Cavs 07-08 Season Thread

[osugrad21]

CPD

Washington Wizards players cruise downtown Cleveland mall before Game 5 against Cavaliers


Thursday, May 01, 2008Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
All of the trash-talking, rap songs and hard fouls did not prevent the Washington Wizards from walking around Tower City in downtown Cleveland on Tuesday night.
Even public enemy No. 1, Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson, paced the shopping mall among Cleveland fans. Stevenson called Cavaliers star LeBron James "overrated" and committed a flagrant 1 foul on James during the Cavs' 100-97 win in Game 4 on Sunday in Washington.
As expected, Cavaliers fans let Stevenson know their displeasure.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Clemens' comeback pitch

Now, it's Roger and pout
Thursday, May 01, 2008Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
Brendan Haywood calling LeBron James soft is like Larry Brown calling somebody "restless."
It's Ricky Davis declaring another player "stats-conscious."
It's me making fun of somebody's receding hairline.

Charles Barkley said the Wizards were "the dumbest team in the history of civilization" for calling out James even before the series began. Well, at least they've been consistent.
Down, 3-1, entering Game 5 Wednesday and having been pistol-whipped on the boards, 51-31, the Wizards decided against the low-key approach. Instead, Haywood mocked James for saying the Wizards were trying to hurt him.
It's difficult to imagine a smarter strategy . . . unless you count Lee ordering Pickett's charge at Gettysburg.
A philosophy worth sharing
Says Ben Wallace, "I don't need to score . . . to affect the game."
This is a quote worthy of a place above a locker.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Cavaliers' supporting cast doesn't help LeBron James late, Bill Livingston says


Thursday, May 01, 2008Bill Livingston
Plain Dealer Columnist
The Terminator went down the lane, and the crowd rose like believers about to be delivered from defeat and doubt. As LeBron James crashed into Washington's Darius Songaila, his 4-foot shot banked off the backboard and struck the rim. It was the death rattle for Washington's season.
Except it bounced out with no time left.
"I said to LeBron before the play, 'Make it an interesting series and go back to Washington,' " said the Wizards' Caron Butler, who scored 32 points to James' 34.

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[osugrad21]

CPD

THE Q With Washington Wizards forward Darius Songaila



Thursday, May 01, 2008

Q: Are you trying to persuade [Cavaliers center] Zydrunas Ilgauskas to play on the Lithuanian Olympic team with you?
A: No. That's his decision.
Q: Do you hope he decides to play?

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Wizards come out fighting early to beat Cleveland Cavaliers to the punch



Thursday, May 01, 2008 Mary Schmitt Boyer

Plain Dealer Reporter
Most of the attention will be how the Cavaliers finished their 88-87 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night in Quicken Loans Arena.
After all, they did squander a five-point lead with 1:47 left as the Wizards scored the last six points to pull within 3-2 in the best-of-seven first-round series and force a Game 6 on Friday night in Washington.
But some of the focus should be on how the Cavaliers started the game. Or, rather, how they didn't start the game. With a jacked-up crowd ready to rock, the Cavaliers came out and promptly fell behind by six points.

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Cavaliers must return to Washington after losing Game 5
Thursday, May 1, 2008
BY Chris Beaven
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND When the final buzzer sounded Wednesday with a LeBron James shot bouncing away from the hoop at Quicken Loans Arena, no one seemed sure how to react.

The King missing a chance to put away the Wizards? The Wizards winning Game 5, 88-87, in Cleveland to extend their first-round series another game?

A sellout crowd of 20,562 stood in stunned silence. James and his teammates waited to hear a whistle. Even Wizards star Caron Butler stood waiting for something.

"I didn't celebrate yet because of what happened in the Philadelphia game (a late-season Cavs win on a foul at the buzzer)," Butler said. "I thought they might have blown a whistle and wanted to review it, but once I saw everyone going to the locker room, I started celebrating."
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[osugrad21]

Canton

Cavs notebook: Mistakes plague team during loss
Thursday, May 1, 2008
BY Chris Beaven
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND Blown layups. Errant passes. Missed open jumpers.

Throw in some occasional idle standing around, and that sums up the Cavaliers' offense for extended stretches of Game 5 Wednesday ? an 88-87 loss to the Wizards.

With a chance to close out Washington, Cleveland's offense misfired early, often and especially down the stretch.

"We probably missed 15 to 20 layups," LeBron James said. "We came out aggressive. We just couldn't make any shots. If it wasn't for the free throw line, it really could've been pretty bad."

Thanks to James going 15-for-18 at the foul line, the Cavs were 24-of-32 on free throws. But that could not offset 36 percent shooting by the team and 14 turnovers. The turnovers may not sound that high, but many were unforced and further contributed to their offensive struggles.

"We have to focus a little bit better," Head Coach Mike Brown said. "I thought at times we were very sloppy with our execution."
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[osugrad21]

Canton

Cavs fans let Stevenson know their feelings
Thursday, May 1, 2008
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND Walking through a shopping mall, DeShawn Stevenson learned quickly that he had angered more than just LeBron James.

The whole city dislikes him.

The Washington Wizards guard has been branded Public Enemy No. 1 in Cleveland for calling James "overrated" and then committing a flagrant foul against the Cavaliers' star in Game 4 on Sunday.

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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Cavs fail without a Plan Z Coach blames self for not calling Ilgauskas' number
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Friday, May 02, 2008
INDEPENDENCE: Z wanted the basketball.
With the Cavaliers ahead by five points and fewer than two minutes left to go, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas wanted to do what he could to earn a Game 5 victory against the Washington Wizards.
As time ticked away and LeBron James chucked one off-the-mark 3-pointer and, seconds later, Daniel Gibson hoisted another, it was evident that Ilgauskas wouldn't get that chance even with Wizards center Brendan Haywood on the bench after fouling out.
The Cavs lost Game 5 to the Wizards 88-87 and now find themselves forced to play a sixth game tonight in Washington, D.C., ahead 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
''It was bad decision-making on my part; I didn't call his number,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said of Ilgauskas Thursday after practice. ''I thought we had some good
looks ? one look that was a little questionable was probably LeBron's 3. In terms of Z not getting touches down the stretch, I didn't call his number, but I'll live with every other possession we had besides that 3.''
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

Cavs missing 15 layups tells the sad story Defense and attitude played a role in loss
Published on Friday, May 02, 2008


This being Cleveland, a single loss always takes on gigantic dimensions.
So it was with the Cavs' Game 5 loss at home to the Washington Wizards, when they frittered away a five-point lead with less than two minutes left and watched Caron Butler make a game-winning shot.
The loss felt like three, especially with the chance to end the series.
Now Mike Brown can't coach and the same Cavs players who were praised after wins in Games 1 and 4 are liabilities.
But as bad as it was, one loss does not count as more than one. The Wizards did not clinch the series with one win; the
Cavs did not make themselves a lottery team with a loss.
It was just one loss.
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[osugrad21]

ABJ

1. The Cavs have bounced back from bad losses before. The question from the Game 5 loss is whether the Cavs learned anything. Like how not to end a game. That's a lesson that could carry through to every game in the playoffs.
2. LeBron James said earlier this season that not many big guys shoot the jump shot like Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Well, where has that jump shot been? James and Z are very effective on a pick-and-pop play, but that play has been missing from the Cavs' offense. Time to bring it back, especially if the Washington Wizards are doubling Z in the post.
3. The Wizards intentionally fouled Ben Wallace in the fourth quarter, and Wallace missed two free throws. Not surprising, given he's barely 50 percent for his career. Eddie Jordan had said he would not do Hack-A-Ben, but his players did it anyway. This basically makes it next-to-impossible to play Wallace in the fourth quarter of a game when the Cavs are ahead.
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Wizards likely to target Cleveland Cavaliers big man Ben Wallace for fouls

Poor free-throw shooting by big man makes him prime choice

Friday, May 02, 2008 Branson Wright

Plain Dealer Reporter
The Washington Wizards downplayed the move and Caron Butler called it "spontaneously," but the decision to purposely foul Ben Wallace late in Game 5 could become routine for the rest of this series.
The Cavaliers and Wizards play tonight at the Verizon Center in Game 6 of this best-of-seven first-round playoff series. The Cavs lead, 3-2, and a simple play, also called "Hack-a-Ben" could come into play once again. Coach Mike Brown expects it.
"[General Manager] Danny Ferry and I talked about it the night before about [this] being the game that they could do this," Brown said. "We'll give Ben an opportunity to stand and knock down free throws and if he doesn't and we feel like we need to make a change, we'll make a change."

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Cavaliers expect to respond following loss in Game 5


Friday, May 02, 2008Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
Shortly before the Cavaliers departed for Washington to continue their playoff series with the Wizards, the break gave several players time to reflect on what happened in Wednesday's loss and what could happen tonight in Game 6.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas praised the Wizards for their victory.
"They came out and took it from us," Ilgauskas said. "Their backs were against the wall and they didn't back down. We feel we let it get away from us. We had our chances and it just slipped away."

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[osugrad21]

CPD

What to do about Butler, Bud Shaw asks


Friday, May 02, 2008Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
Now that the Washington Wizards are a two-hit won der looking for three, they are as dangerous for what they lack as for what they have going for them.
No Gilbert Arenas means more of Caron Butler, a better player who now has no good reason to defer to Agent Zero's injured reputation as a basketball assassin - especially not with Double Z, Wally Szczerbiak, trying to stay in front of him.
There's no crying in the NBA playoffs, despite Brendan Haywood's mockery of LeBron James ("They're trying to huuuuurt me") and himself (four points, six fouls in Game 5?). There's no hiding either.

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Cavaliers beat in Game 5, but still upbeat entering tonight's Game 6
Friday, May 2, 2008
BY Chris Beaven
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Frustration and disappointment belonged to the Cavs on Wednesday night after the game that got away.

Thursday afternoon, the Cavs were focusing on the game left to be played ? Game 6 tonight at 7 in Washington ? their second chance to close out their first-round series with the Wizards.

"Everybody is motivated and looking forward to our next opportunity to get out on the floor," guard Daniel Gibson said after practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

The Wizards beat the Cavs, 88-87, Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena to stave off elimination. The Cavs lead the series, 3-2, but squandered a chance to put away Washington a third straight year. They were up five with the ball entering the final 90 seconds and couldn't finish it off.

"It left a real bad taste in our mouth," Gibson said.

"Everybody took it home with them," center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. "But you woke up (Thursday) morning and you saw smiles on everybody's faces. We're ready to go again."

The Cavs are in general agreement that they did not play close to their best basketball in Game 5.

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