Preview: Cavaliers at Bulls, April 22nd
2010-04-22Game three. Get the win on the road here, and the Cavs get some serious breathing room. First road playoff game for this year’s Cavs squad. If they want to win comfortably, they need to defend like they did in game one and execute on offense like they did in game two. Only doing one might not cut it in a hostile building. Let’s see how long Shaq can stay on the floor and what adjustments the Cavs make on Noah.
Your recommended reading is still Bulls By The Horns. See you after the game.
I say,the cavs ned to focus, focus, focus,also keep shaq under or near the basket,so he can jump up get the ball from entering the hoop,keep shots out of the hoop,also bring in that 3 point shooter,forgot his name,but he is good,let him go at it,cavs,keep playing like this they will not go all the way,im sick to death of watching celtics,orlando,la lakers winning the championship,so come on cavs wake up,do what it takes to win this,focus,focus,focus,focus,maybe the fans that can afford to g to the play offs,should yell out,focus focus,focus,focus,and give the bulls hell scream,at noah,the fans dont yell… Read more »
Hmmmm. Shaq goes 2-8 after a poor game 2, Z comes in and does zip for the 5 minutes he’s out there. Shaq has a +/- of -5 and Z is a -8 for his limited minutes. Is there anyone else who might be able to add some energy, get some fluidity into the offense, especially in the paint where we’re not dominating, who has the athleticism to keep up with the quicker Bulls?? Oh yeah – JJ! If Brown doesn’t see that he needs to make this change, and now, not wait until the Celts series, then he should… Read more »
LeBron said the team needs Shaq to step up his play and Shaq knows that. The dude is still not in game shape and you could see it with the look on his face last night during the 4th quarter while he was on the bench. Shaq, for as easy he is to set off, is also a realistic person and is not going to get pissed because a team playing for a championship made an accurate, much-needed criticism.
I think Windhorst has the comments from LeBron on shaq on his twitter. It wasn’t much, but I don’t think it takes much to piss Shaq off, and we don’t need that.
@Rich: What did LeBron say about Shaq?
The other call was a LeBron charge on Deng. Not a good call as Deng was shuffling into LeBron’s path and Bron really wasn’t trying to run him over.
Someone explain to me some of the calls besides Noah block out LeBron’s face. I didn’t see the game and would be interested to hear it. Still, LeBron CANNOT be calling out Shaq in public. That is a disaster in the making. Shaq does not, has not, and will not take well to someone calling him out. Idc who it is..just can’t do it for the health of the team. Hinrich won’t go off again..but Rose will continue to dominate this team. Delonte, like I said last game, is mentally checked out. He isn’t giving anything on either end and… Read more »
1) I too am not calling doom and gloom due to a loss in this game. Typically the first home game is often the best shot for an underdog to take one. This was a gut check moment. The question is how the Cavs respond. 2) The late game officiating was indeed horrible and likely changed the outcome of the game, but the Cavs earned the loss regardless. They put up 35 3-point attempts rather than driving to the hole. As they got further and further down they kept looking for the miracle 3’s rather than go for the smart… Read more »
Don’t think the Bulls are going to get another one, Rich. I think even the Bulls are surprised by their success on offense the last two games. We will not see Rose, Hinrich, and Deng combine for 78 points again.
Mo Williams goes 2-5 at the line and Jamison 4-4… not really significant but just weird. I won’t even bring up LeBron’s FT numbers.. because that man is A BEAST.
Anyone else notice how often the Lakers lose when the Cavs lose? I remember many times during the reg season
Oh, and LeBron calling Shaq out, even if minor, might be the dumbest thing for LeBron to do. Call himself out for clanking so many FTs before callin Shaq out. When is LeBron going to own up to his poor nights from the line? Should NOT have called Shaq out.
Just remember who told you this baby was going 6 at least (if you don’t, it was me). I said that this wasn’t a great matchup for the Cavs for one reason. Derrick Rose. Nothing worse for the cavs than a freakishly athletic point guard. IT’s the same problems the Lakers are having with Westbrook..they have no1 to defend him. And no Kevin, last year’s Lakers beat the Jazz in 5. The year before you are right though, as the Celtics went 7 with the Hawks. This is going 6, I expect the Cavs to lose the next game as… Read more »
I thought we were all aware of the fact that this series may go a few games extra as we are still reincorporating Shaq, as well as the starters that got limited play time in the last two weeks of the regular season. Close losses are always the most heartbreaking and this should motivate the Cavs to come out strong on Sunday and close this thing out next week.
It’s not the end of the world but it isn’t great. Cavs did not look like a championship calibre team and it took some improbable plays to make it as close as it was (though admittedly that terrible charging call completely changed the game). It was a bad game. That said, when Hinrich is hitting shots, Chicago is a tough team. Derrick Rose is a hell of a player.
Nice to see Mo shooting with confidence at the end.
I agree with sentiments. Roll tape for anyone who says Lebron gets all the calls. I don’t care that much, because he does get a lot of calls, but this game was evidence that it’s certainly not always the case.
I really don’t care at all that we lost this game. All this means is the cavs got a little ego check, and lebron had a good game and almost had a sick takeover-comeback.
By the way, the Cavs remind me of last year’s Lakers. They just don’t respect this team. And if I’m not mistaken, the last two championship teams both went 7 games in their first series. Just saying.
Oh man, Windy is reporting that first Danny Ferry and now Mike Brown have taken Stu Jackson into the locker room for a verbal beat down. When this hits the news wires, you can say hello to a new era of insults flung toward the Cavs. Look out below!
I need to clarify my earlier comment. Cavs still played poorly and can’t blame the refs. The refs just… didn’t have their best finish either.
And I think Noah’s move was actually a Scorpion Death Drop
The non call on Noah was bush league…Lebron and Mike Brown should complain…who cares if its 25k….that was blatant and so obvious….even after the Donaghy scandal the officials are still shady as hell…but there not all to blame..itd be nice if we played the whole game like the 4th quarter…does Shaq have to elbow someone in order to shoot the ball? we need to play defense!
2 point loss in spite of at least 3 botched calls down the stretch…oh yeah, and it turns out that LeBron James guy was a good addition.
No more “LeBron gets all the calls” crap… bad charging call against Deng, and even worse no call on Noah’s headlock piledriver
What the hell is LeBron doing out there? One assist and 10 field goal attempts in the first quarter is not his game. Come on dude, this ain’t 2007!