Game 2: A Massacre at the Q

What a great Monday in Cleveland. My good luck began today with a power failure at work that allowed me to go home at noon. And the good times rolled on into the night inside the Q as the Cavaliers just hammered the Wizards 116-86 to go up 2-0 in the series. This marks the 8th straight playoff win over the team that talks but just can't seem to back any of it up.

Tonight had a little bit of everything. Hard fouls? Check. Intense crowd? Check. The Wizards losing their cool and getting blown out? Check. The fun really started when Brendan Haywood made absolutely no attempt at the ball and shoved a flying LeBron James out of bounds on a layup attempt. The officials correctly gave him a flagrant 2 foul and an automatic ejection. LeBron went on to make both free throws and then Delonte West nailed a three on the ensuing possession to basically put the game away. That was a microcosm of how things went tonight. LeBron missed a triple-double by one rebound and got plenty of rest down the stretch, along with the rest of our rotation.

Highlights of the night for me (in no particular order):

• Ben Wallace bringing some much needed energy early tonight. We needed it and he looked great.
• LeBron's relentless attack of the rim, in spite of all the hard fouling. As he said, he's not the only one feeling the contact on those fouls. 30 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds. Outstanding as usual.
  
• Wally Sczcerbiak's great shooting night. He really brought a lot to the team tonight and even played some decent defense. I think this was the best he's looked in a Cavalier uniform.
• Gilbert Arenas' pathetic shooting night. I know he has the built-in excuse of the limp wrist, or whatever injury he's claiming now. But he looked awful out there and appeared to be about to burst into tears at any moment. High entertainment.
• DeShawn Stevenson breaking out that idiotic hand-waving in his own face after hitting a three to cut the Cavaliers' lead down to 16 (!). Nice job moron.
• Damon Jones busting out his own mock version of the hand-waving when he hit a three in the waning seconds to give the Cavs the final 30-point margin of victory. Now that was outstanding.

We'll see what happens in Game 3 (it's always an adventure when these Cavaliers leave the cozy confines of the Q). But I think this Wizards team is about to implode. Too bad we have to wait until Thursday night for the next game. But we will be plenty rested. In the meantime I'll keep tabs on what the pathetic Washington writers have to say about this one. I'm sure there will be plenty of excuses after this massacre.

LBJ was not to be denied on this drive, or at any other time tonight