3-13, 1-4 from beyond the arc, 0-0 FT, and collect 0 rebounds in 39 minutes, you may want to just shut the fuck up and stare at the wall.12. I do disagree with the blog's second post, about signing Joe Johnson instead of Hughes. He says the Cavs should've traded two first round picks ('06 and '08) for Johnson (because the Suns gave up 2 first rounders and Boris Diaw). The problem was that the Cavs didn't have the draft picks to trade; yes the Cavs did have a first rounder last year and they do have one in '08 but that's because you aren't allowed to trade your first round picks for consecutive drafts (you can't go two years in a row without a first round draft pick). So the Cavs had to draft in '06 and '08 because they traded away '05 and '07 (thanks Jim Paxson!). The next first round pick the Cavs are allowed to trade is '09 (unless they get back into the first round of the '07 draft).
13. He also neglects to mention that Phoenix got a pretty decent prospect in Boris Diaw in the deal as well. I still say if the Cavs signed Joe Johnson that the Suns would've matched. (Plus, again, Johnson wanted to be 'the man'. The Cavs have LeBron. There's a problem there).
14. My constant link whoring paid off. Take that, self pride! (BTW, I love the pic and Hudson sucks ass)
15. Two games in a row of Gibson playing more than Snow. This something I could get used to.
16. So the Knicks are the NBA's most valuable franchise. Sounds weird, but it's probably true. Of course, they'd be more valuable if they were any good.
17. The fact that the Knicks are so valuable right now is one of the reasons why I can't imagine David Stern pushing LeBron to leave Cleveland for NYC. The Knicks are valuable without LeBron, they don't need him to make money. The Cavs? Notsomuch. LeBron is their entire franchise, he's the only reason they're ranked 10th on that list. If he leaves (especially if he leaves within 5 years), the team will basically be done. If he goes to the Knicks, he turns a profitable franchise into a more profitable one, but in turn the Cleveland franchise would be decimated. Am I articulating this well? I don't feel I am.
18. Stephon Marbury wants to become an announcer. A preview?
Mike Breen: The Rockets trail by three, with 2:11 left in the game ... McGrady has the ball on the wing.19. Man, that one guy has all the bad luck
Marbury: SHOOT IT!
Breen: Here comes the double-team.
Marbury: SHOOT IT!
Breen: McGrady passes out of it, to an open Battier in the corner.
Marbury: DAMMIT, MAN ... SHOOT THE BALL! YOU'RE WASTING TIME!
Breen: Sixteen seconds on the shot clock.
Marbury: TIME IS WASTING. I'M OPEN!
Breen: Battier pump-fakes, goes baseline ...
Marbury: No, don't shoot the two, you're just leaving a point out there.
Breen: He draws the defender, and hands the ball off to Yao.
Marbury: Lame.
Breen: Yao with an open dunk, and some nice ball movement from the Rockets.
Marbury: Just a garbage play. Where'd they learn that, "basketball school?" It's too bad they don't have a go-to guy like me. I'd have just shot it.
Breen: I know.
20. Joe Lieberman sucks.
21. So does Sean Hannity.
22. Do this (it's quick and easy).
23. HBO has optioned George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. This is fantastic news (In my personal HBO run, I've just started Deadwood and waiting to start season 4 of The Wire).
24. Ryan Garko needs to earn his first base job. (I'm OK with this, in theory. He shouldn't just be handed the job Brandon Phillips-style, but I have a sick feeling that the Tribe won't give him a long look at first until they're out of contention mid-season).
25. I meant to link to this last week, but I forgot. It is fantastic:
38. Carlos Mencia26. Because Ben brought it up: I know Columbus loves it Blue Jackets. And that's great, but they aren't nearly as big in Columbus as the Buckeyes. If they make the playoffs it'll be an event, but OSU gets tens of thousands of people at their scrimmages. They just don't really compare. That being said, I do wish I had attended at least one game while I was down at school (not that I can't now, but still).
A German-Honduran who pretends to be Mexican so he can engage in jovial slurs about "beaners" and "wetbacks." Repeatedly says "what?" and "no, I’m serious!" during his stand up routines, as if his audience is blown away by his tiresome retreading of age-old ethnic and gender clichés and his bellowing one-note delivery. Imagines himself to be some kind of envelope-pushing genius despite the fact that his entire body of work is a series of variations on the hackneyed "white guys do this, black guys do this" routine that has launched a thousand careers in stand-up mediocrity. What’s that you say, Carlos? Asians can’t drive? Gee, we’ve never heard that before. A well-known joke thief, Mencia can’t even write his own shitty, hackneyed material.
27. Because Ben brought it up II: the church league... well, we've lost both our games by 20+ (30+?) points. In our defense, we've never played together, while other teams have been with each other for sometime now. As for myself, I've really been a non-factor. Sure, I've made my moves in the post but I don't get the ball a whole lot, plus my jumper is off. I'm unbelievably out of shape; I haven't realized how much the shoulder surgery has taken out of me. I guess if you can't run for a about year (10+ months or so), you don't get up and down the court very quickly (and I was never fast to begin with). However, I have been playing ball and getting in shape at their Sunrise pick up games at 6AM. Yup, ball at 6AM. Alright, no one really cares about this, moving on...
28. YouTube Time: I saw this short animated film on my plane ride out to AZ. It's called 'Badgered':
29. More YouTube, I saw this new ipod commercial and went to go find out what song that was:
30. The band? The Fratellis. The song? Flathead. I'm a fan of both. I can't recommend their album (Costello Music) enough. Here's some of their videos to get you started:
Chelsea Dagger
Whistle for the Choir
Creeping up the Backstairs
Henrietta
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