Game One Numbers And Words

Rick already gave his recap of Game One and you can also check out the Live Blog that Rick was running during the game. What follows is my analysis of the game in statistics as well as a look at what everyone else is saying about Game One.

When I saw the ‘fro, I was pumped. Hair is power, right? It goes back to biblical times in the story of Samson and Delilah, when Samson got his strength from his hair. Plus, it can’t be ironic that once Damon Jones shaved his mohawk he was relegated to the bench, can it? So yeah, when I saw Ben Wallace rockin’ the ‘fro, I knew he had his strength back and he was ready to play like Bad Boys rendition of Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace 1.0, right? I was wrong. It didn’t work out like that. At all. Wallace ended the game with 0 points and 6 rebounds.

I’ve always said that if you’re looking at a boxscore trying to guess who won the game, look at assists and turnovers. That’s a great place to start. If you have more assists then your opponent and turn the ball over fewer times than your opponent, then you’ve just made life a lot easier on yourself. The Cavaliers had 24 assists and only 8 turnovers compared to Washington’s 16 assists and 13 turnovers.

The Cavaliers may have won the assist-to-turnover ratio battle and the game, but they won few other statistical categories. They outrebounded the Wizards by one, 43 to 42. That’s about it. The Wizards had more offensive rebounds than the Cavaliers. They also shot the ball better from the field and from the free throw line. The Wizards had more fast break points (12 to 9). They had more points in the paint (38 to 32). They killed the Cavaliers in bench scoring (27 to 15….although Arenas had 24 and he’s normally a starter). The Cavaliers have a lot to work on.

The Cavaliers took 20 more free throws than the Wizards. This is a pretty big discrepancy, but when you chuck up 57 jumpers, including 24 three pointers, you’re not going to get as many fouls called. That’s only part of the story, though. In the NBA Playoffs, an unfortunate truth is that your defensive reputation can sometimes dictate the calls you get. For example, the Spurs have a reputation as a great defensive team, and as a result, they get away with more fouls than anyone in the NBA. But still, a fundamental truth of the NBA is that the way to get more fouls called in your favor is to be aggressive taking the ball to the hole. The Wizards got layups or dunks on 29.27% of their shots. The Cavaliers got layups or dunks on 31.58% of their shots. Not a big enough difference to warrant 20 extra FTs perhaps, but it was enough of a difference to dictate the tone of the game.

I’m not a huge fan of the raw +/- statistic in the NBA because you get penalized the more minutes you play by the subpar play of your teammates, but it certainly was interesting to note that Zydrunas Ilgauskas was +22 on the game while Brendan Haywood was -19 on the game. Very surprising when you consider the fact that Brendan Haywood had a really good game and scored 10 of his team’s first 14 points.

After the game, DeShawn Stevenson was asked whether or not he thought he was getting to LeBron with his words and actions. His response was,

“I think a little bit. I said what I said, but on the other hand, (LeBron)’s a good player. And, that’s my job on the team, as a stopper and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to do what I have to do to get under his skin and make it hard for him.”

LeBron ended the game with 32 points on 12 of 19 shooting with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Some ‘stopper’ Stevenson proved to be. I’d hate to see what LeBron would have done to the Wizards had the almighty DeShawn Stevenson not been there to so thoroughly disrupt LeBron’s game.

What The Inside World Is Saying

“And while the Wizards surely held a distinct lead in the trash-talking department, it was the Cavaliers who did what they had six straight times before – hand Washington another playoff loss.

The Wine and Gold clamped down on the Wizards in the fourth quarter, holding Eddie Jordan’s squad to one field goal in the final 4:38 – an insignificant layup by Caron Butler as time expired as the Cavaliers topped Washington – 93-86 – for a huge Game 1 First Round win. The victory was Cleveland’s seventh straight over the Wizards in the playoffs, and ninth in the last 11.” [Cavaliers Official Site]

“My play speaks louder than me going out there and pushing somebody or talking trash. My play speaks for what our team’s play speak for. That’s what it’s about. We’re not the type of team that talks but we’re not going to back down either. Our game did the talking tonight and that’s what it should be about.” [LeBron James]

“–This was the type of game the Cavs like to play and often win. It was close most of the way and in the fourth quarter it was largely a halfcourt game with lots of bumping and bruising. This is not how every game will go, but some will. Ultimately, the Cavs won because they were at home and they had the best player on the floor. You know, like thousands of playoff games over the years.
–The two baskets LeBron made in the stretch run that basically decided the game were very impressive for a couple of reasons. One, they were started by Daniel Gibson with LeBron coming off a weakside curl screen set by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. By putting LeBron way away from the ball, it makes double teaming and tilting harder. I was all set to give Mike Brown credit for this when after the game he said it was Eric Snow’s idea. Snow, who is already starting his coaching career, brought it up in a coaches meeting earlier this week. At least, that is what we are told. Anyway, it worked. LeBron was just tremendous in that spot, it is a reminder of what all this hype is about. He has proved he can deliver in these times and that value is beyond limits as was proven today.” [Brian Windhorst]

“This was the Cavs’ seventh-straight postseason victory over the Wizards. They swept an injury riddled roster last season and won the last two games of a six-game series two years ago.

But despite the domination, the Wizards chose to make this a trash-talk affair. James responded with 32 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Last month, DeShawn Stevenson said James was “overrated.” Last week, Gilbert Arenas said “everyone wants to play the Cavaliers in the first round.”

On Saturday, James allowed his game to do the talking.” [Branson Wright]

“One of the reasons the home team got that win was West’s defense against the Wizards’ star down the stretch. Arenas, still working his way back after knee surgery that cost him most of the season, had 16 points through three quarters. He made four free throws and two layups in the fourth quarter as the Wizards took an 84-82 lead.

That’s when the Cavs in general, and West in particular, increased the pressure defensively.” [Jodie Valade]

“In 2007 when the Cavs knocked off New Jersey in the playoffs, the Nets averaged 84 points. When they beat Detroit, the Pistons managed only 86. Brown wants to rebound, defend, win ugly. During the regular season, Washington won only nine games where it failed to score at least 100.” [Terry Pluto]

“There was a lot of talking going on, and a lot of physical play. LeBron James got hit in the mouth on one drive to the basket in the first quarter. He came back on the next possession and elbowed Andray Blatche in the jaw.

Players were being knocked down all over the court. It looked more like a hockey match.

Both teams expected this kind of series. Game 1 didn’t let anyone down.” [Bob Finnan]

“The Cavs heard all the talk coming from Washington and brushed it aside. They never responded in the media. I can’t imagine they’ll start now, as Game 1 should just about cover everything needed to say. LeBron showed that he can take any punishment that Washington could give out and not only survive, but flourish. It was a great win for the Cavs, but they can’t be content with themselves. This game means nothing if they can’t put away Game 2 (and cede the home court advantage to the Wizards). In Game 1, the Cavaliers looked great (almost better than at any point since the trade) and it’s going to be interesting to see how they’ll follow it up in Game 2.” [Random Thoughts]

What The Outside World Is Saying

“(On Stevenson’s play):

“He did his job. He’s not here to score 20 points, he’s here to be a defensive stopper and hit open shots. He has to get under the opponent’s skin as much as possible, but LeBron responded. That’s what great players do, they respond to pressure. There’s no pressure on DeShawn, if he scores 30 points no one knows who he is, if he doesn’t score 30 points, no one knows who he is. So it really doesn’t matter. His job is to get under LeBron’s skin and I wouldn’t be surprised if he talks some more trash. That’s his job and the job of the rest of the team to follow in his foot steps.”” [Gilbert Arenas]

“Post-Game Thoughts: Wizards at Cavs, Game 1

• LeBron James is the best player in the NBA.
• That’s it.” [Hardwood Paroxysm]

“Carol Maloney kinda gets me heated when she starts talking about the trash talk backfiring. She asks Ron Thompson a stupid question….basically if the trash talk did as such. The answer from Ron is no of course. LeBron James is a good player and just as James himself said, he doesn’t need talk to motivate him to do well. The Wizards did what they needed to do on the boards and the defensive end. The offense just severely sputtered in that 4th quarter.” [Bullets Forever]

“Today was just another step in the recovery process. As each day comes he’s getting better and better. With his strong start we saw that he was capable of doing much of what we remember of the pre-injury Gil, as he continues to work his way back we’ll see more of what we remember most about him most–his strong finishes.” [Gilbertology]

“With just more than four minutes remaining in Game 1 on Saturday, the Washington Wizards were well positioned to finish off the Cleveland Cavaliers and steal home-court advantage in the best-of-seven first-round series.A layup by Gilbert Arenas had given the Wizards a two-point lead, and the Cavaliers proceeded to miss four straight shots.

However, in a finish that was hauntingly similar to recent playoff losses to the Cavaliers, the Wizards missed 11 straight shots following Arenas’s layup. And, as usual, LeBron James made them pay.” [Washington Post]

“It was a good, early sign that the Wizards weren’t afraid to scrap, to do what they had to do to not make this a repeat of last season and the season before.

But Washington can’t feel good about its 2008 playoff debut. Bottom line: The Wizards have to win this year or else there is no genuine rivalry with Cleveland.

They have a rivalry like the Knicks and Bulls; when Michael Jordan played, the Bulls won every time. When LeBron James plays and does the things he did at the end of the game for Cleveland on Saturday, the Cavaliers have thus far won every time that truly mattered.” [Mike Wise]

“From where I sit, the Wizards lost this game with that brutal stretch of the fourth period when they missed 11 straights and failed to take advantage of the fact that the Cavs were in the penalty. The game really could have turned when Antawn Jamison (23 points, 19 rebounds) missed three wide open straight shots, including two three-pointers, that would have increased the lead and created a cushion.

Instead, LeBron James did what he usually does by taking the ball hard to the rack for two key baskets as the Cavs closed the game on an 11-4 run and emerged with a 93-86 victory. Jamison was kicking himself for the misses but the general feeling in the locker room was that that the Wizards played well enough to win but simply didn’t close the deal.” [Ivan Carter]

“The media and fans will bring up the whole trash talk stuff, fine. ESPN will overhype Lebron like they always do. Fine. I believe that in the end, the better team will win this series and that will be the Wizards as long as they hit their shots.” [Les Bullez]