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Cavs-Pistons Second Round Playoff Series

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Wow! What a game. I was expecting to see the Pistons come back, and win it. However, the Cavs' defense was incredible once again, and they managed to pull out what seemed like an "impossible" win at Detroit. Man, one more game, and they'll be in the Eastern Conference Finals. Wow!
 
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Nice to see Gooden wipe off the dust and actually contribute with that bucket at the end. I was pissed every time Z fumbled or lost the ball out of bounds.

I'll have to disagree with Sir Charles on that Snow play. If he dribbles and gets fouled, they still have plenty of time after the free throws to get a good look.

It so damn annoying that the only sob out there that actually helps LBJ get open is Varejeo. He's constantly setting picks to give hime some room with the ball. Then, he's making good moves on the pick n roll, getting fouled and hitting his free throws.

Their defensive rotation was excellent tonight.

Maybe Hughes will come back Friday and give them another big defensive lift.

Great game.
 
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Brutus1 said:
I'll have to disagree with Sir Charles on that Snow play. If he dribbles and gets fouled, they still have plenty of time after the free throws to get a good look.
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It was definitely a risk. I think that holding onto the ball and taking the free throws would have been the better decision, if I was going back to that moment.


But Cleveland still won the game, which is what counts, and why it should be a non-issue now.
 
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I would only call it great if the time had runout.

He did pretty close to perfect though, since Hunter didn't get to the ball until it nearly hit the endline. It would have been easy to throw it too hard or too slow, so I'll give him a hand for the play that he made.

It certainly was a nailbiter.

The only question I have with LeBron is his shooting the jumper late in the games when he should be driving to the hoop. He's one of, if not the best finishers in the league. He's either getting fouled, making the basket, or getting the and one. The refs are giving him the calls, he needs to take more advantage of that.
 
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StadiumDorm said:
"Both teams played hard"

"Both teams played hard"

"Both teams played hard"


Oops. That's not true. I hope the Pistons keep overlooking Cleveland.
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"Both teams played hard." :slappy:

You know, I've kinda liked the Pistons over the past few years. Being a UK fan, I liked Tayshaun Prince, and then they added Tony Delk this year too. Of course, I'm rooting for the Cavs, but I don't like seeing those two guys lose. When Rasheed was running his manpleaser, other guys from the Pistons were making more veiled comments about the Cavs backing him up. I never heard anything like that out of Prince, and I'm thankful for that.
 
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ABJ

5/18/06


Cavaliers move to one win from ousting Pistons

BY BRIAN WINDHORST

Akron Beacon Journal

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The Detroit Pistons huffed and puffed, but they couldn't blow down the little Cavaliers.
Defying conventional wisdom, but not their surging confidence, the Cavs continue to amaze with their sudden savvy and cool execution. In another heart-stopper, the Cavs again prevailed 86-84 on Wednesday, turning their once-lopsided series against the heavily favored Pistons into a basketball fairy tale.
"It's not that they're the Big Bad Wolf and we're the Three Little Pigs," LeBron James said.
This story, though, does have a moral: Sometimes togetherness and a fearless great player can overcome talent, experience and the will of 22,076 fans. That happened in Game 5 as the Cavs won their third consecutive playoff game, a feat never before achieved in franchise history. And with a 3-2 series lead heading back to Quicken Loans Arena on Friday, the Cavs are in position to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 13 years with another win.
James led a collective effort that was part toughness and part composure. He had 32 points - his best offensive game of this series - but his contributions were just a plank in the platform.
It's a strong one. They've now won 17 of their past 19 games decided by four points or less and are 5-0 in them in these playoffs.
Following up on the momentum the Cavs gathered the last time they visited the vaunted Palace of Auburn Hills - when a massive second-half comeback came up just short in Game 2 - the Cavs got a total team effort in stunning the Pistons, who had been 42-4 at home this season. It was epitomized by the final stretch, in which James was just a bit player.
His whip-pass out of a double-team set up Drew Gooden for the difference-making layup with 27 seconds to play - the same Gooden who hadn't played at all in the fourth quarter of the last two games and played just 14 minutes in Game 5, until Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas fouled out within moments of each other.
Gooden took the pass and allowed Tayshaun Prince to jump over him as he calmly moved around him and kissed it off the glass.
"I took a picture of the basket," Gooden said. "That's what my high school coach used to always say. I took my time and focused."
Shortly thereafter, Prince tried to get redemption by driving to the basket. He was the Pistons' best offensive weapon, scoring 21 points on a night when Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton combined to go 11-of-32 shooting.
As Prince tossed his layup into the air, James tried to swat it and whiffed, only to have Donyell Marshall come through and reject it. It was the Cavs' 10th block of the night and just one of Marshall's big plays. He had 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Cavs' bench players outscored the Pistons' reserves 28-13.
"It was the biggest block of my career," Marshall said.
There was one last chance for the Pistons with 1.9 seconds left. James suspected Hamilton would get the ball and head for the corner, and when he did, James and Marshall swarmed him. Hamilton tried to twist and get the shot off, but the ball sprung free and dribbled away - like the Pistons' season at the Cavs' hands.
The Pistons played tight, picking up two technicals for arguing with officials and repeatedly making sloppy turnovers or missing open shots. The Cavs built a 10-point lead and never trailed in the second half, always getting a big basket or a defensive stop when they needed it. It has been a regular occurrence for 3 1/2 games now.
Ilgauskas helped with his best game of the playoffs - 14 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. Damon Jones scored eight points off the bench, and Eric Snow had seven assists and just one turnover.
It has left the Cavs on the brink of perhaps the greatest accomplishment in franchise history, not that they're admitting it.
"This doesn't mean anything if we lose the last two games," James said. "We don't feel privileged, we don't feel comfortable coming in here and beating Detroit. We'll just go home and continue to relax and play good offense and defense and try to close it out."
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ABJ

5/18/06

CAVS DO IT!

By Terry Pluto

Cavaliers fan, how is your heart this morning? Did you get any sleep at all last night? Do you find yourself counting down the hours to the game Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena?
Can you believe what you have been watching this week?
Let's start with Wednesday's final score: Cavaliers 86, Detroit Pistons 84.
Let's say that again: Cavaliers 86, Detroit Pistons 84, as in the Cavs are now one game away from facing the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
Let's remember this statistic: The team that wins Game 5 in a best-of-seven series when it's tied 2-2 wins the series 73 percent of the time.
The Cavs were in this same position a few weeks ago when they beat the Washington Wizards, putting them away in six games.
Let's quickly remember that the powerful Pistons are not the undisciplined Wizards, but the Cavaliers just might be the hottest playoff team right now.
Not sure about that?
Well, the winning basket in this game was scored by... Drew Gooden?
Yes, Drew Gooden.
The same Drew Gooden who played a total of 40 seconds in the fourth quarter -- and the same Drew Gooden who was on the court only because Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had fouled out.
Emotional ride
It's becoming this kind of playoffs for the Cavs. Larry Hughes is out following the death of his brother. The Cavs lose their two key big men to fouls on the road. Gooden, who at times seemed lost in the third quarter, suddenly found his focus when it meant the most.
Cavs coach Mike Brown always says, ``One day, one game at a time.''
How about this: If it's not one Cavaliers hero, it's another.
With 27.8 seconds left, the score was 84-84. The Cavs had the ball, and it wisely was in the hands of LeBron James. Everyone in the Palace of Auburn Hills assumed James would shoot the ball. The Pistons ran several defenders at James.
Gooden noticed his man had abandoned him for James, and Gooden did what any player should when open and James has the ball: SPRINT FOR THE RIM! Gooden bolted to the basket. James delivered a perfect pass. Gooden caught it, got his balance, then made a power layup.
Give him a total of four points for the game, but that was enough for the Cavs.
``The first thing I thought was, `Take a picture of the basket,' '' Gooden said. ``Take my time. That's what my high school coach taught me.''
Bet someone can give Gooden a photo of this game-winning shot to hang on his wall and maybe send a copy to his high school coach.
The Pistons still had a chance to win, but Donyell Marshall blocked a running left-handed floater from about 10 feet. The ball bounced out to the Pistons' Lindsay Hunter, who badly missed a 17-footer.
Plenty of heroes
Stop for a moment, and consider the heroes: Marshall (14 points, 13 rebounds), Gooden and, yes, James, who racked up 32 points, five assists and five rebounds. Brown quickly mentioned center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (14 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks) and Damon Jones (eight points off the bench).
Do you realize that the Cavaliers have now won three in a row against the Pistons, the team with the NBA's best regular season record? Or that they won in a building where the Pistons were 42-4 before Wednesday night? Or that the Cavs are scaring the rest of the NBA right now, because they are a growing team led by a great player peaking at the right time?
Huff and puff
``It's not like they're the Big Bad Wolf and we're the Three Little Pigs,'' James said.
Not with the Cavs playing hard, hungry, hustling basketball.
James said earlier in the week that the team winning the first road game would win the series. He didn't back off from that prediction after the game.
``But this doesn't mean anything if we lose'' the last two games, said James, almost like an honor student repeating the multiplication tables. Voice steady, tone calm, a confident chin out, eyes focused.
It's almost like James expected something like this to happen.
Considering how he just made First Team All-NBA, and how he has had so much success so soon in his basketball life -- maybe he did.
And maybe that's why the amazing Cavaliers are in this incredible position today.
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ABJ

5/18/06

Cavaliers play as team to manage the improbable

By Tom Reed

<!-- begin body-content -->AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - The Detroit Pistons lose at home about as often as Tiger Woods squanders a 2-shot lead on Sundays at Augusta.
Pistons' setbacks at the Palace of Auburn Hills are as infrequent as Drew Gooden game-winning baskets; as rare as dominating Zydrunas Ilgauskas postseason performances; as unusual as Ira Newble sightings in tie games.
You see where we're going with this? Back to Cleveland with the Cavaliers holding an improbable 3-2 series lead after an 86-84 victory on Wednesday night.
The Pistons, who entered this pivotal game with a 42-4 home record, have no idea from where this Cavs' insurgency is coming. Neither do the Cavs.
And that's exactly the point. It's no longer just LeBron James having to do everything for the Cavs to win. Coach Mike Brown's team is getting contributions from all precincts at the most opportune time.
It's why the Cavs, who trailed the series 2-0, have a chance to return home and close out the Pistons.
So many heroes, so little space.
``This is such an interesting team,'' said the much-maligned Ilgauskas, who scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked six shots in easily his best playoff outing. ``We've been knocked on our behinds. People have doubted us, but these guys believed in each other and themselves.''
James obviously led the charge with 32 points and the critical assist on Gooden's basket with 27.8 seconds remaining.
The Cavs' face of the franchise, however, scored five points in the fourth quarter. He tallied seven points in the fourth quarter on Monday night.
And the Cavs won both games.
It's a sign of a team jelling, a group effort that neither the Pistons, nor many others, saw coming. The James solo has become an all-skate.
It's Donyell Marshall chipping in 14 points, 13 rebounds and a critical blocked shot with 11.9 seconds left.
It's Damon Jones hitting two massive 3-point baskets.
It's Gooden prying himself off the bench, having played all of 40 seconds in the fourth quarter, and showing the poise not to rush his layup opportunity on the beautiful feed from James.
``I took a picture of the basket,'' Gooden said. ``That's what my high school coach always used to say... I took my time.''
The Pistons, meanwhile, are running out of it. Only a fool would start preparing their epitaph, but having lost three consecutive games they are a dazed champion.
Rasheed Wallace's Game 4 prediction backfired. In explaining away the Cavs win on Monday he opined: ``Even the sun shines on a dog's (butt) sometimes.''
It's a funny line, but the reality is that it's the Pistons hides that are being tanned at crunch time. The Cavs have won 17 of their last 19 games decided by four points or less.
With the Pistons seemingly invincible a week ago, the Cavs have been the better team since halftime of Game 2.
``It's not that they are the Big Bad Wolf and we're the Three Little Pigs,'' James said.
The Pistons, however, are the ones huffing and puffing. Wallace and coach Flip Saunders were each assessed technicals. They are losing their composure while the Cavs appear to be gaining it.
The Cavs are relying on defense and each other. They inserted Newble in a tie game at end of the third quarter and he stopped Tayshaun Prince long enough for Flip Murray to steal the ball.
It's a play that helped preserve one of the most remarkable stats of the night. On their home floor, the Pistons never held a second-half lead.
Every time they stopped one threat, another emerged. The Cavs bench outscored its Detroit counterpart for the fourth consecutive game -- this time by a 28-13 count.
How good has Marshall looked in recent games? How about Jones, eliminated by the Pistons the past two postseasons, playing 23 minutes and contributing eight points?
``It's great to have guys with experience who are familiar with these pressure situations,'' Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry said. ``Our poise and composure were strong tonight.''
It's a team coming together at the right time -- led by James, but no longer totally reliant on him. So many heroes, so little space.
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