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Cavs-Wizards 1st round playoff series

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ABJ

5/1/06

Cavs lose grip in playoffs

NBA series tied 2-2, returns to Cleveland

<!-- begin body-content -->WASHINGTON - The Cavaliers lost a big lead and an even bigger opportunity Sunday night at the Verizon Center.
Say goodbye to the prospects of a short series. They vanished along with LeBron James' second-half shooting touch.
On the verge of taking a commanding series advantage, the Cavs squandered a double-digit third-quarter lead and succumbed to the Washington Wizards, 106-96.
The best-of-seven Eastern Conference series is knotted at 2-2 and resumes Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Two nights after relentlessly attacking the basket, James tried to beat the Wizards from the perimeter.
He fell in love with that most fickle of basketball flirts, the 3-point shot.
It was good to him early as he contributed 25 first-half points, and the Cavs built a 57-46 halftime lead. It abandoned him, however, when the Wizards started to make a second-half run the Cavs couldn't stop.
James failed to score in the third quarter. He finished with 38 points, but attempted just nine shots after halftime. He didn't convert a second-half driving layup until 1:38 remained and the Cavs trailed 100-92.
Instead of burying the sputtering Wizards, the Cavs let them back in the series. They eased up. They settled for jumpers instead of taking the ball into the high-traffic areas where playoff games are won.
They got out of synch offensively and didn't get to the foul line once in the third quarter. The Cavs lost a rhythm they could not get back.
James hovered on the perimeter, seemingly content to watch his teammates try to hold off the Wizards. It should prove a valuable lesson for the 21-year-old, who, despite his scoring ram-pages through four games, remains a postseason neophyte.
Momentum can swing suddenly in the playoffs. It did Sunday night, and the Cavs were powerless to regain it.
They had a huge chance to take out the Wizards and failed to capitalize.
The Cavs couldn't have scripted a better start.
James had 18 points in the first quarter. After pouring in 41 on Friday night, it appeared as though he was poised for another big game.
The Cavs also got Flip Murray going again. He contributed 19 points off the bench. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 points. The Cavs were going so well that they actually increased their lead with James on the bench in the final minutes of the first half.
Mike Brown's team was 24 minutes away from a 3-1 series lead.
The Wizards looked shaken and unfocused.
Washington coach Eddie Jordan and his players spent Saturday grousing about how James got away with a walk on his game-winning bucket in Game 3. They became the most well-chronicled steps since Neil Armstrong went moon walking.
Gulliver travels. LeBron James wouldn't dare, would he?
The Cavs seemed to have fun with it. All the laughing stopped in the second half Sunday.
Gilbert Arenas (34 points), Antawn Jamison (22 points) and Caron Butler started heating up. The Cavs couldn't match it.
They fell apart in the third quarter. They settled for three Eric Snow jumpers to beat the 24-second shot clock.
James couldn't regain his game until the Wizards had completely seized the momentum.
So now it becomes a best-of-3 series, a big lead and big opportunity having gone quietly into the Washington night.
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ABJ

5/1/06

TAKING A STEP BACK

Cavs forget formula for success in Game 4 loss to Wizards

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->WASHINGTON - This is fast becoming a schizophrenic NBA playoff series.
The Cavaliers and Washington Wizards seem to want to pass their faults off to one another as if they were hot potatoes, changing momentum and identities by the game.
On Sunday night, the Cavaliers first lost a second-half lead, then lost Game 4 and the series lead, too.
Led by a second-half surge fueled partly by energy and partly by the Cavs' ineptitude, the Wizards took it 106-96 to even the best-of-seven series at 2-2.
They still own the homecourt advantage, starting with Game 5 on Wednesday night.
But they know now they'll be back at the Verizon Center for Game 6 on Friday.
Back in Game 3, the Wizards rode some hot shooting to take commanding lead and then frittered it away with careless decision-making, allowing the opposing star to beat them in the end.
In Game 4, the Cavs matched that flawed style with Gilbert Arenas grasping the hero tag from LeBron James.
Riding a load of impressive long-range jumpers, the Cavs held a 13-point lead early in Game 4's second half. But their inability to execute simple fundamentals for the entire night was a forecast of their fall. James scored 38 points, which is nice enough, but they all came either too early or too late.
James' usual flow was interrupted by a series of offensive fouls. Then, after some early shooting success, James accepted an unusual passive role when the outcome was in the balance.
He went 13 minutes between baskets as the Cavs lost control of the game. He did not score a point in the pivotal third quarter and went 18 minutes between foul shots as he settled for jumpers. He tacked on some late points in a fruitless comeback attempt when taking the ball to the basket again.
Meanwhile, his antagonist, Arenas, played tight in the early going by missing 11 of his first 13 shots. With the game on the line and the score tied heading into the fourth quarter, Arenas scored 20 of his 34 in the final quarter to bring his team home.
James set a franchise playoff record by scoring 18 points in the first quarter, making four of his career-high seven 3-pointers. He scored 25 points in the first half and the Cavs made 6-of-11 3-point shots as they built an 11-point halftime lead. It turned out to be fool's gold, as the Cavs survived 12 turnovers and thrived off poor Wizards' shooting.
When the Wizards frantically got active in the second half, desperate to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the series, the Cavs forgot how they got the series lead. They continued to play loose with the ball, turning it over a stunning 23 times, which cost them 29 points. That got the Wizards' scoring machine going.
``I told our guys to be loose and not play tight,'' Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. ``We went small, and I told them I'm not going to call any plays.''
In the first three games of the series, the Cavs had slowed the tempo and held the Wizards to just 90 points a game, 10 below their season average. But their control slipped away as the Wizards went into overdrive with 60 second-half points.
Arenas got going, but he got help as Caron Butler added 21 points and Antawn Jamison had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jared Jeffries had nine points and 11 rebounds and Antonio Daniels added 13 points off the bench. It was a reminder that in the Cavs' three losses to the Wizards in the regular season, those numbers resembled the old box scores.
Jordan wasn't complaining about the officiating on this night as the Cavs were whistled for 13 more fouls and the Wizards took 15 more free throws. Yet that wasn't really a factor; the Wizards' attacking mind-set was.
Flip Murray broke out of his mini-slump with 19 points and Donyell Marshall had 11 rebounds off the bench but again the Cavs didn't have a total team effort. Larry Hughes fouled out with seven points and Zydrunas Ilguaskas scored 13 points but got just seven shots as his teammates preferred to hoist away.
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ABJ

5/2/06

LEGGY LOBBYISTS

Cavs, Wizards turn whistle-blowers on officials in Washington

By Tom Reed

<!-- begin body-content -->WASHINGTON - In a capital city where protests and demonstrations are commonplace, the Cavaliers and Washington Wizards spent the weekend blowing the whistle on the NBA whistle-blowers.
Each team has taken turns voicing its displeasure with the officiating after losses in a best-of-seven playoff series tied at 2-2.
Missed traveling violations. Bogus charging calls. Insinuations of preferential treatment for star player. What we have here is the Wailing Wizards against the Whine and Gold.
Wizards coach Eddie Jordan is in favor of no nukes, a free Tibet and a ban on all LeBron James hop-through moves. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown wants the Bush Administration to add the Game 4 officiating crew to the Axis of Evil.
If Jack Abramoff weren't entangled in his own legal mess, James might retain his services to lobby for the removal of referee Dick Bavetta at all upcoming Cavs playoff games.
``It seems like they're trying to take my aggressiveness away,'' James said after being whistled for four charges in Sunday night's 106-96 loss. ``I've been called for more offensive fouls in this series (six) than all 82 games (34) combined probably.''
James' comments came a day after Jordan insisted that his star player, Gilbert Arenas, doesn't get the fouls that James gets.
What is it about the NBA playoffs that makes rational coaches and players turn into little-league parents? It happens every spring without fail.
Remember Phil Jackson coaching with the Chicago Bulls and railing against the perceived goon tactics of the Bill Laimbeer and the Detroit Pistons? How about Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy a season ago claiming an anonymous NBA official told him referees were targeting star center Yao Ming?
What triggers this bizarre behavior? The pressure to win? The fear of failure? The spare time created by a league stretching a seven-game series over three weekends?
Most see it as a form of gamesmanship. Players and coaches criticize referees in hopes of planting seeds for the next game. We're still in the first round and already Shaquille O'Neal ($25,000) and Jermaine O'Neal ($15,000) have been fined for publicly scolding the refs.
The penalties are laughable given the salaries and endorsement deals players receive. Twenty-five grand? James probably gives his minions as much to pick up the dry cleaning.
If the league was serious about curbing verbal abuse to officials it would mete out suspensions. The NBA probably views such controversies as additional hype for its product the way NASCAR does pit-row dust-ups between drivers.
Jordan telling reporters he believes that James traveled on his winning shot Friday night only heightened intrigue for Sunday's game. The Cavs were whistled for 13 more fouls and took 15 fewer free throws in the Game 4 loss.
``I don't know how LeBron James could be on the floor for 45 minutes and pick up four offensive fouls,'' Brown said. ``To me, it is shocking.''
Coaches and players aren't the only ones grousing. The Cavs' Web site posted a story Monday breaking down the fouls in the series. The Wizards have shot a combined 35 more free throws through four games. Arenas has been to the line 10 times more than James.
``Out of our 22 turnovers (Sunday) many were offensive fouls, questionable calls, but we have to live with it,'' James said. ``I don't want to try to get caught up in fouls or things not going our way at times, I'm just trying to counter the stuff Washington is trying to do to our team.''
The 21-year-old James, enjoying a smashing playoff debut, cannot allow the referees to become a distraction. He showed admirable restraint in Game 3 after being whistled for a blocking foul in the final seconds that easily could have been ruled a charge against Arenas.
His frustrations boiled over Sunday during a game in which he scored 38 points but was a non-factor when the Wizards overcame a 13-point, third-quarter deficit.
Instead of chirping about the officials, Brown should have accepted some responsibility for not reviving a second-half offense that relied almost exclusively on perimeter shooting. He did a nice job coaching the Cavs to 50 regular-season wins, but Brown sometimes struggles to make adjustments once the offense gets out of alignment.
Of course, right now all anyone seems to care about is the officiating.
What's next? The Wizards' Web site running an Arthur Murray Dance School-style diagram on James' steps to the basket?
The Wizards' win on Sunday night ensured a return trip to Washington for Game 6. By then, both teams will be protesting outside the wrought-iron gates of the White House wearing sandwich boards that read: Ban Bush/League Refs.
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I honestly thought that Flip and Hughes on the floor would be awesome, but it hasnt worked out like I envisioned it would. LH has to be out there to play Arenas, b/c no one else besides maybe snow can. Flip is also a liablity on the defensive end, and he seems to be forcing quite a few shots. I like it when he creates and goes to the hole, but not when he is forcing shots.
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I totally agree with you. I remember Flip Murray making one (1) pass this series. It was perhaps the one time he took it to the rack and realized that he didn't have a shot. He dumped off to Z, who couldn't find the handle - probably because he never thought in a million years that Flip was actually gonna share the ball.

Unfortunately, Flip is asserting himself like he has LeBron's game, and LeBron is asserting himself like he has Flip's game.
 
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On the bright side it looked like Flip started to put more arc on his shots in the last game so more of them started falling. Hughes doesn't have his shooting touch, but continues to shoot. You need him out there for his D, but he needs to quit shooting as much and focus on driving. Z needs to get his shot heated up. At least 1 or 2 of the charges on Lebron were BS. I remember one where the defender was shuffling along with Lebron and got bumped a little, flopped and got the charge. You shouldn't get a charge if you are moving your feet unless the guy really runs you over. Right now the Cavs are a 1 man team, and that will need to change if they are going to put out the series.
 
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scarletngrey77 said:
Who else would love to see Arenas actually earn a foul?

The guys entire offense is dribbling into the defender ignitiating contact and falling backwards.
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I totally agree, I don't care if he is actually asserting himself and driving through the lane, but I have a problem when he is dribbling out by the 3-point line and he dribbles into someone and falls down. I don't know how many times, I have been talking about some flopping and falling down when they are dribbling and someone will turn to me and say you must be talking about Arenas.
 
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jlb1705 said:
I totally agree with you. I remember Flip Murray making one (1) pass this series. It was perhaps the one time he took it to the rack and realized that he didn't have a shot. He dumped off to Z, who couldn't find the handle - probably because he never thought in a million years that Flip was actually gonna share the ball.

Unfortunately, Flip is asserting himself like he has LeBron's game, and LeBron is asserting himself like he has Flip's game.
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This was exactly the reason sonics fans were so happy to see flip go.
(http://www.tradeflipmurray.com/)

Last game, he did look like he was going solo alot, but the thing is, the cavs offense was so stagnant, there were so many guys just STANDING AROUND, that I thought it was refreshing that somebody was taking the inititiative to try to make something happen. That, and the pass to Z led me to think that he had "the right idea". When the cavs go flat, people start standing around, and flip at least brings some energy. Now he just has to realize that when lebron is 5-6 from deep, PASS HIM THE BALL.

And Lebron has to realize that sometimes, he just needs to carry the team.
 
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ABJ

5/3/06

Brown looking to learn lesson

Cavs coach takes blame for loss of focus during Game 4 stumble

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Mike Brown re-wrote the Cavaliers' record book for his accomplishments as first-year coach this season.
Several members of the media gave him votes for coach of the year.
The general manager and star player gave thumbs up to his style and performance.
The supreme boss, team owner Dan Gilbert, praised him at the end of the regular season, reaffirming his decision to hire a coach with no experience ahead of other candidates with it.
But there's a rub to all of it -- a rookie coach is a rookie coach. Brown has learned plenty of lessons as an assistant and won a championship ring, but he's openly admitting that he's learning some things the hard way.
After looking back, Brown is directly taking responsibility for the Cavs' Game 4 loss to the Wizards in Washington, especially the team's performance in the third quarter when a 13-point lead vanished in a spell of inactive offense.
The Wizards rallied and knotted the series at 2-2.
``There are some things I'd do differently,'' Brown said after the Cavs' practice Tuesday. ``Offensively, we got stagnant and a lot of it was my fault.''
Brown said he was unnerved by the officials, who called 34 fouls on his team and just 21 on the Wizards, and he allowed his players to follow suit. Of course, the Wizards were attacking more than the Cavs, who repeatedly settled for jumpers and made few offensive adjustments until it was too late.
``The players got caught up, I got caught up in the referees,'' Brown said. ``And so we were more worried about the referees than coaching and playing the game, and I'll take the blame for that.''
Brown's offensive game plans have been a sore point at times this season. He's known for defensive coaching, and the Cavs' defense improved throughout the season as has the situational offense in tight games. But slow schematic adjustments have been the cause of several losses, and it was a major factor in Game 4.
One issue Sunday was Brown leaving James on the perimeter and not calling for post-up plays, which was an antidote at times during the season.
``I didn't put him down there; it's not his fault,'' Brown said. ``You can look at me and say I did it.''
Hughes unhappy?
Larry Hughes has been the consummate professional all season for the Cavs, but his friend, former teammate and current foe Gilbert Arenas is implying Hughes might not be pleased with his role in the Cavs' offense. In an interview with the Washington Times published Tuesday, Arenas described a conversation with Hughes during one of the playoff games in which Hughes said his role in the offense was ``just bringing in the plays.''
``If you look at him, that whole offense is LeBron, no one else,'' Arenas told the paper. ``Larry's become a spot-up shooter, and that's not what he does. Here he stayed on the right side of the court, and I stayed on the left side of the court -- no problems. In Cleveland, they want to play halfcourt unless they get out on the break. There aren't that many opportunities where Larry is going to be free.''
It hasn't helped that Hughes' right middle finger still isn't 100 percent, and he's shot only 31 percent from the floor in the series, averaging 10.3 points. But the Cavs are recognizing they need to get him involved more.
``We need to get him the ball in the open court a lot more and let him create for himself,'' James said. ``He needs more touches, it's not fair to him playing as hard as he is on defense and not getting the ball on offense.''
Dribbles
Hughes was honored Tuesday by the Cleveland chapter of the Professional Basketball Writers Association as the first recipient of the Austin Carr Good Guy Award as the player who is ``cooperative and understanding of the media, the community and the public.''... The Cavs will host former NBA stars Clyde Drexler and George Gervin at tonight's game as part of the NBA's 60th anniversary celebration.
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ABJ

5/3/06

Cavs can post James and help-wanted sign

By Tom Reed

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - Engaging in a playful bit of self-promotion, LeBron James emerged from the locker room Tuesday wearing the familiar Nike-issued black T-shirt emblazoned with the word WITNESS.
The apparel giant wants the masses to believe that they are witnesses to James' greatness.
Given the minimal contributions of select Cavs teammates, Nike should distribute companion shirts that read: BYSTANDER.
It is the burden that James now bears that he could score 38 points in a playoff game, as he did Sunday, and be accused of not doing enough for his team.
Time didn't stand still in the third quarter of a 106-96 loss to the Washington Wizards in Game 4, but the leading scorer in the NBA playoffs practically did.
Hounded by a double team, James milled about the perimeter like a man waiting for a bus as the Wizards erased a 13-point deficit.
James' third-quarter stat line: zero points, zero rebounds, zero fouls drawn, three shots, two assists.
The Cavs and coach Mike Brown cannot allow such an astonishing occurrence to happen again in a best-of-seven series tied at 2-2. To his credit, the first-year coach took the blame Tuesday for the offensive breakdown that doomed his team. He conceded to becoming distracted by the officiating.
``A lot of it was my fault,'' Brown said.
How are Brown and his assistants going to remedy it in time for the pivotal Game 5 tonight?
Maybe by getting James to different spots on the floor in the Cavs' halfcourt sets. Why not start him on the low block or middle block? How about some misdirection, some catch and curls? Let him run off a few picks going to the basket.
One Cavs player rattled off a handful of suggestions, only to temper them by adding, ``but I'm not the coach.''
That the Cavs are tied in this series is testament to James' talents. He recorded a triple-double in Game 1 and scored 41 points, hitting the game-winning basket with 5.7 seconds, in Game 3.
James (34.3 points) is not getting the scoring support afforded Wizards star Gilbert Arenas, who's averaging 31 points. Caron Butler (18.3 points) and Antawn Jamison (17 points) offer the Wizards some alternatives.
Not so with the Cavs. No playoff team owns a larger point disparity between first- and second-leading scorers. The Cavaliers have turned into the cast from Happy Days. After the Fonz, who's going to score? Richie? Potsie? Ralph Malph? Mr. C?
The Cavs' gulf between its top scorers is 22.5 points. The second-biggest margin is 15 points by the Milwaukee Bucks, the third is 10 points by the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies were swept by the Dallas Mavericks, and the Bucks trail 3-1 to the Detroit Pistons.
``We're struggling offensively other than LeBron,'' said center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the team's second-leading scorer at 11.8 points. ``Some guys are solid for a quarter, but quiet down after that.''
James refuses to criticize the lack of help. Hardly a surprise. What do you expect him to say:
I'm carrying more dead weight here than the New York Knicks' payroll.
Larry Hughes is hampered by a finger injury that hinders his effectiveness around the rim. Ilgauskas has just 39 shots in the series after going 5-of-7 in Game 4. Donyell Marshall has been a non-factor since Game 1.
Eric Snow and Drew Gooden aren't offensive players. Flip Murray needs to prove his 19-point effort Sunday can be duplicated.
If Damon Jones were buried any deeper in the coach's dog house, Animal Cops could devote an episode to his rescue and retrieval.
Any wonder why the Wizards are game-planning against James and daring teammates to beat them? Since compiling 11 assists in Game 1, James has combined for 10 in the past three games.
How do the Cavs collect two more wins? Obviously, they can't commit 22 turnovers as they did Sunday. A few more fast-break points would be nice, too. Ultimately, however, it depends on James and Brown putting them in the best position in the halfcourt offense.
Brown is a rookie coach and a defensive-oriented one at that. The Cavs knew his offensive learning curve might be high at playoff time, and that has come to fruition.
You don't have to be Tex Winters, Godfather of the Triangle Offense, to see the Cavs need more motion and movement.
Here's an idea: Why not align Ilgauskas, a good jump shooter, occasionally in the high post instead of making it so easy for Wizards center Brendan Haywood?
Let's see James and his chiseled 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame occupy the low post against a smallish Wizards lineup. Let's see James running off some screens and driving to the basket. Let's see some variety.
James wasn't awarded just seven foul shots Sunday because Wizards coach Eddie Jordan got into the minds of officials. James didn't get the calls because he camped out on the perimeter, and Brown failed to make the necessary adjustments to correct it.
The Cavs have regained homecourt advantage in what has become a best-of-three series. They have time to do some minor tinkering to energize a stagnate offense.
They can ill afford a repeat of the 12 Minutes LeBron James Stood Still or all the Cavs will be bystanders for the playoffs' second round.
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Whoevers trying to play defense on Jamison needs to hang himself at halftime.

Other than that we look pretty good. We are just giving up too many easy lay-ups, and theres no excuse as to how Jamison is wide open on almost every shot.
 
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Z has been a non-factor for 4 1/2 games now. He even missed back to back free throws, and I don't remember the last time I saw that. It would be nice for him to step in and make a contribution to take some of the pressure off of LBJ and LH. It's really remarkable that we are still in this series without him contributing at all offensively.
 
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