Cavs: the Blog - Cleveland Cavaliers TrueHoop Blog

I was out-of-town this weekend and arrived home later than expected, plus I have a cold, so not much of a recap tonight.  Not that this game deserves an opus.  Cleveland, riding a seven-game losing streak towards the third-most lottery chances, faced one of their closest “competitors”.  Kyrie Irving returned from injury to face 2012 first-pick Anthony Davis.

Very glad to have you back, Kyrie! Now, watch the tape of the first half. Play like that all of the time. Burn the tape of the third quarter.

Starting sloppily, the teams combined for six turnovers in the first three minutes, until Kyrie started his Mr. Amazing routine: a between the legs pass to Tristan for a dunk, a pick-and-roll dime to Tyler, followed by another drive & dish that netted Thompson a slam.  12 to 8 Cleveland.   Limiting his minutes, Kyrie headed to the bench early, and Ryan Anderson and Brian Roberts started scorching the Cavs; the duo combined for thirteen points in five minutes, pacing New Orleans to a 21 to 23 first-quarter lead.  One Cleveland highlight featured a nasty backdoor pass from Walton to Livingston, allowing Shaun to ridiculously posterize a poor-Hornet with a filthy left-handed slam; the play deserved each of those adjectives.

Anderson scored another seven early in the second, building his fifteen first-half points with back-downs against Livingston and Speights.  The Hornets lead 23 to 34 when Kyrie checked-in around the 8:30 mark.  Irving proceeded to dominate: a tough and-one in the lane; a scintillating ball-handling display that ended with Lou Amundson on the ground and Kyrie at the hoop; two drive & kicks for easy teammate-jumpers; three drained hoists of his own; and two free throws.  The deficit ceased to exist, as Cleveland went to the locker-room ahead 49 to 48.  Recently, I read Jamal Crawford talking about Chris Paul’s complete control of the game; twenty-five year old Kyrie Irving can (needs to?) own that same mastery.  In the first half, Kyrie’s plus-12, behind 14 points on 69% true shooting, with 5 assists and zero turnovers, ranks amongst Irving’s best offensive play to date.  He found open teammates, complimenting it with his other-worldly scoring ability (or vice-versa).  It was definitely great to see him on the court again.

Then, everything went to hell; shocking that a third quarter would start like that.  New Orleans forged a 17-to-2 run: errant passes, offensive fouls, missed jumpers…the offense turned to garbage.  And from that, resulted New Orleans alley-oops.  Several of them; Cleveland routinely butchered transition defense, and Anthony Davis thanked them.  Many of his thirteen third-quarter points arrived via soaring throw-downs as the Cavs whimpered helplessly.  Kyrie’s second-quarter magic shifted down a few gears, including a horrible three-on-two break, where instead of hitting Ellington flying down the wing, he dribbled behind-the-back away from him, allowing the defense to catch up, before botching a bounce-pass to a trailing Tristan.  Cleveland trailed 57 to 70 when Irving headed to the bench.  The Herculoids offered highlights; Walton found Livingston and Speights for dunks, but every time the Cavs mounted a run, New Orleans found an open three or lay-up.  Cleveland trails 73 to 84, as we’re off to the fourth.

Tonight, the back-ups could not package their special brew of lightning-in-a-bottle.  Livingston and Walton provided turnovers, and the Cavs did not score for nearly five minutes.  New Orleans stretched the lead to twenty…and that is how the game ended.   Of his twelve points in five minutes of garbage time, Kyrie made one of the most absurdly awesome lay-ups ever…EVER!!  Underhanded, with his arm fully-outstretched flying under the basket, switching hands after drawing contact, he spun the ball high off the glass, for a jaw-dropping and-one.  Phenomenal, but unfortunately occurring while embroiled in a double-digit runaway loss.

Cleveland’s defense was generally horrible.  New Orleans hit 54% of their field goals and 57% from deep.  After forking-over twelve turnovers in the first half, the Hornets only lost-the-ball twice in the second, scoring 64 points and running the Cavs out of the gym.  If you get a chance, check out their third & fourth quarter shot charts; only four of those 64 were not in the paint, from three, or at the free throw line.  The entire second half, New Orleans got whatever shot they wanted.  It was hideous.

With 22 wins and 50 losses, Cleveland continues to firmly entrench themselves into the third-best lottery chances.

A few bullets:

• Kyrie Irving…31 points and 6 assists in 29 minutes.  Very glad to have him back.  But his first half featured 5 assists and 0 turnovers, compared to one versus three in the second.  Greivis Vasquez and Eric Gordon abused him a few times on defense also, both in isolation or the pick & roll.
• Tristan finished with 12 & 10 on 6 of 9 shooting.  He finished a few rim-rattling dunks off of Kyrie dishes, but also finished put-backs and his running hook.  On a couple of his early misses, I thought fouls may have been in order…but I am biased; Cleveland shot only 12 free throws, compared to New Orleans with 29.
• Walton and Livingston combined for 3 assists and 4 turnovers, a major contrast from their Herculoidian hey-day.  Miles finished one of nine from the field, as only Speights played particularly well, draining several jumpers and finishing contested shots at the rim.  Despite his 12 points & 4 rebounds on 67% true shooting, the second-unit allowed runs early in the second and fourth quarters.
• Daniel Gibson and Omri Casspi shot 0 for 5 and finished minus-26 in twenty-six combined minutes.  I want to remember the good times (even though for Omri that may only mean the pre-season game against Orlando when he scored six in overtime).
• The Hornet point guards (Vasquez and Roberts) finished with 40 points, 12 assists, 4 turnovers, 5 steals and 83% True Shooting.  Congratulations to Toledo-an Brian Roberts on a stellar “rookie” season, after graduating from Dayton in 2008.  Whether open threes or lightly-contested forays to the hoop, Gee, Irving, Gibson, etc offered little resistance on the perimeter, while the bigs impeded little at the hoop.
• Outrebounded 45 to 31, Cleveland grabbed only 3 of 39 available offensive boards.  As far as giving an inspiring effort, making hustle plays, etc, the Cavs offered very little tonight.

So you're saying there's a chance...

The Cavs hosted the Philadelphia 76ers, who are not yet mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

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Whew.  Close one here.  Some of the Cavs were playing really well tonight, and the team was in severe danger of screwing up the third worst record in the league with a win.  With four games separating 28th and 18th place, this was a win the Cavs could ill afford.  Fortunately, Byron Scott is a master of coaching  just poorly enough to lose.

The Cavs played three and a half quarters of fairly solid basketball, in a game that was at times very ragged.  This game saw extended minutes by Cavalier Chris Quinn and Celtics Shavlik Randolf and Terrence Williams, all on 10 day contracts.  In 35 combined minutes they scored 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers.  To say both teams were scraping the bottom of the barrel in this one would be an understatement. Still, some of the Cavs had their moments.

The Rook: Tyler Zeller Looked really sharp in this one.  According to Austin Carr, the key to his success is playing with his knees bent, and it certainly seemed to be help ZPA tonight.  His jumper was pure, and he had a very nice pump fake and go for a soaring one handed Jam.  Furthermore, his individual defense was very solid.  In one stretch in the first quarter, he stopped a Jeff Green drive on a switch and then he stopped two straight possessions, first cutting off Bass who tried to bully him on the right baseline, and then giving Chris Wilcox no quarter on the left.  He finished 5-6 for 11 points and 9 boards in 24 minutes.  In a masterful move Scott left him on the bench for much of the fourth quarter, knowing that his play might turn the game in the Cavs’ favor late.

The Bishops: C.J. Miles was really influencing the game, and it wasn’t with his shooting.  He had a regular season career high 6 assists tonight off some pretty nice passing.  He hit Walton on a 3-on-2 with a nifty behind the back pass that Luke bounced in off the square.  Then, early in the fourth he hit a cutting Speights two plays in a row for easy buckets.  Though he finished 4-13, he helped the offense flow, and chipped in four rebounds.  He also had two big free throws with 39 seconds left to stretch the lead to 3.  It was really nice to see him contributing despite his jumper not falling. He really had some clutch plays in helping the Cavs lose tank down the stretch too.  With 2:23 left and 7 seconds left on the shot clock, Miles launched a 26-footer that led to a nice Boston possession, where he fouled Pierce and gave him two free throws, and then after a Livingston turnover, Miles helped Jeff Green score an “and 1.”  This kind of awesome collapse doesn’t happen without players taking dumb shots and dumb fouls at key moments.

Shaun Livingston had his usually solid floor game with 12 points, 3 boards, 5 dimes, a steal, and a block.  But he missed some key jumpers on his way to 5-13 shooting, including a late post-up over Jason Terry that hit the back iron like a rubber missile.  Gee also had a nice game with 12, 5, and 3 and a couple enormous steals, but his inability to stop Pierce from scoring with 32 seconds left was one of the real keys to losing this game.

The Knights: Tristan Thompson had a strange game.  The Cavs went to him a lot early and he responded with a lot of bricks.  He seemed to be playing slightly too fast, but mainly his shots weren’t falling and the Cavs didn’t want to go back to him.  In the third he reverted to 2012 Tristan with a tentative play around the basket which was promptly blocked from behind.  Still, he had 9 boards and some mostly decent defense, except for a wide open Bass dunk in the third where TT helped and never recovered on the pick and roll.  His defense was good enough that Byron had to pull him in two crucial possessions late, lest he keep Boston from scoring.

Wayne Ellington was simply the best player on the floor for three and a half quarters.  He led the Cavs with 16 points on 7-16 shooting, with 3 boards, 2 dimes, and 3 steals and only 1 turnover.  He scored off drives, pullups in transition, and a sweet baseline reverse on Jeff Green for the hoop and the harm.  Green was key in the 13-4 run the Cavs had to start the 3rd, scoring or assisting on 9 points.  His handle was tight, his decisions were solid, and though his jumper was just ok, he was completely in control on offense and defense.  Until Pierce started doing his thing late, Wayne was better than anyone in the gym.

The Pawns: Mo Speights had a solid night with 13 and 6 in 17 minutes.  But his 4 fouls in that time helped Boston get into the bonus in the 4th and really propelled their run.  Daniel Gibson had a couple moments reminiscent of 2007 when he hit a stepback three from straight away against Jason Terry at the end of the 3rd, and then came back and did it again from the right wing to start the 4th.  Though that was the extent of his scoring,  he also pitched 6 assists, but had some brutally bad turnovers and some horrific missed layups that were more in keeping with the narrative of 2013 Daniel Gibson.

The Queen: Luke Walton (with the help of Byron Scott) was really the MVP of fail tonight.  His -14 +/- tells you how bad he was on defense, and he really had the fail of the game towards the end.  When we’re all watching Oladipo or Porter dunking next year, we’ll be able to look at tonight and remember how Luke Walton really laid it on the line for that draft pick.

End Game

So just how did the Cavs manage to save this game from the win column, leading 86-72 with eight minutes left?  Things were looking dicey for the Cavs.  Fortunately Brandon Bass, Pierce, and Avery Bradley checked back in for Boston.  Wisely, Byron Scott did nothing to counter and stayed with Gibson, Walton, and Quinn.  King’s gambit accepted, Doc Rivers.  Daniel Gibson obliged by taking two ill advised pullups with plenty of time on the shot clock — one from a Luke Walton bounce pass between his own legs, which Boobie promptly airballed from the the left baseline.  Livingston got back in for Quinn at 6:28. and TT and Gee return for Speights and Walton at 5:07.  Livingston turned it over on a lob to Miles off of a pick and roll, proving yet again that Livingston is awful in the pick and roll.   Gee took a terrible isolation pullup from the left baseline with 9 seconds left on the clock and then Livingston airballed a shot on a post-up with 11 seconds left. In the meantime, Ellington finally came back in for Gibson with 4:20 left in the game after sitting since 2:04 in the third.  Pawn sacrifice… Well played, coach Scott.  Well played.  Not only did you sit your top scorer for 20+ minutes of real time, and let the Celtics get back within striking distance, but you subbed him out for ten straight minutes for a guy shooting .160 from the floor and .063 from three in the last 5 games.

After a particularly ugly 2 minutes where the Celtics and the Cavs played hot potato with the ball, Livingston made a driving layup and Pierce countered on a ridiculously easy layup where he walked to the basket after a terrible Gee closeout.   Alonzo was perpendicular to Pierce, who simply took the right lane and scored.  After a wasted Cavs possession, Pierce drew a foul, the Cavs called a timeout with a 6 point lead and 2:15 left.  Pierce made both, and then Livingston threw it away on a bad post-up attempt by Thompson.  The defensive match-ups for the Cavs were bad, but Byron made sure that the Cavs got the worst of them.  TT guarded Bass, Gee guarded Pierce, Miles guarded Green, Ellington guarded Crawford, and Livingston guarded Bradley.  Because why wouldn’t you put your worst defender on the floor on a guy who hung 43 on Miami the other night? Of course, as we mentioned earlier, Green posted up Miles and got an and-1. 90-89, Cleveland, 1:43 left.

After a Livingston miss, The Cavs did manage a nice defensive stand and fast break that turned into two made freebies for Miles.  And then with 39 seconds left and the Cavs up three, Byron’s white queen entered the fray: Luke Walton in for TT to guard Jeff Green.  After an easy post-up by Pierce over Gee for two (cause it’s not like having some shot-blocking there might help…), Livingston bricked, and then Boston called a timeout with 9.2 seconds left.  On the ensuing play, Boston ran the ball down to Pierce for an isolation on the right wing, but Gee poked the ball away with 2.1 seconds left.

Just don’t give up a layup.  That’s the defensive mantra there (if you’re not tanking).  A foul, a contested jumper…  they’re acceptable.  The only thing Cleveland needed to avoid was a layup — I mean if they wanted to win.  Boston got a free timeout, which they didn’t have, because of the official review of the out of bounds.  (The NBA really ought not allow teams to meet with the coach on these types of scenarios).  Byron Scott made sure that he didn’t make the mistake of having no timeouts at the end of the game.  He had three, because they can be be used to buy 1up mushrooms at the general store, right?  Anyway, Boston ran a beautiful play.  Green set a screen at the left elbow with Terry coming from the left wing, diving down the lane, but Terry stopped, screened Walton who was guarding Green (was he?  was he really?).  Green caught the inbound at the top of the key.  Walton tried to push Terry into Jeff Green, which allowed Green to run right by Luke at what appeared to be the speed of light, but only appeared that way because Luke Walton is so incredibly slow that he slows down the perception of time.  Green: down the right lane, finger rolled it high off the glass over Livingston and Ellington as Gee and Miles watched him and no one thought of, you know, fouling.  The ball slowly fell through the net as time expired.  Crisis averted.  Draft pick saved.  Check and mate, NBA standings.

With twenty-seven days remaining in the season, the Cavs draw the Rockets tonight, prior to an extended 5-day break.

The Wine & Gold may need the rest, because here’s the thing about the Rockets; they’re really good.  Lead by All-NBA James Harden and his 24 PER, their backcourt is deep.  Jeremy Lin and Patrick Beverly both sport above-average PER’s.  Chandler Parsons pitches in 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists on 48 / 39 / 72 shooting.  In the frontcourt, Omer Asik averages 10 & 12, as one of the game’s best interior defenders.   Houston shoots and makes the league’s second-most three pointers, while playing at the fastest pace, with the fourth most efficient offense.  Sometimes, they set NBA records for made-threes in a game. If their residence was the Eastern Conference, a battle with Indiana for the second-seed would be ongoing.  Instead, they exist on the fringes of the West’s elite, but they’re tough, and Cleveland visits Houston…

Both of these guys had decent games tonight. Patrick Beverley's team won by forty though.

The game started strongly for the Cavs.  Tristan converted his one-of-a-kind push shot off the dribble with his right hand, and soon thereafter, drove left into the paint and nailed a lefty hook.  The imposing Asik was putty in his hands, as Tristan scored six of Cleveland’s first twelve, with the Cavs trailing by one midway through the first.  Continuing to hit buckets, Ellington, Walton, and Livingston each drained a few jumpers, and Cleveland kept-up with the high-octane Texans.

And we have a Chris Quinn sighting!  Unfortunately on his first play, he threw the ball away, en route to 6 second-quarter minutes of 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists.  For the good guys, things started coming unglued in the second: a three minute scoreless spell, and 12 to 4 & 10 to 4 Houston runs.  Highlights included a nice two-man game between Tyler and Tristan.  We don’t see much of that, but TT passed to TZ, who pump-faked and drove baseline, before dishing to a cutting Thompson.   Livingston hit a series of twelve-footers off the bounce, building on his 12 point, 2 rebound, 2 assist, 2 steal, 1 block half.  A battle of opposites ensued, as Luke Walton faced-off with Thomas Robinson; they battled to a draw, as T-Rob netted two easy buckets, but the wily veteran lassoed him into a charge.  Ultimately though, Houston’s offense was too much; they drained four triples in five minutes, including a Carlos Delfino buzzer-beater, and waltzed to the locker room leading 43 to 58.

Early in the second half, Omer Asik beat Tyler twice for easy buckets…come on, man!  Omer Asik beating you one-on-one…twice?  Zeller finished with 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls.  The Rockets continued abusing Cleveland on the boards, snagging their tenth offensive rebound midway through the third, pushing their lead on the scoreboard to twenty.  Cleveland was shooting too many jumpers; 17 of their first 73 field goal attempts came outside the paint.  At some point, I started losing focus…a pass zipped through Zeller’s hands…Harden hit a three…I went to get a beer…Patrick Beverly hit a buzzer-beater three.  The Rockets lead 61 to 87 heading to the fourth.

Only half-paying attention to the fourth, I started writing this recap, primarily looking up when the Rockets announcers screamed about a Houston dunk or three.  Kevin Jones hit a jumper and finished a bunny in transition…Miles hit a long three.  I heard that Aaron Brooks blocked a shot; that was probably embarrassing.  Thomas Robinson won MVP of garbage time.  The Cavs lost 78 to 116.

Let move on…to some bullets:

• Oh, Daniel Gibson.  He missed all nine of his shots tonight and finished minus-30.  He’s shooting 19% in March, with as many fouls as made field goals.  Is there some way that can be arranged for Boobie to go-out on a high note?  Hopefully he can find a situation again where he plays with a ball-dominant wing and just makes threes.
• A big problem with the Irving & Waiters injuries is that instead of a solid Livingston and Ellington back-up back-court tandem…it’s Boobie and Chris Quinn.  Oy.  Are Kyrie or Dion coming back?  Did this season end with the Miami game?
• Ellington finished with 13 points,  Livingston with 14, and Gee with 11.  They combined for 53% true shooting and only 3 turnovers.  Pretty solid, right?  Except, when that trio paces an NBA team in field goal attempts, on the road, against a strong opponent, your team might lose by forty.
• Tristan finished with 8 and 8 in 25 minutes.  That was pretty cool.
• Outrebounded 54 to 32, the Rockets abused Cleveland’s interior players all evening.
• Patrick Beverley looked good for Houston.   He played in Europe for a few years, but is offering Houston a solid second-half of this season.  Eleven points, five rebounds, and four assists tonight.

This was a bizarre game — the most bizarre regular season NBA game I’ve watched in a long long time.  So the recap will be equally so: a running diary interspersed with a psuedo-oral history of the game.

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For those of you that grew up with console video games, you may recall a gameplay mechanism that became popular in multiplayer games in the late-90s.  In an attempt to give overwhelmed novices [pwned n00bs] a handicap (and a reason to keep coming back for more) many games introduced what I call “Rage Mode”.  In the fighting game Tekken, this gameplay was actually referred to as “rage”. Rage Mode activated after a player suffered a relentless and humbling beat down and was in need of serious help.  For the non-gamers, Rage Mode is no different than Popeye poppin’ produce, Rocky flashing his Tiger Eye, or Son Goku getting angry enough to become engulfed in a holy and invincible glow. Tonight, the Indiana Pacers activated Rage Mode.  The Pacers came into tonight’s game having lost 3 of 4 games – including notable losses to the Heat on National TV and the Kobe/Pau-less Lakers in Indianapolis.  Most people probably expected the Pacers to activate Rage Mode against the lowly 76ers, but that game only added to the damage meter.  So tonight, the Cavs got burned by a team engulfed in an invincible flame of rage, which as you see, is different than NBA Jam flames.

* * * * *

The Cavs started off pretty well, which was a welcome sign.  After Tyler Zeller’s second straight jumper, however, the Cavs went almost 4 minutes without a point.  Paul George drained a bunch of deep twos and an 18-11 lead turned into a 22-18 deficit.   With the exception of a 3.J. Miles explosion midway through the 2^nd quarter, the Cavs started to unravel.  Dion Waiters never checked back into the game, and after some twitter speculation, it was confirmed that he would sit out the remainder of the game with left-knee soreness.  The Pacers created significant separation near the end of the second quarter.  At halftime, the Cavs trailed 60-45.

Right about here is when the Pacer’s activated Rage Mode.  In the NBA, teams often go on runs with hot outside shooting and/or lock-down defense.  (NBA Jam flames) In the 3^rd quarter, the Pacers decided to simply throw the ball in the post, send a rag doll wearing a Tyler Zeller jersey to the deck, and finish with minimal resistance.  It was a nightmare for Tyler Zeller.  Imagine Tyler Hansbrough’s deepest basketball fantasy: characteristic two-handed dunks, elbows, thrashing, stolen rebounds, puppies punted off a bridge…  This quarter had it all.  There was even an ejection – although it was issued to Mo Speights for horse-collar tackling Paul George on a breakaway dunk attempt.  (I was actually shocked Hansbrough didn’t “come at me bro” towards Speights after the blatant flagrant).

When the Pacers front-line wasn’t shedding interior defenders like Neo sheds Smiths, Paul George and Lance Stephenson decided tonight was the night to rack up some youtube hits. [Highlights] And that was the game – for all intents and purposes.  Garbage time started the second Speights got tossed and the Pacers cruised to a 111-90 victory.

Omri, you're looking kinda green.

Scribbles:

-Tyler Hansbrough was +21 in 23 minutes with 11 rebounds (5 were offensive – and they should have offended the Cavs front line) and earned 7 free throws on an assortment of thrashing moves around the basket after securing stealing said rebounds.

-Roy Hibbert had 5 blocks including a comical one where Wayne Ellington tried desperately to generate some offense, spun awkwardly off one leg to attempt a scoop shot near the right block, and basically served a softball into Hibbert’s torso.  Hibbert still found a way to swat it into the floor with his hand for effect.

-Gerald Green splashed 4 triples off the bench en route to 20 points in 23 minutes.  All his other baskets were highlight dunks.

-On the good guys’ bench, the Cavs just fell apart defensively.  The loss was looking a bit methodical as the 2^nd quarter wound down, but the Cavs were still playing with some composure.  A few dunks into the 3^rd quarter, everything went wrong.  The Cavs turned it over 5 times in the first 5 minutes, exacerbating the beat down.  The possessions that didn’t end in turnovers seemed to end with shots that were rejected by the side of the backboard.  Tristan popped in a few of his patented mid-range floaters, but other than that, it was all Pacers.

-For all the fanfare about his improved play without Anderson Varejao, I get the sense that Tristan Thompson would donate each and every one of his non-essential and redundant organs if it’d help Andy get back on the court more quickly.  At this point it’s hard to tell if Thompson is a poor interior defender or if opposing bigs just decimate the Cavs because of the other 4 guys on the court.  I honestly can’t tell. Tonight, Roy Hibbert (understandably) and Tyler Hansbrough (puzzlingly) dominated the Cavs front line – at both ends.  The one welcome sight with Tristan was that he never got down on himself.  He kept on fighting an uphill battle even when the outcome had been decided, and actually finished 9-16 from the floor and led all players in offensive rebounds with 6.  He’s a fighter, and he has an insane motor.  I think he will be much more effective with an above-average post defender on his wing.  With Dion and Kyrie sidelined, the Cavs should look for him more on offense.

-If you check out the box score, you will find that Tyler Zeller shot above 60% from the field, had 4 assists and only 1 turnover, and grabbed 6 boards in 27 minutes.  And you might think he had a nice game.  If someone offers you footage of the third quarter, you must refuse it.  If the NBA kept stats for number of times a player unwillingly landed on his back, then Tyler set a personal best tonight.  My hope is that this game will serve as motivation for Zeller, and not discouragement.  He fought hard and kept getting back up for more haymakers.  He had a nice first half and his 4 assists led all Cavaliers.  He can hang his hat on that.

-C.J. Miles had a throwback game harking to earlier this year when he’d get crazy hot.  He finished with 21 points in 27 minutes and the Cavs still lost by over 20.  Yikes.  Part of the problem was that the Cavs couldn’t generate any offense going to the basket (no Dion or Kyrie) and beside C.J., no one could hit a 3.  Miles finished 4 of 8 and the rest of the Cavs were 2 of 18 from downtown.  Boobie Gibson was 0-6.

Final Thoughts:

The Cavs lack toughness.  Mary Schmitt Boyer brought this up in her podcast and it’s been apparent all season.  When teams start getting rough with the Cavs – they generally fall apart.  Obviously, the roster isn’t rife with feisty players much less enforcers.  The Cavs don’t need to be trotting the Incredible Hulk out there to set the tone, but maybe a little more Superman and a little less “mild-mannered Clark Kent” when the ball goes up.  Tonight the Cavs got bullied – by an enraged team trying to recapture some of their mojo.  Let’s all hope the Cavs activate Rage Mode when the Heatles ride into town on their their unholy noxious fumes of pure narcissistic evil.

1st Quarter

After back to back Danny Green Dunks (The Cavs drafted Danny Green) the Cavs called timeout.  Byron Scott inserted Wayne and Luke and the Cavs promptly cut the Spurs lead to 4 after 1 quarter.  Wayne Ellington nailed two 3s and had a layup off a Luke Walton assist.

2^nd Quarter

Cavs go straight back to the Wellington.  Instead of Luke feeding the hot hand, this time it’s Boobie finding Ellington for a sweet J and another triple.  Boobie played the role of point guard pretty well in this quarter.  Couple of dimes to Ellington then to 3.J.  Then Dion drained a 3, Luke Walton drew a charge, and Greg Popovich had had enough.  He got himself tossed, probably half incensed with the charge call and half trying to motivate his team to play some defense – as Dion Waiters was getting into the paint at will.  It seemed to work, as the Spurs outscored the Cavs 22-11 after the ejection.  They clamped down on D and forced the Cavs into some tough contested shots at the rim.  Cavs attacked the basket pretty well against the Spurs, and earned 22 free throws in the process.  They went into the half down 5 in high-octane scoring fest.  66-61 Spurs at the half.

3rd Quarter

Apparently the message at half-time from both coaches was – score quicker!  Both teams came out pushing the tempo.  Alonzo Gee scored on 3 straight possessions.  On the last one, he pump faked a Spur defender into the 4^th row and stepped through to hit a baseline J.  Then the Cavs went cold – 2 minute dry spell and the Spurs pushed their lead to 8 before Mo Speights hit 2 free throws after grabbing an offensive board on a sweet Dion Waiters drive that just wouldn’t go down.  Spurs announcers made mention of Tim Duncan abusing Tristan Thompson.  Tristan seemed flustered all game – his free throws were flat, his touch around the rim abandoned him, and he had a tough assignment against the Spurs bigs.  He was very active, in a chicken minus head sort of way.  He threw himself into the action and rewarded the Cavs with some steals and crucial offensive rebounds.  The pace of the game seemed to get quicker and quicker.  After TT forced Splitter to jump pass before falling out of bounds, Gee picked off the pass and found Dr. Livingston for a fast break layup.  Livingston runs and finishes so well on the break.  Another facet of the Cavs offense that was non-existent until after the new year.  Out of the timeout, the Cavs played some stellar D forcing Duncan to unwillingly give it up and then blocking Leonard’s layup attempt.  Unfortunately, Leonard found Nando de Colo for a 3 off a twice broken play.  Duncan just continued to dominate the Cavs interior D with an assortment of shots from a variety of angles.  After Duncan banked one in off one leg, TT came back and tried a hook shot over Duncan but air-balled it.  But give the Cavs credit – despite the Spurs seemingly always ready to blow the game open, the Cavs very quietly just kept on scoring.  Mo Speights continued to bail the Cavs out with his usual deep jumpers.  He played with a chip on his shoulder all game.  Alonzo Gee went coast to coast through the entire Spurs team for an and-1 and then Luke Walton entertained with an OLD SCHOOL give and go with Livingston for a layup.  Luke Walton and Shaun Livingston out-Spurred the Spurs!  If Greg Popovich continued to watch the game from the locker room I have a hunch he got on the phone with R.C. Buford and told him to make Livingston an offer this summer.

4th Quarter

Cavs came out in the 4^th quarter, and went…BACK TO THE WELLINGTON – simple 2-man game with Luke Walton.  The Spurs answered right back.  The Spurs prefer to break down the D with interior passing and perimeter guys coming off curls.  On defense they run everyone off the 3 point line, and the Cavs exploited it by putting the ball on the floor after a pump fake.  Mo Speights really lit up the Spurs in this half.  He bailed out the Cavs on a broken possession by bullying his way to the elbow, clearing his defender with the ball, and calmly dropping in the jumper.  After the Cavs forced a steal on an out of control Ginobili euro-step, Boobie Gibson found himself alone on an island for 3 – but he either didn’t want to shoot it or didn’t have the handle.  So he pump-faked the trailing defender, drove into the lane, and just when I thought he blew it, he found Speights with a behind the back pass and Speights dropped it in to tie the game at 98.  Then Boobie hit an off-balance deep jumper as he was getting undercut by Stephen Jackson.  Dangerous play, and ironic in light of Boobie’s comments about Dahntay Jones.  When was the last time Boobie Gibson had a 3-point-play the hard way?  Well, not today either, as he missed the free throw, but Ellington made up for it by hitting the technical free throw.  (Stephen Jackson did not like the call).  The Cavs took their first lead since the middle of the 2^nd quarter.  After Tim Duncan reminded everyone why his nickname is “The Big Fundamental”, Wayne Ellington drove from the top of the key, picked up his dribble around the foul line, and took two huge steps before laying in a crazy scoop.  This guy can do everything!  Of course the Spurs answered with a Kawhi Leonard 3: 105-103 Spurs and normally Uncle Drew time.  But Uncle Drew was nowhere to be found.  The Spurs tightened up the D and forced the Cavs into 3 straight bad jumpers, before Livingston and Ellington were able to stop the bleeding.  Things started to unravel at the other end, too.  After a few Tim Duncan buckets and assists, Boris Diaw took off from the 3 point line and threw down a 2 handed dunk.  Boris Diaw. But just when it looked like the Cavs were going to fall, Shaun Livingston caught a pass under the hoop, made a nice spin to give himself an angle, and popped one in.  And then, the Cavs played awesome D to get the ball back.  The next possession featured a Walton backdoor feed to Livingston who threaded a behind the back pass (!) to Tristan who was fouled but there was no call.  Maybe the difference maker right there.  The Cavs fouled Tim Duncan at the other end and he drained both free throws.  Spurs +6 with under 40 seconds.  Livingston hit an impossible shot and then Walton was called for a blocking foul on Ginobili right after he crossed the timeline.  It worked out though, as Ginobili only made 1 of 2.  Dion came down and tried to be the hero – he ignored his teammates and drove the left side, before getting swatted by Duncan.  Thirty points (on 13-19 shooting), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and the 5^th block for Duncan.  After Livingston blew by his defender and dropped in a layup, the Cavs tried to trap in the backcourt and the Spurs cut right through it and Leonard got an uncontested dunk.  The was the game – 119-113.

Final Thoughts

The Cavs played some pretty high level basketball for most of this game: lots of tight cuts, backdoor passes, enjoyable unselfish basketball, and active, if-not-quite-effective, defense.  I really enjoyed watching this game.  [It's funny, the Spurs are by far my second favorite team in the NBA, and yet, I absolutely despise them when they go against the Cavs.] It’s hard to complain too much about the effort.  After all, the Spurs are fighting for a number 1 seed and are almost unbeatable at home. And as much as it pains me to say, it might be better for the Cavs to lose close games. There are now 7 teams with 22 or 23 wins.  Even if this draft is weak at the top, that is a cluster worth being at the bottom of.  I really only have one problem with this game, and it’s a concern I’ve been voicing for some time now.  The Cavs’ bench is the main reason for their success – and that bench is gone in its entirety after next season.  In tonight’s game, the Cavs’ bench outscored the Spurs’ (rather formidable) bench: 53-40.  And that’s the tip of the iceberg.  Mo Speights kept the offense afloat by himself for a few stretches of the 2^nd half.  He finished 7-13 for the game and had 4 blocks and 4 offensive rebounds.  Wayne Ellington had an incredible game, finishing 8-13 for 21 points and +11 in a (not nearly enough) 23 minutes.  And, in what is becoming more the norm than the exception, Luke Walton finished the game +19 in 22 minutes.  PLUS NINETEEN in TWENTY TWO MINUTES.  Plus nineteen in a game the Cavs lost.  He had 6 assists, 3 steals, only 2 turnovers, and he actually played pretty good D against the Spurs’ big men.  (Even when he went up against Duncan).  I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how effective Boobie Gibson was tonight.  He only took two shots but had 5 assists and a steal in 15 minutes (+7).  You could see he wasn’t quite used to playing with the Herculoids, as there was some mis-communication a few times, but he was pretty effective dishing to his teammates.

There’s no sense getting overly down on the Cavs’ starters. Thompson and Zeller were abused repeatedly but Gee had a really nice game, Waiters was pretty effective at least in the 1^st half, and Shaun Livingston impressed all night – especially at the end when it looked like the Cavs would fold.  He had 16 points and 5 assists.  The problem is that the Cavalier starters just bled points.  Here’s the box score – check out those negative double-digit differentials.  It’s easy to look at this game and say, “the Cavs are really looking solid these days”.  And maybe that’s true – or maybe the Herculoids are somehow the epitome of guys being better than the sum of their parts and the starters (the core that all our hopes and dreams hinge on) are struggling to put it together.

-VERSUS-

Running diary tonight as we visit Dallas.  At the tipoff, they look like a pretty scary team, and  most of that is because Chris Kaman resembles a casting reject from the Hills Have Eyes…

1st Quarter: The Cavs start out slow, getting dominated on the boards, at one point giving up three straight offensive rebounds on a possession.  Fortunately, Dallas is pretty cold.  Less fortunately, Tyler Zeller has been blocked twice with some pretty weak attempts around the basket.  He then gives up a rebound over his back to… Darren Collison?  Oy.  At least this this is a good opportunity to watch CtB 2012 draft favorite Jae Crowder, who  is starting tonight, and 2013 free agent prospect Brandan Wright who’s checked in early.  Speaking of checking in early, we’ve got a Boobie Gibson sighting in the first quarter.  Even though it’s due to an Ellington injury, it warms my heart to see Daniel get some run.

Luke Walton starts throwing dimes right away with a sweet alley oop to Livingston, a no look to Gee under the bucket, and an easy kickout to Shaun.  Three possessions, three dimes; that’s efficiency.  The Cavs defense is looking stout: with good rotations, and two players around the ball every time it goes inside.  Holding Dallas to 33% shooting, they end the quarter up 24-16.

2nd Quarter: A Luke Walton three and a quick pair at the line by Miles starts the quarter stretching the lead out to double digits.  But Dallas pushes back early as Nowitzki starts hitting, and the Cavs start settling for jumpers.  Ronnie Beaubois sparks a nice run, orchestrating the offense for the Mavs, playing solid defense on Waiters, and cutting the Cavs’ lead to one.  The Cavs are ice cold.  Finally, Tristan finally breaks the spell with a nice post drive on Elton Brand, and Tyler follows it up with an and-1 on a good pick and roll finish with Nowitzki hanging on his back.  Shaun Livingston chips in with a couple plays around the basket against Collison, who simply can’t guard him there.  Waiters continues his string of maddening long jumpers with a 27 foot brick, but he totally redeems himself on the next two plays as he glides to the bucket with a silky right hand finger roll from the left lane, and follows that up with a steal and sailing layup twelve seconds later, leaving him 3-8 for the quarter, and the Cavs up 46-38.

3rd Quarter: TT scores the first bucket with a running one-hander against Wright who starts the second for Kaman.  TT looks so much better when he gets into his post moves quickly rather than pounding and holding the ball — when the defense doesn’t have a chance to settle.  The next play, Dion realizes that he has Mike James on him who I think played with Uncle Drew back in the seventies, and blows by him for an easy two.  He then settles for two straight contested jumpers against the aged one, which unsurprisingly do not go in.  The third quarter doldrums are kicking in for the Cavs and Dallas starts making a run off of some lousy Cleveland offense and lousier transition defense, cutting the lead to two…  Dion respons with an and-1!  Maybe he realized that he can get by James at will…  Of course James counters with drive that leads to three point play for Brand… Livingston brick… Collison layup…  Walton turnover… Crowder jumper, Ugh.  That lead evaporated quickly.  Luke Walton!  Bailout three with Vince Carter in his grill as the shot clock expires to re-tie it. I’ve been saying all year that he needs to shoot more…

Gee scores four straight to counter a Collison three as the lead keeps changing.  Luke Walton decides that Dirk Diggler can’t guard him, pump fakes three times and drills a left wing three in Nowitzki’s face.  Was Luke ever a character in NBA Jam?  Because “he’s on fire! ” Collison drains a fallaway three with 2.6 seconds left off the the glass.  The crowd erupts.  Somehow, Cleveland finds Livingston on the left block.  He coolly drills the fadeaway silencer as the buzzer expires.  68-67, Cleveland.

4th Quarter: Wright takes Speights to the post to start the period, to take the lead yet again, and Speights subsequently bricks a turnaround.  He’s struggling tonight.  Dion with a nasty stepback J off the drive from the left baseline.  Ronnie Beaubois abuses Daniel Gibson for four straight points. My heart is no longer warm, Boobie.  Walton bricks a heat check J, and Collison feeds Wright on the break to stretch the Dallas lead to 5.  Timeout, Cavs.  The Herculoids are struggling tonight.

Waiters hits a no-no-no, yes! jumper out of the TO.  Brandan Wright scores on the P&R and then blocks Waiters next time down.  Beaubois swishes a falling out of bounds three from the right corner.  Dallas up eight.  Out of another TO, Cleveland turns it over, and then Collison scores again.  Cleveland is missing Kyrie right now… badly.  Another turnover on the rebound for the Cavs, and then Brandan Wright makes Tyler Zeller look incompetent with an offensive rebound and dunk… 12 point lead.  The Collison/Beaubois back court is gelling for the Mavs, and the Cavs can’t seem to answer with Livingston and Waiters in the post…  And Crowder forces another turnover in transition.  Gee clanks a J, but, thankfully, TT soft slams the putback.  Time out Mavs, who lead 84-74.

Crunch Time: Well Dion gets a touch foul that he’d never have gotten in 2012, and the deficit is nine.  Nowitzki misses.  He’s 4-14 tonight, and just doesn’t look like the guy who won the 2011 NBA Championship.  But he follows that up with a patented left elbow net ripper.  C.J. counters with a three, and Beaubois and Dirk run a give and go for a dunk on Saint Weirdo.  That was some atrocious defense.   Dion attacks on offense, splits a pair at the line, and then Nowitzki reads my diary, drains a three from the left wing, and stares me down as he jogs down the court.  12 point lead, Dallas — Cavs time out.  Dion with a step-into-it iso-three out of the timeout.  Vincsanity answers with a 28 footer like its 2003.  I think Dallas has this one in the bag.  Miss, Cavs.  Dirk gets a no call, then Dion gets a no call.  The refs want to go home.  Final Score, 96-86 Dallas.

Conclusions: Dion really was a mixed bag this game.  He was abused on defense, and even though he shot 9-19, he settled for way too many jumpers on offense.  His passes were all over the place too, and even when the weren’t all adding up to his five turnovers, they were just off the mark enough to take the offense out of rhythm — I mean more than it already was.  Zeller almost had a double double in the first half, and ended the game with 10 and 10 — so pretty ineffective in the second.  His 2013 replacement — if I have my way — Brandan Wright completely outplayed him in the second half for 13 points and 5 boards in 26 minutes.  Other CtB favorite, Jae Crowder finished 1-6 but with 14 boards and a game leading +21.  Would I rather the Cavs have him than Zeller?  Uh…

Cleveland got out-Herculoided tonight.  The starters outscored Dallas’ 67-36, but the Hercouloids were pounded 60 to 19.  Cleveland missed KI on offense and Ellington on defense.  Proving that nostalgia is no substitute for competence, Boobie was a rough -17 with only 4 dimes to his box score in replacement.  Starting fourth quarter guards, Gibson and Waiters could not handle Beaubois and Collison who scored a combined 31 points and notched 10 assists in 55 minutes.

Tristan had a nice game with 12 and 7 in 30 minutes, but if winning is the goal, he did not play enough or touch the ball enough.  He also didn’t close out on Dirk as well as he should have late, confirming his problems with shooters as Diggler threw in a couple back breakers. Livingston looked solid stepping in for Kyrie with 13, 5, and 6, but his 38 minutes took their toll as he looked like he had less spring in his step and lift in his jumper in the fourth.

You can beat bad teams in the NBA with a good bench. And without Kyrie and Ellighton, that’s what the Cavs are. Dallas proved that tonight.  But given all the jockeying for position at the bottom of the league standings, I doubt the brain trust at the Q is calling for Byron’s head. So the Cavs drive the tank to San Antonio tomorrow to take on the Spurs.  Have a good weekend, everyone.  Enjoy the Cavs, and all the possible future Cavs who will be on TV.

1st Quarter

Wizards came out firing. They made their first 4 shots, including 3 Martell Webster bombs. In a surprise move, Byron Scott yanked all the starters (sans Livingston) barely 2 minutes into the game! I’ll take it as an anti-tanking statement. This team is going to fight through injury – and Byron is not afraid to keep players on a short leash.

His power play worked, sort of. After falling 11 points in the hole, the Cavs answered with an 11-2 run of their own, trimming the Wizards lead to 2. And then they fell in love with the deep ball, and went stone cold for another 3 minutes. The Wizards ended the quarter with all the momentum, and at the end of 1, it was: Wizards 33, C.J., Wayne, and Shaun: 20.

2nd Quarter

Tristan Thompson got the Cavs started off right in the second quarter. After a feisty o-rebound and put-back dunk, he found Boobie for 3 before dropping in another 2 points in the paint. Dion blew by his defender and threw down a vicious tomahawk hammer, and the crowd finally woke up.  And then the Cavs put the Wizards to sleep and performed inception on them.  The Wizards endured a 5 minute spell without a point while the Cavs scored at will with an assortment of baskets – mostly easy looks in the paint. Dion and Tristan really made amends for the first 3 minutes of lackluster play that got them benched. Dion attacked the rack, (presumably he asked them “How can I go back!?” [in the game] and they made him watch the Spirit of Mufasa scene while on the pine) while Tristan just bullied his way into free throws (which he made) and his usual arsenal of paint buckets. Tyler Zeller started grabbing boards and knocking down short jumpers. Alonzo Gee threw some icing on the 2nd quarter cake and the Cavaliers, after spotting the Wizards 11 points and being down 13 at the end of the 1st, went into the locker room with a 1 point lead: 50-49. Well done Byron, getting the young guys to respond to the initial deficit.

3rd Quarter

Since the initial benching, Tristan played like a man possessed. He finished a super strong move in traffic to start the 3rd quarter. And then it was time for Alonzo Gee button mashing from beyond the arc – it’s Super Effective! x2! The rest of the quarter featured some high-level basketball from the Cavs. Tristan was a beast on the boards – stealing a bunch of would-be Wizards rebounds, and the Cavs moved the ball very well throughout. They started jumping passing lanes on defense, and it led to some fast breaks. Turns out, Wayne Ellington is pretty good at running the break too! I love that guy.

Luke Walton is a very self-aware man. Midway through the 3rd he stole a pass in the open court and was still ahead of a trailing pack by the time he dribbled into the key. And the he turned around and looked for help because he worried someone would chase down his layup attempt. It looked ugly but it led to 2 made Ellington FTs – so no harm no foul. Well done, Luke, sorry there’s no assist for you there. Later, near the end of the quarter, Walton received a pass at the elbow – wide open. Naturally, he still looked to find a better shot for one of his teammates. His pump-fake pass got the already sagging Wizards to flinch even more – getting a rise out of AC and the fans. At that point, Luke had to shoot it, I’m not even sure the Wizards were still in bounds. He netted it. Prediction: Luke Walton will be the greatest over-60 basketball player on the planet. In 8 years or whenever that happens. Daniel Gibson hit a nice jumper after curling around a Walton pick – and the Cavs finished one of their best 3rd quarters in recent memory. 76-65 at the end of 3.

4th Quarter

The Wizards came out with an extra edge to start the 4th. The Cavs only basket in the first 4 minutes was off a sweet Luke Walton interior pass to Wayne Ellington after Luke faked an up-and-under with the shot clock about to expire. It was a great defensive possession by the Wizards and better offense by Luke Walton. The Wizards trimmed the lead to 5 before C.J. Miles closed his eyes and threw what looked like a basketball into the hoop. Yep, it was the ball – someone let C.J. know. The Cavs have 2 of the most feast or famine players in the NBA in C.J. Miles and Mo Speights. Speights is even more unusually scalding xor freezing than Miles. Tonight, he was cold – at both ends of the court. Fortunately for the Cavs, the Wizards couldn’t hit any shot – no matter how open the look. Waiters hit a smooth jab-step jumper from the elbow and followed it up with a silky spin move through 2 defenders and a finger roll finish. Alonzo Gee hit another 3, and followed it up by barely grazing the rim on the elusive (for him) corner 3. Nine attempted 3s tonight for Gee, and almost all of them were wide open. And he’s been cashing in. The Cavs continued their habit of running out on steals and rebounds, and Waiters got a nice transition dunk off a screwball pass from Shaun Livingston. Waiters followed that up with another trip to the line after a late whistle that looked like he just lost the ball. I noticed about 3 calls tonight that Waiters “earned”. They could have gone either way, but a few months ago, they were most certainly not going Dion’s way.

I know it’s almost impossible for bball junkies to say anything nice about John Wall without pointing out some glaring weaknesses. So I’ll just say he played a very effective game tonight – relentlessly pushing the tempo at every opportunity and making plays in the open court. The Wizards chipped away the entire fourth quarter and cut the deficit to 3 with 45 seconds left in the game. Livingston made a poor decision to feed Dion in the high post as the Wizards immediately trapped him. Livingston got the ball back and had to make something happen with the clock winding down. He threw up a hard runner that rimmed out but was able to get his hand in the rebound and force a jump ball. More importantly, he WON the jump ball (out-jumping Nene!) and the Wizards were forced to foul. That’s a revenge jump ball right there. Freon sank both freebies to give the Cavs a 5 point edge with 13 seconds remaining. Out of the timeout, Waiters lost Chris Singleton on a quick backdoor cut and fouled him on the bucket. Singleton missed the free throw and for a second it looked like the ball might bounce to the Wizards, but the Cavs secured it and Dion got fouled. Freon sank another 2, making amends for his rookie mistake on defense, and the Wizards had 6 seconds to score at least 5 points. They didn’t and the Cavs won.

Final Thoughts

-Before the Waiters dunk in the 2nd quarter, about 100% of the Cavalier fans I follow on twitter made some gleeful tanking comment. And then the Cavs methodically dismantled the Wizards. It’s really fun to be a Cavs fan these days. I remember the LeBron years, where a victory like this would leave me depressed that the Cavs didn’t beat a crap team by 30 and sit all their starters in the 4th quarter. For this Cavs team, if they lose – it’s not too hard to think #tankstrong or copious buckets of pingpong balls or imagining the FA class of 2014 or whatever you want, really. But I’m glad the Cavs won the game. I’d like to see most of these players in the future and I want to watch them grow together.

-I think Chris Grant should sign Shaun Livingston to a 4-year deal and be done with it. (Grant’s not going to eschew flexibility with a big-name FA, so why not lock up Livingston – he can be had for a bargain) He’s a winner, he fills a void, and they should reward him – he’s saved this season in my opinion. Tonight, he iced the game with a jump-ball. The rebound careened to two Wizards and Livingston used the tiny moment of confusion to throw his fingers in there and earn a call. And then he out-jumped a center to seal the victory. He, much like Ellington, plays within himself and provides steady offensive execution and some decent defense with his length.

-Much respect to Byron Scott. He got his young team to respond tonight. He yanked Thompson and Waiters way before their normal exit routine and they responded with a vengeance. Dion got to the line 14 times, and assumed the role of primary scorer in the 4th quarter. Tristan was in full beast mode during the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He finished with 13 and 14 on only 8 shots and grabbed 6 offensive boards. At least 3 of those he had no business getting – they were essentially steals. Gotta give Byron credit for that ballsy move. His starters could have sulked – and they did the opposite.

-Boobie Gibson played pretty well tonight. He only got 16 minutes but he was active. He got his hands on some loose balls and finished +11 in 16 minutes – much like the Herculoids, he fights through screens very well.

-Tyler Zeller had a few moments in the 2nd quarter but didn’t seem to be on the court much in the 2nd half. Mo Speights had a very poor game. Hopefully he’ll bounce back quickly.

-Alonzo Gee led the Cavs with 15 shots. Not a great recipe for success but he had 4 bars of 3G service tonight – I’m sure the Cavs’ll take it.

-Nice balanced attack on offensive for the Cavs. The ball didn’t stick tonight. There weren’t any dribbling fests either. Six Cavaliers dished out at least 3 assists. That’s really awesome.

-Nice game for Dion. He only made 5 of 13 shots and took a couple head-scratchers but he was very active after the initial benching and finished with 6 boards, 3 assists, a steal, and 20 points. Ten of those were from free throws. Well done, Dion – you remembered. It seems like he’s starting to get a little more respect from the refs – which is a welcome sign. Hopefully it incentivizes him to attack even more. In the post-game interview, Dion seemed kinda pissed that the Cavs started off so poorly. He said he respected what Coach Scott did (the benching) and that he knew how he had to respond. I really loved when he said this with a scowl on his face: “We can’t come out and play nonchalant. We’re not good enough to get away with that.” Good attitude, Dion.  And good win.

Hopefully the flu-bug finally exited Cleveland, as the Cavs bring a full-squad to Toronto, trying to initiate a new winning streak against a Raptors team lacking Rudy Gay and Andrea Bargnani.

Dion, as long as half of your shots look like this, you will be in good shape.

The team again started in a hole, this time 6 to 9, as Zeller and Gee used the first seven plays.  Eventually, Waiters found a rhythm and drained three jumpers, one of which involved a lovely corner spot-up off a Kyrie drive & kick.  As the starters trickled to the bench, the lead sat at 19 to 15.  In a sequence becoming very common, Livingston found Speights with a no-look pass, followed soon thereafter by a blind-dime from Luke to Mo.  The quarter ended with Cleveland extending the margin to 27 – 20.

Ellington posted-up and faded-away for two quick buckets over 5′ – 11″ John Lucas III, then snagged a steal to unfurl a fast-break dunk, and CJ Miles splashed an open three.  Using a successful set from last night, the Livingston to Walton pick-and-roll got Luke the ball with the defense moving, allowing a cutting Speights an up-close look at he basket.  His made-free throw extended the Herculoidian reign of terror to an eleven point margin.  The first-string plus Miles continued the run, as CJ drilled 4 threes on the quarter, and a devastating Kyrie isolation spin-move rose the lead to seventeen, at 50 to 33.  Things descended from there though; Toronto dominated the boards, grabbing five offensive rebounds in the closing minutes of the quarter.  Combined with a few other defensive breakdowns, the Raptors narrowed the gap to 55 – 46 at the break.

The second half started ugly; ten fouls in the first five minutes, including a defensive three-seconds and a tech.  It was disjointed, unpleasant basketball, though the Cavs maintained solid scoreboard separation.  Then, play really unravelled.  Waiters missed two free throws and four jumpers, the bench could not generate much, and uhhhh…Kyrie hurt his shoulder.  Jonas Valanciunas body-checked him, sending the young Cav sprawling.  After rolling around for a while, he lumbered up, shot his free throws one-handed, and wasn’t seen again for the evening.  Following the injury, the Raptors closed the quarter 1o to 1, finishing a thirty-three point period, leading by five.

Unfortunately, the cast-offs forming the bench can’t beat everyone all the time.  The early portion of the fourth quarter matched the end of the third, as a Landry Fields basket forced a Cavalier timeout, trailing by eight.  Then, Dion Waiters recovered from his flu.  He netted a layup off a drive, and followed that with another paint-foray resulting in free throws for Tristan.  Next time down, two free throws for himself, then a high-arching three when his man went under a pick.  Eventually, a tough finish where he utilized his body to fend off Valanciunas.  Finally, a sweet, euro-stepping attack netted his eleventh point in four minutes, and tied the game at 94.  On the ensuing possession, Toronto turned it over, giving Cleveland a chance to regain the lead.  With eighty seconds remaining, Dion again drove and got fouled, making one of two.  The teams traded misses, until Toronto scored, again wrestling the advantage away.  On the next possession, with the stakes high, Livingston pulled-up for a twelve-footer.  It looked good, hitting the rim once, twice, three, four, five times…and rattling out!  Then Kyle Lowry drains a ridiculous fadeaway eighteen-footer.  Curse-words!!!  Facing a three point deficit, and after wasting six-seconds with an errant pass, Waiters was intentionally fouled with five-seconds to go.  Circumstances were dire, needing Waiters to hit both, or if not, Cleveland grabs the board.  The team did neither, and the Raptors win by four.

Well, that’s a tough road loss.  Everything was clicking for the first 21 minutes, until a 53 to 28 Toronto run over the next 19 minutes, when nothing was clicking.  Waiters-fueled heroics nearly earned victory, but his missed free throws hurt the cause.  Kyrie’s shoulder is probably the biggest news from the game; reports say, “shoulder contusion, to be re-evaluated on Monday”.  Hopefully, his wing is OK.  Seven injuries in three seasons does get nerve-racking.  We will see how much Kyrie plays over the final nineteen games.

Onto some bullets:

• Waiters hit three early jumpers, then decided to return to his style of play from December.  He shot 0 for 6 in quarters two and three, consisting of five errant jump shots.  Suddenly, in the fourth quarter, the switc flipped, and his resurgent aggressiveness provided thirteen points and almost spurred a come-from-behind victory.  Keep attacking, Dion!  And next time hit those freebies!!  He finished with team-leading 21 points on 50% true shooting, with 2 assists and only 1 turnover.
• Tristan was home in Canada, and his mother attended the game.  He provided a highlight with a monstrous left-handed slam in the first quarter, and also hit a sweet, face-up, sixteen foot, right-handed, push-shot off the dribble.  Posting a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, he didn’t get many calls and netted only 43% true shooting.
• Tyler Zeller flashed some redeeming moments; a pump-fake and drive for a layup; a swished 14-footer; a help-side block swatted into the stands; another drawn charge; and a couple of tough, physical rebounds.  Two turnovers early in the fourth quarter killed burgeoning momentum, but his 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists in 25 minutes provided generally positive play.  He finished as one of three Cavs that were +.
• Are Shaun Livingston and Luke Walton brothers from different mothers?  Do they play pick-up ball at the Y together in the summer?  Maybe their off-season is spent touring the country impersonating old people, hiding their identities while they destroy all-comers at local playgrounds…maybe no makeup is needed.  They are fun to watch, with tonight including a swooping, underhand windmill assist from Shaun to Luke.  Walton returned the favor a few possessions later, setting the table for an easy Livingston finish.  Since playing together in Cleveland, the two combine for 192 assists and 60 turnovers.
• How was Wayne Ellington never anyone before the trade to the Cavs?  I know Tom loves Ellington’s play and has certainly talked along these lines before, but in four seasons, Ellington never reached double-digit PER.  Now, in 20 games in Cleveland, he sports a nifty 16.  In addition to the post fade-aways, he blasted into the paint in isolation to find Speights for a dunk.  In 19 minutes, his line totaled 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers and 54% true shooting.  Is his fairy-tale going to end, or has he finally found the right opportunity?
• Six Raptors scored between eleven and seventeen points.  Amir Johnson finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds.  Terrence Ross scored 14, thanks to twice evading a meandering Cavalier defender to hit widen open threes.  He also finished his own tip-in after missing a crazy, 360 lay-up.  Valanciunas looked strong, posting 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 0 turnovers on 60% true shooting.  And of course, Alan Anderson followed the 17 he scored against Cleveland in January, with 18 tonight.
• And the Lakers won!!!  Did you think those words would ever be followed by exclamation points on a non-Lakers blog?  With the victory, and Utah’s loss last night, LA currently sits as the West’s 8th seed.  As of today, Cleveland stands positioned to own the 4th, 15th, 32nd and 34th picks in the 2013 draft.  With Luke Walton’s resurgence, and hopefully a decent first rounder in 2013 added to the 2012 pick, the Sessions trade is looking pretty nice.