Well, here we go. It’s a three-game series, and the Cavs are down 0-1. They’re 48 minutes away from tying this series up and going back to Cleveland for the deciding game. It’s not over. At least not yet. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not ready for LeBron’s last game as a Cav.
This game can be won. The Cavs have the talent. They won easily in Boston not that long ago. If they believe they can win this game, they can do it. LeBron says he knows what the stakes are. He needs to play like it, now more than ever. This entire team needs to hit the boards like their pride is on the line. No sloppy turnovers. Every possession could mean everything. Play defense on everyone, for the full 24 seconds, and get the ball if they miss.
Limit transition opportunities. Contest KG’s catches. Try to stop Ray Allen from getting it going. Hope Pierce doesn’t have one last bullet left in the holster.
On offense, play aggressive and confident. LeBron needs to come out early attacking and make the game his. Guys need to shoot when they’re left alone, and know when to reset when they don’t have the looks. Use Shaq to get in the bonus, then play matchup ball. Delonte’s gotta provide a spark. A lot of things need to go right. They can. The Cavs have won 67 games this season. They need two more right now.
A loss will hurt. If the Cavs go down fighting, I can take it. This team needs to play with pride. They need to play like they want another couple weeks of this. I do. I’m sure all of you do as well. This can happen. It is not over. But it needs to start right now. Not next game, not next quarter, not next possession. This is it. Having your back against the wall isn’t an excuse to quit. It’s an opportunity to leave everything out there. Any iota of effort this team doesn’t give will stay with them until their graves. 48 tough minutes, or a lifetime of infamy. It’s their choice.
Regardless of what happens, I love this team. I’ve loved watching them. I’ve loved talking about them. I’ve especially loved writing about them. It’s been a great journey. Let’s keep it going.
Lebron to Chicago. Only other option is Miami. He wants immediate success.
Magic in 7 over the Celtics. If the Celtics beat the Magic, they could beat the Lakers.
Championship: Magic over Lakers in 7.
Give the Celtics Defense a lot of credit, they were nasty. Toughness is a talent. Rondo has no moved himself into the top 3 point guard discussion. He does everything masterful but shooting, which he can improve as he gets older. Defense and passing are 10/10. Celtics are in serious contention to win the championship if this kid cannot be stopped. No f___ing joke.
Offense buys tickets, defense wins games.
Celtics will give the Magic trouble, because Perkins is one of the few players capable of guarding Howard without help.
I think the Celtics win because Garnett playing like this is better than Lewis and Rondo is an overall better player than Nelson. Pierce is probably also better than carter and like Todd said Perkins guards Howard the best out of anyone else in the league. Celtics in 6.
I liked KAR’s assessment. I wish I had his faith that the team would be back to fight again next year. I would also add that the coach needs to have more in his arsenal to deal with a situation where the superstar is not 100%. Maybe we wouldn’t have won the series but it could have been more competitive.
@TR – we all would have agreed they had the most in their arsenal this year. Would you honestly be confident in Brown coming up with proper lineups and rotations if he had even more options to choose from?
Agree Hylton. Mike Brown simply can’t utilize offensive talent at all. Even in this game Mo Williams forced himself into the offense. He didn’t get stuff ran for him most of the time, just went on his own. That is no way to run an offense. He has to go, and I’m pretty sure he will go.
@Rich – which is a shame cause I think he would make a great defensive assistant. Interesting to see where he moves on to if/when he is fired.
I wonder if Pop has an opening on his staff.
I think Mike Brown has taken this team as far as he can. He’s an OK coach, he has games where he does well, and JK and others have rightfully defended him at times, but the last two post-seasons he’s been grasping at straws.
@Hylton: Sorry, I realize that wasn’t clear. I meant having more coaching ideas, more offensive strategies, to deal with the situation. I think the depth of the team, the variety of rotations available, may even have been a problem. I think the supporting cast is fine and I suspect that a better, more decisive coach, would have found a way to win.
Todd, that’s true.
But where’s the vitriol? Where’s the anger? Have all the Cleveland fans just laid down and died like their team decided to do these last 3 games?
@capital T
Kinda like Skiles where he improves a team and they stand him 2-3 years and then they end up tuning him out. I thnk the players can only stand the, offense takes care of itself more defense speech, so often.
Especially if things go wrong in the postseason it makes it easier to ignore him. Unfortunately, Brown didn’t have anything else to fall back on.
Well Lance, I think it’s hard to make the claim that this team laid down and died tonight. Mo Williams probably played as hard as he has at anytime in the postseason, and LeBron did too. Making shots does not = playing hard and missing shots does not = not playing hard.
Again, this series was going to be hard from the outset when Mike Brown refused to play Hickson and Moon with a small line-up. He played right into their hands and handi-capped his team from the gun. It’s hard for me to blame the “team” when the coach did NOT put them in the best position to win.
F**k LeBald…. I wonder how big Z feels. All he has to look forward to is the day in a few years when his jersey is finally hung in the Q.
Again, f**k LeBald.
Sorry Z.
Yes, Chip. Because Zydrunas gave this team a lot more than LBJ did. Seriously? Take the hate elsewhere. If LBJ playing a bad game warrants this then you should REALLY REALLY REALLY hate Ilguaskus.
@Rich
LeBron played hard for spurts, but even looking at the crazy #’s (minus TOs) have you ever seen a less effective Triple Double. Which of those 19 rebounds did you go wow he’s amazing on the boards tonight and its turning the game around. I don’t know how to describe it, but its one of those nights where the stats don’t match what the eyes saw.
Well that is why I think it is his elbow. Tonight, I saw him run back twice on defense and get steals that were all hustle on his part. But, he sstill couldn’t shoot the ball and his ball handling left him. Again, I think his elbow is the reason. He didn’t ply that well, but it wasn’t because ofa lack of effort tonight. Hard to get 19 rebounds as a small forward and lack effort at the same time.
Hey Rich,
I totally agree with you. I was just hoping for more fatalism out of my fellow Cleveland fans.
You are 100% correct. The Cavs had an advantage in athleticism. I’m appalled that MB never decided to play the lineup you (or Simmons) suggested. That’s what worked for us all season, why would we go away from that?
I must say, MB’s crazed desire to get Shaq touches on the offensive end killed us in every game except tonight. He finally realized that getting the big man established was not helping. Tonight, he decided to forgo that fetish, but we still drew fouls (evidently Shaq is not the only Cav who could draw fouls). He needed to realize where our advantage was and exploit it.
That said, he made one adjustment that I wholeheartedly applauded. When Ray Allen was curling around the double screen, instead of leaving Mo to guard him the whole way, he fanned the screener’s man out to stop the catch. It burned us twice for easy lay-ups, but the rest of the time, it worked to stop RayRay to perfection.
Kudos there, but a terrible overall offensive gameplan.
Yeah, I’m upset and sad, but not sure who to be angry at. I wish they had fired Mike Brown at some point but hard to be angry about that. I always thought Lebron deserved a top-tier coach, though not sure who that would have been. I never got the sense that Lebron really had much respect for MB.
LBJ tanked it. If you’ve watched him for the past 10 years and then watched the past, there are only a few explanations: (a) he has cancer, (b) he needs tommy john surgery, or (c) he tanked it. I’ll go w/ (c).
And yeah, Z is a much more loyal, and unselfish player than LBJ.
Suck it, Rich. You’ve probably been a Cavs fan about as long as bandwagon JK has been writing this blog.
*then watched the past two games
Hi guys, Spurs fan here, first I want to say thanks to Krolik for running a fantastic blog. Now, onto the LeBrarmaggedon. What the hell was wrong with him? When the game became tight, he seemed tentative, unsure of himself, unwilling to seize the game by the throat. I saw him excessively playing with his hands, scratching at his face, just so nervous (or so it seemed, what do I know, I only watched his games on national tv). It made me sad to see him like that. He always seems superhuman to me, but the last two nights he seemed so vulnerable and human.
@Rich
You point out plays where he hustled. But JVG called him out on the air for sleepwalking on offense.
How can a player in one game go to so many extremes? His elbow looked fine holding up Big Baby so he didn’t get hurt. I think he was more affected mentally by the elbow MUCH MUCH MORE than he was physically.
Once again, a friendly reminder not to feed the trolls :)
This is why I preached against the blasphemy of Antawn Jamison. He improved the Cavs about 1% during the regular season, then he rejuvenated KG into a Hall of Famer, while shooting about 20% in the series. And now LeBron is going to look and see Jamison on the payroll for the next years. Not that enticing.
LeBron didn’t get help, again, but this series was a poor performance by LBJ. Have no idea what to think. All I know is I hate Antawn Jamison and that trade for his corpse.
And I’m aware he had a triple double, but to echo the thoughts of a previous post, I can’t remember the last time I saw such a quiet triple double in any game, playoff or regular season.
Lebron’s problem did seem more mental than physical. Honestly, something like Chip P’s cancer explanation has crossed my mind. I thought it wasn’t the elbow because he never seemed to be in pain and never seemed to have problems with movement, but if it was some kind of weird numbness issue, that would make more sense.
I agree with JQ. Quiet Trip-Doub. Furthermore, to echo Hylton, did LBJ really play with aggressiveness when the game was on the line?
I agree with some of you other commenters. It was the elbow. It may have affected him physically, but much more so mentally.
I agree with the Shaq adjustment…except he followed up that good move by having Shaq start out on Garnett. I mean where in the world did he get that idea that that would be a good move? Just….wow.
You got me Chip. It isn’t like I’ve spent thousands of dollars over the years on Cavs tickets or anything when I live nearly 5 hours away. Nope. Bandwagon all the way.
hahahahahahahaha!!! i was waiting until it was officially over… and now that it is, i can finally say SCREW YOU Cavaqueers fans!!!
Where are those pompous arrogant cleveland idiots who had written the celts off before the series even began?!?!
Where’s the immature celebration now? Where’s the trash-talk that would have made Larry Bird blush?? Where’s the dream of that kobe-lebron finals, huh?? ohhh… Guess the Cs had the last laugh at the end of the day. tsk tsk tsk. And I love it!!
But don’t worry, even though a lot of you boneheads gave us zilch chance of beating Lebrick and Co., I have some inspiring words for you…
I’m pretty sure Lebrick will get his ring. Just NOT in Cleveland! Losers!! LEHOOOOZEHERRRSSS!!! Oh and I hope mike brown’s fired!! I don’t know whether he’s smiling or crying with that face of his!!
Out of respect for the dead, I ask you all not to direct any angry/sarcastic comments about Antawn Jamison. May he rest in peace.
Quiet triple-double, and almost a quadruple-double with turnovers. And they were bad ones, stupid ones that we aren’t used to seeing. Lebron can have a fantastic game with 6 turnovers where he loses it in traffic or it was arguably a foul but it was different tonight.
Russell just quoted Ace Ventura. Fantastically topical reference.
Anyway, I read a book years ago (something Russell would have no idea about) by Amarillo Slim, the famous gambler.
Slim said that he never remembered his famous wins, he only remembered his heartbreaking big beats. All I wanted to do heading into this game was never remember it. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Here’s to you, my fellow Cleveland fans. May we show more graciousness in defeat than any of these other fans show in their wins. It’s been a good run, and whether it be the end to one season or seven, I’m glad we had it.
You can always count on people in the Northeastern part of the country to show some class. I mean, when I say the word classy, does the people of New York and Boston not immediately come to mind? I know it does for me.
*sigh* i just love it when people turn on their “good side” while wallowing the hours in self-pity. :o) A lotta Cavaqueer fans were many things before and during this series, but ‘gracious’ was never one of ‘em…
That book worked wonders for you, Lance… Hope you’re still quoting it when your city’s in its 80th year of championship droughts.
Yes, Russell. The most important thing in life is if your cities pro sports teams win titles. Absolutely the least important thing is being educated with things like books. I mean, who needs books when you can watch a team win titles, amirite?
@Russell
And that has what to do with Cavs fans on a Cavs blog? Go over to CelticsHub and give crap to whatever fan was saying stuff on that site. Instead of coming on here and acting like a douche.
that’s right, rich. and if you worked on dimming down your sarcasm just a tad bit, i believe you can rival the humor of mark twain.
in any case, i see your pain after tonight’s game… i really do.
and i just can’t help but smile. :o)
This is just for tonyt Hylton!! I’m just sooooo haappppeeee you guys lost!!!
Russell is just Jamison’s screen name, y’all. He completed his task of sabotaging the Cavs and now he’s here to rub it in. Well played, Russelltawn Jamison.
Serious question. If we could revive people, and were able to revive Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain and pair them with LeBron, would Mike Brown be able to reduce them to guys who might or might not make the all-star game and average about 17 points and 5 rebounds? Or..could he actually make them even worse?
Wow, Lance Uppercut really crossed the line is that post. That was the LVP of the comments section. You could say he Jamison’d that comment.
BradleyH,
I’m sorry for that outburst. But sometimes, you have to take what the defense gives you.
ahahahahahahahaha!! ohhhh my god, Lance!!! you kill me!!!! this has been an even better night!!!! hahahahaha!!
what happened to your book and being gracious losers?!?!? hahahahahahah!!! you crack me up!!!!!
although, i would come up with newer “mother” jokes to not make you sound so, uh, dated… don’t worry. i won’t even retaliate. :o)
just throw that book of yours down the trash… along with your ideals, you hypocritical idiot!! hahaha! and you even thought i was american and from boston!! priceless!! best night ever!!!!
GO CELTS!!!!
Look out. Many exclamation points and ahahahahahas. Someone is out of material.
Try a few more punctuation marks there Russ, it’ll help you get your point across.
Back to actual comments:
Rich – Brown could find a way. He ends up on Pop’s staff don’t you think? Or does anyone believe he has a chance once the coaching carsel starts.
Ah, I got caught trolling for trolls. Priceless, evidently.
I like that he questioned my ideals. I have none, so that’s fantastic to me.
Sorry, Rich, Bradley, Todd, and all of the other thoughtful commenters on this fantastic site. I also want to say that BradleyH’s comment that I really Jamison’d that comment was priceless.
ohhhhh, cmon… you don’t really expect me to get into a word-war with Sir Limps-a-lot do you? :o)
Oh, and Limps, go have another cocktail… please. great night!!! grrreeaaattt night!!!
I like how Russell called them “mother” jokes. Probably didn’t have to tell us he wasn’t american after that.
He certainly ends up as an assistant I’d say.