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Cavs 08-09 Season - Central Div Champs (official thread)

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Best record in the NBA.
Best home record.
Best player in the game.
Win 8 straight playoff games by double-digits.


...self-destructing in the Eastern Conference Finals- worrying about refs, terrible shooting, embarrassing turnovers, blown leads, close loses, a "guaranteed win" gone wrong.

This season/series has all the makings of being right up there with the best (read: worst) Cleveland sports collapses of all-time.


Moving on though...

I still think they go on to win game 5 back at the Q. After that, I'm not sure, but if they win 5...I'll take a "LeBron's chance" going back to Orlando.

It's not over...

:paranoid:
 
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They don't look like the same team from the regular season. Their defensive strategy is not working. Orlando looks like the greatest ball movement team of all time. The only time they held them under 100, Cleveland lost by 11.

Coach Brown has also made a crazy rule or something that he can't play Sasha P and Wally S in the same game.

To me, it is obvious that Big Z and Anderson V can't play Howard one on one. I would play Darnell Jackson early and have him hack and tire the mother F****** sh** out of Howard like a Hockey enforcer. Make Him Work!!! Plus you get more atheticism from Jackon and probably just as much offense. If he fouls out, so what. But what do I know.

You have to give Orlando cedit. Everytime they launch three ball I cringe.
 
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I'm tired of this notion of "Lebron chance" or "Don't count out Lebron" and whatnot. HE IS NOT THE PROBLEM FOLKS. HE'S ALREADY CARRIED US TO THE ONE WIN AND MADE SURE THE OTHER ONES WEREN'T UGLY. I'm not counting out Lebron. To be averaging 41 or 42 points out of efficiency and exploiting the defense is one thing. Lebron is averaging 42 points out of sheer need, thats disturbing. What more can he do? He can't make the jumpers for his teamates nor guard 5 players on the floor (his defense hasn't even really been spectacular either). Don't take a chance on Lebron, he is the one constant for the Cavs.

You want to know how to get back into the series? The answer lies with the role players, as it always has and always will if Cleveland is to ever win a championship.
 
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UltimateNut;1472855; said:
They don't look like the same team from the regular season. Their defensive strategy is not working. Orlando looks like the greatest ball movement team of all time. The only time they held them under 100, Cleveland lost by 11.

Coach Brown has also made a crazy rule or something that he can't play Sasha P and Wally S in the same game.

To me, it is obvious that Big Z and Anderson V can't play Howard one on one. I would play Darnell Jackson early and have him hack and tire the mother F****** sh** out of Howard like a Hockey enforcer. Make Him Work!!! Plus you get more atheticism from Jackon and probably just as much offense. If he fouls out, so what. But what do I know.

You have to give Orlando cedit. Everytime they launch three ball I cringe.
Click to expand...

Orlando is playing very good "team" ball. That's why they are winning the games.

I see three major things wrong with the Cavs in this series:

1) Way too much one-on-one play. Lebron needs to do what Lebron does best. Make everybody else around him better. It showed in spurts in the game last night then the team would settle for jump shots. Penetrate and pass the ball out if the shot is not there. Move the damn ball. Hell the Magic is doing it. Granted some of the guys are hitting their shots BUT the one on one isn't working either.

2) Cover the damn 3 pointer. I'm having a stroke on their inability to stay with their man. If you cover your man on the perimeter and force the guy to take the two. To many players collapsing to help in the middle when they need to stay with their man. They killed us with the three last night. Say what you want about Howard. But if we cut the number of threes they made by a third (6) and turn them into "twos", we win by four. Cover the three and force Howard to beat you. He cannot do it.

3) Play Jackson up front and Kinsey at the off-guard in spells. Their youth and energy would be served. Their purpose would be defending, rebounding, and providing the team energy. We are to slow and small on the D-side of the ball against the more athletic Magic. On the slow side, Z, Sasha, Wally, Andy and Ben cannot cover Turk, Howard, and Lewis. Our guards (Mo and Gibson) are not physical enough to cover Lee, Johnson, Pietrous and Alston. We are getting beat when we play or attempt to play DEFENSE. When we needed stops we have not gotten them. When we need a basket, we turn the ball over or play one-on-one or one-on-five and it might as well be a turnover.

I still believe this team can win the series if the three things take place:

1) Stop the THREE.

2) Play deeper. (Play Jackson and Kinsey in rolls)

3) Play as a team and play physical. Penetrate, pass, pass, extra pass. MAKE HOWARD beat you and stop everyone else. I will tell you right now, if Howard scores 40 points (make him work) and you hold the rest of the team to say 50 or so. We win. PERIOD.

Sounds great in theory, eh?:)
 
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First of all, I NEVER have a problem with a player in the pros guaranteeing a win. Never. You play to win the game - so why not guarantee it? If you lose, its going to suck whether or not you say something, so why not just put it out there?

second, I mean, yeah, guard the three... easier said than done in this case. Orlando has a player in the pain that WILL score if he's not doubled, and usually 4 shooters around him. That's a team that presents match-up problems. Period. Cavs have been struggling to get to the shooters after the 3rd or 4th pass (esp. after the pick and roll), but... that's the point. Orlando has been hitting. When they've won this year, they've been hitting shots. When they've lost, they didn't.

The Cavs have undersized guards and DO NOT have an athletic big man. Orlando has Howard and two 6'10" swingmen that can shoot. That's why they win. The Cavs ALWAYS has at least one player on the court that cannot create points for himself (Andy, Ben), which means they are instantly at an offensive disadvantage relative to Orlando.

Do I think Cleveland can still win? Yessir. When they use their quickness and LBJ's vision on offense, they are borderline unstoppable (see: first quarter games 1 and 2, second quarter game 4). The stagnant, dribble-intensive offense is easy for the bigger Orlando D to guard.

Keep moving the ball, dammit!

This is a very good Cavs team, so I wouldn't change much, but the Cavs clearly need one more athletic, rangy swingman with a jumper to guard players like Hedu and Lewis and create some offense, and a younger, athletic big man that can defend inside and score (if Hickson isn't the guy). These don't have to be super-stars (see: Pietrus), just effective role guys who can start or play 6th.
 
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[quote='BusNative;147287;4]Keep moThis is a very good Cavs team, so I wouldn't change much, but the Cavs clearly need one more athletic, rangy swingman with a jumper to guard players like Hedu and Lewis and create some offense, and a younger, athletic big man that can defend inside and score (if Hickson isn't the guy).[/quote]

I think Hickson can be that guy, but he is out with back spasms so we'll see how his game is affected by this next year. But, this series has clearly shown that we cannot stand pat this offseason. I agree with taking a rangy shooter in the first round and Josh Heytvelt with the 46th pick to groom into Z's replacement. Also, hopefully we pick up a solid wing with the MLE, if we don't make a trade for one.
 
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I want to see them come out loose and having fun in Game 6. That chemistry and attitude is what made them so damn good up until this series and it's been stifled so far. The mugging for the cameras, celebrating, all of that...I want it back.
 
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