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Good question. Maybe the fear was that they'd sense that coming and quickly throw up a prayer with the hopes of getting 3 free throw attempts.
But, even then, they'd have to make all 3, and there would be more time on the clock. That's a good question.
But, hey, let's give credit to the Magic. They never stopped fighting and that 3 at the end was just downright CLUTCH. The D wasn't terrible on that one (could have been better, but wasn't terrible). I think some of the foul calls on Howard were kind of lame, but that's the way the game goes.
Hopefully the Cavs come out just plain mean the rest of this series and aim to prove that they're the best team in the league.
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good game last night, tough loss, but overall an exciting finish.
look, give the magic credit, they made their shots. but living that way is not going to get you past the cavs. you can't live on the 3 point line like that.
we contested those shots in the first half and had success, second half, we definitely looked mentally and physically tired, and stopped contesting shots.
i kinda figured that would happen, you had 9 days off, and you can practice, and work out and run drills, but i am sure nothing can match the speed of an nba game. even lebron looked fatigued.
as long as we contest shots, we are fine. we're now forced to win in orlando, but i think the team will have to really come together. this is really their first adversity of the entire year.
this is what the playoffs are all about though, did anyone really think it would be a cakewalk to the larry o'brien?
2 years ago this team was doing 0-2 and came back to win the series against a team that was clearly better than they were.
i thought our transition defense, outside of a few plays, was pretty good. it's just that we stopped being active in defending the perimeter.
we let dwight howad have his early on, and that was working. look, this guy is a good player, but he's not shaq, and he is not going to be able to carry the load the whole game, i really think we need to have someone step up and make life miserable for him, and don't double. double when you need to but not every time down the floor.
can't say it enough though, contest the 3, hand in the face.
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Maybe the Cavs did it so they can win the Conference championship on their home court in Game 5? 
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"Looked fatigued ?" LeBron was gassed,...let alone slightly injured (?) I thought he twisted that ankle or a knee,....
Tough loss, now creating an upper hand mentally for The Magic,....good wake up call; we'll get 'em. Might take all seven now though.
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Maybe the Cavs did it so they can win the Conference championship on their home court in Game 5?
Or in Seven,... 
You watch,...we'll do this in The Finals too,....
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I think the Lakers showed that you can bounce back from a Game 1 loss, and win the series. We just need Dwight Howard to break his foot in Game 2. 
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You can play zone D. The league eliminated illegal defense rules a few years back except for camping in the lane. You can't stay there for more than 3 seconds just like you can't do it on O.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
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Well, so much depends on how the Cavs come out in Game 2. If the Cavs come out and just plain put on a full-game smackdown of the Magic, things will move back to the way they were before the series. If the Cavs come out and win a close one, I still think the Cavs will have the momentum.
Now, if the Magic come out and win, the Cavs should be concerned.
But, a lot depends on this game 2. I have to think the Cavs are going to come out pissed and the Magic are going to come out ready to show they belong. It could really be a GREAT game.
This is a good reason why I don't get invested in other teams besides the Browns. I wouldn't be able to stand the pressure. Yeah, I'll watch the games and root for the Cavs, but my frustrations melt away very quickly (whereas with the Browns, they last a looooong time).
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J/C
I have something radical that we will never try, but would probably work.
We should start Darnell Jackson.
Darnell is very strong, especially in his legs. He can play the type of defense that Kendrick Perkins played on Dwight and is quick enough to get in front to box him out of the boards.
Z can then come off the bench and play when Gortat plays and give our bench a huge scoring boost. Not to mention clean up on the offensive glass without Dwight around.
#gmstrong
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If Z's offensive contribution is like last night, we might as well sit him.
But, if he starts getting hot, that brings Howard out of the paint and opens up a lot underneath.
But, Lord, Z and Wally might as well stay back on the offensive end of the court. It's painful to watch those guys play defense.
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On Orlando's last possession why didn't we foul them and let them take 2 free throws instead of giving them a chance for a 3?
Wow. You can't be asking this question. You never foul when you are only up 2. Don't put them at the line to tie the game, for fear of losing. You play to win, you don't play not to lose... 
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LeBron needs to guard Lewis the rest of the series. All of our big men can't stay with Lewis outside. LeBron is the only one that can guard Lewis outside, and also hold his own if Lewis tries to post up down low.
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I understand what you're saying, but from a strategic sense, it isn't the most ridiculous idea.
Orlando had started to heat up from 3-point land, and we know they can hit those 3s.
Plus, if you foul right away, there is the chance he misses and, if he makes them both, you have more time left.
I'm not saying it's a strategy I would have implemented, but if they had, I think it would have made sense.
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I woulda been calling for Mike Brown to fired on the spot if he would have fouled. That would have been the most ridiculous coaching move in the history of basketball.
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So, instead he should have let them inbound and take a 3?
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Absolutely. You DO NOT, under any circumstances, intentionally put someone on the line with a chance to tie the game. That's playing scared, and playing not to lose, rather than playing to win.
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I woulda been calling for Mike Brown to fired on the spot if he would have fouled. That would have been the most ridiculous coaching move in the history of basketball.
Not really...I disagree with the strategy as well as I like my defense to win the game for me, but you do see it quite a bit in college.
Basically, you are conceding the tie for the last shot of the game. You think the other team cannot defend your last shot. And, if you miss your shot, you believe you are going to win in OT.
Like I said, I don't like the strategy because I like to believe in my defense, but it's not that ridiculous.
#gmstrong
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I guess I just see it differently. I don't see it as being scared, I see it as nearly ensuring that the worst that can happen is the other team ties it up. Then, you have time to work with.
And, with Dwight Howard out, the Cavs would go into OT with everyone. Granted, they'd be tired, but guys can suck it up for an OT period.
Like I said, I don't have a problem with not fouling. I just don't see what the big problem would have been if they had.
Here's a question for you: what if the Magic had played for the tie and had driven to the basket? Do you play good hard defense and potentially foul (and the shot possibly going in), or do you play close but essentially give them the basket, ensuring a tie at worst?
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You play your best defense and make sure that he doesn't get close enough where you even think the shot might go in.
If you have to concede the foul at that point, you definitely do and your help defense makes sure the shot doesn't have a prayer as well.
No way do you ever concede a layup up 2 in the final moments.
#gmstrong
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a defensive coach like mike brown isn't going to put a guy at the line in that situation, to tie the game.
even with as good as the magic were at hitting 3's, they still hit them at under 50%. the best in the world still hit them at under 50%, the odds of hitting both free throws to tie the game are much higher. maybe if dwight howard had the ball you can make this argument, because he's horrible.
they made their shots. you tip your cap and be better the next game.
my only beef is our final possession, you have to get a better shot like that, it was very sloppy. west had a good look, but you gotta get a better shot then a corner 3, when you're down 1.
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my only beef is our final possession, you have to get a better shot like that, it was very sloppy. west had a good look, but you gotta get a better shot then a corner 3, when you're down 1.
This.
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Barkley made some really good points on the post game show, and it reminded me once again that basketball is all about matchups. He basically said the Cavs have no one to guard Howard, Turkoglu, or Lewis with the exception of LeBron ... but he obviously can only guard one guy at a time.
Which is an odd thing to say because when we built our lead, LeBron wasn't guarding any of those, he was guarding Alston.. West was guarding Turkoglu... Z was just trying to slow down Howard but giving him 2-pointers in the paint and the defense was swarming the perimeter.... In fact at halftime Charles even said that Alston should be able to drive around LeBron...
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For some reason, even if the Cavs had won by 76, I think Barkley would have had something negative to say about the team.
Once the Cavs started giving up 3s, things were much different. If they had continued to just let the Magic score 2s, I think the Cavs win handily.
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I agree, I think our defense tired and started giving up open 3s, they built some confidence, I honestly think if we could have just played the first 5 minutes of the third strong and kept the lead around 15, the Magic would have coasted home and played for Friday...
The defense struggled, the offense was standing around, LeBron had 4 assists in the first 3 minutes and 4 more the rest of the game... Nobody was moving and when they were moving and getting open they were missing shots. I have to say though, until about the 2 minute mark of the game, I was still pretty comfortable that the Cavs were still going to pull away at the end..
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And, if you think about it, they almost did. I mean, the Cavs really buckled in the stretch and still only lost by 1, and that was on a fantastic 3 pointer with a guy in his face. Meanwhile, the Magic had to hit a ton of stuff and hope that we kept missing in order to come back.
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I would still like to have seen LeBron take the shot at the end... I'm not one of those who used to say he was scared to take it... but Mo, Delonte.. none of them were on. I'm glad he's unselfish and that he trusts them but, LeBron was the only guy that was on and we only needed a 2, not the kickout for the 3 that we got. Howard was out... LeBron should have driven hard, hoped for the 2, probably been fouled, and if neither of those worked, Z and Andy should have been crashing the boards behind him... I can't argue with the shot, West had made one from that spot less than a minute before, but the fact remains that for most of the game, Mo and Delonte weren't making shots.
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I agree. I fully expected to see Lebron hold the ball and then take that shot from the elbow, or just in front of the 3 point line, that he'd hit, what, 10 times that game?
It looked to me like he fully expected to go up with the shot when he drove, but when that guy fell down, he couldn't take that good strong step to the hole. So, he kicked it out.
The final shot was a good one, and I don't have a problem with West taking it. Could they have maybe gotten a better one? Maybe. But Lebron was out of the play after getting bottled up underneath, so who else was going to shoot?
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my other take is this.
losing this game now forces us to win a game on the road, in orlando, which has not been very kind to us...
however, if you can't get a must win steal on the road, you don't deserve the championship, even at this point last year, boston, who had split their first 2 against detroit, went into the palace and won.
i'm not panicking like 80% of cleveland, and actually i have complete confidence we win this series if we play all close games like we did last night.
guys are gonna have to step up. i think we win tomorrow, but next game, someone other than lebron, and maybe even other than a starter is going to have to step up and carry this team for a little bit.
i really think mo will come out of his shell too.
this team has finally been challenged, they've finally been thrown up against the wall, i am so anxious to see how they respond tomorrow night.
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yeah, i agree with you 100% LB...
You gotta remember, most people are casual fans.. they act like they have been around all year, but most of these people weren't watching our west coast trips and whatnot during the season.. they weren't following the ups and downs of the season like some of us have... a lot of people don't "get it"... this team is special, and i think people will see that they will handle adversity pretty well..
like the old saying goes, "anything easy ain't worth a damn"
on a side note, I almost turned off my phone last nite after the game... i can't even tell you how many texts/emails that i got from friends/family that were in "panic" mode..
Like you said earlier, you tip your cap and move on... this team is too mentally tough to have the magic road block our goal....
I heart winning
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It looked to me like he fully expected to go up with the shot when he drove, but when that guy fell down, he couldn't take that good strong step to the hole. So, he kicked it out.
that is pretty spot on 79.. i have not rewatched the play, but i believe he would have had to travel to go strong to the cup after the guy fell down...
I heart winning
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i'm not panicking like 80% of cleveland, and actually i have complete confidence we win this series if we play all close games like we did last night.
Amen... this team is 8-1 in the playoffs winning all 8 by double figures and building a 16 point lead in the game they lost... in all they've played one really bad half out of 17....
I think they will be fine, they'll come home from Orlando at 2-2, win at home and have 2 games to close it out... JMHO...
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I have to laugh at the couple of Gloomers who come out of the woodwork after ONE playoff loss. It's like they've been waiting and waiting and have to seize this one little chance, no matter how small! LOL. Embarrassing. 
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Quote:
Quote:
i'm not panicking like 80% of cleveland, and actually i have complete confidence we win this series if we play all close games like we did last night.
Amen... this team is 8-1 in the playoffs winning all 8 by double figures and building a 16 point lead in the game they lost... in all they've played one really bad half out of 17....
I think they will be fine, they'll come home from Orlando at 2-2, win at home and have 2 games to close it out... JMHO...
i agree. i see that scenario too.
mike brown can get you a big road win if you need it..
sure, we didn't get one against boston, but last year was shot anyways. with the trade, and the bad start to the year we got, it just wasn't happening (which makes it more surprising and impressive we took them to 7)
but going back to the very first series against washington, they come out and win that emotional first game, lebron's triple double, but if you remember correctly, washington took the next game, people were in panic mode back then.
in the following series against detroit, after the cavs had tied it 2-2 after being 0-2, going into detroit, they won that game, that was a huge win. that's when i realized mike brown was for real.
and then of course lebron's legendary 2007 game 5, which by the way, that guy? you guys know we still have him right? cleveland still realizes we have a guy who is capable of getting us one on his own, right?
mike brown will get us one in orlando. and as far as playing at home, i think we won't ever see a repeat of that again, when these guys get it up to 15, 16 like they did, i expect lebron to really turn it up and make sure you go for the throat, instead of letting them stick around like we did.
but really guys, objectively? that was a great game. big shots last night. this is gonna be a fun series.
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In all fairness, until somebody in Cleveland breaks through and actually wins something... and gives these gloomers a reason to feel optimism that something will go their way, I sort of understand why they feel like that. It's almost hard to imagine a Cleveland team actually rising to the occassion or getting the break it needs to seal the deal... it's much easier, just based on looking at history, to assume they will find some way to screw it up.
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I can understand that, but it's ONE game! 
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Actually it was only half a game that they looked bad... good thing LeBron isn't crying into his gold plated bowl of Cheerios this morning.
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I can understand that, but it's ONE game!
In fairness to them, it's only ONE because that is all that has been played so far
It's all too easy too look ahead and see that this is how the rest could very well be.
Personally, though... I don't see any way that we can possibly be as flat as we were that entire 2nd half while they were as lights out as they were for too much longer. It's all gotta even out somewhere.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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but really guys, objectively? that was a great game. big shots last night. this is gonna be a fun series.
You're right. That was a very fun game to watch last night. Yeah, it would have been more fun had the Cavs pulled it out, but imagine if you didn't really care about the teams and just wanted to see some basketball.
Does anyone think that Brown maybe left the subs in a little too long? Granted, maybe he could have left them in a little longer to get our starters some more rest, but that's when Orlando started clawing back.
In the end, the guy had to hit a 3 pointer on Orlando's likely last shot to win the game. It's like sending a guy home knowing that the center fielder has to make a perfect throw to get him. When he makes the perfect throw, you question whether you should have sent the runner, but you still say "it was worth the shot."
Let's not take anything away from the Magic. They did what they had to do. It would have been easy for them to roll over and die. And, like someone else said, if the Cavs had come out in the 3rd or 4th quarter the same way they closed out the 1st half, that game would have been all but over.
So, a little wake up call, a smack in the mouth, and now as a player you're ticked. How did they beat us on our home floor? How did I miss that shot? How did I let that guy beat me? I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen again because I sure hate this feeling in my gut.
Game 2 is going to be a big one for the Cavs. Like I said before, if they come out like gangbusters and play 48 minutes of ball instead of 24 or maybe 36, Orlando is back on its heels big time.
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In fairness to them, it's only ONE because that is all that has been played so far
In this series yes, but they've been breezing through the playoffs thus far. I didn't say some concern doesn't eek in there, but the comments here go completely over the edge, like this:
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Exactly why there will be no championship in Cleveland this year!
Lose a couple more games and I completely understand. But lose the first game in the playoffs this far in and freak? No. 
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In fairness ... Corpus is a Lakers fan, which is why he's making comments like that. ... and Lakers fans wonder why nobody likes them. 
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