Overview:
In Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ first game in Cleveland since re-signing with the team, the Cavaliers were able to defeat the Sacramento Kings by a score of 97-90. LeBron James and Antawn Jamison combined for 60 points to lead the Cavaliers.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
-Do you realize how many more games the Cavs would have lost this season if LeBron was merely an All-Star level player? I try not to lead off with LeBron, but it was one of those nights where LeBron was the only thing that kept the Cavs from losing to a team like the Kings. The injury-depleted Kings.
-Fortunately, LeBron was on his game. He threw some absolute laser-beam passes, and four of his eight assists were for shots at the basket. Considering LeBron’s favorite pick-and-roll partner missed the game, that’s a pretty impressive stat. LeBron also mixed in a few of his bread-and-butter drives to the basket, bullying Omri Casspi for layups a few times.
This was also one of the few games where LeBron did more of his damage from outside than inside. LeBron scored 21 points on 17 jumpers, and hit three of his six attempts from beyond the arc. (Those numbers also look significantly better if you don’t count the last two threes LeBron took, which I’ll discuss later.)
A few of LeBron’s jumpers were of the “no…no…YES!” variety, but for the most time LeBron looked genuinely confident from deep, and was taking advantage of the room the Kings were giving him. He looked smooth on his deep twos, had plenty of loft on his shots from beyond the arc, actually got free for a catch-and-shoot three, and even pulled out his ballet-like spinning fadeaway on Casspi in the fourth.
At the 7:39 mark, the Cavs found themselves up a point when LeBron came in the game, just like they did against San Antonio. Against the Kings, however, LeBron and Co. did their thing to close out the game. LeBron came right in and followed up a punishing drive with the aforementioned spinning jumper, then found Jamison on a cut for a scoop shot to put the Cavs up seven. From there, a nice three by Jamison and a dagger three from LeBron were enough to put the Cavs up for good, even though LeBron freaking heat-checked with 1:23 to go in a seven-point game the next time down. I know there was like a 3% chance of the Cavs losing at that point, but yeesh. It’s like he needs to do something silly at the end of a nearly flawless performance so people won’t figure out that he is of another species.
-Antawn Jamison needed to step up with Varejao out, and that’s exactly what he did. Brown is starting to use him more at small forward, and he seems to be taking to it. He was great on the block, great with his wonky floaters, and he was drilling jumpers. When he’s on, he might be the best pure scorer LeBron has ever played with — even when Mo has it going, he can’t score from inside and out the way Jamison can. There are some things Jamison doesn’t do thrillingly well, but there were stretches when Jamison took over. And the Cavs needed him to.
-If Jamison/Powe is effective going high-low with the 2nd unit, imagine what Jamison/Shaq is going to look like.
-Mo ran the pick-and-roll very well at times. Other than that, this was not a good game for him. His shot was off, he was passive much of the time, and Beno Udrih had a 15-assist triple-double. You read that last part correctly.
-Big Z got a great ovation (although it wasn’t quite as effective as I thought it would be; like Windhorst, I blame saturation), and went on to play pretty well. He wasn’t a force on offense, but he did a very good job of protecting the rim. Z had three blocks, and more importantly the Kings only managed 30 points in the paint. A lot of that is because Tyreke was missing, but you could see that Z was changing a lot of shots around the rim.
-On the flip side, the Cavs did have some trouble handling the Kings when they want small, and didn’t really lock down until the fourth. Fortunately, they really locked down when they put their minds to it, giving up only 14 in the fourth.
-If Parker goes 2-5 from three instead of 1-5, it’s a very strong game for him. If he goes 3-5, it’s a great game. Even though he wasn’t hitting from deep, he did play a strong game. He looked good on defense, didn’t force shots, and made a gorgeous cut for a layup at one point. Still not sure if benching Jamario and Boobie to make sure AP gets 30 minutes a game is the right call, but he held his own against the Kings.
-Antawn is a genuinely talented rebounder. When a shot goes up, he knows where it’s coming down.
Alright, that’s about all I have for tonight. Five wins to go to guarantee home-court. Let’s see if they can pull it off.
ohhh man this game made me dream of jj developing into a serious mid-range/post threat a la carl landry… landry is five years his senior – it’s not impossible!!
LOVE Antawn at SF over ‘Wad. Hate the heat check 3s. LeBron STILL doesn’t get that those are wasted possessions, and just cause he can get that shot, doesn’t mean he should.
Lebron took most of the game off. He was that good yesterday.
I’m actually fine with one or two heatchecks per game, given the right time/place. If we can get some quick/easy points off LBJ heat checks, so long as he waits until our bigs are under the boards (esp. Andy) for potential long rebounds, and gets his ass back to cover the fastbreak the other way.
If he hits, we get 3 pts. If he misses, we have an opportunity for a long rebound. And even if the other team gets the long rebound and starts to run out, having Lebron being the anchor defender — with his ability to close out quickly to bother a transition 3, and the fear factor that teams must have of trying to drive on him at this point — helps mitigate the risk.
Lebron’s got his early season jumper back, just in time for the playoffs. He shot 49% on those long range twos in last years postseason (nba hotspots), and took over 7 a game. It’d be great to see him turn it on again.
I’m still not a fan of LeBron complaing to the refs after his drives, creating a 4-on-5 fast break for the other team. It seems counter productive to his unending mantra, “I just want to help the team win.” Yeah, well, get your butt back on defense and complain during timeouts.
Has anyone else noticed LBJ taking a few “Tawn-style” scoop hooks and finger-rolls? I swear, that guy is a basketball sponge, and can do it all.
Why aren’t we running that many plays for Tawn in the block, btw? I’ve seen more plays run for JJ down low, which makes a lot less sense to me.
Where you at Tom? We’re feeling increasingly disconnected from the present!
Is it just me, or does this team look a little bored/disinterested with the regular season right now? Looks like they’re just going through the motions. Especially on the defensive end of the floor (except for winning time in the 4th quarter). Hopefully, with 6 of their final 8 against teams they will likely see in the playoffs, this will change and we’ll get our swagger back. Looking forward to playoff time.
James was flawless except for his complete disinterest for anything on the defensive end of the floor.
This team has been coasting, as far as effort, for weeks now. Even though they’ve gone 15-2 since their three game losing streak, I’d say they’ve really only played two complete games in this stretch. New York at home (and I know people will point to a terrible fourth quarter in that, but they played the end of their bench the whole 12 minutes), and San Antonio at home (w/out LeBron).
In the other 15 games, they’ve played great in stretches, but weren’t really able to put together a full 48 minutes… because they know they don’t have to. Basically, they have been toying with teams, trying out different things (mainly LeBron), and they are good enough to play great in the 4th and still win. Maybe not the best mindset to have, but I really don’t see any reason to worry. We know what LeBron is going to do. Antawn now seems to be comfortable. Mo is working himself back into playoff shape. And Shaq is on his way back.
This team will turn it up come playoff time. Don’t worry.
The thing is, the Cavs know that their season is only a success with a title at this point. There’s not much more they -can- do in the regular season, assuming they don’t faceplant and hand the Lakers homecourt.
However – this stretch of games with Andy out has to prove that he’s worth more than the public thinks, and that he should gain consideration for Sixth Man. And to think that I thought his contract bloated when they locked him down…
Colin, I’d say the best I’ve seen them play in this 15-2 was at New Orleans with CP3 back. I thought that was a fairly complete performance all the way through.
Some people like to complain about LBJ, some about Mo, some about Parker, and I choose Hickson. After every game I find something to criticize Hickson for and it’s just the way it is. The guy is still a poor defender. Throw in the fact that he just has massive lapses in defensive rebounding (boxing out) and he just kills this team on defense. Not having a Varejao is the worst possible thing for this team with the absence of Shaq (save for losing LeBron). We have absolutely no1 who can defend the low-post, and a guy in Hickson who just can’t defend period.
“(Z) went on to play pretty well.” really? huh. cuz i saw a guy still bricking jumpers (again, supposed to be his strength) and letting people get to the rim with ease. he’s so slow on D that he makes shaq look like andy…oh, the hell with it. i could on and on about how Z’s production has been horrible this whole season, for the most part, but no one seemingly thinks it’s “nice” to mention that. i swear to god, people were fine killing shaq (looking at you, krolick) and JJ early in the year but because Z is “such a nice guy” he gets a pass. hogwash and balderdash, as my granddad would say.
hell, people criticize LBJ wayyy more than Z. can’t help but notice that the white player on the cavs gets the least criticism. curious, that…
really kj? For the most part i think people understand z’s role. He absolutely will be needed to step up and defend pau gasol and/or marcin gortat in the playoffs, and maybe spread the floor a little and grab some rebounds/block some shots. Yes, his shot has been off all year, but in the playoffs he will (believe it or not) mostly need to focus on defense. He HAS shown this year that he’s capable of defending the tall guys that shaq isn’t guarding (pau gasol), the guys that are too tall for people like varejao or (…) Hickson.
Z has been a part of the cavs for however-many years, and been great on the court and off it. That is why people love him, not because he is white. People don’t doubt Shaq because he is black, they ask questions because he is Shaq, a guy known to… stir up trouble might be too harsh, but chemistry was a huge factor in his success with the team. He has shown that he knows his role on the team, so that is all behind us. All I’m saying is, you are the one bringing race into the equation, not everyone else.
My thoughts on the game (from the Z):
the Kings played pretty well. I was impressed with their execution. they were the aggressors the entire night.
My gut feelings from the night:
I’m worried about the Cavs. We can talk all day about effort levels, but to me, the team chemistry just looks off. They don’t get into offensive sets well, they don’t seem to know where they want to be, and Mo Williams just looks terrible to me – I don’t know how else to put it. He looks very slow and unsure of himself. He tried pushing the ball up court on long rebounds about 5 times and not once did it lead to anything. He’s just not imposing at all. Now I respect him trying to set up teammates instead of looking for his own shot, but we might as well put Eric Snow out there. E Snow can do what Mo did yesterday – hit 2 wide open 12 footers from the right baseline, rack up 6 assists or so. And I doubt E Snow would allow Beno Udrih to run circles around him.
It was discouraging to me that for 48 minutes, I felt like Beno Udrih was unquestionably the best point guard on the court. He was confidant in his shot (even if he shot a bad percentage), he used screens well, he got into the teeth of the D, and he went where he wanted on the court. Mo always looks like he’s laboring, like he can never do what he wants to do. He’s not quick enough to get around his man, he’s not tall enough to pass over the defense, and he’s not comfortable enough with his shot right now to come off screens. he looks lost and useless out there, especially since most plays START with him, and don’t end with him.
It’s almost like Mike Brown invented his defensive schemes with Varejao in mind. The Cavs continued to show on screens and try to get back, and it was ugly. You hate to think a team with so much depth depends so much on one guy, but defensively, the Cavs are not a good team without Varejao.
I love what Jamison brings to the Cavs, but I question how he is being used. When I see him moving on the weakside, posting up, or doing those little c-cut curls to the hoop for his patented leaning-running-off-balance-squid shot, it’s euphoria. When I see him hanging out the perimeter spotting up waiting to launch a 3 or a deep 2, a part of me dies. It’s not because Jamison is bad at those shots, I just don’t understand why we have him taking those shots when we have Mo Williams, Delonte West, Anthony parker, and Boobie Gibson on this team. We have a plethora of spot up shooters, and a fundamental lack of a tweener that can get you garbage baskets anywhere from 1 foot to 15 feet out. Jamison is that guy. It’s no surprise to me that Mo isn’t looking for his shot, because jamison certainly is – he is not shy about pulling the trigger from anywhere on the court, and it’s not that I mind him shooting, it’s just I wish they would not use him for deep spot up shots.
I have absolutely no idea why Mike Brown refuses situational substitutions. Anthony Parker is 15 of 51 from 3 this month, and I’d guess 49 of those are wide open, spot-up, corner 3s. He missed a few of them yesterday that would have been huge and I just remember thinking: I have no doubt Boobie Gibson would hit that shot. I’ve never seen a “3 point shooter” miss so many WIDE OPEN 3s as Parker. So often the offense breaks down to LeBron holding the ball, waiting for a screen, someone on the weakside setting a back-screen for a 3 point shooter and LeBron zipping a cross-court pass for an open 3 as the shot clock expires. They run this play SO MUCH that it drives me crazy that Boobie doesn’t play – because has got to be the best spot-up 3 point shooter in the NBA right now imo. It’d be one thing if they never ran that play, but they run it ALL THE TIME!
That being said, I had a new-found appreciation for Parker’s defense being at the game. He really is a smart defender and despite his apparent lack of footspeed, he almost never seems to get burned and he got his hand on a lot of balls especially late in the game.
Hickson slacks off defenders and makes them shoot over him – and Carl Landry did exactly that. I was still impressed with his effort – he just needs to continue to get a feel for the game. He is a defensive liability right now, however.
I hope scouts were watching LeBron in this game. The Kings gameplan was to sag off LeBron, pack in the paint, and dare LeBron to shoot. For some reason, any Cav not named Varejao is incapable of setting an effective pick, so LeBron never got an angle to the hoop from the top of the key. So he settled – all day. Over and over he settled. And he made a lot of them. Despite this, they never changed their gameplan, they never doubled him, they never really pressured him in the half-court. The gave him space, and he continued to drain shots. And of course he had 2 complete bail out 3s to go with it. The reason I say I hope scouts were watching is because this is exactly how to beat the Cavs in the half-court when LeBron ISN’T hitting his shots. Hopefully they saw the game and realized, we really can’t just let him keep draining shots over us can we? When the double teams start coming, the game will open up for everyone else, and LeBron will find them. Honestly the Cavs won this game because they have Lebron and the Kings did not. They really didn’t play a good game, especially in the second half, but when they needed a bucket, LeBron was there. Also, I am convinced LeBron James could be the best rebounder in the NBA if he wanted to. He almost never goes for rebounds and when he does it’s almost like a highlight rebound. With about 5 minutes left in the game he just decided he was tired of the Kings getting offensive boards and just started crashing the glass. He would come flying in rising above 3 or 4 guys and just rip the ball out of the air. I mean it was unreal. his REBOUNDS made me shake my head in amazement, and they were right in front of me. Between LeBron, D West, and Varejao, the Cavs have 3 guys that get some MANLY BOARDS.
I’m also convinced LeBron is the most skilled player in the NBA – notice I didn’t say talented, i said skilled. This has nothing to do with his amazing size, speed, and strength. In the 2nd quarter, a pass was zipped from close range to a cutting Jamison, it barely deflected off his fingers as it screamed between 2 Kings players. This was like a tipped ball in baseball. And somehow, Lebron was in the middle of all this reaches out his hand and gathers the ball. I mean, seems like something so ordinary, but I’m telling you – the hand eye coordination and reaction time he has to adjust and catch the ball was ridiculous. It should have just gone out of bounds. it was never intended for LeBron, and it changed trajectory mid-flight – and I’m not lying when is say this pass had some serious juice on it. I never expected LeBron to reach up, catch that ball, and then make a play – but he did.
Kevin is right, Z is going to be extremely important against the Magic and possibly Lakers. He is still 7’3″ and can changes a lot of shots at the rim. He did that again today. He actually didn’t look too bad in the game. He is still a step slow, but at the beginning of the season many people were saying his career was over and he bounced back. He will again.