Recap: Hawks 99, Cavs 86 (Or, the end of the beginning)
2010-04-15“However, this was before Inigo’s wound reopened; and Westley relapsed again; and Fezzik took the wrong turn; and Buttercup’s horse threw a shoe. And the night behind them was filled with the crescendoing sound of pursuit.”
-The Princess Bride
Overview:
In a JV game, the Hawks defeated the Cavaliers by a final score of 99-86 in the final game of the regular season. Jeff Teague tallied 24 points and 15 assists.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
-Full disclosure: I’m spread very thin right now, and I’m limping into the playoffs a bit. Hopefully I’ll be back on my game very soon.
-Very few good things happening for the Cavs tonight. Moon, Parker, and Varejao were the only players who shot better than 50% from the floor for the Cavs. Teague went off for 24 and 15. Never fun to enter the playoffs on a losing streak, but nobody was really going all-out for the Cavs.
-Moon seems to have taken Jawad’s spot in the rotation.
-And with this game, we are reminded why we won’t be seeing Bassy Telfair in the playoff rotation. My sadness knows no bounds.
-I’m going open thread from here. The Cavs’ first-round opponent will be the Bulls, who are coming in surprisingly hot but seem to be a great matchup for the Cavs. Sound off in the comments. Get ready for the second season, campers. The first one was great, even if it ended on a bit of a down note.
you’re on mark.
Matt,
If Derrick Rose goes averages 30 a game in this series I will send you $20 American.
as much as I love Mo, he is damn right AWFUL on defense.. and on a team that lacks go to scorers, Derrick Rose will step it up. He lit up Boston last year, AS A ROOKIE! This is his second playoff series, he hasthe experience, went a year plagued with injuries and still averaged a touch under 21. He will go for AT LEAST 30 a game.. Don’t get me wrong, I am a diehard cavs fan.. Like the biggest one outside of America, but come on… It’s a bit biased to think that Derrick Rose will not torch… Read more »
Yeah d-west does lock it down as long as he isn’t sad so hopefully he takes his meds
And when Rose starts to blow past Mo, why wouldn’t lebron switch on to him? It’s not like Lebron will be guarding some hot shot scorer aka Salmons. boom, lebron on rose = no bulls offense. Let’s not forget our boy d-west too. Dude locks it down.
Everyone needs to put things in reality: this is the PLAYOFFS! The pace slows down and the intensity goes way, way up… remember those Cavs in December? The ones that crushed contender after contender? Yea, I’m thinking they’ll be back to form by the end of this series.
Rich,
The two games the Cavs lost to the Bulls were by ONE POINT EACH. They won the other games by a much larger margin.
Derrick Rose is not averaging 35 points a game. And in case everyone forgot, its not like Rose is really that great on defense. Mo lit him up, remember? Rose may have a good series, but its not like Mo won’t get his.
You call yourselves “fans”? Someone please spell VAREJAO correctly. I will give you a cookie.
Leo – you couldn’t be more off the mark with that last comment. I gotta agree with Rich on this one. Chicago is definitely a formidable opponent at their house, and you can’t underestimate the impact that Rose has on the offensive end. Mo’s defense has been suspect all year. Rose seems to step up his game (against Mo) much like Rondo does for the Celtics. It would behoove our guys to take a look at the Bulls 1st round match-up with Boston last year. Rose had a huge first game. I’d also look for Varejo to play a bigger-than-usual… Read more »
Chicago fans are dreaming if they think they are even close to first in line for LeBron. That should pretty much be out of everyone’s minds at this point. Pretty much New York or Cleveland, and that is that.
Season series is 2-2, and Chicago beat us in Cleveland. Remember leo, we also didn’t really squash Chicago in the 3rd game, in which Noah and Deng were out..and I believe that was the game Rose got hurt and didn’t play much in. So that goes both ways.
It’s going to be a 5 game series with three hard fought games and the Cavs winning the other two by +20. Also it will be interesting to see how Lebron plays against his future team
Rich – if it goes 6 or 7 that might be a good thing. Breezing through the early rounds can lead to overconfidence and lack of rhythm. Both LA last year and Boston the previous years struggled in the early rounds before winning the title.
We nearly beat the Bulls recently with half our starters out and at Chicago, a game they had to win and we didnt. If Varajo doesnt take that last shot and someone else with more offensive game does, we win that game and possibly be facing the Raptors. The Bulls were tough last year cuz of Salmons who’s now with the Bucks. Any coincidence they became really good once he got there. This will go 5 as Chicago may take one in their place, but I wont be surprised if we sweep this team. Lebron and Shaq are ready. Look… Read more »
Mark, good points. I was also playing devil’s advocate–we all know LeBron is teh bestest.
Rich, I don’t see this series going more than five games. And if it does, well, maybe we needed that kick in the pants to start the playoffs. Remember how epic our first-round series used to be? Hello Washington.
Cavaliers in 5.
Krolik, you are going to regret wanting the Bulls instead of the Raptors, I promise. This baby is going 6 if not 7. I don’t like that one bit.
Touche squiggles, but I don’t think it is fair to compare Lebron (one of if not the best scorers in the league) to a point guard who has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late. Not to mention it took another worldly effort for Lebron to up his scoring that much in the ECF last year. If Rose could up his PPG by that much more power to him but I don’t see him coming close to doing that. Like Max said if Rose were to get close to 35 ppg the Bulls will probably get… Read more »
Mark,
LeBron averaged 38 points in the ECF last year. 10 points higher than his reg season average. And Orlando had a prettay prettay damn good defense.
if rose averages 35 ppg then no one else on the bulls will touch the ball.. sounds fine to me.
“Derrick Rose will average about 35 and tear Mo apart.”
Rose average 21 per game in the regular season, how in the world is he going to up his PPG by nearly 15 points in the playoffs when EVERYONE rachets up their defense? Not to mention the Cavs are one of the best defensive teams in the league.
I sort of like the notion that the Cavs start out with Chicago, and could possibly face and take down the Celtics and then the Magic to reach the finals. The first round will let them expiate the ghost of Michael Jordan, and then repay Boston and Orlando for the past two years.
The only thing that would make this lineup even better is if San Antonio made it to the dance out West. ;-)
Derrick Rose will average about 35 and tear Mo apart, Noah will do well, but overall cavs WAY too strong and deep