While We’re Waiting…
May 22, 2009Wahoo! Two in a Row for The Tribe
May 22, 2009
This isn’t a guarantee of anything at all. The Cavs might continue to play as badly as they did on Wednesday, drop the next three games and get swept out of the playoffs. It might happen. I don’t know. But there is something that I do know. It has only been a single news day since the Cavaliers dropped game one to the Magic, but I can’t believe all the crazy things being written right now. And believe me when I tell you they are crazy. Everyone has a theory and a way to make wholesale changes to the Cavaliers and their strategy in order to somehow help them find away to compete with the Orlando Magic. Calm down people. You are all panicking.
The Cavs do need to make some adjustments. They need to adjust a few matchups. They need to potentially play a more even paced game so they don’t burn themselves out as they seemed to have done in game one. These are the little things that an NBA team changes from game to game during the season too. But they are just little things.
This Cavs team played horrendously after the second quarter of Wednesday’s game. Mo Williams was 6-19 from the field including 2-8 from three. Delonte West was 4-13 from the field and 3-8 from three. Zydrunas was 5-11 from the field, but it seemed like he was mostly ineffective shooting jumpers that tend to pull opposing centers out of the lane. The Cavs bench accounted for 5 points, 2 assists, and 6 rebounds. And despite playing so badly on Wednesday THE CAVALIERS ALMOST WON THE GAME!
The Cavs will make a few adjustments for game two. They will. At the same time, it isn’t a good time to overreact. The Cavs might continue this negative trend, play badly and lose the rest of the series. But even if they do it won’t be because Mike Brown failed to institute the hack-a-Dwight “strategy” although he might consider using up some more fouls on the Magic big man. Still, even a decision to foul Dwight more is because Howard only went to the line twice in the first game. To foul Howard more would be a small adjustment.
And that is really all the Cavs need to do. Make some small adjustments and just focus on getting some of the players who struggled to make the plays they made all throughout the season to play a little bit better. Maybe then the Cavs can win game two by a single point and the national media can spend their off day writing about how the Magic need to blow up their team and rebuild it from the ground up for game 3.
37 Comments
I think the reason Cleveland fans have gotten so upset about the Cavs losing is that they look at the other 2 franchises in town and think about “the summer of 2010” and fear that this is the best chance the city is going to have for that long-awaited championship for a long time.
Well stated, Craig.
As before, I hope everyone enjoys the game tomorrow. That’s what fans are supposed to be able to do. Despite the bitter end to the first game, I enjoyed it and am proud of the team’s effort on the whole. James, especially, played brilliantly.
couldn’t agree more, craig. at some point, the long layoff and all the presumptive champs talk had to take its toll.
hey Craig, again appreciate your equanimity. I do think that some of the panic is attributable to fans looking at our unimpressive body of work against the Magic this year rather than just people flipping out over game 1. Let’s hope game 2 eases our (semi) worried minds
The thing that bothers me is that the Cavs have played the Magic 4 times this year, and they have tried defending them pretty much the same way all 4 times. The Magic have scored 99, 93, 116, and 107 points against the Cavs in those 4 games. They’ve shot 45.0%, 45.6%, 53.7%, and 55.1% in those 4 games.
The Cavaliers do need to try something different defensively. Give DJ a shot. Throw Pavlovic out there. Play Beast and AV more minutes together. At least try something. Don’t keep saying nothing is wrong and not change anything, and expect that suddenly the Cavs will start beating Orlando.
That’s all I’m saying. No panic is necessary. As I said yesterday, the Cavs are still fine. But if they don’t change anything, they’re not going to be fine this time on Saturday.
@ Rock – completely agreed.
Very interesting that the Magic actually shot BETTER on Wednesday than they did in the demolishing back in ORL in April. I think that shows that they needed everything and more to take the Cavs out.
Just think – we were a really, really rediculously good looking off-a-jump-ball fallaway jumper away from winning the game.
I’m gonna go off-topic for a moment here to highlight a play from that sweet Denver victory yesterday. It was described as follows:
As the Nuggets tried to inbound under their basket on the final play of the quarter, Bryant inexplicably turned his back on Billups. Billups threw the ball off Bryant’s jersey, caught the carom, then darted baseline for a layup to send the Nuggets into halftime down only a point. (Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports)
If you didn’t see that or recall it, it’s worth checking the replay. It shows how smart Billups is. He actually just used Bryant’s back as a shield to inbound the ball to himself and take the inside lane along the baseline straight to the basket. That was a trick worthy of the Harlem Globetrotters!
Now, to my mind, that’s a play that belongs somewhere in the LeBron-Kobe puppets series.
always waiting for the other shoe to drop, no?
Thanks for the good dose of logic & reason. We did almost win a game in which we didn’t show up in the 2nd half. That says something. This season’s experience dictates that the Cavs can bounce back, and will. I do think tonight will be different, but my ol’ bitter Cleveland heart keeps my optimism in check.
The Cavaliers will be fine. Defense – they should have Delonte run around after Rafer and keep LBJ on Hedo.
Calmer than you are dude, calmer than you are.
I am not calm at all. I see us losing in 6 still. Game 1 was a catastrophic blow that I fear will haunt us.
This is not related to past CLE sports failures, but mainly that ORL has our # of late.
My fears aside, the Cavs under Brown have almost always played better the later we’ve gotten into series, but I fear this is just a horrible match-up and if ORL stays hot shooting, nothing will save us. Bad Times.
Amen Craig…
Here’s me since 11pm Wednesday:
http://deadspin.com/5144135/tonight-we-are-all-buzzsaw
I told my dad on the phone last week that I wouldnt be too surprised if the magic took the first game in cleveland. my theory is that its exactly what the cavs need to get motivated for the series. i am hoping they react with energy and offense. they DO tend to accumulate rust. We have all seen it.
game two is pivotal. if they drop this one, im going to be like 80% total freak out. however… i am fairly confident they will come out of the gate wanting this one pretty bad, and wont let it slip away this time.
two seasons ago i KNEW that they would react with a wreckless abandon after losing a game one that they should have won. lets see if this cavs team (which has changed fairly dramatically) reacts the same way.
go cavs!
I am anything but calm. Win tonight, I’ll settle in for what should be an epic back and forth series. Even though I don’t think the Cavs need to do anything drastic tonight to win this game, adjustments are necessary and the supporting cast and coaches need to prove that they are all the championship-caliber crew that we hope they are.
I’m trying to tell myself that it’s all going to be ok. But the truth is, I know this is the Cavs best chance for a title, well, ever, and I know that it hangs in the balance tonight.
Is it time for the game yet?
I am one of those fans that are panicking. Well, I wouldnt call it panicking just yet but I am very worried. I was watching the game from wayyyy up in Loudville the other night and all I could think about when the game was getting chipped away was John Elway, ’97 & ’07 Indians, MJ, etc. Then you look at how awful we’ve played against them all year. I dont know, I guess Im just more letting myself down easily to be sure if they do blow it, it wont be (as) devastating.
Great article Craig. Also a tidbit to keep things in perspective–The Lakers lost game 1 to the Rockets and still moved on–AND they played pretty miserably in multiple games later in that series as well. And we’re better than the lakers right? Theres no reason to panic–there’s a reason you gotta beat a team 4 times before you can move on
I am not panicking yet. Let’s see how they respond tonight. I think this could be a good thing to make sure they don’t turn into the Lakers and act like they can just win by showing up. The Magic punched them in the mouth. Now if Orlando wins tonight, full blown panic mode here. But I really think they will come back and win tonight and be fully motivated. West and Williams will play better and we will be fine.
Fingers crossed
If you are one who is screaming for more Sasha Pavlovic, please remember that you wanted it. I don’t think Sasha playing 15 minutes is a really good thing…
No panic here, but serious concern is completely appropriate until we show tonight that it was a rust issue and not either game planning brain cramp or a couple of youngish guards still adjusting to playoff pressure. Also, I didn’t like how happy and relaxed Hedo looked in the 4th quarter, like he was having the time of his life in a hostile arena.
Here’s a happier thought: after we win tonight, Orlando is completely capable of off-nights and we can steal back the home court.
As I was watching the last minute of the game Wednesday I thought to myself “If I wasn’t a fan of either team, I would think this is an awesome game to watch.” Because I’m a Cavs fan, I was frantic that last minute and now worried that Orlando will sweep. However, that’s unlikely. Think about the other series. Do you think the Lakers are now doomed? No, that series will probably go 7 and this series will probably go 7
And those games will be in LA and Cleveland. Remember that.
#18. Yes the lakers lost game 1 to the rockets, but Yao Ming also broke his foot midway through the series. So, all we need is for Howard to break his foot and the Cavs can mirror what the lakers did.
@Rick: In 22.3 minutes/game against Orlando in the regular season Sasha was -3. That +/- rating is better than Gibson or Szczerbiak’s +/- against Orlando.
And it wasn’t just garbage time, either. In the first game against Orlando, Sasha started and played 31.5 minutes, with a +/- of -5, which was actually the best +/- of any of the starters. It was better than Szczerbiak’s -9 in that game and even though Gibson was a -4, it came in about 6 fewer minutes.
So yeah, I would say giving Pavlovic a shot to see what he can do is a worthwhile idea.
I would also like to see a little more Sasha out there. Remember, this is the guy that has shut down Dwayne Wade and Kobe in years past. Also, as akward as it looks, Sasha likes to attack the basket and the Cavs need could use that in this series; someone else to drive it right into Dwight Howard’s chest and draw fouls. I would also like to see a little bit more of D-Jack. The dude is a little bit more muscle mass than Z or Andy for Dwight to push around. The only concern would be D-Jack’s height. We shall see if Mike Brown truly is worth his COY hardware tonight with the adjustments he makes from game 1.
…I’ve missed posting on here. I should return to my 5 posts a day status instead of once every 3 weeks lol.
DJ is a +13 against Orlando this year. Granted, in limited minutes and mostly garbage time, but still…..why not at least TRY it? That’s all I’m saying, lets try some different things, and see if anything sticks.
Matt Moore wrote a really great article about this….about how the Cavs and Lakers are stubborn to try different things, and it might actually be hurting them a little bit: http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2009/05/22/the-new-answer-is-better-than-the-standard-solution/
Just food for thought.
I’m scared. Don’t care what anyone says about stats or anything. Magic beat us at home first game. I am in full panic mode.
I’m just worried that every game we have a piece missing. (bench, mo, delonte shooting, LBJ may be off, etc.) and Orlando is opposite.
What happens if Orlando wins tonight? Am I going to read “Calm Down Cavs Fans?”
@ Tampa – no I think you’ll read something like this quote from the immortal Jackie Moon:
“Everybody panic! Oh my God, there’s a bear loose in the coliseum! There will be no refunds! Your refund will be escaping this deathtrap with your life! If you have a small child, use it as a shield! They love the tender meat! Cover your sodas! Dewie loves sugar!”
I don’t feel well.
My wife wants to know why I reacted so crazily during the last few minutes of Game #1.
Tonight, I will be scary.
@28 You won’t read that from me if they lose tonight, Brett. My overriding point is that it doesn’t come down to strategy as much as it does everyone’s performances. Mike Brown’s strategy didn’t lose game 1. Mo and Delonte and the bench failing to produce lost game 1. This is the team we have. When they are firing on all cylinders nobody in the league can beat them. They didn’t play well enough in game 1 to win.
Everyone makes adjustments but it really comes down to the performances of the players. I love all these guys, but I need more from Mo, Delonte and Z in game 2. Bottom line. No amount of tinkering with the strategy will make them produce. It is up to them to hit their shots and make the right decisions.
Craig –
I agree with your overall point that players win games, not strategies, but it can’t be denied that the defensive strategÝ fundamentally changed in the 3rd quarter and that directly contributed to the loss. As Windhorst said today on his podcast, you have to pick a strategy – either defend Howard straight up and stay on the shooters (as they did in the 1st half) or try to get the ball out of Howards hands and make the shooters beat you. The Cavs did neither in the second half.
Orlando is a notoriously good road team. I guarantee that the Cavs will win at least one of the two in Orlando and we will be back to a three game series with home court advantage. I’m comfortable with that.
You got that last part right, “Cavs can win game two by a single point”, and they did.
the queen james is going to new york so the cavs will never win a champion ship they suck so do the browns and the indianas your town sucks.go lakers 09 champs.
HEY I LOVE THE INDIANAS!!!
Idiot.
the cavs are the cubs of baseball they will never win ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha