Most fans use the term 'gut check' when your team loses bad, but I think this applies here. My fiance doesn't watch much basketball with me but she took a look at the deficit in the 3rd and told me 'just shut it off'. I told her if they sit the starters I will but our team kept attacking and we almost put them away. Losing sucks but I give credit to our squad for not losing focus down by the largest deficit we've had all year and playing for pride.
Quote: Most fans use the term 'gut check' when your team loses bad, but I think this applies here. My fiance doesn't watch much basketball with me but she took a look at the deficit in the 3rd and told me 'just shut it off'. I told her if they sit the starters I will but our team kept attacking and we almost put them away. Losing sucks but I give credit to our squad for not losing focus down by the largest deficit we've had all year and playing for pride.
the other thing is, i think we sent them a very strong message. this isn't the old 2008 cavs that are going to play in the 80's, this team is going to score 100+ and when shaq and andy are in the lineup, are going to be a defensive force.
i know celtic fan probably thinks his team is back today, but there is no doubt in my mind that boston would not be able to keep pace with the cavs over a 7 game series.
Especially when Cleveland played without Andy and Shaq.
Boston had to have an unconscious Ray Allen just to hold on to a 20+ point lead, at home, against a team playing without 2 of it's top 7 guys. Had the Cavs stolen that game, it probably would have been a back breaker for Boston. They could have just unraveled the rest of the way. Even so, it essentially showed Boston that if the Cavs turn it up to that next gear, there's not much the Celtics can do to stop them.
Maybe I'm in the minority but I liked the 3 at the end. In those situations, just go for the jugular. Without Andy, Shaq and Z (because of fouling out), we looked like we wanted no part of an OT. With LA losing, it couldn't have worked out any better. Cavs lock up the #1 overall seed and now get to recharge everyone's legs for the playoffs.
We want the Celtics to keep winning so they get the 3 seed. Right now, they are the 4 seed, 1 game behind Atlanta.
If the playoffs started today, The Cavs(1) would face Boston(4) in the second round and Orlando(2) would play Atlanta(3) in the second round.
I'd rather see the Celtics get the 3rd seed and then the Cavs would play Atlanta in the second round while we can watch the Celtics and Orlando beat each other up.
Soooo.....GO CELTICS! Get that 3rd seed so you can face Orlando!
------------------------------ *In Baker we trust* -------------------------------
Quote: Maybe I'm in the minority but I liked the 3 at the end. In those situations, just go for the jugular. Without Andy, Shaq and Z (because of fouling out), we looked like we wanted no part of an OT.
I know what you are saying, it could have been the ultimate FY to Boston to hit that shot, but wow...Jamison was open going to the basket on that shot. It would have been an easy pass. I guess the one thing that frustrates me about yesterday's game was that LBJ "will-ed" them back into the lead going unmercifully to the hole, but then took the foot off the accelerator (and Boston's throat) and went back to shooting jump shots.
...and those free throws. Ugh. Its like having a horrible field goal kicker. Points are going to be at a premium in playoffs and you MUST make the gimmes when they are presented to you.
Maybe I'm in the minority but I liked the 3 at the end. In those situations, just go for the jugular. Without Andy, Shaq and Z (because of fouling out), we looked like we wanted no part of an OT. With LA losing, it couldn't have worked out any better. Cavs lock up the #1 overall seed and now get to recharge everyone's legs for the playoffs.
i don't know if you saw, because they closed the other thread, but i agree.
there is no doubt lbj takes that to the rim or at least passes to jamison in a playoff situation, but in an early april game that means basically nothing, why not? he showed boston he does have the stones to take a shot like that, and it is a play boston will have to file away and remember, if these 2 meet up again in a month.
If we had the Shaqtus and AV I think the outcome would have been different, but our club makes no excuses for injury and I don't spot them that either. Championship caliber teams fight through injury bugs, and come on, look at our record since Shaq went out. We didn't have a 7 foot guy in our lineup for about a month and we still won alot of games. We're missing our sixth man AND our starting C and this team won't lay down. Good signs to me
I do agree that if AV is in there, different game. He tortures the Celtics. I do know one thing. If the Cavs and Celtics meet in the POs, the Celtics WILL play hard and probably cross the line of being dirty. That will be the only way they can win. This is why Shaq is so important. To make GOOD hard fouls and be an enforcer. I want to see Z do the same....not play soft. I want him to go "take" the championship as well as play for it.
Quote: I do agree that if AV is in there, different game. He tortures the Celtics. I do know one thing. If the Cavs and Celtics meet in the POs, the Celtics WILL play hard and probably cross the line of being dirty. That will be the only way they can win. This is why Shaq is so important. To make GOOD hard fouls and be an enforcer. I want to see Z do the same....not play soft. I want him to go "take" the championship as well as play for it.
That's the thing, I Rogue... It's tough to guage our play against Boston without AV because he historically gives them so many headaches..
Quote: Speak for yourself. I'd rather play Boston than Atlanta in the 2nd round. Atlanta is a scary team, IMO.
they are a better team than boston, but i think the cavs are a horrible matchup for them.
cavs v boston goes 5-6, a hawks series goes 4-5, and the physical play in the boston series would take more of a toll.
personally, i would like to play boston just because i want to see kg walk off the floor running his mouth after his team got eliminated a la rasheed wallace in 2007, but i think the cavs would cruise against the hawks, maybe that isn't such a good thing. i dunno. you can argue both sides of that and have a great case.
You're right, we match-up well against Atlanta, but they are just a scary team to me. I don't know what it is about them. We're better than anyone in the East, and better than anyone in the West, IMO.
However, in the East I'm not scared of Boston, I'm not even scared of Orlando. Atlanta worries me, and I don't know why.
Quote: You're right, we match-up well against Atlanta, but they are just a scary team to me. I don't know what it is about them. We're better than anyone in the East, and better than anyone in the West, IMO.
However, in the East I'm not scared of Boston, I'm not even scared of Orlando. Atlanta worries me, and I don't know why.
i'm not afraid of atlanta, boston will still give us a good series, i don't see them bowing out, but i think the cavs would eventually be too much...
and orlando still scares me. they burned me last year, i really thought we should have beaten them. i thought that doubling howard would work because 3pt% tends to go down in the playoffs, and it didn't, they shot lights out, and we were helpless.
and i still think it is going to be a 6-7 game battle this year. but i do know one thing, the cavs won't let up this time. they had a comfy lead in game 1 last year, mo hits a 3/4 of the floor shot before halftime, and orlando stole that game in the second half. i don't see that happening again. i think this team realizes how much that game 1 loss hurt. it set a very bad tone for the rest of the series.
smart money says the cavs beat orlando but i know it will not be easy.
i think a lot of it comes down to vince carter, he has played well recently but is known to disappear in the playoffs. if he disappears again, i think the cavs win in 6.
You also gotta remember, that 3 point shooting was so good for Orlando last year, because we had to double down on Howard.
Even at Shaq's age, he can man-up on Howard, and we won't have to double down, which allows for better defense on the perimeter. You won't see Orlando shoot this year, like they did in the ECF last year.
Quote: You also gotta remember, that 3 point shooting was so good for Orlando last year, because we had to double down on Howard.
Even at Shaq's age, he can man-up on Howard, and we won't have to double down, which allows for better defense on the perimeter. You won't see Orlando shoot this year, like they did in the ECF last year.
i think you let shaq do his thing, you still double howard in certain situations but you should absolutely have someone glued to rashard lewis at all times. someone needs to ruffle that guy's feathers.
Well yeah, obviously there's going to be times we double down on Howard. However, last year, we didn't have anyone physical enough to man-up on him, so we were basically doubling down every possession.
And when we did, it opened up for Lewis/Turkeyglue. And if we didn't, Howard had his way with whoever was on him. Shaq won't let that happen this year, Shaq is definitely more than physical enough to play with him 1v1.
yeah, he's just gotta be careful with his fouls. the last game in cleveland, which he played in, he got into foul trouble and had to sit and the cavs really struggled (mind you that was with mo out, and jamison still on on the wiz). i think he's a smart enough guy to know how crucial it is in the playoffs, and to not get 2 quick ones right away or anything like that.
and i think it's on lebron to be agressive in turning the tables on that situation and maybe getting howard into foul trouble.
Quote: and i think it's on lebron to be agressive in turning the tables on that situation and maybe getting howard into foul trouble.
Yep. "The game" within "the game." IMHO, it is this part of the game that determines who will win in a ORL CLE series. Who's bigger "bigs" can stay out on the floor. I also really want the refs to be consistent.
i thought the officiating was ok for the most part, although they should have called turkoglu for an offensive foul about 10 times in that series, he constantly pushes with his off arm. they finally called him for that this year when the raptors were in cleveland.
LeBron James The Cleveland Cavaliers locked up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs Sunday when the Los Angeles Lakers lost to San Antonio. So LeBron James(notes) immediately asked if he could get some rest over the team's final five games, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
After all, he's been averaging 39.1 minutes per game this season (along with 29.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists). You can be sure the Cavs will be giving him whatever he needs before the postseason gets under way.
On the other side of the coin, it appears that Shaquille O'Neal(notes), who has been out since tearing a ligament in his right thumb against the Boston Celtics on Feb. 25, could possibly return for a few of the final games, trying to pick up some minutes in order to be ready for the postseason. He practiced with the team a little bit late last week.
i thought windy said something along the lines of look for lbj to get some rest this week, which i took that as them taking next week a little more serious to be ready for the run.
Bogut getting hurt was a real blessing to the Cavs. I think we need a tough series in the 2nd round to get ready for Orlando. Milwaukee (even with Bogut) would not have provided that test, but they were the only team I think could have pulled a 1st round upset in the East.
Bogut getting hurt was a real blessing to the Cavs. I think we need a tough series in the 2nd round to get ready for Orlando. Milwaukee (even with Bogut) would not have provided that test, but they were the only team I think could have pulled a 1st round upset in the East.
i don't think we really need anything before orlando. these guys know what they have to do. they know what is front of them, and just about all of them witnessed what happened last year.
with the exception of shaq, i think he could really use the workload of a series before dealing with dwight howard the magic, that might be asking too much to not give him that.
Quote: Great game last night, that hit to Bosh was vicious. Found it curious that LBJ played as much as he did, and still no signs of Gibson.
Can't really say I understand the lack of Gibson. All he does is come in and knock down big shots.
it's pretty simple, mike brown is not a fan of small guards.
i agree tho, he usually comes in and plays well, but he's still not a great defender and is a streaky shooter.
i love the fact that we can go to him when guys are hurt. it's a nice option to have. he came in and ran the offense for a little bit when we were down a few guards.
i didn't get to see the game last night, i was out at dinner and the movies, but it sounded like they played well. i think lbj sees limited minutes in chicago but i fully expect a full effort of our starters and rotation on sunday against orlando. use that game to your advantage. don't throw it away.
i agree tho, he usually comes in and plays well, but he's still not a great defender and is a streaky shooter.
i love the fact that we can go to him when guys are hurt. it's a nice option to have. he came in and ran the offense for a little bit when we were down a few guards.
I just hope Brown gets him some PT so he doesn't rust out on the bench. Shooters need to shoot and points in the paint get harder to acquire in the playoffs. Recall the game against Detroit a couple of years back when we needed a jump shooter's spark and he supplied it.
I have tickets to the Cavs Magic game this coming Sunday. First off, it's Fan Appreciation Day.. I'm wondering what all that entails and secondly.. what do you think my chances are of seeing the starters on the floor vs wearing ties and sitting down?
Quote: I have tickets to the Cavs Magic game this coming Sunday. First off, it's Fan Appreciation Day.. I'm wondering what all that entails and secondly.. what do you think my chances are of seeing the starters on the floor vs wearing ties and sitting down?
i think they take it seriously. at least i think they should.
as far as fan appreciation, i'm sure gilbert has something special planned. usually they raffle off stuff like jerseys
Quote: Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones wants to return to the NBA By Starting Blocks April 08, 2010, 11:41AM The Plain DealerDamon JonesFormer Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones is playing in Puerto Rico after a brief stint in Italy.
Jones, who last played with the Cavaliers in 2008 and who played his last NBA game in 2009 with the Milwaukee Bucks, hopes to make a return to the NBA.
In an interview with Brendan Bowers of Slam Magazine, Jones talks about his time overseas, his dreams of returning to the NBA, and his thoughts on the Cavaliers.
And his thoughts on the Cavaliers this season?
“Ever since Dan Gilbert came in, the Cavs have been a great organization committed to winning. Mike Brown and his philosophy has worked, and he’s had 50+ wins every year. The sky’s the limit for that team. My only concern for the Cavaliers this season is the chemistry when Shaq comes back. Before Shaq got hurt the Cavs were clicking on all cylinders, the chemistry was at an all-time high, and since he’s been out, they’re still obviously winning and playing well, but it’s different guys that are stepping in to play those minutes. When Shaq comes back those guys will go back to having limited roles, and [the Cavs] ability to regain that chemistry they had before he went down is a concern. But otherwise, besides that, this team has as good a chance as anybody.”
Some of the best comments ever on a PD article!
Highlights of my favorite: - "I'll start it off...
Amon Ones
No D. No J."
- "I miss the days of having a point guard who would dribble the ball up the court with his back to the defender."
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