Recap: Lakers 112, Cavs 57 (Or, Rock Bottom)
2011-01-11
Holy Christ. I was at this game, and it was terrible. In no way did the Cavaliers belong on the same court as the defending champs. If the Cavs had done everything right in this game, they would have been blown out, and they did everything wrong. Here’s the craziest thing about this game: The Lakers started things off by hitting three straight threes (what a surprise), went up 9-2, and the game already felt over. Derek Fisher was goofing around on a fast-break. The crowd was vaguely bemused. The Cavs looked confused and scared. The game absolutely felt over. And it was. The only thing we didn’t know is just how bad it would get.
In the early-going, the Lakers destroyed the Cavs’ undersized front line with Bynum and Gasol. Just absolutely destroyed. The Cavs’ bigs weren’t tall enough, weren’t athletic enough, and had no idea how to play defense, while the Laker bigs were making strong moves and beautiful interior passes to each other. Seriously, the Lakers’ interior passing is so much better than everybody else’s. It’s amazing. And of course, the Cavs only existed to show everybody just how good the Lakers’ interior passing is. Manny Harris was guarding Kobe, and the Lakers took a 39-point lead with only one Kobe basket. That is absurd.
That was the Cavs’ defense, which was extremely bad. The Cavs’ offense was where all that is good and happy in this world goes to die. The Cavs couldn’t move the ball, couldn’t shoot threes, and couldn’t score in the paint. Here were the Cavs’ go-to plays on offense, and I am not making any of this up:
J.J. Hickson shooting jumpers: J.J. relationship with his jumper is like a heroin addict’s relationship with heroin: it was great for that first little while, but now it would probably be better for everybody if he had never discovered jumpers in the first place. He looked completely terrified on both ends of the floor, and was awful.
Samardo Samuels in the post: Samardo Samuels is unathletic and undersized. He was matched up against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. He seemed to believe that if he did enough counter-moves, Gasol or Bynum would forget that they were much taller than Samuels, and did not actually have to move to block his shot. At no point did Gasol or Bynum forget that Samardo Samuels could not score on them without stilts and a shotgun, and Samuels went 1-12 from the floor with four turnovers.
Mo Willams and Manny Harris firing jumpers: Mo and Manny figured out that there was nothing to be gained by going into the paint and trying to score on Bynum/Gasol, so they decided to fire a contested jumper if they got anything resembling space. It didn’t work. They combined to shoot 3-17.
Alonzo Gee doing energy things: This actually worked: Gee was active, gave great effort, and got some garbage buckets by staying active around the rim. This was not your fault, Alonzo Gee. Also, the PA announcer called him “Anthony Gee” after he scored his first basket.
This was a miserable, miserable, experience and game. The Lakers didn’t beat the Cavs in an athletic competition: they empirically proved that the Cavs did not belong on the court with them. This is rock bottom. Abandon all hope. Until later.
The Nupe – “I’m sure he’ll be interviewed about it and I hope he ‘clarifies’ his comments one way or the other.”
The ‘ ‘ around the ‘clarifies’ is an appropriate choice, because he’ll dance around the issue just like he did with Contractiongate. He’ll say he didn’t mean it (like when he said he didn’t know what contraction was,) or he’ll perhaps accuse someone of hacking into his account.
‘And relating to that theme, 2nd real question. Why in god’s name, would you try to match the Lakers size with guys who have no chance of succeeding? Ugh. There needs to be an understanding of how to concede things. ‘ Looking at the minute distribution, I did think the Lakers “ran it up” slightly more than they should’ve, although, yes, the Cavs really were that bad and it their responsibility to keep it down. Why did the last three Lakers bench only get 6 minutes, 13 seconds apiece–less than any of the Cavs players? And why did Pau Gasol… Read more »
I think we’ll be a better team from this loss – at least the younger guys will be better for it. It’s time to move on, Utah can’t come soon enough. The tweet doesn’t bother me at all. In fact the way some people have said things like they hope he blows out his knee’s or having the voodoo spell put on him/his team, I understand what he’s saying. If somebody wished negative things on me and then something bad happened to them, I’d say something about Karma too. It’s not good to wish bad things on anybody (even if… Read more »
You can’t go any lower, so just learn whatever you can from the loss and play another game… Yeah the cavs are awful but I rather they be awful and have a good chance at a first pick, than mediocre and not. As for the whole Lbj tweet — if it was targeted at Gilbert then whatever, Gilbert is a multimillionaire so I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it. Now if it was targeted at the players/fans, which I believe it was, then it just shows the type of person Lbj is. The cavs didn’t turn their backs on… Read more »
Stop trolling a good blog you douches. Ruining the damn comments section with this bullshit.
Bull Shit! I’m the real Chris Bosh 5139673171
If Gilbert really believed all the stuff he said in his infamous letter, he would have made it before Lebron’s awful tv special.
Krolik, I hope to see you at the DDL tonight. We’ll get you through this together, I promise. We’re here for you, man.
On a serious note, the Cavs are my second team and this hurt. Just wow. I hope in situations like this that my team can beat half the other teams score, and at least we did that, but that’s not even a moral victory. Just ouch.
Hey this is the real Chris Bosh. I love my fans in Cleveland! Call me 5132892007!
Lets go clippers! We’re the future!
Are we sure this is rock bottom? I fear this might be premature.
you’re fucking out, i’m fucking in
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! FUCK YOU Sean. Call me :) 5139679436
FUCK YOU Sean. Call me :) 5139679436
It was a perfect storm of suck: injuries, the Lakers being awesome, horrible shooting, lackadaisical attitude, bad coaching (yes Byron Scott is a horrible coach), 3 years of bad GM work (I don’t care what you say, Danny Ferry was a wrecking ball), horrible defense… Byron Scott will resign if he’s smart. This can’t be what he signed up for. There’s no end in sight for the Cavs. At least we’re not front-running punks that kick other teams when they;re down.
FUCK YOU Nupe. Call me :) 5139673171
Getting back to the game… This was just awful to watch! In the first minute or so I thought Manny was going to have a good game when he had a nice driving lay-up but was negated because Hollins wasn’t paying attention and made an offensive file by running into D-Fish. Then it went downhill fast from there. Manny played somewhat reckless for a while (which I’ll take from a young guy who’s still learning) and then seemed to get scared and just became a jump shooter or would drive and make awful last minute passes to players under the… Read more »
What is everyone so sad about? I would MUCH rather this team be shockingly bad than barely good enough to compete for the #8 seed. I have to admit I thought this team would have a much better record than they do, but it’s hard to predict the team quitting like this (ironic, I know). Still, I hope we can con some playoff team into taking some of our guys for future draft considerations and for us to start fresh.
PS – Please someone take JJ…
Krolik, I feel for you buddy. Brutal loss. Did you see LBJ’s twitter post during the game? Hope all is well otherwise.
Identity theft on you BITCH!
Identity theft!
hey fuck you J! I don’t forgive you! You S.O.B
Hey Red I was just kidding about earlier. I completely agree with your opinions. I’m a loser. Z, you were right too. I’m afraid I must admit: The Cavaliers really do suck. The fact that they made franchise history last night against the Lakers makes me want to jack off to a Lebron Poster.
@ pen15 fuck yo couch
is this blog for the bulls…?
Whoah it’s actually Lebron and D Wade! I love you guys!
Shut up lebron! I hope you know i’m in the mafia! Cleveland Fans: Please keep coming to the games :) I would like to go back on my comments about Cleveland winning the championship. Yea, that was stupid.
Yo my main man Bron Bron says fuck da POE-LEESE and fuck da CAVS!
Yea lebron you tell. FUCK CLEVELAND!
Lebron’s recent tweet: Hey Mo, I saw Anderson and you on a date. You guys are the gayest losers in the entire NBA. Bitch.” Intense, I know.
and btw Delonte wasn’t nailing my momma!
Karmas a bitch motherfuckers!
Hey J, you’re the biggest loser in the entire blog. Bitch.
Red I’m going to violate your mom like delonte did to Lebrons yes bitch I just used that insult so Stfu and gtfo. And please get of lbj’s D.
Red youre an idiot. Get off of the cavs blog if this is what youre going to say. You know everything that was said about Lebron in Cleveland is true, and he deserved all of it. He would just take it if he’s so tough like everyone thinks, it’ll never be over because he waited last minute and went on national tv and slapped us all in the face. And now he’s doing it again. what a punk, im sorry i ever thought he might loyal to cleveland.
Red why are you reading/posting on this blog? You that bored? Or is popping in during a franchise’s weakest moment to play Captain Hindsight and tell Cavs fans that they should have been nice to LeBum when he abandoned the city for an easy road to the title just a way for you to feel superior? Go compliment LeBron on his twitter page.
And Leo, please stop this nonsense about Lebron not being able to get other superstar to the Cavs. They have NO salary space becaus they overpaid bums like Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall. The most they can do is trade bad contracts with other bad contracts and hope they will be a better fit to Lebron and that is why they got An ancient Ben Wallace, a has-been Shaq, a never- was Wally Sexyback and Delonge West who was so good that he was the third guard behind Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour on those awful 2008 Seattle Sonics.
Leo, lebron leaves and suddenly the Cavs went from best to worst showed clearly the team was beyond hope. His promise of title was contingent on the Cavs doing their part. It’s stupid of you to mention of the supposed stronger superstars of the 80s and 90s. Bird had Mchale and Parish, Magic had Kareem and Worthy, Jordan had Pippen and Rodman. Lebron had Mo and Jamison who both bombed big time last night. And don’t give me that crap about losing Z, Shaq and Delonte who are all playing for the veteran’s minimum salary. Name me one superstar who… Read more »
hey Red….we wish the guy bad because he gave up on his team as a superstar…he gave up on his city even though he’s a superstar…he said he wouldnt quit until he got that title….well he never got a title still doesnt have one and did quit multiple times…he makes all the excuses in the world and never looks in the mirror first…it easy playing with another superstar….for anyone…ask kobe how easy it was once gasol came to LA…before then kobe was bitchin about his team and asking for trades….superstars in the nba today are weak compared to 80s and… Read more »
You people threw venoms, hurled below- the belt insults on the man’s mother, wished him ill and even literally went to the extent of getting a voodoo priest to cast an evil hex on Lebron and now he is once again a jerk for basically saying , “serves you right!” You are all mad that he is vindicated? You can dish it but you can’t take and that riles you no end. So now you are back to wishing him ill, keep it up since it always seem to bounce back Cleveland’s way.
The salt has been tossed in the wounds just like the powder…
http://fanaticvice.com/you-stay-classy-lebron/
I’ve been in partial denial with this team,even at 8-29. But after watching last night’s game, I’ve conceded. This team is just awful. Ya’ll know LBJ’s remained my fav player, even after the drama of summer 2010. However, his Tweet last night totally pissed me off. Then turning around and saying what he said bout Mike Brown (after being partly responsible for his firing), I couldn’t believe it!!! He’ll never know or care, but I lost some respect for him last night for kicking this team while they’re down. I know all the stuff Dan Gilbert said, even some of… Read more »
remember byron scott was supposed to be a players coach and yet this happens? what was the worst loss under mike brown….even when cavs played w/o lebron due to injury we never loss this bad…i think its time to just clean house and start over….having young guys on the team will make the pain easier….having jamison and MO out there and losing by 50 is just pathetic…i dont know how you lose by 50 unless you give up…there’s no way you can lose by that much if you are actually trying….i dont buy it….doesnt matter what level one is playing… Read more »
Rich, don’t be surprised by what these jack offs in the media are writing. Everyone knows only the best writers work for magazines, and even then those that “get it” are few and far between. Newspapers and Web sites hire jackoffs that play to people’s 24/7 news cycle emotional state. Much like my bowel movements are different from day to day, so are the shifting sands of daily op-eds.
Oh this is too funny! I seem to remember someone on this blog saying that without Lebron, the Cavs would win 50 games. Oops! Looks like the spell Gilbert cast has backfired.
I just don’t understand why the players spend so much time tweeting about how bad they feel about losses when they obviously don’t care at all. Maybe it’s just PR, but it’s disingenuous and condescending.
When I saw the recap I nearly became sick. I was working the night shift (deployed to Qatar) and everyone laughed, hooted and hollered when the lowlights came on. I just got out here, so no one knows that the Cavs are my team, but this was still like a punch to the gut. Rich is right. Being a fan is and will always be an emotional experience. In the LeBron era heyday of the Cavs I fretted over every win even though I knew they would come. I would torment myself, poring over tweets, breaking news, injury updates, trade… Read more »
Well… Yeah… Not much to say about that. I suppose that result could have been more fun if I had started at the 2. At least then, everyone could say, “of course the Lakers won by 242. The Cavs started Ben against Kobe.” My real question is why the hell Eyenga was playing at all tonight. We were already totally out of the game. Why push his injury? That stuff drives me crazy. Take your losses, but don’t make them worse. And relating to that theme, 2nd real question. Why in god’s name, would you try to match the Lakers… Read more »
I love the cavs, but theyre the worst team ever. Noone scored over 20 for the Lakers and they lost by 55 points!?!?! The high scorer for the Lakers was 15 and they got 112 points. I am miserable, Please Dan Gilbert do something!
Yea DMC, that stat is really quite the stunner. Guys on RCF were wondering if this might be the lowest point production for a starting 5 since at least the merger. So far, it appears that it might be. TWENTY THREE COMBINED POINTS FROM OUR STARTERS. Things that you shouldn’t see in a freaking highschool game, let alone an NBA game that has another 16 minutes.
I agree Tom, and I don’t actually hate the LBJ tweet. I mean, I still will never root for the guy, but I get what he’s doing now. HOwever, to tell a fan to act like the players act and realize that this is just a business and to have no personal attachment…well that’s a sure fire way to kill the sport. What fan buys merchandise or spends 500 bucks for playoff tickets if he has no emotional attachment? This notion that I keep reading about not caring (i.e., not hating or not loving) about players is so counter-productive to… Read more »
@Rich – scott raab brought made a point that the only thing he hates more than lebron people telling him how he should feel about it.
For those of you saying this couldn’t be worse, my browser read “Recap: Lakers 112, Cavs 5…” while i was loading this page, so it was refreshing to find that the Cavs did score 57 points.
Kkkkkkaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You definitely should be more mad about LBJ’s tweet than this lost.
I was also at the game in the very top row. The game looked like Duke taking on a Division III school. At least I was expecting a bad loss. It is a bad sign that a 55-point loss is less surprising than a win for your basketball team. I did begin a cheer “#1 pick! #1 pick!” during the game, because that really is the best hope for the Cavs at this point; to rebuild from scratch with blue chip college players. At least I can look forward to the Indians or Browns. Wait a minute…
I don’t mean this as any sort of blame, but as a statistic it’s pretty amazing:
Manny Harris’ plus/minus: -57.
Cavs’ total points: 57.
Has a single player ever canceled out his entire team’s scoring production before? Yeesh.
On a different note (really, do we need to talk about this), the reaction to the LBJ tweet is amazing. I wish I had the time to do a study on this. I’m more amazed by the amount of people pleading for folks to NOT be angry with LBJ. Furthermore, it moves past that and it’s people pleading fans, in general, to not hate certain players. What a silly notion. If you remove the fans passion, then you will soon be removing the sport, or at least downgrading it’s popularity severly.
Absolutely humiliating loss.
Mo Williams has already posted on twitter saying how embarrassed he is. Eyenga said something about crap in spanish, and Hickson said he wanted a good night’s sleep.
As bad as everyone looked today, Hollins, JJ, and Samuels were just flat our god awful. Our perimiter players weren’t making shots, but at least they looked like they were trying, and didnt do a terrible job on defense.
That quote from JJ really sums up his whole year: the kid doesnt seem to care about anything.