Bring on the Celtics

I purposely waited a while to post today in the wake of the Cavs' 4-1 opening series win over the pesky Bulls. My immediate reaction while filing out of the Q after last night's game was a combination of disgust and relief. Disgust in how the Bulls were allowed to hang around for far too long in that one. And relief that the Cavs don't have to face that team anymore this year. Somehow the Bulls managed to turn a handful of games vs. the Cavs this year into some of the ugliest slugfests I've seen since Mike Brown's early days as head coach when the team strictly relied on LeBron and gritty team defense.


Whatever it was about the Bulls, they somehow managed to find the right combination on defense to stop the Cavs from playing their normal style for long stretches of games. And to me it seemed like that style lulled the Cavs to sleep on more than one occasion this season. You can't fault the Cavs for falling into the 1 vs. 8th seed trap and leaning on the "we'll turn it on in the 4th quarter" crutch that comes with such a matchup. But that mentality nearly resulted in an unnecessarily bad Game 5 home loss at home - a game which the Cavs should have controlled from the opening tip. I never got the sense the Cavs would lose last night, but it is a little alarming to think that the Bulls were possibly a couple of Derrick Rose in-and-out misses from stealing that game.

All that said, the Cavs did what they had to do in the end and beat the Bulls in five games, as many of us predicted they would. And in the process, they got Shaq some quality minutes in a tight playoff game and found out the big fella can still produce on both ends of the floor. And he can still quickly rack up fouls on the opposition. Maybe this series is what Mike Brown's much-maligned "high-level practices" quote at the end of the regular season can really be applied to. I do know that playing some games like this against the Bulls has to go further than previous first-round cake walks at the hands of the Pistons and Wizards. The Cavs should be more prepared to face the Celtics this next round than they were in last season's ECF vs. the Magic.

And perhaps the biggest thing to take away from the Bulls series is the fact that Antawn Jamison has truly become the bona fide second option offensively for this team. He finished the series averaging 19.5 points on 50.7% shooting from the floor. And he went 16-for-20 from the line after struggling so mightily there since joining the Cavs. He seems to have reached a new level of comfort on this offense and I believe Mo Williams, in particular, will reap the most benefit from this. Even with Mo's clunker (2-of-13 from the field) last night, he still averaged 15.6 points on 41% shooting for the series. Jamison's arrival has taken much of the pressure off Mo and I'm looking forward to seeing how this affects him as the playoffs roll on.

For now, we can forget about the Joakim Noah hate (the guy was pretty much a beast against the Cavs, as was Derrick Rose). It's time to direct that hatred to where it rightfully belongs... squarely on the Boston Celtics. Possibly the most unlikeable team I've ever had the displeasure of watching in all my years of NBA fandom. Bring on the Celtics. We've been waiting for this for two years now and the time has finally come for some payback. Go Cavs.

Random notes:

• I didn't even mention LeBron in my post above. He's that good that I don't even feel the need to single him out anymore. But how about his series? He averaged 31.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. On 56.7% shooting, including 54.2% from three-point range. I've run out of things to say to describe his awesomeness. Even when it looked like he was having a tough game last night, I look up at the scoreboard at the end of the game to see he was one assist shy of yet another playoff triple-double. Sick.
• Can anyone out there verify if FSN will be broadcasting any of these 2nd round games? My fear of the national guys on TNT is slowly creeping in... my only hope is that they at least give us the tag team of Fratello and Albert. I don't ask for much.
• I hear the LeBron banner got some major airtime on TNT last night as they headed to a commercial. A true testament to the hard work of many at www.realcavsfans.com. If you're a true Cavs fan and don't at least regularly browse the forums, what is wrong with you?
• My brush with the stars last night: Before the game, on my way to Wilbert's after picking up my tickets I run into Campy Russell and got a fist bump from him. The guy is a lot bigger in person than I expected. And on the way to the car after the game I got a peace sign from Boobie Gibson as he was being hustled out of there in girlfriend Keyshia Cole's Porsche.
• Finally, last night was my first encounter after a Cavs playoff game where the team shop wasn't a complete zoo. Note to self: hit the team shop any time a playoff game ends around 11:00pm on a Tuesday night. Gotta take advantage of that 20% season ticket holder discount and you can never have too much Cavs gear.
  

Much more like it

This was the type of performance we've come to expect from our Cavaliers. Perhaps finally deciding that these Bulls weren't worthy of sharing the same court with them, something clicked in the last few minutes of the 2nd quarter for the Cavs. Two LeBron buzzer beaters (including this ridiculous pull-up jumper from half court to end the 3rd quarter) and a 37/12/11 line later, the Bulls found themselves in an insurmountable 3-1 series deficit. The Cavs will undoubtedly send Chicago packing for the summer in Game 5 at the Q tomorrow night.


So how did the Cavs turn things around so easily and cruise to such a lopsided win? Aside from LeBron's usual greatness there were a lot of other contributing factors. First, Antawn Jamison had his best playoff game yet as a Cavalier. His 24 points on a vast array of jumpers, floaters, and driving trick shots were a welcome sight - and yet another example of just how comfortable he has become since being dealt to the Cavs. His eye-popping +33 on the night was tops for the wine and gold.

The starting backcourt of AP and Mo also combined for 31 points. Any time you can get a solid game from Mo and throw in 12 points from Parker, it's highly unlikely the Cavs will lose. When you add that to LeBron's greatness and Jamison's big game, it is the complete offensive recipe for a blowout win. But the Cavs also showed some defensive tenacity that I haven't seen since the regular season, particularly in yesterday's 2nd half. Numerous trips for the Bulls resulted in one shot and out and they took the United Center crowd completely out of the game.

And it was an interesting day for the Cavalier big men. Shaq only played 17 minutes. Z only logged 3 minutes of mop-up duty at the end of the 4th quarter. Andy played 20 minutes, yet only grabbed 3 rebounds. And Mike Brown dusted off JJ Hickson, who notched 10 points in 17 minutes of energy-filled play. I wrote last week after the ugly Game 3 loss that the mini-controversy surrounding JJ's removal from the rotation was much ado about nothing. Now it appears he may have worked his way back into the mix, at least against smaller, quicker teams like the Bulls. And we all know what effect his inclusion may have against the plodding Celtics frontcourt in the next round. So strike my previous comments on the situation. Hickson may prove to be invaluable in certain matchups as we move along towards the ultimate prize. It's just good to know that guys like Z and Shaq seem to be on board with that final goal, however it may arrive.

Random notes:

• I know I'm in the minority, but I love Mike Brown. He's done most everything correctly and professionally in what I would argue is the toughest, most thankless head coaching gig in the NBA. That said, why does he always seem to have this expression on his face?
• The endless post-game coverage by FSN Ohio immediately following the national feed for these games is outstanding. A welcome treat for a Cavs junkie like me that can't get enough coverage. Absolutely love Fred McLeod's enthusiastic player interviews in the locker room where he just takes control of things from all the other media people. And including A.C. in the studio show is never a bad thing. He even dropped a "deep in the United Center" during the highlights and had everyone cracking up. More please.
• Delonte West's baseline turnaround jumper from the post is absolutely money. Whenever he has a smaller defender on him he goes to this. He will hit a huge one of these at some later point in the playoffs.
• Hubie Brown and Mike Tirico are possibly the only two national game commentators I can stomach. Luckily we got both of them in ABC's coverage yesterday.
• On the flip side, we were forcefed the pathetic Jon Barry to provide some halftime "analysis." He actually referred to Delonte and/or Mo as "Mo West" and then later "David West" as he fumbled to get some inane thoughts out on camera. This guy is an absolute joke. I'm certain I could do a better job even though my dad isn't an NBA hall-of-famer.
• Thank you TV schedule-makers for not making us wait forever for Game 5. I won't even begin to try to understand why the Lakers/Thunder have to wait until Tuesday to play their Game 5 (after playing Game 4 on Friday). Whatever. Go Cavs.
  

Game 3 thoughts

Just some quick thoughts after the Cavs 108-106 loss in Game 3 last night:

• I said that the Bulls would have to play a near-perfect game to get a win in this series. They basically did yesterday with a HUGE assist from the Cavs (more on that below). You had to know they would play better in the United Center and they did. Derrick Rose torched the Cavs "defense" and Kirk Hinrich was on fire, which helped the Bulls' cause a lot. A combined 58 points from their starting back court went a long way in deciding this one...
• That said, the Cavs really handed this game to Chicago by first allowing 32 points in the first quarter... then showing no signs of life on defense for much of the rest of the game even after that initial embarrassment... also missing 10 free throws (a recurrent Achilles heel for this Cavs team all season long)... and finally just taking their 8th-seeded opponent far too lightly.
• Now with the bad stuff out of the way, let's look at some positives... overall I honestly think this was a good thing to happen to this team. Last year's first two rounds (both uncompetitive sweeps) were far too short of actual playoff preparation for this team and may have had as much to do with the eventual ECF loss to the Magic as their hot shooting. Yes, it sucks losing any playoff game, but if we're going to lose one I'll take one like last night's wake-up call. Go back to the Magic's run through the playoffs last year... do you think it was a big deal that they dropped two games to a dreadful Sixers team? And before the bashing of the Cavs runs too far, keep in mind that the top-seeded almighty defending-champ-Lakers also lost last night to their 8th-seeded competition. All I'm trying to say is let's not overreact here - it's a marathon, not a sprint. I still say Cavs in 5.
• And can we stop with the whining about JJ Hickson? Yes, he was solid in whatever role was asked of him this season. But Shaq is the starting center for this team and he NEEDS to be worked back into the flow. To me this is similar to the beginning of the regular season when Shaq looked a little lost out there while getting used to his new surroundings. And JJ Hickson isn't going to help keep Noah off the offensive glass. That's just not going to happen. JJ's time will come, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking he's some sort of savior. We knew going into this that one of these big men would be the odd man out. It happens to be JJ. End of story.
• And in this age of TV dollar-driven scheduling, losses like last night's are further magnified as the wait for Game 4 extends to Sunday afternoon. I'm already tired of hearing the overanalysis and complaining and it hasn't even been 24 hours. This might be the first and only time I ever agree with Stan Van Gundy's blustery complaining. I HATE WAITING FOR THE NEXT GAME. Go Cavs.
  

2 Down, 14 To Go

I wrote yesterday that the Bulls would have to play a perfect game in order to beat the Cavaliers. And they damn near played a perfect game yesterday. 68 points from the trio of Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, and the beloved Joakim Noah... 14 points off the bench from Flip Murray... they out-rebounded the Cavs... they had more assists than the Cavs... they only missed one free throw... and most importantly, they only had four turnovers. So how in the world did they not win this one? As my buddy Nicko said, the Cavs simply have an answer for everything.

That's not to say the Cavs played an outstanding game... we all know they have plenty left in the tank and they left a lot to be desired on the defensive end in this one. But let's look at some of the reasons they are able to win games like this:

1) LeBron James: Yesterday I mentioned how "Playoff LeBron" hadn't arrived yet. Well he showed up yesterday. 40 points on 23 shots. 16-for-23 from the field. 8 assists. 8 rebounds. A posterizing dunk and multiple fourth quarter dagger jumpers. It's nice to know that Playoff LeBron is there when we need him.

2) Hot shooting: The Cavs shot 56.3% from the floor last night. They went 50% from 3-point range, making 10 of them. And they were 22-for-24 from the free throw line - a welcome sight after so much struggling in that area during the regular season. Is it just me, or does Shaq look like he put in a ton of free throw practice? The big fella was 4-for-4 from the line. He's taking his time, bending his knees, and putting some more arc on his shot. It's enough to bring a tear to Mark Price's eye.

3) Jamario Moon: In a true example of just how deep this roster is, Moon did his part to ensure the Bulls wouldn't walk out of the Q with a split. This is a guy that has been stuck in the talented roster logjam all season. Of course he deserves more minutes, but where are they supposed to come from? He has never complained, has been the consummate teammate with his fun-loving antics, and has been outstanding in his limited role. Last night he answered the call and went 4-for-5 from outside the arc (his only shots in 20 minutes), getting the chance to show off his trademark "goosey" that has become so popular with the Cavs this year. He was a team-best +16 on the night and even added an insane block of a Noah shot in the 4th quarter that sent the crowd into a frenzy. I love it when bench guys stay ready and come up big when called upon.

4) Mike Brown: The guy has been endlessly ripped for his inability to coach on the fly in the playoffs. His in-game adjustments have been questionable in big playoff games in the past. But credit should be given to Coach for sticking with the proper line-up in the 4th quarter last night. He resisted the urge to re-insert starters Antawn Jamison, Shaq, and Anthony Parker and instead opted for the crunch-time mix of Mo/Delonte/Moon/LBJ/Varejao. That unit turned a 2-point lead into a 10-point win. And this game showed that Brown isn't afraid to make the proper adjusments when needed. Let's hope this trend continues.

5) Home court advantage: I've been to many playoff games at the Q over the last few years. The crowd intensity always builds as the rounds go on. But I think the atmosphere inside the Q for Games 1 & 2 was outstanding. I'm sure the Noah hate helped fuel that a bit, but still it's been impressive for an opening series. And I like how LeBron has learned to play it up when needed. He whipped the crowd up before the start of both halves last night and his "maestro" routine during the 4th quarter was a new one last night. The Q has become a huge advantage working in the Cavs favor, particularly the last two seasons. I expect that advantage to grow over the next few weeks.


And one more thing... I found it quite laughable to hear the TNT guys (particularly Barkley) commenting on last night's game. I flipped the TV on after returning home from the Q and caught the halftime blabber of the Jazz/Nuggets game. Barkley was going on and on about how the Cavs needed to incorporate Jamison and Mo Williams more in Game 2. He was complaining about how LeBron was just "settling" for those jumpers and those shots won't continue to go in. Newsflash Chuck: LeBron always takes what the defense gives him. If they sag off him and dare him to take those jumpers, he will. And he shot 50.3% during the regular season this year, showing off a much-improved midrange game. And that's the beauty of LeBron. He can beat you in so many different ways. Game 2 was just another way that it can happen. I guess it's easy to oversimplify things when you don't watch this team on a game-by-game basis. But as Cavs fans, we have the luxury of doing this and we know how LeBron operates. He's a surgeon waiting to slice open the defense. I can't wait to see what he's got in store for us for Game 3.

All together?

Once again, it's been way too long since I've posted here. But it's playoff time now and that needs to change. After Saturday's relatively easy Game 1 win over the Bulls, it's "All Together" as we march towards 15 more wins and that elusive Cleveland championship. I can't say I'm crazy about this year's playoff slogan... but then again, "Rise Up" and "One Goal" didn't work, so maybe this third one is the charm. We can only hope.

Some questions were answered on Saturday, and I filed away the following mental notes (Terry Pluto-style) as I watched the proceedings in the friendly confines of the Q:

• I was fairly concerned with how Shaq would be able to fit back into the plans after all the time off with the thumb injury. And I was more than pleasantly surprised by how active he was on both ends of the court. Highlight of the game for me was his spin move and dunk on Joakim Noah, followed by the old-school sprint back down the court on defense. Absolutely loved that.
• I fully expected "Playoff LeBron" to make a screaming appearance into Game 1. I've maintained that he's coasted through much of this season, smartly conserving himself for the next two months of work. And he's done so while still easily rolling to his 2nd consecutive league MVP award. In Game 1 he still appeared to be holding back a bit, almost pacing himself. Easy for me to say from the seats, but his numbers weren't eye-popping... until you look at his staggering +19 in 40 minutes of action. Or his 4 blocked shots - many of the demoralizing "chasedown" variety. Even when LBJ "only" gets 24 points, he still finds so many other ways to alter a game. In this one he was content to spread the wealth among Shaq, Antawn, and Mo. But you just know he has a huge game waiting for when this team needs it.
• How about Mo Williams? We've been concerned about his shoulder for much of the season. He hasn't looked like himself for spurts throughout the year since that injury. And on the heels of last year's playoff misfortunes I was really keying on how he would look under the playoff microscope. He has the unenviable task of staying in front of Derrick Rose this series, something that even Delonte West had trouble with on Saturday. But more important than what Mo did or didn't do on defense, he showed up on offense. 19 points, 10 assists is something that all Cavs fans should be thrilled with from Mo in this one. He was 8-of-14 from the field, including 3-for-7 from long-range. And I think my favorite Mo-related moment was when he emphatically waved off LeBron late in the fourth quarter and demanded that he himself bring up the ball to set up the offense. I like aggressive Mo so much more than tentative/passive Mo.
• You could tell Antawn Jamison was having fun playing for a team like the Cavs on this stage. A couple of occasions you could see him imploring the crowd to get louder while walking to the huddle at the start of a timeout. And his array of flip-shots and quick moves (the ones that used to annoy the shit out of me when he was wearing a Wizards jersey) were on full display again. It's going to be something to have him as an option on offense over the next two months. He has been everything we reasonably could have expected since joining the Cavs.
• This Joakim Noah character needs to stop. I understand he's an energy guy that feeds off emotion and hustle. But he's quickly digging himself a hole he can't escape by continuing to rip the city of Cleveland - unless his idea of escaping is a Cavalier sweep and an earlier summer vacation. There's a reason the quote "let sleeping dogs lie" came into popularity. Why give LBJ and the Cavs any further motivation for this series? Wouldn't it be better to take the low road and hope that maybe the Cavs would take you lightly? Ain't gonna happen now thanks to Mr. Noah's big mouth.
  
• The Bulls basically have to play a perfect game on both ends of the court to get a win in this series... I'm not saying it won't happen. I can easily envision them riding some crowd energy at home in either Game 3 or Game 4 and winning a close one. But to think that this series could go past five games seems completely out-of-the-question to this Cavs homer. Not quite as one-sided a matchup as last year's first round series against the Pistons, but close... at least in my eyes.
  
• If you didn't already know it, Dan Gilbert is one hell of an owner. All Cleveland fans need to just stop for a second and thank the sports gods that he fell into our laps. In yet another example of his awesomeness, he stepped in during the 11th hour of the LeBron 2010 banner saga (a grassroots effort by many of us from www.realcavsfans.com and www.lebron2010.com) and made it happen. The quick version of the story: 1) Money was raised over the last couple years to construct and erect a banner in downtown Cleveland right before the 2010 playoffs to show LeBron our support and appreciation before he enters free agency, 2) The banner was created with the amazing artwork of Glen Infante and all the generous donations from loyal everyday hard-working Cavs fans, 3) The great people at Nick's Sports Corner (612 Prospect Avenue) allowed the banner to be put up on the side of their building, and 4) The city of Cleveland squashed the idea late Friday night... just a few hours before said banner was supposed to be raised into place. Of course they did. Why allow the fans of this city to express love and support for LeBron? Another tremendous airball of a blunder by the powers-that-be in this town. Thankfully Gilbert used his influence to right this wrong and the banner went up on Saturday afternoon shortly before tipoff. Can't wait to get downtown tonight and take another look at this beauty. Here's a shot I took as installation was just finishing up. Go Cavs.