Overview: Despite not taking the final three quarters all that seriously, the Cavs were able to hold their early lead against the Nets throughout the entire game, winning 99-89.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
Well, the first quarter was fantastic. Offensively, the Cavaliers got absolutely everything and anything that they desired. Shaq was absolutely dominating in the post, steamrolling Josh Boone every time the Nets tried to get away with single-covering him. LeBron was working off the ball beautifully, as he often does early in games, and cutting through the lane absolutely unimpeded as the defense focused on Shaq. To give you an idea of how easily the Cavaliers were moving the ball and destroying the Nets’ defense in that first quarter, the Cavs only took five shots outside of the paint in the first period, and made four of them. Meanwhile, the Nets took nine shots outside the paint in the first, only making one. The Cavs had yet another 30-point opening quarter, and other than Devin Harris getting to the line eight times in the first quarter, the Nets weren’t doing anything offensively either.
Just like when the Cavs played the Knicks at MSG a few weeks ago, the Cavs didn’t think the Nets belonged on the court with them after the first quarter, and it showed in their effort level. After the first quarter, the Cavs outscored the Nets by a grand total of two points, 69-67. So basically, a 2-22 team was able to hang with the Cavs for 36 minutes on Tuesday night. Take from that what you will; it’s not a condemning sign, but it’s not a good one, either.
After the first quarter, Brook Lopez started having an absolute hammer party inside, scoring 11 points in the second frame, and the Nets were able to mount some actual offense behind that. On the Cavs’ side of the ball, the Cavs completely lost their flow when the second unit came in with no Delonte West or Shaq to create shots, and they remained out of synch when LeBron came back in. LeBron had only one point and one assist in the second quarter, missed three jumpers, and committed two charges, signs that LeBron was trying to force himself back into the game rather than wait for the game to come to him like it had in the first quarter.
In the third quarter, the Nets hit the Cavs with a zone, and it completely flummoxed them for a little while. Near the end of the quarter, LeBron was able to get the ball in the soft spot of the zone and rolled off 9 straight Cavalier points, but overall the Cavs were only able to get 20 points in the third quarter. In the fourth, the Cavs were finally able to start running an offense again and put the pressure on the Nets’ D, scoring 27 in the quarter despite LeBron only scoring three points in the fourth. Even though the Cavs allowed Rafer Alson to have an ECF flashback and score 18 points in the fourth, the return of hustle and ball movement in the fourth was enough to secure a Cavalier win over the league’s worst team.
LeBron struggled with his shot again on Tuesday night, going 2-10 from outside the paint, but appears to be getting more comfortable getting deeper catches and making strong moves from the midpost area by the game. The worst news for LeBron is that the turnovers were back tonight. Six for LeBron in this one, coming on passes to nobody, two charges, and a nonchalant inbounds pass, off the top of my head.
Very workmanlike effort from Mo tonight. He had a spot-up three from the corner off of penetration and a timely off-the-dribble three in the fourth, had six assists, and, as Windhorst noted, managed to lead the team in rebounding with eight boards. One thing Mo’s done twice in the last week or so is make a beautiful lead pass from the top of the key to a cutter faking setting a screen and going backdoor, from what looks like a nearly impossible passing angle. Cool stuff.
One culprit for the energy issues in this game: Delonte was inactive for this game, and Andy was only able to play 19 minutes because of foul trouble. Outside of LeBron, those guys are easily the hardest workers on the court, and two of the players the coaching staff really counts on to not allow lethargic efforts like the one we saw tonight occur.
Odd game for Z, as he went 7-9 from the floor and got five of those seven baskets from inside the paint, which you rarely see anymore. We even got to see the (in)famous “sweeping hook” again when Z successfully attacked Josh Boone, who found out the hard way on Tuesday that he’s no Chuck Hayes.
The “Hickson the starter” thing is starting to veer towards performance art. Shaq and Andy are playing extended minutes together again, Hickson didn’t play all that badly at all but only got 12 minutes (D-Block got 13), and Hickson didn’t touch the court in the second half. What purpose is this serving now?
All the news about Moon tomorrow will be surrounding the hard foul he took from Devin Harris, but I’d just like to take a second and once again recognize how much Moon’s rebounding abilities help the team when he’s in the game, especially in the fourth quarter. It’s something that would make small-ball lineups work, if Mike Brown ever played LeBron at the four.
As for the foul itself, I think it was dangerous but not done with malicious intent, just like everyone else. I’d just like to comment on Shaq and LeBron immediately rushing to Moon’s defense. Can you imagine being Devin Harris in that situation? That’s about 600 pounds of angry human being in your face right there.
Bullets of Randomness:
I’m not sure what’s stranger: that Courtney Lee led the Nets in minutes despite going 3-14 from the floor, or that the Nets gave up 10 points in the six minutes Lee actually sat.
How weird is it to see the Alston/Lee backcourt on this team?
Gee whiz, Rafer Alston is a Cav-killer.
Alright, that’s all for tonight. Until next time, campers.
You know, I’ve been on the “Trade Z” bandwagon for a while now. The guy has lost a step, rarely ventures into the paint anymore, and was struggling with his shot which, if he’s not hitting, makes him just about useless. But lately, his shot is coming back, he’s finding his rhythm, going to the basket, and basically doing what he was last season.
I had been on the bandwagon with the thought that any team we trade him to, that team would buy him out and he would come back. If we actually have to trade him away, and keep him away, I’m not sure if I want to do that. Particularly after the play in the first half where there was a loose ball and he went diving on the floor for it. The Cavs looked lifeless after that first quarter, but there was our old, 7-3 backup center with foot problems going to the floor to get a loose ball in a regular season game against the worst team in the league. That kind of play reminded me of what Z means to this franchise, and I think it’s something I had forgotten in all the talk of bringing in a second banana for LeBron. Do we really want to lose this guy for someone like David West? I don’t know if we do.
If the Cavs were to somehow pull off a deal for Bosh (unlikely), then I think it’s something they have to do. However, if they are thinking of pulling the trigger on anyone not named Chris Bosh, and Z is involved (which he likely will be), I don’t think they should do it unless Z is bought out and returns.
Plus, even though Shaq looked good tonight, I don’t like the idea of him manning the paint for 35+ minutes a night.
Devin Harris committed a hard flagrant foul when playing the warriors too. It was the same type of thing too, pulling someone down once he was already in the air. I’d watch out for that guy.
While I initially agreed with Colin as I started reading his comment, I then remembered how not trading Wally came back to bite us last season. Wally started playing better as the deadline approached, and everyone went from “WE NEED TO TRADE WALLY” mode to “well, maybe it’s not so bad if we don’t trade him” mode. Sure it’s hindsight now, but something to keep in mind when debating whether or not to trade Z.
At the time of the Devin Harris foul, I said what John and everyone said – dangerous but not malicious. But after just watching it again on Sportscenter, it actually looked REALLY bad. There’s no way he was going for the ball, he wasn’t even looking at it, had no clue where the ball was, and his arm wasn’t in the same zip code as the ball when he swiped. I really like Harris and don’t want to think he’s dirty, but man, the more I see that replay…
Moon, on the other hand, I am developing a bigger man crush on him everytime he jumps out of the building for a rebound. How do we not average 3+ alley oops with him and Lebron on the team?
Lastly, I never liked/understood that the league made the charge into a turnover. I understand that you’re giving the ball to the other team, but an offensive foul off the ball isn’t a turnover, is it? I just think fouls and turnovers should stay different categories. But maybe that’s just me…
I want LeBron to get significant time at the 4, too… but… uh, they’re winning, I guess.
Great point about the Cavs really coming out hard in the first quarter and then phoning it the rest of the game. This isn’t going to work in the playoffs at all. It’s a very disturbing trend dating back to Game 1 of the Eastern conference Finals and continuing in the season opener against Boston. I have a feeling it has a lot to do with Mike Brown making adjustments to the other teams adjustments in the 2nd quarter or half. He’s not intelligent enough to make lineup changes that better suit the opponent.
Gotta love LeBron and Shaq coming to the aid of their teammate, that means a lot for chemistry. Especially Shaq since he’s fairly new to the squad.
For some reason I don’t see guys like Kobe doing that for his team. And there are probably a lot of other “leaders” that wouldn’t immediately come over like they did.
I like that a charge is a turnover. I mean, it’s just like getting the ball stolen from you, except it’s a dead ball. A possession that doesn’t end in a shot or shooting foul, is a turnover.
as it seems it is my job or at least my custom to point out what you “missed” in your game wrap-up let me point to the fact that for the second game in a row, a losing and/or young team gets TONS of calls and the championship contender with the reigning MVP on said team, do not. this is ludicrous. take a look at the point sin the paint. we are LIVING there so the old canard that the cavs aren’t “being aggressive” and thus aren’t getting the calls is laughable.
LBJ, who lives in the paint this season, is now 5th or 6th in the league in FT’s attempted a game. behind carmelo and bosh, among others. what have those two ever won, either team-wise or individually, for them to get more calls than LBJ?
the devin harris hard foul is a by-product of the lack of respect given the cavs by the referees. seriously, the nets had been getting away with fouls all game long! why not go for the hard foul? it might not even get called!
this is becoming the untold story of this season so far and it is embarrassing for the league. when OKC get TWICE as many FT attempts than the cavs, i would say a wake-up call is in order…
Kobe’s stepped to other guys in defense of his teammates. Whether it’s genuine or not, who knows. But the same can be said for Shaq.
KJ-
If you’re looking for complaints about the referees, you’ve come to the wrong place. It’s not something I engage in. Maybe I’ll refer to a call as “questionable” occasionally, and I try to never do that, but the notion of a concerted and premeditated referee bias or conspiracy is ludicrous to me, and what people do when they can’t analyze the game.
As much fun as it would be to say that refs don’t like LeBron anymore, or link his newfound love of making tirades against refs to a lower free-throw rate, only five people average more FTAs than LeBron.
One is Dwight Howard, which makes sense.
The other is Chris Bosh, who takes 48% of his shots “inside” to LeBron’s 37%, and as a power forward is involved in a lot more “scrums” around the basket.
LeBron averages less gross FTAs than Durant and Carmelo, but that’s because they take more field goals than LBJ-he actually has a higher foul draw % than either of those two.
Wade has a slight edge in foul drawing %, but he’s one of the best players ever at getting himself to the line, and if I follow your logic (which I couldn’t agree with less) on “respect” dictating foul calls, Wade has 1 ring to LeBron’s zero.
So if neglecting to whine about a free-throw gap is something I “missed,” expect me to miss it a lot more as the season goes on.
PWNED!
I was going to leave my comment as just that, but i guess there’s a minimum comment length.
i expected a reply like that quite frankly, john, as you are an employee of ESPN (though oddly bill simmons has no problem calling out the refs) but you really fail to address the larger point about respect and refs, etc. quite frankly, john, i’ve been watching NBA basketball a lot longer than you (25+years) and i know and have seen “respect” refereeing all that time. shall i go through the teams? shall i point to how the bulls and michael didn’t get calls until they finally beat the pistons? how ’bout the kings of the 90′s? did they get calls against the lakers? am i making this stuff up?
i see you engaged in the classic internet ‘strawman argument’ by knocking down something i never said! bravo! but i do not think there is “concerted and premeditated referee bias or conspiracy” (and i can’t ignore that slap about people mentioning it who can’t “analyze a game.” really, john? i can’t analyze a game? really? then i sure wish i knew why you devoted a whole post to my shaq analysis. just lucky, i guess?) against the cavs but i also KNOW (having watched the game this long) that veteran championship-caliber teams get the benefit of the calls and surely NEVER have a FT disparity against a young, unproven team like we saw against OKC. you may like to ignore but the FACT is they shot twice as many FT attempts. you REALLY don’t think that deserves any special mention? that is called willful ignorance john and it’s unbecoming and quite frankly, cowardly. so, you don’t like to talk about fouls called, so you ignore it. exactly how is that *not* cowardly? you are essentially sticking both your fingers in your ears and yelling and hoping it’ll just go away.
your defense of bosh over LBJ is hilarious! do you actually watch bosh play? he shoots jumpers all the time! LBJ is more of a power forward than him. another argument for LBJ getting more calls is his versatility. he drives from all over the court and posts up a ton now. his opportunity to be fouled is at *least* equal to bosh’s and probably right next to howard.
and your mention of wade is the topper. let me return to the beginning of my post and bring up the name bill simmons again. ask him about wade in the finals that year and the refereeing. then tell me him he “can’t analyze a game.”
weak sauce, john. weak sauce…
1. This blog’s membership with the TrueHoop network has zero to do with the basketball-related content that appears on this website or in its comments. Zero. Other than some very basic and common-sense language restrictions, ESPN has zero editorial say over what I write or publish. You have my word on that.
2. Sorry if you thought I “slapped” you, and I can absolutely see how I came across that way. I sincerely didn’t mean to. That was my frustration at the “I don’t want to talk about what happened in this game, so I’m going to blame the refs for being evil and omnipotent” rhetoric that I see pointed at LeBron and the Cavs every day, particularly from Wizards fans. Precisely because of things like your Shaq comment, I believe you to be at a higher level of discourse than that.
3. To be clear, I won’t ignore free throw totals if I think they reflect something about how the teams were playing or the outcome of the game. What I will not do is attribute a free-throw differential to the referees, and especially not in a suggestion their debatable calls were due to anything but human error.
4. If you weren’t implying referee bias of some kind, but also state that it is impossible for OKC to have a free throw advantage over Cleveland like they did, I’m unclear as to what exactly you were implying.
5. I’m not going to re-hash the LAL-SAC, MIA-DAL, or CHI-DET arguments that have been made over and over by better writers than I over the years, but when people have analyzed the tape of those games closely and objectively, what they come up with is generally far less sexy than any evidence of a conspiracy, and a lot of the hulabaloo around these games is people who want to believe in an unfair NBA clinging to these examples instead of considering the countless other playoff games that would disprove their thesis, which generally crumble under objective analysis-look at TrueHoop’s (yes, TrueHoop’s) complete dismantling of the specific claims Tim Donaghy made in his book.
6. I watch Bosh plenty. He takes more shots inside than LeBron. That is a fact. Also, LeBron makes a league-high 73% of his shots at the basket-if he’s not getting foul calls going to the hoop that he should be getting and missing because of it, how high should his finishing percentage be? 80%? 85%? That would easily be higher than anyone in the history of the league with LeBron’s volume. And because a few questionable touch-fouls went Wade’s way in an NBA Finals, I’m supposed to discount that he’s been better at getting to the line than almost any perimeter player ever? He’s a master at quickly changing directions after he picks the ball, and loves to ram himself into the chest of the helper as soon as they move their feet to try and react. And he’s not shy about going to the ground to sell contact. Like it or not, Wade’s a virtuoso at getting to the line. Doesn’t mean there’s anything shady about the way he gets there.
7. And, to be clear, what you want me to post, and put my name behind, is that the Cavs should get more calls than their opponents because they won 66 games last year and have the MVP on their team? If that’s wrong, please correct me, but how can you expect me to possess that opinion?
I definitely appreciate your contributions as a commenter and your readership, and you’ve definitely engaged me the way few of my readers do, but I truly would rather not spend any more time on this issue. I believe NBA referees do a very difficult job to the absolute best of their ability with no other agenda, and are faced with intense scrutiny when they do screw up because of how much people love to believe in a conspiracy, especially one that explains why their favorite team isn’t winning. I believe this fully. I give you my word on this. That’s all there is to it.
my mention of your ESPN affiliation, and i will admit i was not as clear as i should’ve been here, was because of it you i knew would hew to the unwritten rule of people on ESPN , particularly, not mention the refereeing or complain about it. it’s an agenda, plain and simple. as equal to any agenda, including donaghy’s. furthermore, hewing to that unwritten rule gains you entrance into the “serious” basketball writer class. let’s not pretend it doesn’t. but it is also why a guy like bill simmons becomes popular and influential. because he is unafraid to call a spade a spade. just because you self-censor doesn’t mean it’s still not censorship, john.
well, let me just end this whole thing with the point that it might not worry you but the NBA is worried about the refereeing, “human error” or not. as you know, they have gotten rid of a lot of refs and they are monitoring them more closely than ever. again, you’re refusal to engage on this seems petulant. but i will drop it…