While We’re Waiting… More A-Rod, an MLB Salary Cap and Limiting Anderson Varejao
February 11, 2009Jackets Top Avalanche: A Clean Sweep
February 11, 2009
Cleveland 95, Indiana 96 [box]
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had all sorts of “firsts” this season. Earlier in the year, it seemed like nothing but the good kind of firsts, but lately, they’ve been going through some of the bad firsts. On Sunday against the Lakers, coming off 3 days rest and playing a Lakers team without Andrew Bynum and with a sick Kobe Bryant and playing their 6th straight road game, the Cavaliers lost their first home game of the season. Tuesday night, the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers, securing their first streak of consecutive losses this season.
It wasn’t for a lack of effort on LeBron James’ part, though. LeBron was on fire from the field in this game, and seemingly was able to get to the basket at will, a lethal combination. LeBron ended up with 47 points (15-21 from the field, 4-7 from 3pt, and 13-14 on FTs), seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. But alas, the incredible effort by LeBron wasn’t enough.
This game was a pure throwback game for the Cavaliers. It was the LeBron show, with 4 inconsequential bystanders on the court with him. LeBron showed absolutely no trust in his teammates in this game at all. Not that you could really blame him. Zydrunas Ilgauskas continues his miserable shooting, going just 5-17 from the field. Mo Williams was 0-5 from outside the arc and just 7-18 overall. Wally Szczerbiak, filling in again for the injured Sasha Pavlovic who was filling in for the injured Delonte West, showed once more that he performs at his best when coming off the bench rather than starting, as he went 0-3 from long range and just 2-8 from the field overall. Then there’s Ben Wallace, who once again managed to have a dunk blocked. Daniel Gibson was 2-7 from the field (2-4 from 3pt) with five fouls. Anderson Varejao was 2-3 from the field for eight points, but was a miserable 4-10 from the FT line.
This was unquestionably the worst game of the season by the Cavaliers.
This is what happens, though, when you decide to become a 3-point shooting team, and your 3’s aren’t falling. The offense was again about as stagnant as it gets. The Cavaliers had just 11 assists on their 34 field goals, combined with 15 turnovers (seven of them by LeBron, the lone downside of his performance). The Pacers were able to capitalize on those turnovers by scoring 17 points off them. For all the talk about the Cavaliers’ supposed great defense, they were once again dominated in the paint, as the Pacers were able to get 40 points in the paint, including a season high 12 points for rookie Roy Hibbert. Four of the Pacers’ five starters were in double figures, and were it not for Danny Granger’s knees being in such bad shape, this game wouldn’t have come down to a questionable call, but would have been an easy victory for the Pacers.
So lets get to that call at the end of the game. Late in the 4th, with the Cavaliers down by two, they had probably their best offensive set of the whole night, with lots of movements and passing which led to an easy layup by Szczerbiak off a LeBron assist for an easy basket (seriously, where was that offense the rest of the night???) to tie the game at 93. On the ensuing Indiana possession, LeBron did a phenomenal job denying Granger getting open to receive the pass, and thus the Pacers were forced to rely on a challenged shot by TJ Ford who, of course, managed to drill the shot, putting the Pacers up 95-93 with just 0.8 seconds left.
The Cavaliers called a time out, and were inbounding the ball at mid court. It was somewhat surprising to see Mo Williams inbounding the ball, as you would have thought the Cavs would want him as an option to receive the ball and shoot, but it soon became clear why he was inbounding it. The play was for a back door alley oop toss to LeBron. It was a gutsy call, and the inbound throw wasn’t great, and Danny Granger was right there challenging the play. LeBron was never able to get a good grip on the ball and it fell harmlessly out of bounds, but the officials inexplicably decided to blow the whistle on Granger for the foul with 0.4 seconds left.
Now, to be clear, there was definitely some contact there, as Granger unquestionably got body on LeBron. But it was hardly enough to warrant a whistle. The Cavs got a break, and LeBron capitalized by nailing both FTs to tie the game up ay 95 all.
Indiana then inbounded the ball from mid court, and Pacers coach Jim O’Brien made a brilliant coaching move and called for an inbound alley oop to Danny Granger, suspecting that he could get a makeup call. And that’s exactly what happened, as LeBron’s momentum carried him into Granger’s body, and the refs had no choice but to call the foul on LeBron with 0.1 seconds left. Granger hit the first FT, then intentionally missed the 2nd and that was the end of the game.
After the game, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown and LeBron James were both outraged over the calls. Coach Brown ripped into the officials, saying:
“I went back and I watched the last two plays. That last call on LeBron (James) was the worst call that I’ve ever been a part of. It was an awful call and for him to take away a basketball game from a team with .04 seconds on the clock is irresponsible. We got the game taken away from us, absolutely horrible. I feel badly for the guys in the locker room.”
LeBron pretty much echoed those thoughts, saying:
“I thought the one call on Granger against me was questionable. There was definitely some contact, enough for a whistle to be blown… But it could have gone both ways. The last call against me was not questionable at all. No contact was made. The pass was short. You couldn’t go to the rim. There was no way he could catch it and go up with four-tenths of a second. I was able to get a hand on it. Being the competitor I am, to have a game taken away like that, it hurts. It definitely hurts.”
Of course the Cavaliers are going to say that, but as a fan, it’s tough to listen to those quotes. First of all, whether or not Granger could have really caught the ball and scored with 0.4 seconds left is irrelevant to the point. If you foul him, it’s going to get called. LeBron didn’t foul Granger any more than Granger fouled LeBron, but if the refs called the first one, of course they were going to call the second one. Jim O’Brien knew this, and that’s why he called the play. It was a stroke of genius.
For a “no excuses” team, the Cavaliers this year sure have done an excessive amount of whining and complaining about officiating. It was easy to ignore when they were playing great basketball, but over the last 2 months of sloppy and mediocre play, the complaining is starting to look like more of a distraction.
The fact is, this All-Star Break can’t come fast enough. The return of Delonte West cannot come fast enough. Z’s return to form can’t come fast enough. I think the Cavaliers are really voicing not just their frustration over the game against the Pacers, but more frustration over how they’ve been playing lately in general.
There’s no question the injuries are hurting right now. In last night’s game, only 2 guys off the bench played significant minutes. Gibson played 26 minutes and AV played 22.5 minutes. JJ Hickson logged just 5 minutes, despite being +4 in those minutes (compared to AV’s –4 and Gibson’s 0) and Darnell Jackson played just 58 seconds. The injuries are probably leading to the poor play which is leading to the vocal frustrations of this team. You’re not reading any stories about chemistry these days, and you’re not seeing the laughing on the bench like we say early in the year.
LeBron is trusting his teammates less and less as the season goes on. In fact, LeBron is pretty much back to playing PG. Mo Williams frequently looks to receive the outlet pass from LeBron whenever LeBron gets the rebound, only to stand there and watch LeBron dribble right past him as he takes the ball up himself. And even when Mo does bring the ball up the court, LeBron runs right up to him at the top of the key to get the ball. LeBron is no longer working off the ball to get easy baskets, and he’s spending more and more time with the ball in his hands. In a game like this one, it’s easy to see why LeBron wanted the ball so much, when nobody else was stepping up at all, and it’s unfair of the Cavs to rely so heavily on LeBron to win games like these, but sometimes LeBron brings it on himself a bit by demanding to run the offense himself. Hopefully the All-Star break can provide some a much needed reset for this team. First, though, the Cavaliers have to try to take care of business at home tonight against the visiting Suns. We’ll see if the Cavs can avoid heading into the break on their first 3 game losing streak of the season.
20 Comments
I understand and agree that neither foul should have been called, but just because the refs made a mistake calling Granger for a foul, you don’t need to compound the situation by calling an even worse call on James at the other end. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The refs should have accepted the fact that they messed up on the first foul call, and then made sure to try and not mess up even worse by calling a “make-up” call.
Wallace, Varejao, and Gibson are killing us right now. We get absolutely no production from any of these guys right now and Ben and Andy aren’t making up for their lack of O on defense. This team needs the All-Star break in the worst way.
I think Mike Brown was over the top, but I think Lebron got it right. The first call was somewhat questionable due to the timing, but Granger definitely got contact.
I think the second call was outrageously bad. I am sorry that they made the first “mistake” or whatever, but at least there was contact there. On the second play, Lebron had spacing between he and Granger. He didn’t have his hands on him. He was facing the ball and had position on Granger without throwing his forearms into him.
I am not being a homer. I know it makes me sound like a homer, but in this case perception is not reality. I looked at both plays closely. You will have to take my word for it. I work really hard not to be a homer and to look at things objectively.
The fact is that neither call probably should have been made. But, the first call WAS made and only allowed the Cavs to tie the game. The second one compounds the mistake by deciding the game completely. And don’t think I didn’t notice that stupid Joey Crawford was on the court last night. HE should NEVER be given the benefit of the doubt. Ever. Just ask Tim Duncan.
You don’t have to use your hands to foul. LeBron’s momentum carried his body into Granger’s body. If the first one was a foul, then so was the second one, end of story.
It’s truly embarrassing that people are trying to say the refs shouldn’t have called the second foul. The fact is, the refs shouldn’t have called either foul and the Cavs should have lost. The outcome of the game was the right outcome, regardless of officiating. The refs didn’t cost the Cavs the game, their atrocious play (outside of LeBron) is what cost them the game.
Rock and I will never agree on this one. Lebron played the ball and had position with his back to Granger as the ball arrived. Granger had his forearms on Lebron until the last second when he jumped for the ball and was pushing Lebron away from the ball. The contact before the ball arrives vs. contact after Lebron got to the ball at its highest point is the difference. On the first play Lebron was trying to go to the ball and Granger was pushing him toward the baseline. On the second play he and Granger were going the SAME direction.
There are differences between the plays no matter what neutral fans will think of me for saying it. And no, I don’t expect Rock to agree with me.
Yes, there are differences between the plays, but that still doesn’t mean one should have been called and the other shouldn’t have been.
Hah. We are turning into sitcom characters. “WHY YOU! To the MOON, Rock! To the Moon!”
(Voiceover)
Will these two ever get along? See you next time on an all new “Craig and Rock Disagree.”
Cavs lose two straight = ZOMG THE SKY IS FALLING!!
Don’t worry… it won’t turn into three straight.
It’s refreshing to see that so many people shared my view that this game wasn’t lost with 0.2 seconds left, as Mike Brown suggests it did. The fact is most of the team flat out wasn’t working their (behind) off as coach suggested, and the way they played they deserved to lose to an inferior team.
I also agree that the “no excuse team” is mostly lip service this year. They complain a lot about officiating, and while you can’t deny that injuries hurt they’ve leaned on those injuries as an excuse when things aren’t going very well.
Hopefully when they get healthy things will get turned around….but I don’t see how the addition of Delonte West is going to drastically affect the interior defense….LeBron is still going to want to guard the opposing team’s best player, which are often guards.
I agree that this game shouldn’t even have been this close, but I think that last foul on LeBron was absolutely terrible. I’ve watched the replay at least 5 times. The first lob from Mo to LeBron, Mo threw the ball up Lebron has position and you see Granger come and knock him out of the way. By NBA terms, sure, I can see the ref swallowing his whistle on that. But then the Pacers do the same thing. LeBron actually establishes position in front of Granger and there is contact but the bad pass has Granger trying to contend for the ball with LeBron, and then the contact comes.
I hate that the Cavs have decided that thier game plan is to launch more than 20 3’s a game. This is a terrible approach to basketball and is why they have been playing at a lower level than they should be for a while now. I would really like to see a low post big man come here. The Cavs have zero inside scoring. Z is a spot up shooter who spreads the floor. Now all we need is someone who can play on the inside and not get his dunks blocked (or just miss them outright on his own).
Gibson is killing us right now. He should never have to play the point. He is at his best when he can catch and shoot.
Our offense consists of either high pick and rolls or players trying to take their man one-on-one. It is absolutely ridiculous that Mike Brown lets this continue.
While I see Mike Brown’s point about it clearly being a “make-up” call, he needs to take responsibility for this team’s awful play throughout the game. It starts from the top. If Mike is going to write off this loss to the refs then the rest of the team can too. Its about being accountable.
I hate to say it, but Gibson seems to be relegating himself to a Damon Jones role where he can only help us for minutes at a time for an attempt at instant offense…
Games like this always remind me of what Romeo Crennel (of all people) said after we lost to Oakland 2 years ago. Dawson had missed a 50 yard field goal that would have won the game. Crennel said, “It was our lack of execution throughout the game that lost it. We should never have been in the situation to need Phil to win it in the last seconds.”
This loss is on Mo.
He’s the PG, he played 42 minutes, had 18 shots and zero – that’s right – ZERO assists. Maybe he was excited about being an all-star, but he needs to play his role.
Tough to get assists, though, when LeBron comes and takes the ball from you at the top of the key on every single possession. Mike Brown needs to say something to LeBron about this, because it has been getting steadily worse.
I hope everyone is realizing how badly we are being abused in the paint… Z is looking slower that ever and repeatedly was late on help and out of position the last few games. Wallace seems to not even be a factor when he is in for 20 minutes a night. He’s not really blocking shots and even though sometimes the tap out rebound is effective, usually it’s not… just grab the ball for once Ben!!!. whenever he gets the ball within ten feet of the basket he passes or misses a point blank dunk or layup, we already know he cant be counted on for offense, but now he isnt really that effective on defense either. We really need some help on out interior defense, which I thought was once a strength, not to mention out lack or post offense. Z is a very skilled big man when he faces the basket but when he posts it often leads to a turnover or lost posession. Andy seems to still have the energy but lets face it he intimidates no one, mainly because he’s just a flopper and cant really body up. I would love to trade for Camby but starting him and Z I’m not sure would work. Amare would be great for some low post scoring and a mid range game but I think he might be immune to defense after all those years under D’Antoni. If we go into the playoffs with the same frontcourt (minus LeBron) then we are in trouble because Boston, Orlando, and LA would completely destroy us down low.
Rock, I don’t agree with you on LBJs foul, but I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said about him dominating the ball. He is not a PG, nor will he ever be. PGs are supposed to start the offense and get their shots from it (a few exceptions aside). With Mo running the point, we have guys cutting to get the ball. Now when LBJ takes it from him at half court, he jabs for 15 seconds until he’s forced to: a) take a bad shot or b) pass to an unsuspecting teammate who must force a shot as the buzzer is going off.
To start the year, I thought Mike Brown had down a wonderful job of correcting his offensive problems. It even looked like he called plays. Now we’re back to the same old stuff.
Hopefully DWest coming back will bring some normalcy to what has been a falling team.
[…] Fieldhouse where Danny Granger and LeBron James went head-to-head in the end, resulting in the first Cavs losing streak of the season. The stats looked miserable like the Oklahoma City game, but from watching last night […]