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

[exhawg]

First they need to come out tonight and beat a team that they should beat on the road. No thinking ahead, no taking a game off, they need to come out and win this game from the tip.

Then they have to fly to Detroit and play one of the best teams in the East the next night. You know the Pistons are going to want to show the Cavs they they are still the best team in the Central so it is going to take a good game from everyone to win.

After that they get to come home and play the up and coming Hawks.

One down two to go.

 

[614]

Wally need's to pass the ball and stop trying to create his own shot

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Red-hot Cavaliers scorch the Nets West, Williams lead surge in third quarter. Winning streak at eight
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.: So why don't the Cavaliers just skip the first half altogether?
They seem to enjoy slogging through the first half, then relish coming out in the third quarter fired up and ready to go.
On Tuesday night, they trailed 52-49 at halftime, only to come out in the third quarter playing intense defense and raining 3-point shots down on the New Jersey Nets in a 106-82 win, their eighth in a row.
The Cavs opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run that included 3-pointers by guards Mo Williams and Delonte West.
West entered the quarter with a just two points, but made four 3-pointers in the quarter to give the Cavaliers a much-needed jolt of energy.
He made all four of his 3-point attempts and finished the game with 16 points.
''Delonte did a great job in the third quarter coming in and shooting lights out,'' LeBron James said.
Not to be outdone, Williams (16 points, six assists, six rebounds) added two of his own in the quarter to help the Cavs
turn a three-point halftime deficit into a 12-point lead by the end of the quarter.
The Cavs held the Nets, a team that normally makes 40 percent of its 3-point shots, to just over 14 percent.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

LeBron James, Delonte West lead Cavs to eighth straight win, defeating Nets 106-82

by Mary Schmitt Boyer/Plain Dealer Reporter Wednesday November 19, 2008, 12:46 AM

Bill Kostroun/Associated PressLeBron James, left, dunks the ball as New Jersey Nets' Ryan Anderson watches. James led all scorers with 31 points, and became the youngest player to score 11,000 points in a career.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2008/11/cavs_insider_reporters_in_new.html

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Delonte West realized his Cavaliers teammates needed a spark in the second half against the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday.
"It was a low-energy game," West admitted. "I don't think I broke a sweat until late in the second quarter."
He warmed up considerably in the third quarter, nailing four 3-pointers in a six-minute span as part of a 22-6 run that sent the Cavs to a 106-82 victory in the Izod Center. The Cavs improved to 9-2 with their eighth straight victory, their longest winning streak since they won eight in a row from March 3-17, 2007.
LeBron James led the Cavs with 31 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to surpass the 11,000-point plateau.
He now has 11,018. At 23 years, 323 days of age, he passed Kobe Bryant (25 years, 99 days) as the youngest player in the history of the NBA to reach that milestone.
But even James knew that the big reason the Cavs won this game was West, who finished with 16 points, five rebounds and two steals.
"He's our X-factor," James said. "If we need a big shot or a big stop, he comes through for us."
That certainly was true in the third quarter Tuesday. The Cavs trailed at halftime, 52-49, and were missing the energy that was a staple during most of the winning streak to this point. Then West changed all that.
"My teammates did a good job finding me, making the extra pass," he said. "It was something we talked about at halftime -- getting back to playing Cavs basketball, moving the ball around. We just exploited the zone they were trying to play.

Cont..

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Another James showcase
Nets 31 points in eighth straight win
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
By TOM CANAVAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. With free agency awaiting him in 2010, LeBron James put on a show for the New York metropolitan area and its deep-pocket teams highlighted by a length-of-the court sprint to block a dunk by Devin Harris.

James had 31 points, eight rebounds and four assists in another dominating performance, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to their eighth straight win with a 106-82 decision over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night.

The play that everyone will remember is the block. The 23-year-old James came from 20 feet behind to track down the Nets point guard, forcing him to rush a dunk that the high-flying James touched.

"I just never gave up on the play," James said. "That's how we all are. You never give up on plays no matter if a guy is in front of you or what."

Harris laughed when asked if he saw James coming at full throttle.

"He's 6-9 and 260," Harris said. "You try to quick dunk him if you can. If not, hey, he got a piece of it. He came back and he played it. If I had a good ankle, now that would be something to think about. You got to go for it. I had my shot at it and I missed it, you move on."

Before the game, James said he would not hesitate to leave Cleveland if another franchise offers him a better chance to win multiple NBA titles.

After the game, he focused on his team, which is off to a 9-2 start.

"A-plus," he said of the second-half effort. "The thing we did was we stopped turning the ball over. We had only one turnover in the second half."

They also got big efforts from Mo Williams and Delonte West.
Cont...

 

[exhawg]

Well tonight is the first game since the Hornets game that the Cavs might not be expected to win, which is why this game is very important. If the Cavs are going to be an elite team they need to be able to win at least half of the games that they aren't supposed to.

 

[Piney]

Thankfully the Cavs were able to put the Nets away in the 4th quarter and were able to give their main players less minutes so they will be less tired.

Tonight is the game the Cavs must win if they want to win the Central Division and get a #1/#2 seed in the East.

 

[billmac91]

for out of market fans wanting to see the game.

Justin.tv - Cavs vs Pistons - Live Streaming Video

 

[aurorabuckeye13]

Delonte looks very comfortable playing the 2, defensive guard role... it seems like he plays looser without having the ball handling responsibilities, and he's really being aggresive going to the hoop while knocking down open shots. Also, he seems like he is our best on the ball perimeter defender, which he probably was last year also. Still, it's good to have a guy like him who can really lock down and be physical with other team's offensive minded guards.

 

[billmac91]

first game of the year, where the substitution pattern directly results in a loss.

Cavs are playing great, LeBron comes out in the back-half of the third, and Detroit cuts severely into the lead. Detroit comes out in the 4th and takes the elad, LeBron comes back in and the momentum shift was too much to overcome.

Anderson had a hell of a night on the glass. Delonte continues to impress. Boobie might need a few more minutes. At this point, I think there is little doubt who are best PF is. Similar to Boobie, it might just be the best strategy to bring him off the bench.

 

[exhawg]

The Cavs lead the whole game, but started to fall apart in the 3rd quarter. For some reason Lebron keeps bricking 3's instead of letting Mo shoot more since he is the only one hitting shots right now. The Pistons can't miss in the 4th. This just shows that the Cavs aren't there yet. Hopefully this game will show them what they need to do to take the next step.

 

[billmac91]

The Cavs lead the whole game, but started to fall apart in the 3rd quarter. For some reason Lebron keeps bricking 3's instead of letting Mo shoot more since he is the only one hitting shots right now. The Pistons can't miss in the 4th. This just shows that the Cavs aren't there yet. Hopefully this game will show them what they need to do to take the next step.

you aren't going to play lights out every night obviously...to be fair to the Cavs, they were the better team for 3 quarters. Unfortuntately, when LeBron stepped off the court in the third, Detroit started a huge run. LeBron obviosuly needs rest, but there should be some type of emergency plan when non-close games become 1-2 possesions. I'm not sure what the answer is in those situations, other than giving LeBron shorter blows but more frequently throughout the game.

Resting him for 6 minutes at a time will cost us multiple times this year, I'm sure. Tonight was #1. I'm sure Mike Brown would say it will equate to a fresher LeBron down the stretch and playoffs.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Not real worried about this one...We are the better team, we were on a back to back on the road and in Detroit...I would sya not many thought we were just going to go in there and win easy...We went in there and controlled the game for 3 quarters...

The pistons also got ridiculously hot there in that 4 minute stretch when they hit 10/11 or something crazy like that...

Also i know that I am a Sasha fan and thought he played well tonight, but it was our first game with a little bit different rotation due to Wally not being there tonight...

We won 8 in a row, I think we ran out of gas in the 2nd half as the Pistons scored 58 points...You wont see many teams do that, especially a slower playing team like the Pistons...

 

[billmac91]

You wont see many teams do that, especially a slower playing team like the Pistons...

Since they got Iverson, it seems they're trying to increase the tempo. Rasheed got crazy hot in the 4th.

But to me, it comes down to the run Detroit had at the end of the third going into the fourth. The game was lost in that stretch, as we lost all momentum and could never get it back. Maybe b/c we ran out of gas, or maybe b/c Detroit wouldn't give it back once they took it.

Can't complain too much though. 8 game win streaks will never get old.

 

[tsteele316]

Since they got Iverson, it seems they're trying to increase the tempo. Rasheed got crazy hot in the 4th.

But to me, it comes down to the run Detroit had at the end of the third going into the fourth. The game was lost in that stretch, as we lost all momentum and could never get it back. Maybe b/c we ran out of gas, or maybe b/c Detroit wouldn't give it back once they took it.

Can't complain too much though. 8 game win streaks will never get old.

the legs were gone on a couple of guys last night, and it showed. detroit will suffer the same fate against boston tonight since the celts are on 2 days rest as well. great scheduling there.