Cavs embarassed, dominate, embarassed again, roll over

I started this post with a bit more than 8 minutes left. To be fair, we haven’t entirely rolled over – Lebron just attacked the rim for the 3rd time tonight! – but the Bucks are just getting open shots and hitting them.

We dominated the 2nd by making it a half court game and challenging the Bucks to beat us on contested jumpers. They’re not a very good team to begin with and that’s their weakest area. I don’t think the starters got the memo about how to win this one though, since we came back out in the 3rd willing to just run back and forth with the Bucks, only the Bucks had us by a half step every possession.

Think about how good Mo Williams is against us at all times and with such ease. Imagine if silly things like reality didn’t get in the way, and Mo was simply that good as a result of seeing Lebron on the floor. Then imagine we were back in this past off-season and had thrown enough money Mo’s way to lure him to the north coast. Sure, we’d probably still be saddled with Hughes, but our average margin of victory would be about 35 points. Tonight (with 6:24 left) Mo has 22 on 8 shots, to go along with 13 assists and not a single turnover.

The game would be so much easier for us if we just had the mind to exploit our biggest advantage over and over and over again, begging the cliche about calling the same play until they figure out how to stop it. But instead of putting Z on the block and telling him to take 30 shots, Z might end up with half that while Lebron pushes past 20 on 35% shooting (all on the perimeter). Z was absolutely abusing Bogut. Bogut would show on his right hip and Z would turn into the lane for an easy hook. Bogut would come over the top and Z would spin baseline to where he ended up standing on front of the rim for a bunny hop layup. Z is shooting 58%, he’s a legitimate, consistent, reliable offensive weapon, and the Cavs will end up shooting less than 40% rather than doing the obvious.

Speaking of good game, Wally just took a seat with 18, 8 and 4 in what has clearly been his best game in a Cavs uni. He was the primary aggressor in the half court during the 2nd quarter run to get us back in the game. DJ was running the offense, Devin was leaking out for the easy baskets, and Wally was the goto guy. It worked beautifully. I can’t understand why that’s as frequent as an eclipse.

We’re down 13 with under 4 now, so I’m wrapping this one up. Let’s just write it off with the usual excuse. Ori is on his way to the Caribbean for a fancy-pants cruise, so make sure to fill that void with your comments below.

We’re off until Wednesday when Chris Paul and the Hornets come to town. Rest up and practice hard boys.

Go Cavs!

I’d still rather live in Cleveland

Mo Williams is clearly our bane. He and Michael Redd combined for 62, including all the crucial free throws and 30 foot game winner. Bastards.

This blog would’ve been a lot more fun to write if we won. The follow up would have been even better. Ori is halfway around the world and he’s going to recap the game based on the 30 text messages I sent him throughout.

Couple quick notes:

• Z didn’t play. It’s easy to say he would’ve made the difference. Nobody on the Bucks could handle him and Bogut isn’t athletic enough to force him off the floor.
• Some ticky-tack calls went Milwaukee’s way. Can we get the Elias Sports Bureau to check back with us with the record for most And 1s in a game?
• Lebron was 6/8 from inside and 3/5 on mid-range jumpers in the first half.
• Lebron was 6/7 in the lane in the 2nd half, but tried to stretch out those mid-range shots and was only 2/5.
• Plus the box score has him down for 24 shots, so somebody can’t count.
• What I’m getting at, though, is that he could get to the rim at will. 10 perimeter shots are too many, even if they’re falling.
• Then again, at only 2-5 from the line, I can understand why he would shy from contact.
• Still, tonight definitely wasn’t Lebron’s fault. The backcourt defense let us down. Delonte could barely stop Williams and DJ got lit up.
• We rebounded in spurts. For 5 minutes it would seem like every rebound was ours, and we’d go on a run. Then we’d relax, and Milwaukee would jump out.
• Wally Hughes had another off night. He’s a shooter, so I’m not worried, but that moniker is his to discard.
• Things can get ugly in the post without Z (and Gooden). For a spell in the 3rd, we kept throwing it in to Joe Smith, who did his best, but just isn’t a low block player. I swear we even through it in to Wallace on the block once.
• Meh. Frustrating game but no time to dwell on it. We’re already on the plane to Boston.

Go Cavs!

I’m going to have to quit my job…

… Unless Supreme Commissar Bush soon institutes a new day/night system whereby each passing day contains 27 hours rather than 24.

In the meantime there simply isn’t the time to write everything that needs writing about the Cavs. In a sentence: the concern about the Cavs being too deep, that is, of whether Mike Brown can find the minutes to satisfy all 11 productive players, is a valid one, but I believe the Mad Scientist/Potato Head will use it to a greater advantage than similarly deep teams of the past, such as last year’s Mavericks.

Tonight, though, it’s not a concern. In fact, we might be getting 48 minutes out of both Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, as Z is questionable with a cold and Andy will not play until he is 100%. Holding out Andy is certainly for the best, and the same might be true with Z, as a speedy recovery will allow him to go into Boston tomorrow as the freshest starter. We are still without Boobie or Sasha, meaning our rotation could be as thin as 7 players, unless you count Dwayne Jones. I don’t. He’s more placeholder than player, though I do hope to see some bizarre in-game ritual between he and Delonte, harkening back to their undefeated St. Joes days.

Of course, everything in this post until this point is largely irrelevant as it pertains to tonight’s game for this reason: We have Lebron and Milwaukee isn’t very good.

For whatever reason, we struggle a bit with Milwaukee, splitting our first two meeting this season in close contests, ultimately going to the home team.

Our loss came at the hands of Mo Williams and Michael Redd. With Delonte and Devin Brown dutifully chasing them all night I expect we’ll fare better than 11/20, when Boobie, Newble, Devin, Lebron and Gooden all ended up with 4+ fouls.

As is always the case, Lebron should have his way, so with our revitalized offense and some more sturdy defense, the Cavs should be able to come away 2-0 in Season 2.

Go Cavs!

Yi yi: A One and a Two

Tonight at the Q, each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life’s meaning as they live through everyday quandaries.

Wrong Yi? My bad.

Tonight at the Q, each member of a family in Cleveland asks Lebron for a no look pass as they make a quick cut through a porous, undersized defense.

I can’t wait to see the Cavs live down on the block tonight. There is absolutely nobody on the Bucks roster than can handle Lebron, Gooden or Z. We should dominate the offensive glass, back our way into easy layups, and spend an awful lot of time at the free throw line.

Plus, it’s the much awaited return of Eric Snow. As that article mentions, the Cavs want to be careful with Z’s minutes. A matchup with the undersized Bucks should give Z a chance to rack up a double double in the first half, and rest as the Cavs complete the blowout in the 2nd half.

We’ll see Boobie and Sasha starting, with Devin Brown, DJ and Snow in relief. When Lebron slides over to the 4, Sasha or DB will move up to the 3.

If Yi looks to isolate and operate early, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Devin Brown bodying up with him and Lebron looking to come across for a weak side block. One of Lebron’s biggest defensive weaknesses has been his tendency to sag off a shooter, so Desmond Mason will be especially dangerous tonight. I’m hoping Sasha’s length bothers Redd and we prevent the Bucks from getting hot. We have the ability to dominate inside and force them further out onto the perimeter. If we exert our will on them, as we should at home, this one will be a walk for the Cavs.

Open those eyes. It should be fun to watch.