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Cavs-Pistons Second Round Playoff Series

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BCSBust said:
First of all, "SportsCenter" is a figurative metaphor, pretty much using that as the superior state of comparison for all sports highlight shows. Tell me, where do you get your basketball knowledge on television?

And lastly, he shouldn't be acting like a little bitch, in the first place. If you were raised by good parents that don't budge over, easily (which I know you are), then you'd realize that bitching and whining doesn't get you your way (and unfortunately many athletes do get their way), whether or not your sixteen years old, or if you're an overpaid athlete. Maybe Carmelo got babied around, and got his way, I have no idea, nor do I care. But don't educate me on bullshit information about "half the country" not caring about the outcome of the Olympics, and that he should have played a decent amount of minutes, "when in reality" he wasn't one of the top five players on the team, let alone top ten. LeBron didn't start, and he didn't cry a fucking river. As you stated before, Carmelo is not as mature as he could and should be, yet. That's why he didn't see the floor for as long as he would have liked. Call me stubborn if you'd like. I see that as a strength, not buying into or believing other people's claims, without a good explanation behind their theory/hypothesis.
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No, actually, first of all "SportsCenter" is a TV show in ESPN that continuously recycles sports news and adds their own little flair to it to make it more interesting to raise ratings and cause more news for them to recycle.



And second of of all, i don't want to hear any comparisons to Lebron James, because he is 1 out of many NBA players, and you don't know what really went on behind the scenes and how things really went. Besides, I seem to remember Lebron buying Hummers and accepting free gifts and jerseys before he was out of high school, so let's not act like he has a picture-perfect story to tell anyways.

And damn, how does my life and upbringing have a damn thing to do with Carmelo Anthony? I don't see how it has any place on a message board, especially being compared with someone who grew up in a much worse environment than I, and is not going through a polar-opposite life style as I am. And I actually watch games, and probably know more about Carmelo Anthony than you do, and have more of an interest in the NBA than you have had and do have.

Besides, I know that deep down inside you don't like Carmelo Anthony, whether it be a bad first impression or whatever, or maybe because you are a Lebron James can and subconsciously decided that you had to stick with one of the players and only one, but either way, there's nothing that I, or anyone could say to change your mind so what's the point?
 
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ScarletBlood31 said:
No, actually, first of all "SportsCenter" is a TV show in ESPN that continuously recycles sports news and adds their own little flair to it to make it more interesting to raise ratings and cause more news for them to recycle.



And second of of all, i don't want to hear any comparisons to Lebron James, because he is 1 out of many NBA players, and you don't know what really went on behind the scenes and how things really went. Besides, I seem to remember Lebron buying Hummers and accepting free gifts and jerseys before he was out of high school, so let's not act like he has a picture-perfect story to tell anyways.

And damn, how does my life and upbringing have a damn thing to do with Carmelo Anthony? I don't see how it has any place on a message board, especially being compared with someone who grew up in a much worse environment than I, and is not going through a polar-opposite life style as I am. And I actually watch games, and probably know more about Carmelo Anthony than you do, and have more of an interest in the NBA than you have had and do have.

Besides, I know that deep down inside you don't like Carmelo Anthony, whether it be a bad first impression or whatever, or maybe because you are a Lebron James can and subconsciously decided that you had to stick with one of the players and only one, but either way, there's nothing that I, or anyone could say to change your mind so what's the point?
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OK. First of all, I basically used being raised by parents that use the no-shit policy as a standard of comparison to Carmelo's whining in the Olympics. In no way was I exposing your personal life to the public. I was basically making an assumption that I thought was correct, and if I was wrong or if I offended you in any way, then I apologize.

And yes, LeBron did make mistakes, but he "matured." Carmelo hasn't done that yet. We can all dig up some dirt, on everyone, if we tried hard enough. Once he gets his act together, I will be fine with him.

Yes, he's only 22 years old, but you have to expect an athlete making millions of dollars to act at least somewhat rationally. I think that Carmelo Anthony has a ton of potential, and will flourish in the NBA once he gets his attitude together, and buys into the philosophy of defense. Once he gets that straight, the Nuggets should finally be able to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

And deep down inside, I don't hate the guy. He just has some attitude issues that he needs to address. You can use whatever you want to say that I'm wrong, but the fact that I'm arguing with a Syracuse basketball fan (Carmelo's alumni) will more than likely result in me more than likely being the stubborn guy, when in fact I'm just presenting you with a relatively decent amount of factual evidence that you are strongly opposed to, due to the fact that you are a Syracuse basketball fan, and your biased state of mind leads you to go on the defensive every time a negative shot is directed at one of "your players."
 
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ABJ

5/14/06

Varejao, James lead emotional Game 3 win

Brazilian's energy, star forward's triple-double too much for Pistons

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Grief, inspiration, fervor, rage, zeal and, finally, pride.
Those were basically the states that the Cavaliers passed through on an emotional Saturday evening. It was an understandable gamut with a confluence of events -- missing a teammate because of a family death and a must-win playoff game on their home floor.
On this day, score one for passion.
In the strict science of basketball, the Detroit Pistons owned the Cavs for much of Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. But that didn't account for feelings, and the Cavs rode theirs to an 86-77 victory.
Playing without Larry Hughes, who remained with his family in St. Louis after the death of his brother, the Cavs played gritty and gutsy against the NBA team that patented that same style. In fact, the Pistons were supremely confident they had the game and a 3-0 series lead within their clutches heading into the fourth quarter with a 56-53 lead.
They had accomplished all their goals. By voraciously double-teaming LeBron James everywhere on the court, they forced him to give up the ball and let his depleted and scuffling teammates try to beat them. They had slowed the game down, preventing the Cavs from running at home as they like.
And they were taking advantage of Hughes' absence by letting their dynamic guards go to work.
But their steely championship gaze and confident air was not prepared for the wave that hit them in the fourth quarter. Led by an injection of aggressiveness from James and backed by sound energy from a sellout crowd, the Cavs zoomed to the finish.
They piled up 33 points in the fourth quarter, 15 coming from James in a playmaking series that has made him famous. It finished off a backloaded triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals.
``We couldn't lose this game. It would've dug us a hole we couldn't get out of,'' James said. ``I try to put us in a position to win down the stretch. I wasn't able to do that in the first two games but this was one of the biggest games of our season.''
James' offensive mate in such a situation was surprising -- Anderson Varejao. Playing the pick-and-roll perfectly, Varejao did what he does best. He is the Cavs' best finisher around the basket -- he led the team in field-goal percentage during the regular season.
With James drawing massive attention, Varejao had space to work with and turned in perhaps the best offensive game of his career with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He was also a key part of a strong overall defensive effort, especially on Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace down the stretch.
``I thought he was the difference-maker, how hard he played,'' Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. ``He played what I consider a perfect game.''
That was fine with the Pistons, who had wanted to make someone besides James do it. Until that fourth-quarter flurry in which he made 6-of-8 shots, James was a scoring afterthought. The Cavs' halfcourt offense, as has been the case much of the series, was in disarray.
They heaved up bad long shots, missing 12 of their first 13 tries from 3-point range, and made bad decisions against the Pistons' solid defense. It was why the Pistons built a 10-point, third-quarter lead despite not being totally on their offensive game.
Even after Zydrunas Ilgauskas made back-to-back hoops to cut the deficit to four points late in the third, the Cavs' next seven possessions resulted in five 3-point tries and two turnovers.
What kept the Cavs in the game was their defensive effort. Limiting open shots by not helping as much, staying in passing lanes and up on shooters, the Cavs forced 17 turnovers and made the Pistons take more contested shots. The Pistons shot just 39 percent, despite strong performances from Richard Hamilton (22 points) and Chauncey Billups (20).
That put the Cavs in their ``go zone.'' They have developed a knack for winning close games and making comebacks. Saturday was their 18th game where they came from behind to win in the fourth quarter.
``We got it to the tempo we wanted, but they grinded it and you have to give them credit,'' Billups said.
``LeBron does things most guys can't do; he made all the right plays at the right time, at the end.''
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ABJ

5/14/06


Cavs jolt new life into fans, playoffs

Team shatters doubts with thrilling rebound that loosens Pistons' grip on series; LeBron dominates 4th

By Terry Pluto

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Fans standing. Fans screaming. Fans stomping and hearts pounding.
Want more?
White victory towels waving, ears splitting, the entire 20,562-seat building shaking.
And yes, Cavaliers winning.
That's what it was like Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavs showed more than the ability to beat the Eastern Conference powerhouse Detroit Pistons. They demonstrated some poise, some character and lots of savvy in the impressive 86-77 victory in Game 3 of this best-of-seven NBA playoff series.
Believe it, the Cavs beat the Pistons.
They might not win the series. They might not win another game. Then again, they might even this series at 2-2 because they play at home again Monday night.
This team continues to grow up in front of our eyes. They did it in the regular season when they rallied to win 18 of 25 games at the end of the year to finish with the NBA respectable number of 50 wins. They came back from losing Game 2 at home in the first round of the Washington Wizards series to win in six games.
If they don't win another game, this has been a wildly successful season for a team that had been exiled from the playoffs for eight years.
On Saturday, the Cavs played like they weren't ready to go home for the summer, and the fans sensed it. It was a celebration of their team, this season -- and yes, LeBron James.
Even better, the Cavs beat the Pistons at their game.
On the road, the Pistons wanted to slow down the pace, keep the score in the 80s. They wanted to double-team James and force other players to shoot. They wanted to turn the game ugly, sluggish and supposedly frustrating for an inexperienced postseason team such as the Cavs.
In the words of Pistons star guard Chauncey Billups, ``They want to run at home, we got the tempo we wanted. They grinded... Give them credit, they played well.''
Billups paused.
``We're used to winning these close (games),'' he said.
That's why this game meant so much to the Cavs. Yes, in the words of Billups, ``LeBron put the team on his back... and willed his way with great plays.''
Who could ever imagine that the Cavs would win a game where James had only six points after three quarters? Or a game where they were behind by 10 points in the middle of the third quarter? Or a game where they were playing without starting guard Larry Hughes, who was with his family after his brother died this week of heart failure?
Or how about this...
It was a game where an experienced Pistons team knew it could take control of the series with just a decent fourth quarter. Instead, the Cavs outscored the Pistons 33-21 in that final 12 minutes.
``The fans were big for us,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``They gave us energy to get over the hump when we were a little flat.''
The NBA home crowd has more of an impact than in any other sport because the fans are closer to the action, and the sound is simply louder because it's squeezed into an arena rather than an open-air stadium.
The players hear it. The officials hear it. The records show it.
In the NBA, the home team wins about two of every three games.
``We heard how loud it was in Detroit,'' Cavs veteran Donyell Marshall said. ``We hoped it would be the same here. The fans did a heckuva job, they got us hyped.''
They seemed to lift the Cavs in the final quarter. James still looked to pass to his teammates. That was especially true of Anderson Varejao (16 points, 6-of-7 shooting), who consistently bolted to the basket when the Pistons left him alone to double-team James.
Then James began to slice through the Pistons' defense, racking up 15 points on eight shots in the fourth quarter. It was a tremendous closing performance, a game where James demonstrated his enormous variety of skills -- 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 9-of-18 shooting and his second triple-double of the playoffs.
``We protected our home court,'' James said. ``The Pistons are a great team, but we're becoming a good one.''
They showed it Saturday.
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Canton

5/14/06

Wallace vows Pistons will win Game 4

Sunday, May 14, 2006

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By JOSH WEIR[/FONT]


CLEVELAND - Rasheed Wallace let his play do most of the talking during the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
After Saturday’s Game 3 — an 86-77 Cleveland win in which his game remained relatively quiet — Detroit’s bombastic forward opened his mouth fully.
“Oh, we going to bust their ass,” Wallace said about Monday’s Game 4 at The Q, after the Cavs cut their deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. “I’ll tell you that now. That’s a given.”
When asked if that was a guarantee, Wallace repeated what he previously said and later took it a step further.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a five-game series,” he said. “They beat us today, so were going to go ahead, beat (them) Monday, (and) take it back to Detroit. ... Monday is their last game in this building for this season.”
Cleveland veteran point guard Eric Snow just smiled when informed of Wallace’s comments.
“That’s Rasheed,” the McKinley High School grad said. “Rasheed’s always the guy that’s going to make predictions and be that spark plug for the team. ... I’ve come to expect that from him.
“We can’t worry about what they’re saying. We just have to focus on the next game.”
Most of the Pistons gave Cleveland credit for the win.
Detroit shot just 39.4 percent and turned it over 16 times on Saturday after shooting 47 percent and committing a combined 18 turnovers in the first two games of the series.
However, the Pistons couldn’t ignore the fact that they led by 10 midway through the third quarter, at which time Cleveland looked like it was on life support.
“We lost that game ourselves. We let one slip away,” Detroit reserve forward Antonio McDyess said. “(There were) a couple a plays where they gained momentum, and we kind of lost focus.”
That’s a rarity for the boys from Motown. They’re usually the tougher, more poised team that watches the opponent wilt down the stretch.
But it was the Pistons committing bad turnovers and allowing LeBron James to get right to the rim in the fourth quarter.
Wallace lost his cool late in the game when he shed Cavs’ forward Anderson Varejao with an elbow, although Wallace had a different take about the play.
“It wasn’t chippy at all,” he said. “The whistle already blew, and he’s still trying to push ... I just moved my arm out of the way.”
Varejao, who scored a career playoff-high 16 points, was asked afterward if he got under the skin of Wallace.
“I don’t know, I just try to do my job,” the second-year player from Brazil said. “I just try to play hard for my team against everybody.”
Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups, who had 20 points Saturday, felt like Wallace didn’t get aggressive until it was too late. Wallace averaged 19.5 points in the first two games, including a team-high 29 in Game 2.
On Saturday he registered just 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting and six rebounds and one blocked shot.
It also was clear the 11-year pro wasn’t going to lose much sleep over it.
“They did what they were supposed to do, as far as beating us in Game 3. That’s it, though,” Wallace said. “We still going to win this series. We ain’t letting one game discourage us.”
Reach Repository sports writer Josh Weir at (330) 580-8426 or e-mail: [email protected]


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ABJ

5/15/06

Pistons' Wallace says Cavs are done

Forward guarantees wins in next two games

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Everything is going according to the dog-eared script.
The heavily-favored Detroit Pistons handled the Cavs in Games 1 and 2, rarely breaking a sweat in front of their enthusiastic home fans as if the accomplishment meant as much to them as their morning manicure. It has all been seen before.
Back at home for Game 3, the feisty underdog Cavs played with more emotion than skill and drew from their own boisterous crowd to rally in the end and pry away a victory.
That's another well-worn scenario, the Pistons are 0-5 in their Game 3s in the Eastern Conference Playoffs in the past two years and 4-9 in all Game 3s since 2003. Being ahead 2-0 and letting the first road game slip is a Piston tradition.
Now cue the bombastic mouthpiece, Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace, chippy from having been beaten and lashing out at the mere suggestion that anyone can come close to challenging his mighty team.
Wallace trotted out his usual verbiage to set up Game 4. He belittled the Cavs, just as he's done with the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers and others in the past. He issued the always tasty ``guarantee'' that his Pistons would win tonight in Game 4 and in Game 5 Wednesday in Detroit.
It's a tact so often heard from him that in Detroit these playoff rants have a patented name: ``Guaran-'Sheeds.'' And the Pistons have never lost when he's issued one.
``I know we're going to win it, I know we're going to bust their (backsides),'' Wallace said after practice Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena. ``Tomorrow night is the last game here in this building for this season. Y'all can quote me. Put it on the back page, front page, whatever.''
The Cavs, who've seen it all before as well, didn't take the bait to retort, even the usually chatty Damon Jones.
``That's his opinion and we're going try to do the same things we did in Game 3,'' Jones said. ``See you tomorrow.''
Indeed the Pistons will be the favorite in Game 4 even though the Cavs have won 14 of their past 15 home games and are coming off an impressive 86-77 victory on Saturday night. The Cavs still have plenty of issues to address even after breaking their five-game losing streak to the Pistons.
The Cavs probably can't play much better defensively after holding the Pistons to 39 percent shooting Saturday. But their offense has been shaky for the entire series and has not shown a great deal of positive adjustments.
They've shot the ball well in stretches, but they're still only averaging 87 points in the three games. The Cavs continue to struggle in the the halfcourt, settling for long jumpers instead of setting up the post or attacking the basket.
LeBron James had a great fourth quarter Saturday but he's gone long stretches without being aggressive. He did not draw a shooting foul in Game 3 and he's attempted more 3-pointers (14) than foul shots (12) in the series. The Cavs' basic offense right now consists of various side pick-and-rolls with the ball in James' hands.
Meanwhile, superior basket defender Ben Wallace has picked up just three fouls and no blocks in 78 minutes in the past two games, an indication the Defensive Player of the Year is not even being challenged.
``I'm not going to force anything, when I see an opportunity I'm going to go for it,'' James said. ``I'm just going to try keep my teammates involved.''
Hughes update
The Cavs will not have Larry Hughes for tonight's game as he remains with his family in St. Louis following his brother's death. The wake is scheduled for tonight and the funeral will be Tuesday morning. The Cavs are not sure yet if Hughes will be able to return and play on Wednesday in Detroit in Game 5.
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ABJ

5/15/06

Gym teacher guards hoop that LeBron made famous

Riedinger staff recalls tall kid who dunked on them in 1999

By Tom Reed

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->One of the most famous basketball rims in Summit County has been sitting at the bottom of James Donald's office locker collecting dust -- and value.
Seven years ago, one of Donald's eighth-grade students at Riedinger Middle School dunked a basketball in the annual student-teacher game.
He was a tall, skinny kid with a body shaped like 6 o'clock -- straight up and down. That was 14-year-old LeBron James.
``I remember the dunk,'' the Cavaliers superstar said, smiling. ``It was my first-ever dunk in a game.''
Can you say ``collector's item''?
Donald could be one click away from a tidy profit on eBay, but if the rim has a legitimate market value, the physical education teacher wants the school to reap the reward.
``I'd like to see whatever money we get go to the kids at Riedinger or to some kind of scholarship,'' Donald said. ``I talked to LeBron about 1-1 ½ years ago, and I mentioned it to him.
``It might look good in his living room. Maybe it could be the first rim his son dunks on.''
As James continues his first NBA playoff run -- the Cavs host the Detroit Pistons today at Quicken Loans Arena -- memories of the dunk and the student-teacher game remain fresh at Riedinger.
The teachers have lost only one game in school history. Guess who beat them?
Attired in a pair of blue-and-white Cat in the Hat-style socks, James led his classmates to a 71-39 victory that spring day in 1999. He probably had more help in that game than he does on most nights with the Cavaliers.
University of Akron basketball star Romeo Travis and former Buchtel track standout Virgil Robinson were among his teammates on a Riedinger Warriors squad that went undefeated in the City Series middle school league in 1998-99.
The Warriors entered the gym to the strains of Queen's We Are the Champions. The student body, which packed the gymnasium, prepped for a possible upset.
The teachers were missing several key players that day. They told themselves that if they kept it close early, their experience could carry them in the fourth quarter.
``The game had just started, and we were already down by 10 points,'' Donald said. ``The game turned into a track meet. They had some really good players, and nobody could guard LeBron.''
Teacher Darrell Mullins put it most succinctly:
``It was like they were the Globetrotters and we were the other team,'' Mullins said. ``They beat us unmercifully.''
Steal leads to dunk
The game's highlight occurred with about five minutes left as a then-6-foot James intercepted a cross-court pass and raced to the south end of the gym.
The students rose to their feet as James soared to the rim. He dunked the ball with his right hand.
``The place went crazy,'' Donald said. ``Who expects to see an eighth-grader dunk a basketball?''
Five Riedinger teachers and office personnel who played in the game remain on the staff, including Mike Gould, Jon Short and Sam Crews.
``He lit up the room,'' Crews said. ``I can still hear the screams.''
The Riedinger teachers remember James as a respectful and quiet student. Each marvels at his maturation and athletic improvement.
The 6-foot-8-inch, 240-pound James finished this season as runner-up to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in voting for the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
Donald, a former City Series basketball coach, said James was the only player who could beat him one-on-one in gym class.
``LeBron had a presence about him even back then,'' Donald said. ``He would raise the level of the (gym) class no matter what we were doing.''
Student team signs ball
The fabled rim stayed attached to the backboard. Donald realized it might have something more than sentimental value when James made his first Sports Illustrated cover appearance as a St. Vincent-St. Mary High junior in 2002.
``Little did I know that was just the beginning,'' Donald said.
Maintenance workers replaced the gymnasium rims in October. Donald put the rim and a basketball autographed by the victorious students -- James signed it ``LeBron J.'' -- in his office locker.
He might consider a safer haven.
Elon Werner, a spokesman for Beckett Media LP -- a prestigious Texas sports collectibles company -- said the rim could be sold online for at least $2,500. If the school gets the rim autographed and provides a letter of authenticity, it might raise the value to more than $5,000.
Good thing Donald didn't tell the maintenance crew to chuck it in a trash bin.
``LeBron collectibles are really selling,'' Werner said. ``That rim could be marketed along the lines of owning the first ball Babe Ruth ever hit in Little League.''
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ABJ

5/15/06

Cavaliers can play with the big boys

Team may have a shot despite Piston's shooting off mouth

By Tom Reed

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Sounding like Baghdad Bob, the wacky Iraqi minister of propaganda under Saddam Hussein, Detroit Pistons power forward Rasheed Wallace hurled prophesies of doom at Cavaliers Nation on Saturday.
``Oh, we are going to bust their (butt),'' Wallace reportedly said after the Cavs rallied for an 86-77 victory to trim their best-of-seven series deficit to 2-1. ``I'll tell you that now. It's a given.
``Yeah, it's definitely a five-game series.... (Tonight) is their last game in this building.''
The Cavs didn't need Wallace to challenge them. They challenged themselves -- and it's why they are back in the series.
A week after qualifying for the postseason's second round, LeBron James and teammates proved they belong in it. While they probably won't beat the Pistons in the series, they certainly can compete with them based on efforts like the one Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.
``The Pistons are a great team, but we are becoming a good team,'' James said after scoring 15 fourth-quarter points and recording his second triple-double of the playoffs.
It took more than six quarters for the Cavs to stop showing the Pistons too much respect.
They were reacting instead of initiating. They trod lightly around center Ben Wallace. They tried hard not to offend or, in the case of Game 1, to defend. They allowed the Pistons to close out quarters the way Muhammad Ali did rounds, with a flurry.
The two-time defending Eastern Conference champions were given a wide berth. Even Cavs coach Mike Brown conceded Saturday that members of his own family were talking like the series was over.
A two-team series
Once the Cavs started playing better defensively and attacking the basket with drives and aggressive pick-and-rolls, they forced the Pistons to acknowledge that it's a two-team series, not one team against a superstar.
The Cavs have outscored the Pistons by a combined 19 points since halftime of Game 2. After shooting 52 percent from the floor through the first six quarters, the Pistons have been held to 36 percent over the last six quarters. They also have committed 20 turnovers in that span.
Growing confidence
The fact of the matter is the Cavs have improved with each game. Wallace recognizes as much. His need to make a prediction -- he's delivered three similar postseason ``guaran-Sheeds,'' with the Pistons backing up each -- is in itself a compliment of sorts.
Wallace senses a growing Cavs confidence and is trying to quash it.
James and his mates crossed an important threshold Saturday in rallying from a 10-point third-
quarter deficit. They had built-in reasons to lie down -- the absence of Larry Hughes because of his brother's death, the Pistons' superiority and momentum, the security in knowing that by beating the Washington Wizards in the first round they had guaranteed themselves a successful season in the eyes of many.
Hockey legend Mark Messier says teams reach a critical point in each postseason when they subconsciously decide ``they have had enough'' and aren't mentally willing to push themselves any further.
``We maintained focus throughout (Game 3), which shows you how much we have grown,'' James said.
Joy to watch
It helps having an athlete of his ability and fortitude on your side. For those who love stars, James has been a sight to behold in the last two fourth quarters. He tallied 14 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Pistons in Game 2. He added 15 points and three assists in
Over the past two months his will has started to keep pace with his talents. It's not only making him a better player, but it's also emboldening teammates.
James' offensive contributions -- 21 points, 10 assists -- were considerable. It's his defense, however, that might have been most overlooked on Saturday. He grabbed 10 defensive rebounds, made four steals and helped limit Tayshaun Prince to 10 points.
It's called leading on both ends. It's called challenging yourself.
``What jumps out on the stat sheet is the Pistons only shot 39 percent from the field,'' James said. ``We were able to get defensive stops against one of the best teams in the league.''
Got what they needed
The Cavs also got Anderson Varejao scoring 16 points by setting hard picks and rolling to the basket for wide-open shots. They got 13 points from Flip Murray, who filled in for Hughes. They got 22 robust minutes from Zydrunas Ilgauskas (eight points, six rebounds and a blocked shot), who's occasionally played like a man in a medicated fog this postseason.
Playing a winner
The Cavs beat the Pistons at their own game: a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair. It's a key step in their development and why it was so essential to beat the Wizards and face the Eastern Conference ruffians.
``You learn so much by playing a championship team in the second round,'' Brown said.
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Tonight’s game is huge for the Cavs. With all of Sheed’s talk the Pistons have no excuse if they don’t come out strong and beat the Cavs, but if the Cavs are able to keep up with the Piston’s and pull this game out they are going to have to start to doubt their greatness. As great of a team as the Pistons are they are only made up of 5 very good players and they don’t have anyone who can stop a great player like Lebron when he takes over the game.<O:p</O:p
The Pistons were so hot for the first game and a half of this series that nobody would have been able to beat them, but they have been out played by the Cavs for most of the second 6 quarters. It looks like the Pistons are getting tired at the end of games, but Saunders doesn’t seem to trust his bench. Nobody outside of the starters is playing 20 minutes a game. Mike Brown has 8 or 9 guys getting 20+ minutes a game, and is only overusing Lebron. I don’t think there is much he can do about Lebron’s minutes especially with Hughes out of the lineup. Other than Lebron, the Cavs don’t have as good of players as the Pistons, but they do have 9 guys who are good enough to start in the NBA, which is more than the Pistons 5 or 6.<O:p</O:p
I will close with one thought. Just think what the Pistons would be like now if the lottery balls had fallen a little differently and they had been given the first pick in the draft rather than the second. A lineup of Hamilton, Billups, Lebron, and the Wallace’s would be the best in the history of the NBA.<O:p</O:p
 
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exhawg said:
<O:p</O:p
I will close with one thought. Just think what the Pistons would be like now if the lottery balls had fallen a little differently and they had been given the first pick in the draft rather than the second. A lineup of Hamilton, Billups, Lebron, and the Wallace’s would be the best in the history of the NBA.<O:p</O:p
Click to expand...

In that scenario, the Grizzlies would have gotten Lebron. There was an exception for the 1st pick in their deal with Detroit.
 
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Man, I still can't believe I was there. Unbelievable game and atmosphere. I just wished they gave out more Witness shirts, instead we got these crummy "This is our house" shirts.

But the "Q" was rocking and going crazy and I am glad I was there.

Now I just have to make sure to get tickets for Game 6 so I can have some fun with Sheed!
 
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