Cavaliers Preview Game #60
March 2, 200803/01 Morning Minute: Gladiator, Ready?
March 3, 2008After the trade dust has settled, and the players learn the new systems one thing will remain. LeBron still wears the wine and gold. That was the difference for the Cavaliers Sunday, who played without starting center and second leading scorer Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Zydrunas was inactive with a strained back. The Cavaliers originally listed Z as day-to-day, but following the game said that Zydrunas will miss two weeks. Andy Varejao started alongside Ben Wallace again, and Cavalier fans are left to wonder if the team will ever be healthy enough at the same time to gel as a team before the playoffs. Or as Zydrunas said-
“It sucks because we can’t get the team together,” Ilgauskas said. “We’ve been taking turns in or out of the lineup because someone’s getting hurt. Hopefully this is it.”
But for the time being the plan is simple- Give the ball to LeBron. It seemed like for the first time since the trade that was the mantra. Give LeBron the ball. James put up 29 shots and 8 free throws. He made more than he missed, finishing with 37 points, 6 boards and 6 assists. When Lebron was on the floor, the Cavs outscored the Bulls by 21 points. In the 8 minutes he sat on the bench, the Bulls outscored the Cavs by 12. The answer- give LeBron the ball.
In the 4th quarter, the Bulls were up by 8 when LeBron came back in the game, at that point it didn’t look good for Cleveland. A few LeBron assists later the game was tied at 83 when LeBron took over. A nifty up and under gave the Cavaliers a lead, and a minute later LeBron slammed the door on a victory. The dunk began with LeBron at the top of the key, coming around a screen by Varejao. The defense was late, and LeBron took flight from about half-way down the lane. His head rose above the rim, and he threw down a majestic one-handed slam. The bench erupted. Eric Snow’s jaw dropped. The Bulls, in a panic ran down the court and quickly turned the ball over. LeBron took his time at the other end, and then launched a dagger over Nocioni. Ballgame. I knew it. You knew it. The Bulls knew it.
LeBron was not about to let Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden come back and get a win in “his house”. Hughes had a decent game, in fact his stat line looked much the same as it did throughout the month of February here- 23 points, 5 boards and 4 assists. The difference of course was LeBron. In Cleveland Larry’s numbers combined with LeBron’s probably would have been enough for a Cleveland win. But as a member of the Bulls Larry’s numbers were the best on the team. And that simply wasn’t enough. Drew had a decent game with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Cavs, Wally Szczerbiak had 17 points, including a big three late in the fourth before hopping a plane back to New York to be with his wife who gave birth yesterday. No other Cavalier reached double figures, but all contributed a little. Joe Smith had 8 points in limited minutes off the bench.
Next up the Cavs travel to New York for a game against the Knicks on Wednesday.
2 Comments
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go cavs!!!!!
Man, do I wish that I would have read this before my fantasy lineups were set. Gonna miss Z big time…