Recap: Magic 103, Cavs 87 (Or, Ryan Anderson got more offensive rebounds than the Cavaliers)
2011-01-30Overview: The Orlando Magic manhandled the Cavaliers in the paint and on the glass, and had 18 more offensive rebounds than Cleveland did over the course of a 103-87 victory. Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson combined for 43 points and 36 rebounds.
It’s one thing to let Superman own you, and quite another to get manhandled by Jimmy Olsen bullets:
Does this team understand that it is five losses away from the longest losing streak of all time? Do they understand that they have one win since the end of November? Do they realize they are one loss away from a winless month? Do they realize that they only have so many chances to get a win?
If so, why did they roll over and die against a Magic team that never found its offensive rhythm? There was nothing the Cavs could have done against Howard while playing J.J. Hickson, Samardo Samuels, and Ryan Hollins against him. You expect him to get 20 and 20. He’s too big, too strong, too fast, and too skilled around the basket. (Did you see that move where he faked a spin, then pivoted back around and finished with his left, all while going at full speed? Nasty.)
What you don’t expect is for Jameer Nelson to get more offensive rebounds than every Cavalier player except for Manny Harris, who tied him. You don’t expect the entire team to get out-rebounded by Ryan Anderson. When Howard was in the game, the Cavs got manhandled. When he wasn’t, the team got outworked. There is no conceivable way that this team can be competitive if the other team wants it more, and the Magic wanted it more than the Cavs did. They fought for rebounds, stole the ball in the backcourt, chased down loose balls, made the extra passes. The Cavs threw up shots, watched the ball bounce away, and let themselves off the hook by remembering that nobody expected them to beat the Magic anyways.
At one point, Daniel Gibson got into the paint and drained a floater in a half-court situation. A few plays later, he pushed off a made basket, blew past the Magic defense, and laid it in. Stan Van Gundy immediately called a time-out. Fred McCloud did a (pretty funny) impression of SVG yelling at his team about unacceptable defense, which is exactly what he was doing. Gibson didn’t score another basket. That’s holding a team accountable. That’s the kind of pride competitive teams have. That’s what we’re not seeing from the Cavs, who couldn’t put pressure on a Magic team that missed 22 of their 31 threes against the league’s worst three-point defense.
Individually, I was impressed by Manny Harris. He had great energy, and he made his jumpers. When you do those things, you’re contributing. Antawn was in the Twilight Zone, which will happen to shooters every now and again, and Hickson just had no chance against Dwight Howard. Hey, remember how the Cavs traded for Jamison specifically to help them match up against the Magic? I’m going to go laugh loudly into the toilet about that.
That’s all for tonight. Four more chances to avoid tying the record.
Paulfrancisj…tell us how you really feel. Are you that butt hurt by it?
Couldn’t actually make a valid argument in the other thread, Jack? So this is all you’re going to bring to the table now? Good to know.
LEBRON………. that is all
@Paul
sorry dude .. we don’t like it either, but the Heat are better than the Bulls. Shouldn’t the karma be on Lebron for leading that for 7 years? we wish. Go hate somewhere else.
I hope the nupe is right…
I’m glad that Manny had a decent night, maybe that will help his confidence. It’s going to be an up-down season for him and Eyenga but the more time they get, thet better off they and the team will be next season. Like David said, we need somone who can create/score off the dribble. If we get someone (even like a mid level SF) that will help take some pressure off of Manny, Eyenga etc and actually help those guys in a similar way (but not to the same extent) that having LeBron helped his teammates. So, what I’m really… Read more »
There used to be a time where I couldn’t wait to come here and read the recaps/any new info, or viewpoints, on the Cavs (actually, that time was last year). Now? Its just damn depressing.
A couple of things: 1) There is a bit of a correlation/causation fallacy that happens around defense. Usually we say: good teams play good defense, the best defenses tend to have good records and all of that, the thing is that we also miss that the teams with good records may also be most likely to play good defense because they are winning, ie it is a positive feedback loop. Defense is about effort, putting in effort is a hell of a lot easier when you’re getting something in return, losing means less effort which means less defense. I would… Read more »
You know I’ve been thinking… As a Bulls fan, my most happy moment last year was when Noah got into a shouting match with Lebron over him dancing like a fool after the Cavs had burried the Bulls. It was about time somebody put him in his place. I always thought the dancing was completely disrespectful, and dreamed of Lebron teleporting back in time to th 90’s and trying to do his little dance routine while playing against guys like Charles Oakley who would have taken his head clean off. For a while I felt bad for Cavs fans, but… Read more »
I’m not optimistic at all, when it comes to the Cavs. I’ve prepared myself to the believable fact, that they are not going to win another game this season. I only watch the games to see Harris, Sessions and Eyenga — that’s all. I wanna see if/how they improve, everybody else I couldn’t care less.
If and when the Cavs get the losing streak record, when do we start talking about the season loss record becoming a possibility? I was never trained as a weatherman but I’m sensing a dark forecast from now until April 13.
I used to joke about how some vehicles measure their fuel efficiency in gallons/mile instead of miles/gallon. Well, the Cavs are now officially measuring their success in months/win instead of wins/month.
The 10th, 11th, and 12th men are Jamario Moon, Alonzo Gee, and I don’t even know who. All of the players have been given ample amount of chances to prove themselves. They all suck equally. Playing those bums instead of the current bums will make 0 difference. We know this because they’ve already tried. Krolik made a good point, the Magic honestly didn’t play well on offense, and still had an easy time picking the Cavs apart. Teams can now get away with playing poorly and STILL BLOWING OUT THE CAVS! Very not impressed by Manny Harris. A bunch of… Read more »
I think it’s time to start giving the 10th, 11th and 12th men in the rotation more playing time. They couldn’t possibly do worse. Or sign a couple of players to 10-day contracts with the promise that if they hustle and bust their butt on every possession no matter what the score you’ll sign them for the rest of the year. They need an injection of energy from somewhere. The constant losing has caused a malaise to overcome the players’ battered and bruised spirits. I know they’re supposed to be “professionals” and not let it bother them, but in reality… Read more »