Thursday, January 19, 2006
I don't know what to say
I thought I was just gonna go sleep this one off, but honestly I am still so pissed. That was pathetic. LeBron once again opted on the final shot this time to a guy who just missed two free throws. I don't know what to say. I think I agree with sugknight and his comments in the previous post about tonight's game...LeChoke might have to be his temporary nickname. And 8 of 15 from the line..that is pathetic. I could be wrong but most if not all of those misses were off the front iron (minus his final FT attempt at a victory). LeBron not only needs to improve his shot from the line, but has to realize this is really his team and he NEEDS to take those final clutch shots. I think we might have found a weakness (for now). This is a facet of his game that can easy be corrected by something called confidence. I mean you exude confidence all game and now you can't take the final shot. We aren't gonna expect a game winner every night, but you at least have to try.
Another thing that was honestly just sad was our starting line-up of Newble, Henderson, and Snow. I mean I feel like this team has currently hit rock bottom. Granted Gooden will be back soon, but the team is all over the place. Donyell won't take a 2 pointer, Damon just sux, Luke plays then he doesn't. Bad, bad news. We are in exactly the same spot as last year in terms of no help, but there was NO excuse this year. We paid the dough, got the guys, and everything should be ok. Man this sux. Normally, I like to let a loss sink in before commenting, but tonight was just too painful to let simmer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Well, it was a tough night to finally settle in after watching our Cavs come so close again. You can truly see how the absence of Hughes hurts this team. I just hope we can stay in the 4 - 6 six spot until he comes back. I would actually prefer the 6 spot, but before that we need to play better. There were some great things that I saw last night. Sugnight and our fearless editor pointed out the obvious issues we still possess, but there were good things. First, Henderson played out of his mind last night. It was good to see he can still get it doen in his 11th season. He was a huge spark. Wild Thing got some quality minutes and did a very nice job. His is a liabilty on O right now and he has to play with more control, but it was good to see him getting in game-shape. Even though Sasha missed those FT (you could see how he has never been in that situation and his nervousness), I think he'll rebound and come through next time. His D was very good though (something you don't see from a foreign player or Cavalier). It was Sasha's night to play and I think Coach Brown saw some very positive things. Yeah, Luke didn't get in the game, but I'm OK with that if Sasha and Henderson are getting it ton. You go with the hot hand! Z had a good game, but in the 4th we did not go to him. Z was the reason we were able to get back in the game. The offense needs to flow through him. He is passing so much better this year, taking less shots and his production is about the same. Besides Shaq, nobody in the East dominates the C like him (sad as it is). Z is good and should be All-Star dispite playing just under 30 min/game. So from my perspective our frontcourt played very well.
(Backcourt and LBJ in next Comments.....)
So... our backcourt was the downfall again. Yeah I question Newble and Snow as starters, but Luke can't start yet. He needs to do more. Snow can't help but be himself and do what he can. You know what you get out of Snow and at least he is consistant everygame on O and he plays good D (the bail-out call when guarding Boykins was ridiculous... also the first time we've seen Coach Brown get fired up... we need more of that). Snow got a T also, so the two guys you least expect to get T's do and show the rest of this team their intensity (I hope LBJ was watching while he bit his nails... does he even have finger nails anymore?). Newble's a veteran and better defender so he gets the nod. Its scary how similar this team is to last. As for Amon Ones... (He plays no D and has no J) he struggled mightily, but at least he gave a pump fake and stepped inside the 3-pt. line. Did anybody notice (on ESPN) how Boykins was mocking Amon Ones after his 3 put the Nuggets on top. He gave the same sign/symbol Amon Ones does, but with both hands. It was really funny. Not only are C-land fans booing him, but other teams are mocking him. That has to be embarrassing. All in... our Gs need to penetrate more and our shooters need to attack some more. Dony needs to go to the glass, post up some and not settle/hover around the 3 pt. line all game. The guards lost this game and so did another player... (next comments)
LBJ needs to get the "killer instinct" Kobe, Wade, KG, VC all have. He had the open look behind a Z pick to shoot the 3. He passed it up to Sasha with over 13 sec, who drove and was bailed out on a horrible play. LBJ needs to get the ball, take the shot and win for our team. He jsut doesn't do that yet. I know he will, but Coach Brown and staff need to implore how crucial it is LBJ has the ball in his hands as time winds down at the end of the shot clock, quarter, half and game. That is when superstars and leaders bring their best. LBJ did it all game, but was silent in the end. And FT shooting was embarrassing. If I were Coach I would have them each shoot 500 FT today and 500 more later today. We won this game, just like the Lakers and Trailblazers. FT has killed us on this trip.
(This 200 word limit/posting sucks)
As for my analysis of Coach Brown. I thought he did a good job. He had some unusual rotations, but he went with the hot hand(s). My only negative point is our play calling. In case you haven't noticed our D has been very solid as a team (minus Amon Ones). We've been attacking the shooters more and getting in passing lanes. Our coach is a defensive coach, so our O is struggling. I know I just said LBJ needs to ball in his hands at crucial times, but I would have liked to have seen (with 32 sec left) Z get the ball on the block. He was killing K-Mart (yes we all heard the broken leg story again Paul) and could have backed him down for a shot or sucked down the D and pass out. Z is beginning to see the floor much better and his assist numbers have improved. If Z has nothing then go to LBJ (the play should be designed for him anyway) with about 10 and the shot clock and let him do his thing. That's my beef with Coach Brown. All in... I think we played very well, battled all game and should have won. This is a tough time right now, but I'm sticking with these guys. They are improving everygame as a team, it's just a different area we faulter in each game that is why we lose. We don't have to play perfect, but we must play smart. Have faith Cavs fans. It's only season one with this group/coach and we're not winning a title this year anyway. Lets make the playoffs first, win a series and go from there.
First off, we all need to relax. It was a tough loss yesterday and this entire road trip. We have to realize we are missing Hughes, and how important he is to the team. Lebron will have to drive to make those shots, he know that now. His quote in the paper read as so, "It is something I need to work on to get better at and when I get better at it we'll be a better team, I lost the game for us." This is what needed to happen. He needed a reason to want it more and know he has it. The other thing we found out last night is that it doesn't matter who plays power forward on this team they will produce. Playing between Lebron and Z is a gift and any PF should want that. That being said we must trade Gooden and whatever else for a quality point guard. I like snow, but would prefer him off the bench. Newble is hurt and you can see he has no lift when all of his shots hit the front of the rim. He should be shut down, but we can't since Luke and Sasha are show up one day and not the next. The cavs will win one of the next 2 and Lebron will work on his game. I have no problem with him passing the ball to Sasha as he had hit the shot just a couple minutes prior. He was open and Lebron had really been off all night. Lebron will always pass first, it's his mentality. Don't mean to vent, just had to get it all off my chest. Go cavaliers, we will get through this!
Bottom line... we held a playoff team from the western conference who scores 100 ppg to 90 points without our best on ball defender and our best (maybe second best) rebounder.
Remember that LBJ is 21 years old and has the weight of a long struggling franchise on his back. It's gonna take him time to calm his nerves at the end of a game like that. "But Melo's only 22," you say, "and he dunked that ball when they needed points." But 'Melo has been in high pressure situations before (Final Four, NBA playoffs, hell even Oak Hill who plays a tougher schedule than St. V. could dream of). Give Bron time to get comfortable in those situations. In the meantime, keep shutting down the league's top offenses, our starters will get healthy, the points will come.
Cavs notes- I think you guys said it all, but let me add my $.02. LBJ needs experience with the late game situations. Failure is a good way to get it. Lebron has always been able to take what he isn't good at and turn it into a strength. I think the more he fails, the more he will practice, and the better he will get. He will also be hitting that FT line more, I am sure.
Bucks notes- what a great win. After losing in DOT, to come in and beat the top Big 10 team right now in great style was awesome. We can shoot it, we can D up, and we have the Big Man. Thad is doing a great job with Jamar, Ja'Kel, Terrence, Matt, and the rest of the team. And wait till the Thad 5 comes in.... oh my is all I can say.
However, my favorite moment from the game was Steve Lavin. He was like we have ESPN2, ESPN360, ESPN.com, ESPN the mag, ESPN EEO, and then he said the magic words: "We are a monopoly." (I don't remember exactly what he said, but he definetly said the word monopoly in referring to ESPiN). Thank god someone out there knows it, even if he doesn't really know it.
Well, I must say, it's great seeing such a passionate verbal response from our Cleveland (and AK) contingent. If we can't win, at least we all can express our thoughts throuh the power of the written word. . .
In any case, some thoughts on this West Coast nightmare. It hurts. It's painful. And we need a win. But there may be a bit of a silver lining amongst all these losses. We are playing better defense. Yes, Melo blew by Ira for what ended up to be the game wining slam, but our defense is improving, and we're doing it without L Hughes. It doesn't make up for five straight losses, and we should really be 3-1 on this road trip, but this is part of the maturation process for a team still trying to find its identity. Without it's number two scorer, and now it's top rebounder, we're competing, and pushing some tough teams to brink of defeat. I know there is no such thing as a good loss, and five in row certainly sucks, but if anything, hopefully these losses are teaching us what we need to do to win. It does make me sick to my stomach, especially since we have been so damn close three times this trip, but I'm not ready to push the emergency button quite yet. Let's regroup, get serious, and salvage this trip with two straight wins. If that doesn't happen though, then we may need to reevalute our team, cause we'll be nearly .500 halfway through the season. And well, mediocrity just won't cut it.
(continued on the next post)
(continued from below)
As to our superstar and this last shot thing. Well, yes, it's true, superstars are supposed to have the ball in their hands when the game is on the line, and I don't know why he passed it up to Sasha at the end, but he's still learning the game too. He'll get it, eventually. The great ones always do. He's 21, should still be in college, kicking ass at OSU or UofAk, and instead he's trying to bring the Cavs back from extinction. By the end of this season we'll see him hit at least 5 game tying or winning shots. I know we're all passionate about this team, but we got to cut LBJ a bit of slack. The moment the media and fans demand more from him (and you know he demands a lot from himself, and I bet he was at the gym two hours before anyone else shooting those 500 FTs), he'll begin to resent the city and team. He knows he blew it, and he's going to correct himself.
Well I think I've babbled enough. Burgoon asked me to post, and I have. Oh one last thing. . . Go Bucks. Between the Cavs and Skating with the Stars (Pathetic, and I'll never watch again, but I was partly intrigued as to what this show was all about - thanks to Fox's relentless in game promotion during the NFL playoffs), I caught most of this game, and it was great to see them bounce back. That's a tough Wisc team, and we beat them.
So to all my brother's out there, hold tight on the Cavs, and give a shout out to O!H!
It's gotta be the tights. I cringed when I saw him walk onto the floor wearing the trendy black leggings, but dry legs did wonders. Finally, the Cavs looked like a good basketball team... granted, we beat the struggling Jazz, but it felt good to get a win. Michael Reghi was right when he said that Bron's performance was "Jordan-esque". Bron knew they were in a must-win situation, so he took matters into his own hands. Maybe he can't consistently hit game winners yet, but he sure can take over a ballgame when he needs to.
Nice to see 'Yell blow up for the first time in a while... and to see Damon taking and making high percentage shots. Maybe he'll start to realize that on this team, he is not an asset in the starting lineup, but brings a lot off the bench. Sasha as a starter was an interesting decision that paid off. His shot looks confident, as does his on-ball defense. He just needs to have more confidence handling the ball.
Now, let's get a win at home and show the Pacers that without Ron Artest guarding Bron, we are a far superior basketball team. Go Cavs.
Post a Comment