Deep (In The Q!) Thoughts From Game 2

What a game to be at! I consider it an extreme blessing to have been there. Now, here are some thoughts that rattled through my head and into my notebook…

-I like the way the Cavs have come out and tried to keep the Magic guessing about their defensive plan. The first three Orlando possessions Cleveland switched up assignments on the Magic backcourt. Dwight Howard has no idea who is coming to double team, or if there will be a double team. Very nice. That certainly contributes to the sluggish start for the Magic.

-Speaking of Dwight Howard, it was very nice to see smaller guys sending him to the line instead of giving up dunks. It paid big dividends in this one. He may have gotten a double-double, but he was essentially a non-factor offensively.

-After a nice start by Delonte, he kind of disappeared offensively. 3 for 4 to open the game, 1 of 3 the rest of the game.

-There were 2 charges called on LeBron late in the game. One was a good call, the other was shaky. They also called travelling on LeBron (which it was) and the ESPN highlight crew was sure to have a good laugh with. What’s the point? Well, if they are calling these ‘obvious’ infractions on LeBron, then why can’t they blow the whistle on Orlando’s superstar when camps out in the lane? There was a possession in the first quarter in which Orlando ‘forced’ a 24 second clock violation because Dwight Howard was in the lane for the last 12 seconds of the shot clock. The rule is 3 seconds. Not 12. Not 8.

-I love the way the Cavs are attacking the basket. Except when they forget. Which is like for quarters at a time.

-Delonte West’s foul on Hedo Turkogu when he was on a fast break (2nd quarter) needs to be commended and filed away as textbook for how to foul hard without trying to take someone’s head off, or allow them to get a decent shot off. Well played Delonte.

-While there were some great fouls (see above) there were also some pretty stupid ones. Yeah, I’m looking at you Joe Smith. Two incredibly silly fouls in a 2 minute span, one of which gave Rashard Lewis 3 free throws. You have to use your fouls better than that.

-Ben Wallace made a play against Howard that Big Z would never make. It was a bit of a flop to draw an offensive foul, but it is an effective move. You never see Z get that call because he is always trying to stay upright. Dwight can bash and muscle against Z all he wants because he has no fear of the flop. Against Wallace or Andy it is always something he has to think about.

-Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing Z. His hustle play at the end of the 4th was huge. You don’t see many 7 footers diving for that ball.

-Speaking of Z, he was very effective offensively posting up either Howard or Gortat. I was disappointed to see Z leave the game automatically when Howard sat down in the 3rd. Mike Brown did the same thing in game 1 and the Magic came back. Same thing this time around. The bulk of Orlando’s comebacks have been when Howard and Z were on the bench. It would seem that maybe keeping Z in the game a little longer to exploit mis-matches would be a good move? Z sat down with 2:21 to go in the 3rd and sat the entire first half of the 4th quarter. 12 point lead when he sat down. Tie game when he came back.

-As far as historical significance of LeBron’s shot, I’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the series plays out.

-Finally, I call this picture “Howard misses the spare“.