Checking It Twice- Were You Naughty or Nice?
December 13, 2008While We’re Waiting…
December 15, 2008Cavaliers 88 – 76ers 72 [box]
I would love to see a list of how many teams could roll into a game without their starting center – who is putting up very good numbers year to date – along with another top-five scorer and still walk away with a double-digit win. Sure, the Cavs were well below their season average in scoring (103.2), but the team stepped up their efforts on the defensive end to ensure that this one never got out of hand.
And while we can talk about LeBron James’ line of 28 points, seven boards, seven assists, and three (3!) blocked shots, we would be missing out on a key statistic: 36 minutes on the floor. Without a would-be second option, James still had to play for less than 40 minutes.
Much of this was due to the way that the rest of the Cavaliers stepped up. In his first start of the season, Anderson Varejao notched 17 points and seven rebounds to go with two steals and two blocked shots. The wild man also hit all three of hit free-throw attempts, converting some solid three-point plays. He still can’t get over that 18-points hump (even with his 17-point first half against Indiana a few nights back), but I have a feeling he’ll get his shot if Ilgauskas is to miss considerable time.
Delonte West lead the Cavs in +/- with +15 thanks to his well-timed 16 points. Mo Williams was right there with 14 of his own, and rookie Darnell Jackson pulled down eight boards in his 24 minutes of play. Mysteriously, J.J. Hickson, however, was relegated to last minute garbage time territory by playing only one minute of basketball, recording only a single assist. But a big congratulations to Cleveland native Jawad Williams, notching his first points with the team in what was likely an emotional moment for he and his family, who was in attendance.
Some team key stats from last night:
Turnovers: Philadelphia 17, Cleveland 11
Assists: Cleveland 19, Philadelphia 17
Rebounds: Philadelphia 40, Cleveland 39
3PTM-A: Cleveland 6-18, Philadelphia 1-12
The Cavs are now 13-0 at home, and are 19-1 since the fourth quarter collapse against the New Orleans Hornets. The team will now take a four-game road trip that will surely test their depth and defense. The next game is tonight at Atlanta, which will be a lot more difficult with Josh Smith fully healthy. Then they head to Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City before coming back next Tuesday to play Rockets.
They’ll have to count on a lot more contribution from their reserves, but after what we’ve seen thus far, I don’t think that will be too big of an issue. It’s a great time to be a Cavaliers fan.
13 Comments
I love Austin Carr (love) but does he have to remind us that the game is being played “in the Q!” after every highlight?
I tell you what if rebounding and hustle was the big issue Mike Brown has had with Hickson, Jackson sure has come through with those two qualities. 5 of Jackson 8 boards were on the offensive end. Dude is a bear around the glass and playing D. Now if he could somehow score like Andy seems to have going for him.
i love how tight knit the team is. it really makes them work better on the court.
And the Cavs provided the straw that broke the camel’s back as the 76ers fired Mo Cheeks after the game. The home and home sweep was too much, I guess.
i think that is unfortunate. mo cheeks is a darn good coach that is historically known for getting off to slow starts (and we all saw how they turned it around last year). I guess when you have the Cavs and Celtics already so far ahead; teams are become a lot more desperate to bring life to the court.
I normally think alternate jerseys are a joke, except for the rarity (Chargers powder blue, ND green football, Indians bloody-mary 70’s jersey – okay last one a joke) but the yellow alternates are growing on me.
Am I the only one?
I don’t know if you’re the only one…but I for one don’t care for them. WAAAYYY too much yellow.
Who got the key minutes last night without Daniel Gibson (24.3 minutes per game) and Z (26.0 mpg)? It came as a surprise to me, but Darnell Jackson, and Sasha Pavlovic were the main recipients.
Pavlovic played a season-high 25 minutes after previously averaging 11 minutes in 21 games played this season.
Jackson played a career-high 24 minutes after previously averaging 10.1 minutes in 7 games played this season.
Varejao also got a season-high 35 minutes after previously averaging 24.6 minutes in 22 games played this season.
Sasha has been stepping up. His defense has been solid. And he’s made a few shots too.
Wally needs to start hitting open 3s.
This Cavs team is very solid.
Wally has been streaky this season, but a lot better than what we saw last year.
And I personally dig the gold throwbacks. If I could get any use out of one, I would’ve bought one when they hit the stands.
I can’t get used to the yellow. It feels like I am rooting for the wrong team.
I don’t like these throwbacks as much as the ones from about three years ago with the maroon and white piping. Those were sharp.
The old school Cleveland logo is pretty cool though.