Links To The Present: April 29, 2010
2010-04-29
“In the Bulls series, I don’t think the Cavs were expecting Chicago to play as long and as hard as they did. And the Cavs had to ratchet it up to stay with them. But they know what it’s going to be like with the Celtics. And going into the series as the favorite is also something they’re going to have to live up to.” [Austin Carr’s Blog]
Bulls/Cavs Series in 2 minutes.
“Asked if the Cavs did anything differently against the outspoken Noah in the close-out game, O’Neal dismissed the disser as an irrelevancy. He said the easy baskets Noah got on the weakside (the side away from the ball) came on rebounds or on passes after O’Neal helped out on Derrick Rose’s penetration. Rose and Kirk Hinrich were the Cavs’ focus, he said.” [Bill Livingston on Shaq]
“We’ll figure it out,” James said, not showing the least bit of worry. “We have the best docs in Cleveland.” [LeBron quoted by Brian Windhorst]
“Finding the problem was key because James was unsure what was causing him stinging pain and numbness in the arm. Second, the diagnosis is not serious and the Cavaliers said James is not expected to miss any time with the injury.” [Brian Windhorst on LeBron’s Elbow Exam]
“It still feels as if the Cavs are a work in progress, not hitting on all cylinders. Before Tuesday’s game, Cavs coach Mike Brown lauded the play of James, Jamison and Mo Williams, but said O’Neal and West had yet to get going.” [Marla Ridenour on the State of the Cavs]
“And if the Cavs are comfortably ahead at that point, I believe James will point the way with his left hand only. Who can’t wait for Saturday to roll around Raise your good hand or your sling. Either one counts.” [Bud Shaw]
“This is a perfect series for this year’s Cavaliers. They have a habit of playing down to lower-level teams, but rise up and play beautifully against the ‘elite’. Boston, despite its weak regular season finish, still has the polish and image of a championship team. I expect the Cavaliers to dismantle the Celtics with speed and aggression in game 1, followed by a tough win in game 2. Game 3 in Boston will be the hardest of the series. But I can’t see Cleveland losing inspiration like they did against the Bulls in Round 1. This one could go only 5, but I’m still a little intimidated by the Celtics on their home floor, simply because I’m a Cleveland sports fan and give way too much credit to the team we’re playing.” [P.D. Parr on The Celtics/Cavs matchup]
“I can’t help but think about how much the roles are reversed from last year when the Cavaliers flew through the first 2 rounds before facing a buzz saw in the form of a tough battle-tested Magic team. Hopefully that will also reverse the fortunes of last year. I don’t mean to get ahead of myself here, but it helps to put these struggles into context and I only bring it up now as some food for thought as the Cavaliers go through this vicious 2nd round matchup.” [Andrew @ WFNY]
“Defensively, I’m fine with that line-up matching up against the Cavs’ small groups outlined above. Offensively, though, I worry that the team can go through cold stretches when Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen share the court. We saw this against the Heat, when Erik Spoelstra went to a zone immediately when he saw the TA/Rondo back court and stuck with it until Doc replaced either Rondo or TA with a shooter.” [Zach Lowe – CelticsHub
A look at the Cavs/Celtics rivalry in YouTube Clips
Tweets To The Present: (follow me @tompestak)
“LeBron just bought a RingPop for each finger and is wearing them all. He is embarrassing me.” [LeBronsElbow]
“When @LeBronsElbow passes me in followers, I think that will be a sign to do some serious soul searching.” [Ken Berger]
“LeBron should be fine unless he takes another direct hard hit. Based on history, I’m sure the Celtics will play cleanly and avoid it.” [Brian Windhorst]
How many more players can you put around a guy though and be under the cap? Butler and Terry are fairly big money guys…there isn’t a huge amount of space left to go up unless we are talking max deal, and then it’s a question of whether or not Dirk is the best player on his team at that point.
They have absolutely no cap room this summer, but it will be interesting to see if Cuban can pull off some sort of move to bring in Boozer or Bosh. I can’t see it happening, but the man will try.
Yes, you can win with Dirk as your #1. You’re just going to need better players around him than you would need to go around LeBron, Wade, or the like.
about the simmons article – LeBron has been the best player in the playoffs so far. Sometimes it’s just not interesting to make LeBron number 1 on lists. There was a dime mag article earlier this year called “bombs away” and it was the guys in the nba with unlimited range. Kobe and JR Smith were on there…NO LEBRON. I mean, it’s almost comical given all the half-court shots he hits that look like regular jumpers. But just an example of people that get tired of LeBron dominating. I’m not sure you can win with Dirk as your best player… Read more »
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming this series on Dirk. He was by far their best player, but that is the point. Can you win with HIM as your best player? If everyone on the team is a notch below him, does that mean everyone on the team is to low in order to win a title. Certainly, if one were to point fingers at the reason the Mavs lost, you’d point to Kidd and then Marion. Although I don’t know if we were actually expecting anything from Ghost Shawn Marion.
What I can’t and couldn’t figure out was Carslile (sp) unwillingness to play Haywood the bulk of the minutes over Dampier. Even tonight when he started, he still played the exact same amount of minutes. To me, he is a much better player and should have gotten the majority of the minutes from the day he arrived. I look at this Mavs team, and I see some of the most talent top to bottom in the league. The guys coming off the bench were: Dampier, Barea, Beaubois, and Terry. Combine that with there starting line-up, and I just don’t know… Read more »
I agree with Bradley. Shawn Marion is a shell, of a shell of his former self. Their entire starting line-up is 30 or older. I don’t really see how someone could put this on Dirk (27 points a game, 55% from the field). Dirk is getting older, but I still think you can win a championship with him. Will the Mavs as they are currently constructed? Probably not.
Rich, I just saw what you said last thread about me and Jamison. I’ll admit he’s been great in the series. All I wanted out of him was efficiency and he’s shooting 59% TS in the playoffs and I’ll take that all day. I’m still worried about the future, making sure we stay young enough to give LeBron and the franchise ample opportunity to win multiple titles. Because when we look back at LeBron’s career the same way we do with Jordan, Bird, and Magic, we need LeBron to have more than the 2010 title on his resume. Right now,… Read more »
Yes probably still now. Dirk was still a top 7 guy this year, which I think is good enough. The problem was Kidd died in this series, and Butler was drastically overrated during the trade. And Carlisle kept playing J.J. over Beaubois. Dirk is still good enough now, but everyone looked too much into that trade and put too high of expectations on the Mavs. Butler was an absolute shot-jacker this series, and in the game he was actually hitting, they won easily. I think you have to blame Butler and Kidd. Don’t give Dirk the same treatment that we… Read more »
You can get to the title game, but winning is winning. And the quetsion should be rephrased, can you win a title with Dirk as your best player now. Maybe in ’06, but I dunno about now.
Well, many would argue the Mavs got robbed of a title with Dirk in 2006, so clearly you can win a title with Dirk as your best player.
So, after the Mavs got eliminated, I think a question needs to be asked. This team had a bunch of talent. A ton. They shouldn’t have lost in the 1st round. So now, we have to ask, can you win a title with Dirk as your best player? I dunno the answer, but I think the question is viable at this point.
I read that SImmons article and have to agree with him on Wade. Now, if Wade loves the city of Miami then by all means stay. But I know if I were him, I’d absolutely want to leave not because of my team, but because of my fans. The city of Miami has 0 love for the Heat. They very, very rarely sell-out, and they have one of the best attractions in the league. I’d want to play in a city that actually enjoys watching it’s basketball team.
I thought Delonte was playing fairly decent ball lately. His shot looks better, his effort is still very high. He did get toasted by Rose, but who doesn’t?
About the Celtics, I think it was mostly the Heat but I am worried that the confidence and cohesiveness the Celtics gained from that series could make them a real pain to get rid of.
The Heat are….bad. I was hoping a long time ago that is who the Cavs would get to play in round 1. When you literally have one single man on your team who can score, you will NEVER beat a good a team (shh, just forget about LeBron vs. the Pistons). Wade got less help than maybe anyone I can remember in recent memory. Just an atrocious team around him. Beasely, while still young, is on the verge of being labeled a bust. It’s getting close. I agree Colin. I do grow weary of seeing Cavs highlights that consist of… Read more »
C’mon Jarrod. Simmons ALWAYS slurps Lebron. It’s one article. Be real.
What makes me so made is if LeBron would have been talking to his hand, all we would have seen were articles discussing how LeBron’s childish antics will never win him a championship and that he might be mildly retarded. But Wade does it and it’s a Kodak moment.
By the way, Jarrod, Simmons does say at the very end that LeBron’s performance in game four was at a difficulty level so ridiculous that not even Wade could match it.
I lovez Jamison. Windy was definitely in the right for having a tender spot for this man’s floaters and jump shots.
No mention of the recently released Bill Simmons human playoff power rankings?
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100429
Dwayne Wade at No. 1? Apparently LeBron (No. 3) didn’t score high enough on the “my ass is sitting at home watching the playoffs because my team could only win one game when most people picked us push Boston” scale. Espn.com is so fail and they don’t even know it.
I’m kind of disappointed in that video… why was LeBron the only Cav to get highlights? Tawn was arguably more important than James during game 5… yet nothing.
Wade showed up, definitely. The dude does not quit (which of course makes it painful to watch him on a mediocre or bad team). However, that may give the Celts confidence they didn’t have before – it’s difficult to tell how this series will turn out, although the Cavs still appear to have an advantage on paper (and there is no reason for them to not get up for the Celtics). By the way – at the beginning of the season, the consensus around here was that Delonte was the key to the championship this year. With Jamison as well… Read more »
Jermaine O’neal shot around 20% in that series and he might be their second best player. It isn’t just you.
Do people think the Celtics really upped their game in the post season or you reckon the Heat were just a miserable team? I tend towards thinking the latter; aside from Wade no one even turned up for that series.