Celtics-Cavs Second Round Series

[OCBucksFan]

Huh? It was one game Lebron will come back very strong game two. Not sure how they sent a message, he had a bad game shooting, he will figure their defense out.Should be a close series all the way but I still see the Cavs in 7.

Well, at least one person is optimistic here, everyone else seems to think the sky is falling. As far as I see it, the cavs had the worst shooting game of the year and still almost won. Sure, Pierce and Allen had bad nights, but Pierce on James is going to get him in foul trouble this entire series, I doubt Lebron is going to have this type of game again... in his career.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Boston has sent a message...LeBron will NOT beat them this series. I'd love to see LeBron come out and have the game of his life, but the Celtics will not let it happen. He had some chances to get to the rim, but players were sagging all night. Other players are going to have to step up. A repeat of the Detroit series is not about to happen....teams have learned. The Celtics doubled on pick and rolls, the doubled on off-ball screens, they left players completely wide open. LeBron will not single handedly beat this team. It is up to Wally, Delonte, and Boobie to hit outside shots.

It is imperative LeBron looks to score on offensive rebounds and secondary breaks. He isn't going to get any good looks in a half-court set. Boston is selling out. I'd rather see LeBron force shots at the rim than kick it out for contested jumpers.

Congrats to Boston for getting their winning points on a ridiculous toch foul. It's unfortunate a player gets called for a contact foul when he's tangled with another big and trys to release downcourt only to get called for a reach. That was the game.

Not to say Cleveland didn't have other chances, it's just frustrating to see the go-ahead points of a crucial game come down to a terrible call.

I had said earlier that this was the game we had to win if we want to win the series...Well I am going to retract that statement...The reason is we outplayed Boston...Z was our leading scorer, we didn't shoot well from the outside...and LBJ had one of his worst games he has ever had...

I don't want to blame the refs...The calls went both ways IMO, touch fouls for example...The last no call was a call that you don't make...LBJ has to finish that...If that was Pierce and he got fouled we would of all been saying that...


They are selling out, but LBJ was still getting looks that he would make on other nights, which will pull the defense out which will give more room for him to work...He also won't have 9 turnovers again in a game in this series...

We need the next one, and I think that we will be able to bounce back quicker than Boston can...Boobie, LBJ, Delonte, are still young...Garnett, Pierce, Allen are coming off only a day of rest off a brutal game...We had the 4 days rest before this one, they only had one...

I also love the fact that there is only one travel day before we go back home...Hopefully it doesn't hurt Wally, Z, and Wallace too much...

I would like to see Wild Thing get back to his high energy play, and be able to match up with Garnett, like he has done in the past with Sheed...

 

[02Buckeyes06]

Mike Browns offense blows a big one.....

Not once did I see Lebron post up anyone, this would have brought the defense in for the kick out to boobie or wally they were on fire.

WTF is up with Lebron catching the ball 5 feet beyond the 3 point line. Nothing is created by doing this.

Pavs comes in the game and scores 6 quick points and we dont see him again WTF.

Smith obviously couldnt guard KG how about switching and having Valajoa guard him. If nothing at least foul the SOB.

Hey Lebron your 6'8 and with 10 sec to go down 2 just slam the damn ball. Dont try to finger roll it. We should of won that game by 20 the way Boston played. We played great defense but once again the normal predictable offense.

Here is Mike Browns timeout conversation.....Ok guys this time lets try something new West you take the ball up, Lebron you come up and catch it 10 feet above the 3 point line and get double teamed drive it and shoot it. Lets go guys TEAM on 3.....1,2,3 TEAM...................Im a genious

 

[billmac91]

Huh? It was one game Lebron will come back very strong game two. Not sure how they sent a message, he had a bad game shooting, he will figure their defense out.Should be a close series all the way but I still see the Cavs in 7.

I haven't seen a team sell-out like Boston did tonight, probably ever. They left players uncovered to give help and double LeBron. Ben Wallace didn't have a defender on him all night. Wally and Delonte were left uncovered behind the arc when LeBron penetrated. Boston played the type of defense Detroit got ripped for, for not playing last year. They denied him (LeBron) the ball, and when he got it, they collapsed the lane and forced him to pass it. If it wasn't a pass, it was a pull up jumper or tough shot. The only open shots LeBron got all night, where from beyond the arc. LeBron will need to be able to get extremly hot from deep to have a big scoring night. He isn't going to get anything easy from inside 15 feet unless it's on a break.

That's why LeBron needs to be more aggressive when he gets a close offensive rebound and the players need to feed him the ball early on secondary breaks. In a half-court set, Boston will not let LeBron get anything easy. The rest of the team needs to step up. Good playoff basketball defense has begun this series. Mutants just hacking the shit out of LeBron to send a pointless message (Washington) doesn't count. Boston will not let LeBron single-handedly beat them like Detroit allowed to happen last year.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Guys just look at last years Detroit series...

The first game was 79-76 lose where LBJ only had 10 pts...Game two was the same way with a 79-76 lose where LBJ only had 19 pts...

LBJ came back home went for 32,9,9 the rest of the team stepped up in game 4, and then went back to Detroit and had the game of his young career so far...

LBJ is going to figure this out...It just sucks that we have a coach that can't make adjustments on the fly...he tried with the one little adjustment, but we needed him to step up and take over in game two, because while we were able to win after going down 2-0 last year against Detroit, I will feel much better if we can win one in Boston...

 

[billmac91]

Guys just look at last years Detroit series...

The first game was 79-76 lose where LBJ only had 10 pts...Game two was the same way with a 79-76 lose where LBJ only had 19 pts...

LBJ came back home went for 32,9,9 the rest of the team stepped up in game 4, and then went back to Detroit and had the game of his young career so far...

LBJ is going to figure this out...It just sucks that we have a coach that can't make adjustments on the fly...he tried with the one little adjustment, but we needed him to step up and take over in game two, because while we were able to win after going down 2-0 last year against Detroit, I will feel much better if we can win one in Boston...

That's a good and encouraging statistic. I'd feel better if LeBron had more offensive support in the starting line-up. I think it hurts having a strictly outside shooting threat in Wally, and a non-scorer in the line-up in Ben Wallace. That's the reason LeBron cannot get any good looks. At least last year, Drew could hurt teams from 15 feet and Larry could attack the hoop.

This isn't a complaint on the trade, as our defense is significantly better. I just think it will be a lot more difficult this year for LeBron to create when teams know Wally isn't going to hurt them going to the rack, and Ben doesn't need to be guarded.

I think the wild-card will come down to Delonte. If he shoots well, he will be a dagger. If he can't get it going, this series might be a nightmare.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

That's a good and encouraging statistic. I'd feel better if LeBron had more offensive support in the starting line-up. I think it hurts having a strictly outside shooting threat in Wally, and a non-scorer in the line-up in Ben Wallace. That's the reason LeBron cannot get any good looks. At least last year, Drew could hurt teams from 15 feet and Larry could attack the hoop.

This isn't a complaint on the trade, as our defense is significantly better. I just think it will be a lot more difficult this year for LeBron to create when teams know Wally isn't going to hurt them going to the rack, and Ben doesn't need to be guarded.

I think the wild-card will come down to Delonte. If he shoots well, he will be a dagger. If he can't get it going, this series might be a nightmare.

I understand that Ben doesn't bring much to the offensive end, but if he isn't on the floor tonight, Garnett goes for 40...He went for 28 as it was...

I was really surprised with West lack of points tonight...I really thought he would have a big game...Same with Boobie...I think both will step up and have big games as the series goes on...

This is a lot of the reason why the trade was made...No way Drew guards Garnett anything like Big Ben did...I think Garnett scored about 20 pts not against Ben, unless they were jumpshots, but Ben was teh one guy that was able to really both his jumper...The one time I remember Wild Thing guarding him he did a little step back and Andy was 5 feet off of him when he shot it...Smith was on him on his last bucket and he schooled him...

 

[Bucks21]

That's a good and encouraging statistic. I'd feel better if LeBron had more offensive support in the starting line-up. I think it hurts having a strictly outside shooting threat in Wally, and a non-scorer in the line-up in Ben Wallace. That's the reason LeBron cannot get any good looks. At least last year, Drew could hurt teams from 15 feet and Larry could attack the hoop.

This isn't a complaint on the trade, as our defense is significantly better. I just think it will be a lot more difficult this year for LeBron to create when teams know Wally isn't going to hurt them going to the rack, and Ben doesn't need to be guarded.

I think the wild-card will come down to Delonte. If he shoots well, he will be a dagger. If he can't get it going, this series might be a nightmare.

I agree that Ben hurts us big on the offensive end and that Drew could hit that 15 footer but Larry did just about nothing last year in the playoffs. He was a non factor against Detroit and SA. Plus, I was surprised to not see Devin Brown all night. He isn't great but he can provide a good ten minutes of energy.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I agree that Ben hurts us big on the offensive end and that Drew could hit that 15 footer but Larry did just about nothing last year in the playoffs. He was a non factor against Detroit and SA. Plus, I was surprised to not see Devin Brown all night. He isn't great but he can provide a good ten minutes of energy.

Agree on Devin, but I thought Sasha provided what Devin could of provided...

Hopefully we see more of Sasha as the series goes on...He is a tough matchup playing alongside LBJ, as they have to put Allen on him, and he can get around Allen, and with all the concentration on LBJ he can help us...Boobie struggles to get open looks against Rondo, hopefully he can find a way to get looks from here on out...

 

[billmac91]

I understand that Ben doesn't bring much to the offensive end, but if he isn't on the floor tonight, Garnett goes for 40...He went for 28 as it was...

I was really surprised with West lack of points tonight...I really thought he would have a big game...Same with Boobie...I think both will step up and have big games as the series goes on...

This is a lot of the reason why the trade was made...No way Drew guards Garnett anything like Big Ben did...I think Garnett scored about 20 pts not against Ben, unless they were jumpshots, but Ben was teh one guy that was able to really both his jumper...The one time I remember Wild Thing guarding him he did a little step back and Andy was 5 feet off of him when he shot it...Smith was on him on his last bucket and he schooled him...

I guess my thing is, what does Andy bring differently than Ben? They have the same game. I agree Ben was brought in strictly to guard Garnett. I said it the day we traded for him....his sole reason for being a Cavalier is to get us past Garnett and the Celtics.

The problem is, is he makes Andy expendable. Anderson is getting half the minutes he got last year and they both play the same role. Basically we have a fresh defender at all times on Garnett, while having almost equally as bad offensive players out there with LeBron.

Drew was lethal last year in the playoffs. He really brought a fantastic offensive game through the Eastern conference playoffs. When LeBron attacked, Drew was capable of hitting that mid-range jump shot. If the mid-range shot was contested, Drew had the game to up-fake and take the ball to the hoop. We don't have that luxury this year.

It is nice, Z is fresh enough to play lots of minutes this series. We wouldn't have gotten Z for more than 20 minutes last year. I still think this series comes down to Delonte being able to make Boston honest. If he can't hit the open J, there is noreason for Boston to not continue to completely sell out every time LeBron puts the ball on the floor.

 

[billmac91]

I agree that Ben hurts us big on the offensive end and that Drew could hit that 15 footer but Larry did just about nothing last year in the playoffs. He was a non factor against Detroit and SA. Plus, I was surprised to not see Devin Brown all night. He isn't great but he can provide a good ten minutes of energy.

good point on Devin. His game is much better than most give him credit for. He's a better defender than Wally, and has about the overall offensive game Wally has. I think when Ray Allen can't score, it makes Devin a bit expendable. If Ray was his usual self, I bet Devin gets those 10 minutes. If Ray isn't going to score, I guess Mike Brown thinks he'd rather have Wally's offense.

 

[OCBucksFan]

The thing I couldn't figure out about this game, ok, so every time LBJ gets the ball, 2-3 people converge on him... why doesn't he drive and kick? He got desperate and started tossing up 3's, now I realize his teammates weren't having the best night, but, the way I see it, you give your team a better chance if you find the open man, let him shoot and keep yourself under the basket.

 

[ScarletBlood31]

I still can't believe that LeBron missed that layup at the end.

I know that he was getting fouled on his way to the basket, but that was pretty sad to miss such a point-blank shot.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I guess my thing is, what does Andy bring differently than Ben? They have the same game. I agree Ben was brought in strictly to guard Garnett. I said it the day we traded for him....his sole reason for being a Cavalier is to get us past Garnett and the Celtics.

The problem is, is he makes Andy expendable. Anderson is getting half the minutes he got last year and they both play the same role. Basically we have a fresh defender at all times on Garnett, while having almost equally as bad offensive players out there with LeBron.

Drew was lethal last year in the playoffs. He really brought a fantastic offensive game through the Eastern conference playoffs. When LeBron attacked, Drew was capable of hitting that mid-range jump shot. If the mid-range shot was contested, Drew had the game to up-fake and take the ball to the hoop. We don't have that luxury this year.

It is nice, Z is fresh enough to play lots of minutes this series. We wouldn't have gotten Z for more than 20 minutes last year. I still think this series comes down to Delonte being able to make Boston honest. If he can't hit the open J, there is noreason for Boston to not continue to completely sell out every time LeBron puts the ball on the floor.

Really not sure why the sourness on Wild Thing compared to what it was...If I remember everyone talked about him, Boobie and LBJ being the only guys they wouldn't trade just last year...

He doesn't get credit for his improvement on the offensive end...He brings a lot more than Ben...He has the ability while not a great shooter, but he can knock down the occasional 15 footer to keep the defense honest...Guys don't even have to be around Ben, and if they leave him they know they can just foul and send him to the line...

he brings energy and ability to get offensive rebounds...Garnett will score on him easier than against Wallace...

 

[billmac91]

Really not sure why the sourness on Wild Thing compared to what it was...If I remember everyone talked about him, Boobie and LBJ being the only guys they wouldn't trade just last year...

He doesn't get credit for his improvement on the offensive end...He brings a lot more than Ben...He has the ability while not a great shooter, but he can knock down the occasional 15 footer to keep the defense honest...Guys don't even have to be around Ben, and if they leave him they know they can just foul and send him to the line...

he brings energy and ability to get offensive rebounds...Garnett will score on him easier than against Wallace...

it's not sourness on Anderson...it just is what it is. His offensive game is very poor, even if it is improved. Anderson brings great defense and energy. He can hit an occassional 15 footer, but it isn't a desired shot. Boston would happily allow Anderson to take a 15 footer evey time down the court. I just don't see a huge advantage to carrying both Anderson and Ben. They have very similar roles. Both limited offensively and both great defenders. If Ben isn't on the team, Anderson just gets more minutes and plays a similar role. If Anderson isn't on the team, Ben just takes extra minutes.

I just think the supporting cast around LeBron is about as bad as it has been. Boobie, Z, and a healthy Sasha are nice compliments but this is pretty brutal. The guy needs a bonafide #2. There just isn't anyone on the floor at all to make Boston say "oh shit, we can't leave him".

Anyways, this is probably for another thread, and it's been rehashed over and over. I'm just sick of seeing the Cavs be a 1 man show, and LeBron can't be happy about it either. Ferry needs to pull a Gasol out of his ass or find the next Chris Paul.