Open Thread: Cavaliers @ Magic
by Tom Martin on May 20, 2009 7:38 PM CDT
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PrintFear the Sword - Cavaliers
Third Quarter Collapse - Magic
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after seeing the way the Cavs have absolutely destroyed their opponents
for the past 8.25 games, you really think LA poses any real threat?
Honestly, the Cavs are just better on every level. The supporting cast in Cleveland is just so much better than that of LA. The Cavs’ frontcourt will destroy the Lakers’ (Scola, Landry, and Hayes gave Gasol, Odom, and Bynum problems. The nuggets are doing the same thing now. They aren’t getting anything against Ilgauskas, Varejao, and Wallace). And, other than Kobe, the Lakers’ shooters just aren’t as good as the Cavaliers’.
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and, of course,
the Cavs have the best player in the NBA, too.
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tha cavs also have
a little thing I like to call “focus”. they dont come out every 1st quarter and go through tha motions like they automatically get spotted 10pts like tha lakers.
very true
but I think a lot of that lack of focus in the Lakers is really just their bigs getting pushed around. The cliche that the Lakers are soft is absolutely true, and when they get taken out of the game they have to put everything on Kobe and inconsistent shooters like Ariza and Fisher.
IF the Lakers get past Denver, Lebron and Co. are going to kill them.
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Bill Simmons made a good point in one of his podcasts
when he called tha lakers “frontrunners”. he didnt mean it as an insult, but that they play much better when they’re up by 10 or more. tha role players are less afraid to shoot and guys gain confidence, but if you can jump on em early (much like the Cavs will) they can be taken out of tha game and kobe goes into his jack-up shots mode.
Can you imagine how dominant the Cavaliers could be
if that rumored Shaq deal had gone down?
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the historians are right
Those who forget history are prone to repeat its mistakes…
Remember last year? The Lakers killed everyone in the West… seen to be unbeatable. Meanwhile the Celtics struggled with everyone – including the weak team in Atlanta who took them to 7 games. The Finals started and everyone thought the Lakers would coast in 6 games or less…
then the Celtics won easily.
How does that not parallel what’s happening this year… with the Lakers playing the role of the ’08 Celtics.
thats tha only way you can compare those 2 teams
b/c we all damn well know tha lakers dont play D or have tha toughness tha ’08 celts did. if anything, you could say these Cavs are tha ’08 celtics; tha tougher, better defenisve team that beats tha softer team.
yeah, Dave
you’re making a pretty obvious mistake, here. You’re saying, “In the past, we were wrong about a team struggling.” But you’re not telling us why we were wrong. We were wrong about the ‘08 Lakers because they were never really challenged, and so it never exposed their softness and propensity to just give up. The Cavs appear to be coasting, but they keep blowing out teams. They keep playing tough basketball. Those weaknesses just aren’t there.
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and for tha record
I always thought boston was gonna win it all last year (once yao got hurt). I almost always take the better D.
it's not like the Lakers are a bad defensive team
(this year they were 6th in defensive efficiency; last year they were 5th). It’s just that they can be pushed around. If you come out strong, if you play hard in the post, if you harass Kobe all night, then they just give up. They don’t have any fight to them. I hate appealing to that sort of sports writer cliche, but it’s just true. They don’t bring their complete game every possession, period, or game. As Simmons pointed out, they keep fighting when they’re ahead. But if you push them hard enough, they just back down.
Now, Kobe can get them back into a game, but the rest of the team just isn’t like that.
Say what you will about Ron Artest’s poor shot selection, I think it’s clear from the stuff above why Kobe kept lobbying for the Lakers to sign the Tru Warier. He can waste possessions because he gets stupid, but he fights every possession, and that can rub off on teammates.
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all I'm saying
is that the Lakers have several very obvious issues:
1) Their bigs are easily taken out of games.
2) Their perimeter shooting is inconsistent.
3) They take periods (and whole games) off.
The Cavs, on the other hand:
1) have a pretty tough frontcourt.
2) have two very consistent perimeter shooters in Mo Williams and Delonte West
3) Do not appear to have any issues with effort.
The Cavaliers are just the better team. They fit together better, and they seem to work together better.
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my buddy sitting right next to me said that too, when that shot hit
it’d be interesting to see the course of events that would have occurred in that parallel universe. i wonder if we’d be better now?
wow
what a tough way to lose. Cleveland didn’t close out like they needed to on Orlando’s three-point shots, but there’s very little you can do when a team starts to get hot from outside down the stretch.
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Wow clutch shot by Lewis
Great win for Orlando! Cleveland’s last shot almost went in..the crowd would have gone nuts but instead their team loses. Crazy..
mike brown messed up
he’s done a helluva job this season but he really messed up by puting Varejao on rashard lewis on that last possesion. it made no sense to me.
varejao wasn't on lewis that last possession
Ilgauskas was. Made even less sense.
Of course, had West made an essentially wide open (Gortat was about six feet out) three, it wouldn’t even be an issue.
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its like they were more worried about gettin tha rebound off tha miss
rather than playin D and actually makin em miss. cleveland is gonna have to go small in game 2
Varejo pulled a Nocioni and roamed.
contributing nothing substantial to your blog, since 2008!
by misterterrific on May 20, 2009 10:45 PM CDT up reply actions
Cleveland weaknesses
1. The bench beyond Gibson
2. Their coach. Mike Brown is wayyyy overrated
3. Kobe > LeBron
I watch Lebron this year
and I just dont understand how some people still think Kobe is better. its not a knock on kobe. I’d still take him over anyone not named Lebron, but I’ve never seen anything like what Lebron is doing.
OK, how about
3. Other than Lebron, the offense consists of nothing but spot-up shooters.
4. Limited athleticism on the inside.
Another solid road performance by Alston, 8 ast, 1 to
would be nice to have the calming influence of a true PG on this team.
by goingforthecorner on May 20, 2009 11:49 PM CDT reply actions
ah, yes...
i’m just remembering all of the golden rafer alston moments. like 4-13 from the field. or 4-13 from the field.
oh, and that time he went 4-13 from the field.
The Dream Shake
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
no wait
that happened a billion times.
The Dream Shake
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
quoth dwyer:
Rafer Alston(notes) is annoying, and he takes bad shots. He also had a three-point play for Orlando that may have saved their season, late in the fourth quarter.
an incredible end to this game. i thought i was watching it objectively, i really did, but i couldn’t help but feel just a little disappointed every time the magic regained the lead. there’s just nothing to dislike about the cavs. and then there’s rafer.
by the grawlrus on May 21, 2009 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions
Alston is playing well
Only because he has a lot of offensive options to go to—Lewis, Lee and Petrious,etc. Those are young guys but they’re playing with a lot of confidence. We don’t have that in our rotation. In the first half of our season, our first team was pretty stagnant with Rafer quarterbacking it. He is pretty inconsistent when he is needed to score. What I like about him though is his street ball toughness which ABZ and KL do not have yet. That’s why our PGs could be overwhelmed at times.
Well, I’m happy for him that he is succeeding. It must be he is a better fit for Orlando than with us.
What WE need is a HEALTHY TEAM
Perhaps for ONCE the Basketball gods could oblige us
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