Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Cavs Pre-Game Thoughts
Below are some solid words from masug24, who is leaving for his first Cavs game of the season in a little bit. Thanks man for helping the struggling LeBlog stay afloat. I appreciate and anyone who wants to contribute is more than willing. Send me what you got..reviews, insights, random crap, whatever.
Like the Cavs motto, all for one.
~~~~~~~~~
I've been waiting all spring, summer and fall for the NBA season to tip off and now that it's here, I'm back in Cavs mode. I watch all three LeBron commercials almost every day, read every word that the great Brian Windhorst writes and even scour the Cavaliers message board to see what morons most Cavs fans are. I remember watching the Cavs at the beginning of last year, thinking to myself, "These guys are definitely playoff contenders." After 7 games this year, I find myself wondering whether we are championship contenders. Well, the jury is still out... I see signs of hope and I see signs of another also-ran.
Sign of Hope #1 - LeReal Answer, LeBrizzle, LeSavior, LeGod
Every single game LeBron James does something that makes my jaw drop. After he dunked over Tim Duncan, he got this look in his eye that said to me that he knows how unstoppable he is. When he stared down Paul Pierce before the and-1 that turned that ugly game around, he had that same look in his eye. Needless to say, at times he plays like he is possessed and if he can stretch that into June, schedule the parade.
Sign of Also-Ran #1 - LeCan't make a free throw
LeBron has two glaring problems that could spell demise. First, leaders of championship teams do not shoot 70% from the free throw line, especially when they lead the league in trips to the line. No further discussion needed, just make your damn free throws. Second, I know he's trying to get better on defense and I see the improvement, but he's not there yet. Already, I've seen LeBron lose his man on defense multiple times every game. I want to see that same look in his eye when he's staring down the other team's scoring threat and I just don't see it right now.
Sign of Hope #2 - Supporting Cast
On any given night, one of LeBron's supporting cast plays possessed. You saw it in Drew Gooden throughout the preseason and the first few games of the year. You've seen it in Sasha Pavlovich, who thankfully has taken all of David Wesley's minutes. You even saw it in Amon Jones of all people... I mean that game against the Knicks was insane. If we could just convince Amon that he's playing in MSG every night or heck, if he could pull out one performance like that every couple weeks, I think he'll finally prove that his contract is worth it. Not to mention, you just know that Donyell and Varejao are due to light it up here in the near future.
Sign of Also-Ran #2 - Non-Supporting Cast
I have always been an Eric Snow supporter. I understand what he brings to this team in terms of leadership and in the locker room. I saw what he brought in the playoffs. But I also see him getting schooled JCC style by every point guard he has faced. I also see him missing layups and wide open 12 foot jumpers. I know Dan Gibson and Shannon Brown aren't ready yet, but could they be any worse than Eric Snow? He is officially a liability out there... put him in a suit and give him a damn clipboard. Shannon had some jitters when he first got out there (reminded me a little bit of Luke scurrying around the court like he had no business), but I think he'll be a contributor down the road. Oh, and please, someone light a fire under Z's ass. Don't give me the line about adjusting to the motion offense, he just can't put the ball in the hoop when he needs to. Let's hope his minutes stay down this year and he comes to play come playoff time.
Sign of Hope #3 - Confidence under pressure
Despite not being able to hold a lead, we have already pulled out some close games, and not entirely thanks to LeBron. I think we've seen some inspired play down the stretch of certain game and getting used to these types of games will pay off down the road.
Sign of Also-Ran #3 - Playing down to opponents.
In the words of Jimmy from South Park, "Come on, I mean reallyguys, come on." The Hawks?!?! The Bobcats?!?! The Celtics?!?!?! The Knicks?!?!?! These teams are all but dreaming of Greg Oden and Joakim Noah two weeks into the season and we've either lost, given up a big lead and just played down to the level of every one of these teams. I'm writing this before I go watch LeBron hopefully tear up the Jailblazers, but if Dan Dickau and DMiles light it up, I will be livid. This team has shown that we can beat the best at home or in hostile territory. How about showing up to play against teams who have no business being on the same court as the Cavs.
I could go on for pages, but for now... I'm off to see the Cavs light up the Blazers like... well you know.
F MICHIGAN
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4 comments:
Quick post game thoughts...
Eric Snow must read LeBlog before games. (I still vote to bench him)
Dan Gibson registers his first assist in his first NBA minute.
Shows how much attention I pay to the Blazers... Miles out for the season and I guess Dan Dickau must be hurt too.
Stephen Graham freaking started for the Blazers... also shook LeBron in the first quarter. He must have learned something guarding LeBron in practice last year.
Zach Randolph is a BEAST. We won because we shut him down in the second half.
LeBron just has an on/off switch. He was invisible in the first half, then all of a sudden, halfway through the third, he just turned on and could not be stopped.
Last night's W at the Q was really imporant. The remaining games in November are all winnable, but I'm not expecting to all W's. We do need to win games against lesser competition and against teams that always give us trouble (Wizards, 76ers, Knicks). I agree with Masug, that we sometimes play to the level of our competition, but so do other high-caliber teams around the NBA... last night the Bobcats beat the Spurs (in S.A.) and the Hornets beat the Pistons (in Det.). It happens, it shouldn't but it does. The Bobcats/Hawks losses will not hurt the Cavs today, but in March and April it may be the difference between home court and not. For the record, this is the first time in franchise history the Cavs started back-to-back seasons 6-2 or better. Last year we started 9-2. We can do it again, but tough games against "the Big Ticket" and Arenas on back-to-back nights will be really tough. I see us finishing the first month with a 10-5 at a minimum.
As for Snow... he is a liability. We all know it, the team knows it. LBJ even said it during th post-game press conference last night. If Snow can give them 10+ and game and play good D, then we'll be really hard to beat. Snow is 14-29 from the field this year. He is attacking the glass more. His D (and Damon) against smaller/quicky PGs (i.e. Tyrone Lue) kill us. That is why we have Snow guarding other big guards (i.e. Joe Johnson/Paul Pierce) . The biggest problem is see with Snow is how he is being used. I am all about his leadership and solid D, but in certain situations you need to sub him for offensive sets at the end of quarters. I also think Coach Brown should get Shannon more involved earlier. Give Shannon time at the defensive end instead of Snow. Right now Shannon is not comfortable in our offensive sets, but defense is all about heart, grit and guts. He can do that and he's bigger than Snow. Defense leads to offense and this would help Shannon's ability to get more in the game flow and stronger play.
As for our bench and E. Snow...
Our team is deep. We go 9 strong. Damon and Donyell are going to earn their money this year. Andy is a stud, but he has to work on his footwork/tendency to get stuck in bad spots (committing fouls). Sasha has been phenominal. Each game his minutes keep increasing and the commentators keep focusing on why he is getting the playing time over Wesley... DEFENSE! Sasha is not a "shut-down" defender, but he is playing solid defense, running the floor and making good decisions with the ball. If Hughes misses any time because of the high leg bruise I don't think we'll miss a beat, but LBJ will probably play more minutes than he has.
The biggest issue we have right now is NOT E. Snow. It is Z! The adjustment to the offense crap is that... crap. We start every game going to Z and try to get him off early. Z has just been missing shots and he still isn't strong enough to pound away at defenders. He is getting boards, but his offensive boards are not yielding points. At 7' he should flush the ball hard. His softness is giving Andy more P.T. (#114), but I see his as an issue Ferry/Gilbert need to address before it's too late. I don't see how we can move Z and his $12M contract and I don't necessarily think we need to. Z can play better and I think he will, but it may take until after the All-Star break for him to get back to normal. I hope our fans can be patient and as long as we keep winning I think Z will be productive in the playoffs.
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